Bound: The Pentagon Group, Book 3 (5 page)

True to his nature, Gill never told Perla of our affiliation. I’d preferred it that way. He had kept my confidences a well-kept secret, however, warning me of Andrea’s assignment. It was too late to do much at the time because I was in Spain, trying to stay away from Perla. At which point, she had the accident, and I couldn’t bring myself to see her injured. I returned at my appointed time, conveniently after she was healed. I blamed myself. I reasoned if I were there with her, driving her to and from her home, she would never have been harmed. Those tiny scars on her beautiful face were a lasting reminder it could’ve been much worse.

Gill’s notification of Andrea’s assignment gave me time to mentally prepare myself to tell Perla of my past. After our first break up, I learned honesty was best, but it wasn’t second nature. I’d learned to lie a lot in this business. My poker face was legendary. My indifferent attitude was not learned behavior, but a childhood flaw hardwired within me. Only with Perla did I want desperately to be more like other men. The fact she affected me so much made me fearful. I didn’t like the feeling of caring for someone so much. Sonia was a business deal, for lack of a better term. It was an unspoken arrangement. While at the time I thought I was in love with Sonia, after falling in love with Perla I realized my marriage to Sonia was convenience.

Until I fell hard for Perla, I’d never known what love could actually be. I failed to learn from my mistakes with Sonia, approaching Perla as a business deal was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I needed to consider the prospect of her being my woman for the long term, instead of a quick transaction.

Perla got under my skin so quickly. I hated to admit I’d been feeling a void, and Perla filled it, swelling my heart until I thought it would explode. The sensation was potent, making me irrational. With her gone, and my not having control, I was feeling hollow again without her.

“If there isn’t anything else, I’ll leave you. If you need me, as always, I’m here for you day and night.” Gil offered with pursed lips.

I nodded, and watched him leave.

When I entered her apartment, I first saw the wall where I took her in anger. It was like an apparition, seeing the image of her against the wall as I fucked her hard. I remembered her scent; the feel of her body; and her attempts at restraining the sounds of her pleasure. I blinked to remove the moment from my present memory. If not for that moment, we wouldn’t have had our turning point. We wouldn’t have married. We planned to work for our future, and now, there may be no future.

To get a feel for her, I took a good look at her apartment. Her last apartment was so small. We both couldn’t fit in the space. I could see why she wanted to work toward living like this, like us, The Pentagon Group members. While I knew she wouldn’t just take money, preferring to work toward her earnings, I didn’t expect her to go from all her jobs and small apartment to a corporate position at my company and live in this impressive two bedroom apartment in the hub of Boston.

It was strange how I relished quiet, but without Perla it was disturbingly soundless. I missed the sound of her voice; her laugh; and watching her read on the couch in my t-shirt. I grunted my frustration. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt my muscles tense all over, resisting the urge to punch something. The apartment felt like it was closing in on me. Oddly enough, I felt stinging in my eyes; an unfamiliar sensation I’d resisted my entire life. I became angry again to stop myself from shedding the tears, which were brimming to the surface. I sniffled, and wiped at the stream of tears which broke through. I coughed away the lump in my throat, and thought of my next action steps.

I rested the folder with the phone numbers on her dining table where we signed our prenup just a couple of days ago. I couldn’t bring myself to calling her friends and family. I placed my cellphone on top and looked around wondering what was happening to her this moment.

My body tensed beside Brady’s body. I felt his fingers clutching my waist. Through the thin linen dress I wore, his rapid heartbeat vibrated through his fingers onto my flesh. I didn’t like the dual sensations I was feeling: terror for our future and arousal because of the nearness of his muscular body. I’d hoped my desire didn’t show through the thin fabric of the dress. I quickly reasoned my reaction was about the adrenalin, and not an attraction to Brady.

I saw the way Aida looked at us when he clutched me close. She was undoubtedly still in love with him. The subtle frown was not lost on anyone who has experienced jealousy. Her eyes skimmed over our bodies, and I could see the burning embers of hatred in her gaze. I looked over when Tony entered the room. Now there were three against us two. All I could think was how I would die.

“Does she feel as good in you’ve imagined?” Aida questioned. I turned to look up at him, and his jaw clenched tightly, grinding his anger down. Instead of pulling me tighter, Brady released me. He pushed me behind him, intending to take the full brunt of her revenge.

“If you want me dead that’s fine Aida, but not her. She’s innocent in all of this.”

“Hmm, I’d say she’s far from innocent. You know all about her. The burlesque dancing in Vegas. You’ve seen the sex tape for yourself. I’ve seen a copy too. She’s a naughty girl. And I’m sure you were shocked and hurt when you saw video footage of her and your friend getting it on in your manager’s office. I wonder how you came about the video. I know how Perla received the tape and sought Eric’s help to alter it,” she pointed at Eric behind her. “You’re so clever in your transactions, finding a way to use it against her and your friend, but she outsmarted you, didn’t she?” Brady remained silent, listening to her go on.

“She’s been through enough because of you. Don’t bring this up,” he commanded angrily.

