Free Crash Landing by Lori Wilde Page B

roasting the meat and drinking beer.
    “Why did you think I was a spy?”
    “I’m sorry about accusing you,” he said. “I’m jumpy about it.”
    “Why would someone be spying on you?”
    Gibb cast a glance over his shoulder as if he suspected someone was watching them right now.
    “Relax,” she said. “For better or worse, it’s only you and me out here.”
    “I’ve been burned by spies twice in two years.”
    “Fisby Corp?”
    “Yes.”
    “Here, hold this.” Sophia handed him her skewered wiener roasted to perfection. She rose up, dusted the sand from her bottom and went to the Igloo chest to retrieve hot dog buns and the squeeze bottle of mustard. “Continue.”
    “Because I invest in innovative products and entrepreneurs that I believe can earn me a high rate of return on my investments, there are a lot of people who want to copy what I’m doing or even steal from me and the people I’ve invested in.”
    “Which is why you wanted me to fly you to Key West instead of summoning your own jet to Libera. Someone could be tracking you.”
    “Exactly.”
    She put mustard on the buns and one by one, took the roasted wieners from him, slid them off the tree branches and nestled them into the hot dog buns. She passed one to Gibb, took one for herself and sat cross-legged back down beside him.
    For a moment, they ate in companionable silence. It was nice; nothing but the sound of the crackling fire and whispering surf. A half-moon lit the sky.
    “These spies are after whatever project you’ve invested in that’s brought you to Bosque de Los Dioses?” she asked.
    “That’s right. Although to be honest, I can’t say there are spies for sure. I’ve just gotten paranoid.”
    “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, fool me a third time and—”
    “You’ve got it.” He nodded. “People start questioning my reputation and business suffers.”
    “But why Bosque de Los Dioses? Why not somewhere else in the world?”
    “Costa Rica is well known for its environmentally conscious philosophy. It was a good fit with my project.”
    “So this is an ecological advancement?”
    “It is. Plus the seclusion of Bosque de Los Dioses makes it a perfect place to build our prototype in as much secrecy as possible.”
    “Except Costa Rica is not known for, shall we say, an aggressive work ethic.”
    “You have hit the nail on the head in regard to the development issues I’ve run into.”
    “This is all very exciting.” She rubbed her palms together. “Innovations and spies, high corporate drama going on in my little corner of the world. Can you talk about it at all?”
    Gibb hesitated.
    “I’m not a spy, I swear.” She raised the palm of one hand, put the other down flat like she was pledging on a bible. Her mother had loved courtroom dramas, too.
    “I won’t get into the details,” he said. “It’s pretty technical anyway, but I can tell you this much, if the invention works the way the inventor believes it will, it has the potential to revolutionize the way people travel.”
    “Without oil or gas I’m assuming since it’s a green technology.”
    “Correct. The prototype power source for the special track system will extend from Bosque de Los Dioses to Monteverde, connecting the resort to the nearest village.”
    “Wait a minute, let me understand this. You’re connecting the mountain retreat that is currently inaccessible except by hiking or bush plane to the nearest village, so that people can go up to Bosque de Los Dioses by another means of transportation.”
    His wide smile brightened his face. “That’s right. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be able to—” He broke off. Eyes widening, he stared at her. “I’ll put you out of business.”
    She put a hand to her throat, swallowed hard. “It sounds like it.”
    Gibb rubbed a palm across his mouth. “Sophia, it never occurred to me that my project would impact your business.”
    “Why would it?” She