The boat was white and had two very large engines. Jaxson drove it for three days straight. They didn't see any other boats, just the blue water of the Atlantic Ocean and some flying fish. Isabella spent a lot of time sitting on the deck, wearing a bikini Jaxson had found in a storage compartment. It was black and very small.
"Are we there yet?" she asked on the third afternoon.
"Almost," Jaxson said. He was wearing shorts and no shirt. He was very tan now from the sun. "Look at the horizon."
Isabella looked. She saw a strip of green land and white sand. It was Brazil.
They pulled into a private dock at a house that sat on a hill. The house was made of white stone and had a red tile roof. It had a swimming pool that looked like it overflowed into the ocean. There were palm trees everywhere, and the air smelled like tropical flowers and salt.
"Is this ours?" Isabella asked, stepping off the boat.
"I bought it three years ago," Jaxson said, carrying the bags of gold and cash up the stone steps. "I knew I'd need a place to disappear someday. I just didn't know I'd have a beautiful girl with me."
Inside, the house was cool because of the stone floors. There was a maid named Maria who had already stocked the fridge with fresh fruit, steak, and expensive wine.
Jaxson dropped the bags on the floor of the master bedroom. The bedroom had a wall made entirely of glass that looked out over the ocean. The bed was even bigger than the one in the penthouse, and it had white silk sheets.
"Go take a shower, Isabella," Jaxson said. "I'll make us some drinks. We're safe now. Vanessa is probably in a Syndicate prison, and the Boss thinks we're at the bottom of the ocean."
Isabella took a long shower in a bathroom that had a waterfall showerhead. She washed away the mud from the mountains and the salt from the ocean. When she came out, she was wearing a silk robe.
Jaxson was standing on the balcony with two glasses of champagne. He looked at her and smiled. It was a nice smile, not the scary one he used at the docks.
"To us," he said, clinking his glass against hers.
"To us," she said.
They drank the champagne and watched the sun set. It was a very orange sun, and it made the water look like it was on fire. After they finished their drinks, Jaxson picked her up and carried her to the bed.
This was the most intense encounter they had ever had. There was no fear of being caught, and no secrets between them anymore. Jaxson was very slow and very thorough. He wanted her to know that he belonged to her just as much as she belonged to him.Afterward, Isabella lay in his arms. She felt very sleepy and very happy.
"I love you, Jaxson," she whispered.
"I love you too, Isabella," he said. "More than all the gold in the world."