“Because of me?” She asked. “You were the one sniffing around Parisi like a horny dog,” she said ‘horny dog’ in Spanish, and I wondered if he understood. He expanded his chest broadly.

“We’ve both made mistakes. You can take your anger out on me, but let her go. I can have one of my staff take her to the airport. I’ll accept whatever you want to do to me,” he said more gently.

“What staff? Everyone who was here when we arrived has been relieved of duty. It’s just the five of us here,” she informed. I prayed his staff were safe. No one else should have been harmed because of us.

I walked out from behind Brady, and he tried to grab my arm, but I managed to pull away. “Okay, Aida. You have us here. Stop talking about it, and do it already,” I said resolutely.

“You’re not in charge here. Even animals play with their kills, so I will take my time playing with you,” she said. “He’s going to hear me out first while you two wonder when the trigger will be pulled,” she smiled maliciously. “Have a seat Brady. I have a few things on my mind,” she ordered. Brady didn’t comply. I turned around to look at him. When our eyes locked, I motioned slightly toward the couch. It was obvious he didn’t like anyone telling him what to do. And for a split second, I wondered if he hated the idea of a woman pushing him around.

Raised by a single mother of three boys, I knew Maggie laid a heavy hand when raising her boys. I’d heard her very gruff commands toward him on many occasions. While he resisted Maggie’s directives, he ultimately ended up doing as she demanded. But this scenario was different. Aida was a former lover, who was a woman scorned, and the Alpha male standing behind me was not going to be taken down a few pegs by an insignificant woman.

I took a seat on the plush, suede, cream colored sofa. Brady sauntered over, looking at Aida all the while, and sat down next to me. His body radiated the heat of his fury. It was palpable. Aida appeared to be enjoying her pre-killing tease. She smiled when he sat as commanded.

“I need some answers. Not just for me to know, but for Perla too.”

“Alright, I’ll play your game, but don’t think I’m going to allow you to harm us,” his eyes fired much like his declaration. “Proceed,” he directed smugly.

“I want you to tell Perla everything.”

“And what exactly is everything?”

“The whole story of how long you’ve been obsessed with her and how it came to be that Pentagon was interested in buying Parisi. Tell her how you seduced me to get a good price on the sale of Parisi. And how when you got what you wanted, you threw me away. I sacrificed a lot for you. My family lost their company because of you . . .” She ordered.

“You’ve given an accounting already. Perla knows enough,” he said. Her face couldn’t contain her fury.

“You drove me insane. And what did you say to me?” She spat.

He remained quiet, staring her down as I looked back and forth between them. I tried to imagine their dynamic when he was seducing her. He must have worked really hard to suppress the disdain I saw in his eyes. Couldn’t she see it? Brady held so much animosity he could never have loved her. Aida was delusional.

I have seen love, seeing it in Matt. Brady’s eyes were devoid of any tender feelings for her. Not even lust brightened his eyes. There was vacant emotion. I looked over at Eric and noted indifference too. He wasn’t the jealous lover watching his woman exact her vengeance on a former lover. He appeared detached too. Tony just looked menacing as always. I shut my eyes, and awaited Brady’s response, but he didn’t speak.

“You don’t remember? It went something like this, ‘All is game in business.’

He didn’t respond, stroking the five o’clock shadow he sported. A slight grin creaked through and I could see the smugness of his entitlement.

“My love for you wasn’t business, Brady.”

The similarities between us struck me. I’d said the same words to Matt. It was a horrible truth that the Pentagon men used us in the same fashion. However, Matt didn’t treat me the same as Brady treated Aida. Matt actually fell in love with me and offered me his world to keep me and make up for his transgressions. Brady offered Aida pittance to remove her from his life.

“Apparently you didn’t end up as badly as you made us think. You’re looking good,” he informed, looking her up and down.

“Do I?” She asked coquettishly, smiling at him.

I grimaced at her gullibility. A simple compliment had her gushing like a school girl. I peered over at Eric. There was still no emotion, and I knew then he had no true interest in her either. He looked at me and I saw softness veil the menacing appearance he had maintained since he abducted me. Looking away, I returned to look at Aida.

“Absolutely. You’ve always looked great. The red hair suits you,” he admired.

“Oh, better than the blonde you suggested?”

I bit my lip knowing she was seeing right through his pretense.

“Much. With your fair skin and freckles, it makes you look ravishing,” he responded. The cat and mouse game was grating on my nerves. Aida walked up to him, close to both of us. As she reached out to touch his jawline, Brady recoiled away from her caress. By recoiling, his true feelings were extracted, and she could not have interpreted otherwise.

“I guess you won’t do anything to ruin your chances with Perla, now would you?” An imperceptible quiver of her lower lip made me sad for her.

“Kind of hard to get it up with three people in the room trying to kill me,” he quipped. Aida laughed. She bent down and grabbed his face pulling him and leaning into a kiss. I grimaced knowing she’d just kissed Eric and he was standing right behind her. Brady didn’t respond. He kept his lips pursed, refusing her a taste of him.

