The Savvy Sistahs

by Brenda Jackson

  There was a knock on the door.”

  “Come in.”

  Apollo stuck his head in. “We’ve called 911 to take Ms. Bradford to the emergency room. The squad should be arriving any moment,” he said.

  Grey nodded. “That’s fine, but get her out of this suite,” Grey said to Apollo as he drew Brandy closer to him. “And tell Hall to get someone from housekeeping up here immediately, and make sure it’s someone who can be trusted. I want things to appear like an accident. We don’t want to spook any of the hotel guests.”

  Apollo nodded. “Right.” He then closed the door behind him.

  “Thanks, Grey,” Brandy whispered.

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He then proceeded to gather her closer into his arms and kiss her tears away.

  “Are you sure you still want to go out tonight, Brandy?” Grey asked, although he knew what her answer would be. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her get dressed. He had yet to put on his own clothes hoping she would change her mind about going anywhere tonight. His opinion was that she had gone through a lot today and the best thing was for her to rest her mind as well as her body. But it was apparent that she was determined to stay busy and not let what had happened earlier in her suite deter her plans.

  The trip to the police station had gone rather quickly thanks to the statement Sam Perrin had already given. Sadly, Jolene had been admitted to the hospital with third-degree burns on her hands. Brandy had been incredibly brave and he’d been proud of her and had told her so. She had smiled at him and had lifted her chin stubbornly, her internal strength pouring through and said, “I’m a Bennett and Bennetts are brave.” He’d heard the pride in her voice and couldn’t help but admire her strength, her tenaciousness, and her determination to put what she had endured behind her.

  Brandy turned away from the mirror and met his gaze. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around her middle. “I’m sure, Grey. I have to do this. If I don’t then Jolene would have won. I can’t let her. She has tormented my life for the past month and I can’t let her continue to do so. I have to get back to living a normal life. Like you said earlier, it’s over and I have to believe that.”

  Grey stood and crossed the room to her. “Believe it. The courts will decide what they will do with Jolene. If she’s had a mental breakdown like you believe then she will get the help she needs since she didn’t actually hurt anyone other than herself.”

  Brandy nodded. “Are you still coming with me tonight, Grey?”

  For a long, suspended moment his gaze held hers, then he asked, “Do you want me to?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, yes, I’ll come. It will take just a second for me to get dressed.” He turned to leave then turned back around to meet her gaze. “My flight will leave tomorrow around noon,” he added, his voice low and rough.

  Brandy inhaled a deep breath. She had always known that he would leave after finding out who’d been sending her those notes but she hadn’t counted on it being so soon. “You’re leaving tomorrow?”

  “Yes. There’s a case pending that I have to get back to.”

  Her shoulder lifted in an attempt at a casual shrug. “I understand.” Although she said the words, she really did not. Especially when she thought of the times they had spent together, specifically those intimate times. She would not, she could not believe that he slept with every woman he was paid to protect. A part of her believed things were different between them although he’d never said it.

  Grey released a long breath. If Brandy understood then she definitely had one up on him because he sure as hell didn’t. He couldn’t understand why he felt the need to separate himself from her, to put distance between them, the need to walk away. His jaw clenched in irritation. He knew the reason although now he couldn’t admit it. He needed time to think, to be sure. He had made a mistake once with Gloria and finding out the truth about her had damn near destroyed him.

  Unable to help himself he crossed the room back to her. His smile was sad as he tucked a finger beneath her chin and lifted his gaze to her and asked, “Can we talk?”

  Brandy bit her bottom lip as her gaze reflected emotions Grey couldn’t define. “Yes.”

  She was surprised when Grey sat down on the edge of the bed and tugged her into his lap. He then wrapped both arms around her and pulled her tightly to him. Automatically, naturally, her head went to his shoulder as he cuddled her securely in his arms.

  “When I first arrived here, Brandy, my primary concern was to do a job, to protect you and find out who was sending you those notes like your cousins had asked me to do. It was never my intent to become intimately involved with you.”

  “Yes, but you did,” she pointed out.

  Grey smiled. She wasn’t going to let him off easy. “Yes, and I don’t consider what we shared as some sort of erotic rump between the sheets or illicit tryst. Everything we shared, and everything we did to me was special.”

  “I thought it was special, too,” she said quietly, lifting her head slightly from his shoulder to look up at him.

  Grey stared down into her beautiful features, features that he knew he would carry in his heart for some time. “You were like a snowball effect and you caught me off guard, Brandy.” He shook his head as a light chuckle escaped his throat. “Now I know how Quinn felt the first time he met Alexia. You Bennett women are something else.”

  Brandy smiled proudly. “Yes, we are.”

  “Anyway,” Grey said, trying to get the discussion back on track, “I tried to do my job but discovered keeping you safe was no longer a job but an obsession. And it got worse every day. Words cannot describe how I felt the moment I realized that you were alone in this suite with Jolene Bradford. I had no idea what she planned to do although Perrin had mentioned to the authorities something about some chemicals she had thrown together. Since she delivered the food, I thought she planned to poison you or something and I literally lost it. I burst in here like a madman, without even thinking of the other possibilities that could be taking place inside of here. What if she had a gun or a knife or something? My bursting into here like that could have given her a reason to shoot you dead.”

