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 wit
h 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.
“Brady had it all planned out. He was going to encounter you one day by chance and reconnect with you in the name of old friends reminiscing, and he was going to court you into an affair. It would be easy for him, using the memory of your time together while your mother lay ill and needing his mother’s expert care, especially when your marriage to Benny was failing.” She spun the tale.
“Then what Brady? What event made you change your mind? Did your moral compass somehow realign and you decided to go after me instead? Was it easier to get in the pants of the CEO of Parisi than a lowly director of finance to get the business you desperately wanted?” She formulated. I really wanted to know the answer, but anything I said or asked could make her angrier.
“It was a strategy, Aida. Something you wouldn’t know about seeing as the extent of your experience was a job given to you by your ‘papi’,” he retorted. I bit my lip and lowered my eyes to shield me from the wrath I anticipated. Instead I heard an immense, guttural laugh. I shivered.
“What about Liberty Inn? Did you have something to do with my getting the job because you wanted the property?” I blurted out my question. He looked at me quizzically. The look in his face made me think he had nothing to do with it.
“Oh, he can’t get credit for that,” Aida said with a veiled giggle. We both looked at her. “I did it. A little computer magic Eric helped me with. He made it happen. I don’t even know how, but it was perfect, wasn’t it?” She said. “Tell her, Eric.”
He refused to answer, but when she turned to look at him, he relented. “It was simple. Liberty placed an ad for assistance. You created an alert on your account for a job search engine. I sent you the ad as an alert. And on their end I made sure they received no other job applications but yours. Quite simple, actually,” he smiled, thinking himself clever.
It was Aida who caused everything to fall in line just to get revenge on Brady. The realization was like a slap in the face. I felt sick.
“He wanted the property. He wanted you. I thought let’s see how we can get both of these things to happen. Eric had the means to make it so,” she revealed her hand.
All the while I blamed Brady, but it was Aida, who orchestrated everything for revenge. I felt so foolish and angry with her for interfering in our lives, but I had to suppress it. It was important for me and Brady to figure out a way to get out of this mess.
*****
The silence while processing all of the information helped me realize I’d been too quick to judge Brady and the rest of the Pentagon men without knowing the complete picture. I had no idea of
Aida’s wickedness.
“When did you start planning all of this, Aida?” I asked softly, needing to know.
“When I discovered he was fixated on you and you were ousted from Parisi, I hired Eric to find out more about Brady. He tapped into his electronic communication systems, both business and personal, and retrieved all the pieces of information I needed to conclude he used me, wanted you and my business, and eventually Liberty for Pentagram. I’d known for some time.”
“But you sat on the information for a year and a half?” I asked. She was bidding her time. She’d been pretending to be dead for almost a year. “Why did you wait so long to execute your plan? I mean sooner than the kidnapping you’d attempted several weeks ago.” I asked.
“Haven’t you heard the little refrain about revenge being served cold? I very well couldn’t complete this so quickly when planning requires a lot of time. It hurts more when executed,” she emphasized ‘executed.’
“When did you start working on Parisi?” I asked Brady. He seemed to think through the timeline.
“A little over three years ago. I approached her with our interest in purchasing Parisi. She was interested, but her father wasn’t. We started seeing each other much later. I gave her tips on how to make it feasible to sell.”
“And then the money started disappearing soon after she met you, which started all the problems for me. This was all about me like she admitted on the plane,” I said.
He looked at me quizzically.
“You dumped her after you got the signed memorandum of understanding to purchase Parisi, right?”
He nodded. “I started pulling back, working other angles of getting other businesses for Pentagram. Liberty was the most difficult to acquire, but I didn’t know you’d end up working there. It was a miracle. It makes sense she would manipulate your employment with Liberty,” he concluded. I nodded.
“Did you ever tell her to accuse me of embezzlement?”
“Never. She asked for advice on how to get her father to agree on the sale. I gave her hypotheticals of what I’ve seen in business for large, closed corporations like Parisi. I never told her to accuse anyone in particular. She made the decision on her own.”
Bound: The Pentagon Group, Book 3 Page 5
