" How did you lose sight of her?" Resende complained on the other end of the line.
I sighed and threw the hotel TV remote on the bed.
"I think you're forgetting who you're talking to."
The line went silent, and I smiled in approval. This whole situation with this girl was driving me crazy. I poured myself a glass of whisky. I shouldn't be drinking on the job, but I needed to calm down. The way she slipped away from me wounded my ego, and I wanted nothing more than to arrest her right now. Damn her!
"Sorry, sir," Resende finally spoke.
"Continue searching all hotels," I ordered. "She must be very close."
I hung up the phone and went to the balcony. I was great at what I did; a girl who had barely left her teens wouldn't outsmart me like this.
It was already early morning, but I decided to go down to the pool. I loved that cold. And swimming was one of the things that always calmed my mind.
I froze when I reached the pool area. There was Elizabeth Prado, sitting in a bikini on the edge of the pool, gazing at the moon thoughtfully. Her long red hair flowed in the breeze. My blood heated up. Prado was calm, after making a fool out of me. Not the slightest fear of being caught. And now she was there, vulnerable. I could do whatever I wanted with her and that red hair. I swallowed hard, my thoughts going to the wrong place. It was definitely the whisky's fault.
Elizabeth jumped into the pool and dove in; when she resurfaced, her hair was wet and clinging to her body. I swallowed hard again. Never drinking on duty again.
I approached, observing her reaction when she saw me. I was unarmed, but in terms of physical strength, I still had the advantage.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, and for a moment, she seemed unsure of what to do. Then she smiled.
"I hope you're not upset with me," her voice was teasing, and I wanted to jump into that pool right now and arrest this delinquent who set up her own friend's kidnapping.
"Do you see how running doesn't help, Prado? I don't need to make an effort to arrest you."
She laughed. How I wished I could shut her up.
"You seemed pretty determined," she stirred the water, swimming a little further away. She felt safe because she was in the water, but it was a false illusion. I sat on the edge of the pool, and she noticed. Her voice seemed carefree, but her eyes followed me all the time.
"No need to be afraid," I teased.
She laughed without humor.
"And who said I am?" she raised her chin, looking at me, challenging me.
I jumped into the pool without thinking, giving her the perfect opportunity to escape. She preferred to be proud and stay in the same place. I smiled triumphantly; her advantage was over now.
"Why do you want to arrest me?" her voice shook as I approached a little closer.
"Because it's my job."
"Seriously," her voice turned hard. "What's the accusation?"
"You're suspected of orchestrating your friend's kidnapping. We need to interrogate you, but you decided to flee Brazil."
I moved closer, and she noticed.
"That's why you wanted to kill me?"
I would kill Elizabeth in so many ways now. Her body was dangerously close to mine.
"Are you afraid?" that response was for my ego.
"No," she lied; I could feel it in her breath.
I moved closer. How big was her pride?
"Prado..." I warned.
Elizabeth hesitated and took a step back. I smiled triumphantly. She moved towards me again, as if realizing too late that she had moved away.
"Be careful, I might think you're flirting with me," I teased.
"And what if I am?" she looked at me provocatively.
"I'm still a man, and you're still a woman."
"Very professional," she splashed water on me and tried to get out of the pool.
I grabbed her foot, causing her to fall back. She grabbed onto me, bringing our bodies together.
What a mess. No more whisky, even in my spare time. That feeling of Elizabeth pressed against me was damn good, feeling every bit of her, knowing it was very wrong.
I pushed Elizabeth down as if I intended to drown her, just to push her body away from mine and return to thinking professionally. She struggled a bit and resurfaced. She was afraid of me. But this time, it wasn't for my ego; I felt a little guilty for doing that. But it was my job; she wouldn't stop me from doing it.
"Let's do this: we get out of the pool, warm up, and go back to Brazil amicably. You'll be interrogated, and then we'll see what happens."
"You tried to drown me," she shouted, completely enraged.
"I'm not here to play games, Prado."
A loud bang followed. A shot hit the edge of the pool. Before I could react, Elizabeth jumped out of the pool and ran off. Another shot was fired in her direction.
"Prado," I yelled. But she kept running.
I got out of the pool in the opposite direction. Regretting not bringing my gun.
I tried to identify where the shots had come from, but the shooter was already gone. Whoever it was, either they were very inexperienced or did it to scare. Whatever the reason, it wasn't anyone from my team. I was here alone. Elizabeth was slippery, but she didn't seem like a threat. She was a small piece of the puzzle. I just needed to know who she was working for.