  “Grey,” she said softly, interrupting his words. “She didn’t have a gun and I’m glad you and everyone showed up when you did.” She then took a deep, calming breath. “And you don’t have to explain things to me about us, I understand. That first time I laid eyes on you was at Alexia and Quinn’s twins’ birthday party. I knew you were a loner and then after talking to your sister Quinece and she explained the tragedy that had happened to your wife, and how you lost her, I—”

  “I didn’t lose my wife, Brandy.”

  Brandy blinked. “But—but I thought Quinece said she was killed in a car accident.”

  Grey nodded. “She was. But what none of the family ever knew, because I never told them, was that at the time of the car accident, Gloria had left me and was on her way to start another life with her lover. I found the note she left on the kitchen table when I flew home after getting word of the accident. The way she had planned it, was that I would come home during the end of my job assignment, which would have been about two weeks after she and her lover took off for parts unknown. According to her note, she would have contacted me eventually for a divorce.”

  Brandy’s jaw clenched in anger. “That’s pretty damn tacky.”

  Grey gave her a slight smile. “No, in fact it was rather sad, especially since she never reached her destination. And later I couldn’t help but wonder how her lover handled it when he’d discovered she never would.”

  “Did you ever find out who he was?”

  “Yes. He was at the funeral. When we made eye contact, I knew who he was. We didn’t say anything to each other but from the devastated look on his face I knew that he had loved her . . . although she hadn’t been his to love.”

  Grey sighed deeply, thinking that he would never forget that day for as long as he lived. “But then,” he went
on pragmatically, “she was never mine either. Gloria hated what I did for a living, the frequent trips away from home, the secrecy, and the long hours. When we first got married she swore she could handle the life of being a FBI agent’s wife, but in the end she couldn’t and sought love and passion with another man.”

  Brandy didn’t say anything. Instead she thought of Lorenzo and Jolene’s betrayal. Finding out about them had hurt and she could just imagine how Grey must have felt to discover his wife had not been faithful. She sighed deeply. “So where does that leave us, Grey?”

  There, she thought. She had placed her cards on the table by asking the burning question of the hour and she wouldn’t give him the chance to deny there was an “us.” There may be issues that needed to be worked out but there was still an “us” and he might as well get used to the idea.

  “I don’t know, Brandy. I truly don’t know about us. I know that I care for you deeply and—”

  “That’s not good enough, Grey.”

  Grey blinked. “Excuse me?”

  Brandy wiggled her way out of his arms and stood up in front of him and placed her hands on her hips. “I said that’s not good enough. Caring deeply for me just doesn’t cut it. I want someone who will love me unconditionally, a man I know I can trust, a man who is willing to take on my family, which includes the constant drama with my mother and father, and a man who is willing to father the babies I intend to have. The man I want to love me has a big shoe to fill because I plan on moving into that shoe. I’m tired of avoiding the toe and longing for the middle but avoiding it, too, because of the fear of getting hurt again. I know how it feels to hurt, Grey. Trust me when I say that I’ve experienced similar pain. But I’m willing to move forward and not look back.”

  Brandy reached down and took his hand and pulled him to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and skimmed her lips along the corner of his mouth and cheek. “If you want tonight to be the last night for us then that’s fine. I won’t like it but I’ll take it because I discovered awhile ago that I had fallen in love with you.”

  “Brandy, I—”

  “No, Grey, let me finish while I still have the nerve,” she whispered softly against his lips. “And because I love you, I’m willing to give you time to decide just how you feel about me. I’m aware that it takes some people a while to come to conclusions about certain things. But I don’t plan to wait forever, Grey. I plan to get on with my life with or without you. You are not a free man, but I am a free woman and I plan to stay that way. Being free means accepting the good things the future has to offer and not dwelling on the things your past life has brought you. I can no longer moan and groan over what Lorenzo and Jolene did to me just like you can’t get hung up on what Gloria did to you. Let it go and move on. And when and if you decide to do that…and if it’s not too late for us, I’ll be here.”

  She sighed and decided she had said enough. The ball was in his court. He could play it or lose it and dear God she hoped he would play it. She cuddled closer into his arms wondering what he was thinking while he was holding her so tight, like he never wanted to let her go. She had meant what she’d said. If he decided that tonight would be their last night together then that was fine. Somehow she would find the strength to move on. She’d done it once and she would do so again. She was a Bennett and like her Grampa Ethan always said, you had to be the one to take the reins of your life and seek your own happiness. And everyone owed it to themselves to be happy.

  She hoped and prayed that one day Grey would realize that.

  Chapter 30

  Praise God, I’m glad it’s over,” Carla said with profound relief in her voice as she hung up the telephone. Amber had called to tell her about Brandy’s ordeal with Jolene Bradford and to let her know that Brandy was okay.

  “Is everything all right?”