“Just as I thought; not much difference in your kiss now as it was over a year ago,” she retorted.

“Perla, I can’t tell you if he’s a great kisser because there was never any passion in his affection. I know the difference now.” She turned to look at Eric, who stood stoically. I wondered if he was just being the professional hit-man she hired or the detached lover.

“No. Brady liked to fuck hard, preferably with my ass in the air or tied up in bed in pitch black,” she said. I looked over at Brady who was wiping away the red lipstick she left behind. His cheeks had turned crimson. Her vulgar words were appalling. I couldn’t believe how much she’d revealed about their sexual connection in front of a current lover.

“You didn’t seem to mind it, Aida. As I remember, you begged for it. The rougher the better, right?” Brady couldn’t hold back his animosity.

I put my hand on his knee to stop him from speaking, and the muscles relaxed under my soft touch. I hoped he understood the gesture meant he needed to curb his outbursts. When I returned my gaze to her, I saw her resentment in the narrowing of her eyes, and I removed my hand quickly.

“Aida, I know he hurt you, but this is not the way to get closure,” I explained. “The best revenge is living well. You’re looking great. You have money. We can both offer you more and you can live richly for the rest of your life. We’ll never tell anyone, if you let us go.” I said.

“You won’t get a chance to tell anyone because I won’t ever let you go,” she informed.

“So Brady, do you want to tell her how long you’ve been pining for her?”

“She learned it all already. She’s made her choice,” I could see the muscle of his jaw flex, and I felt the muscles of his thighs once again tense as it contracted away from mine.

“Oh, I can see how it pains you. I’m delighted to see it,” she celebrated with a bright smile and a juvenile clap of her hands. She was giddy with her slow tease. I realized in the moment I’d never known her.

“Perla, do you know what this place is?” She asked with a gleam in her eye. I shook my head, ‘no’, glancing around the expansive room.

“This is Playa de Perlas. It’s your estate. He built this for you.” She said. I heard him clear his throat. I turned to look at him. His cheeks and neck reddened by mortification. I looked around once again for evidence of her revelation.

“No. There’s nothing about this place which reflects me.”

“You haven’t seen the entire place. You’ll see his master bedroom . . .” Aida exposed.

“What have you smoked to give you such a delusion, Aida?” He stated gruffly. Fury coated his face as he ground his fists on his knees.

“Well, this is your refuge . . . paradise in the home country of Perla’s mother. Didn’t you hope to bring her here once you conquered her heart after taking her away from my brother?”

He shook his head, gulping down his words.

“Aida, this is just a coincidence. Brady is a family friend from long ago. I’m sure this all means nothing.”

“If you think fifteen acres of prime beach property in a resort town is nothing or a coincidence, you are more gullible than I thought.”

The confusion in my face prompted her to laugh. When she contained herself, she continued to explain the history of Playa de Perlas.

“You see, he’s been building this place for years, for much longer than the plans to take over Parisi or Liberty, or even to build Pentagon. He bought this land many years ago for development. Once he planned to develop it for the two of you, he concocted his plan to win you away from Ben,” she informed. He went to jump her and with my whole body, I turned and held him down with both arms.

“It’s okay,” I said to him softly. After a few moments, seething while I repeated my consoling words, he looked at me and shut his eyes tight.

If Aida had been trying to humiliate him, she’d succeeded. A mixture of emotions went through me as I watched him. My memory raced back to when Brady was known to me as Shay. He was such a sweet young teenager, caring and attentive. Before me was a man battling with disgrace and submission when he only ever held power.

“He planned to present you this paradise when you accepted him as a lover. He was hoping to court you and whisk you away from poverty, but the doctor got in the way. You should see the texts and emails Brady wrote about him. I’m surprised he didn’t meet a terrible death . . . yet,” she concluded. I gasped, holding my hands to my mouth.

“No. I would never hurt Matt. He’s like my brother,” Brady assured, touching my shoulder. I recoiled. “Why would you believe her? She’s playing with us,” he whispered.

“The problem is Brady, you’ve been the one playing everyone, so why would any of us believe the truth coming from you. You’re a master manipulator. Your success is a great indication of the lengths you’d go.”

“Really, Perla. Don’t listen to her. She’s the one who faked her own death and kidnapped you. Her credibility is nil.”

“Playa de Perlas. What does it mean? Tony?”

“Pearl Beach,” Tony replied gruffly. I turned to him and he looked disinterested in being involved.

“Pearl? Perla? Doesn’t Perla mean Pearl?” She directed at me. I didn’t respond. “Doesn’t it!” It was more of a directive to answer than a question. I nodded. “Why would a man name this very pricey estate on the water Pearl Beach if he didn’t love a woman name Perla?” Her attention was still on me. “Why did you name this place as such, Brady?” He didn’t respond.

“It doesn’t matter. The question is, why are you here on my property, holding us captive?”

“I ask the questions,” she claimed, taking control again. Aida sat on the modern wood coffee table in front of us. I winced at her bad manners and instantly reminded myself her whole behavior was incivility at its finest.