  Carla looked over and met Jesse’s concerned gaze. He stood in the middle of the kitchen doorway, his eyes glued to her. For a brief moment she had forgotten he was still there. He had dropped by earlier to spend time with Craig before his bedtime. Craig had fallen asleep while his father had been reading him a story and Jesse had been the one to tuck him in.

  “Yes, everything is fine. A good friend of mine was being stalked and I just got word that the stalker was caught.”

  Jesse nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Yes, so am I. I’ve been worried about Brandy and when I go to bed tonight, I’ll definitely be able to rest better.”

  Jesse swallowed deeply. He didn’t want to think of her in bed but was having a hard time not doing so. Every time he entered her home, which had been on a daily basis lately, to see his son, he would have a physical reaction the moment he saw her. And tonight it was worse than ever. He crossed his legs so the lust that was ripping through him and settling dead center in his midsection wouldn’t be too obvious. Carla had begun getting comfortable around him, he could tell. She had started letting her guard down more and more. Whenever he dropped by, he enjoyed seeing her as much as he enjoyed seeing his son. And although every cell in his body screamed for him to make a move, he had decided to be patient and take one day at a time, and he could see the results.

  He could also feel the need of his frustrations.

  He wanted her and wanted to rediscover all those feminine secrets he had uncovered the last time. He wanted to sink his hard shaft into her while kissing her to oblivion. He wanted to—

  “Jesse?”

  He blinked upon realizing she’d been talking to him. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  She smiled. “I said that I talked to Sonya today. She’s decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving and came up with an idea.”

  “What idea is that?”

  “She offered to help me with dinner if you can get your friend Mike Kelly to join us.”

  Jesse lifted a brow. “She wants to invite Mike?” he asked surprised.

  “Yes, evidently they’ve run into each other a few times and she thinks he’s a nice guy.”

  Jesse nodded. “How do you feel about an extra person coming for dinner?”

  “I don’t have a problem with it and she wanted to know if you would ask him.”

  Jesse nodded again as he took a couple of steps into her kitchen. “Yes, I’ll ask him although I’m not sure he’ll come. Mike is somewhat of a loner during the holidays.”

  Like you, Carla wanted to say but decided not to. This past week had been busy with a lot of legal matters. Craig’s last name had officially been changed to Devereau and when she’d seen the name written on the legal document for the first time, she had felt a profound sense of pride that the man who had fathered her child had wanted to claim him. She knew that in addition to the transfer of Osborne Computer Network stock, Jesse had also established a very hefty trust fund for his son. There was no doubt about it, Craig was a blessed little boy and she intended to make sure he grew up knowing it.

  “I’m sure Sonya would like it if he were to come,” she added when the kitchen became quiet. Seeing him standing in the middle of the floor suddenly made her feel incredibly hot, aroused. Those things were constant whenever he came over for a visit. It didn’t take much for her to remember that one night they had spent together, and how easily he had fit between her legs, how tender and caring he’d been upon realizing that she was still a virgin. And his lovemaking had sent the both of them soaring, not knowing at the time that they were in the process of creating a very beautiful little boy. She would never forget how it felt when the weight of his body had pressed hers down into the mattress while he smoothly and rhythmically thrust into her over and over again while making love to her mouth at the same time.

  “Carla?”

  She blinked and swallowed deeply, quickly composing herself when he recaptured her attention. “Yes?”

  “I said it’s time for me to leave.”

  She noticed he already had his jacket in his hand and was putting it on. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  W
hen they reached the door he stopped and turned to her. “It still may be too early yet, but do you have any idea what Craig wants for Christmas?”

  She laughed and when she did a disarming smile curved the corners of his mouth. “Trust me I have plenty ideas of what he wants,” she said.

  “Then maybe the two of us can go shopping after Thanksgiving.”

  Her stomach fluttered at the thought of spending time with him without Craig as a buffer. He had suggested that they go out once but she had flatly refused. But now, a part of her wanted to spend time with him. “Yes, I’d like that.”

  “All right. You can let me know when. I’m sure it will benefit the both of us to get an early start.”

  “Yes, I agree.” Carla cleared her throat and looked at him, her gaze searching his in the foyer’s dim lightning. He wasn’t making any attempt to leave but at the same she hadn’t opened the door for him to leave either. She swallowed deeply when he took a step closer to her.

  “I’m glad we agree on that,” he said huskily.

  “Yeah, me too,” she said taking her own step toward him and automatically reaching out and smoothing her hand beneath his jacket, her palm coming to rest on his chest. The contact sent an immediate shudder through him, one that went straight to her. Ultimate awareness, sexual attraction, chemistry reaction…all the things she had tried downplaying, ignoring and avoiding over the past weeks hit them dead center—right in his midsection and right between her legs.

  “Have I ever told you how incredibly beautiful you look each and every time I come to see Craig?” he asked huskily.

  Carla licked at her mouth and couldn’t help noticing how Jesse’s gaze was focused on her tongue that she was using to wet her lips. “No, you’ve never told me that.”

  A sensual smile curved his lips. “Then I’m telling you now. Every time I drop by you look incredibly beautiful.”

  “Thanks for the compliment.”