Chapter 32
Once my luggage was unpacked and put away, I took another shower, dressed, and was about to call the gang to see what we were doing for dinner. The moment I turned my cell phone back on, it started to ring. I hated that I didn’t just use the phone provided when I saw who was calling.
“Yes?” I answered drily.
“Why do you continually try to test me, Bianca?”
My eyes rolled heavenward. I cursed myself for not taking international calling temporarily off of my phone. I wanted to hang up so badly, but knew it was best to get it over with then, instead of ruining the entire trip. “I don’t want to argue with you, Jordan.”
I jumped, nearly dropping the phone when Jordan hollered into it. “I don’t appreciate you choosing them over me.” He then seemed to catch himself and lowered his volume. “But, don’t worry; as I’ve said before, what you won’t do, another will. Enjoy your trip.” The call was disconnected and then I couldn’t stop thinking about the floozy that was taking my place.
Thinking fast, I dialed Seven’s phone and got her voicemail. Then I tried Snake’s and the same deal. Sledge and I weren’t on the best of terms, but he was my last hope.
“This is Sledge,” he answered with a deeper voice than I recalled him having.
I signed the cross over me praying that he wouldn’t blow me off. “Sledge, it’s . . . Bianca.”
There was a dead silence followed by, “Hmm, Bianca?” he responded like I had some nerve contacting him. “What could you possibly want with me?”
I fidgeted with a nearby pillow. “Are you going to China?”
He laughed out loud. “Look here, bitch, I know why you’re calling, but let’s get something straight: I don’t give a damn who Jordan screws just so long as it ain’t me, and I mean that literally and figuratively. See where I’m going with this?”
“Yes, but—”
“But fuck you for that little stunt you pulled. If you knew what was best for you, you’d stay away from those people.”
I sighed deeply. “Sledge, look—”
“And since you don’t know a gift horse when it’s staring you in the mouth . . . while you’re at it, lose my fucking number.” The phone went dead.
My heart was telling me to get on the first thing smoking, but my head was telling me to let it go. I tried calling Jordan back, but got his voicemail three times in a row. On the fourth call, I left him a threatening message, but then I erased it after listening to how pathetic I sounded.
I sat on the bed with my knees drawn to my chest willing the phone to ring with Jordan, saying that he was just playing. I didn’t realize that Shelia had come into the room until I felt her hand on my shoulder. It nearly scared the hell out of me.
“Are you okay?” She took a napkin that she was using to catch the perspiration from her drink to dab at the tears falling from my eyes. “What’s wrong, B?” She sat down on the bed next to me.
I looked at her, not wanting to reveal how much I was in over my head when it came to my feelings for Jordan. Then again, I figured that she would understand more so than anyone. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Do about what?” Shelia asked as she stood. It was then that I took in her attire. She was dressed appropriately considering her normal taste. She wore a leopard-print, strapless maxi dress that swept the floor and red accessories. Her hair was in a playful ponytail and her makeup was not as heavy as she normally preferred it. She was absolutely stunning when she wasn’t so overdone.
I dried my tears and blew my nose before spilling. “It’s Jordan.”
Shelia placed her drink down and threw her hands up in the air. “What in the hell has he done now? You bet not let him come here and ruin our time with you. Hell, we barely get to see you anymore, thanks to his selfish ass, as it is.”
Now, I really felt bad—not because Jordan was coming, but that I was considering leaving them behind to be with him. “No, it’s nothing like that. I . . . I can’t explain the way that I’m feeling without coming off as sprung.”
Shelia tilted her head back in laughter and sat back down. “Oh! Now I see.” She hit the side of my arm. “Bianca’s in love!”
“Who’s in lust, confusing it with love?”
Cody interrupted when he walked in with Reggie and the others in tow.
“Do any of you know how to knock? I could’ve been in here naked.”
“Chile, it ain’t like we have never seen you in your birthday suit before,” Reggie said as he claimed a seat on the bed next to Shelia. “Trust, hunty, none of us do fish unless it’s from the ocean, Ms. Thing.” He snapped his fingers as the rest of the guys cosigned.
I didn’t mind Reggie, Cody, and Shelia being all up in my business, but I didn’t feel comfortable divulging any of my personal going-ons in front of the others. I was glad when Reggie interjected because I didn’t feel like explaining my current state of mind.
“We don’t have time to sit around twiddling our thumbs. I’ve made reservations and we only have twenty minutes to get there, so brang ya asses.” Reggie got up and the rest of us followed him to a chauffeured motorboat that took us to one of the nearby restaurants.
• • •
After tossing and turning throughout the night, I decided that I was going to head back to the States to assist Jordan on his China mission. I knew all of this went against the promise I’d made to God, but I had to go. I only prayed that He would forgive me, for I was admittedly weak, when it came to this man. What was important to him should be just as equally important to me since I was, after all, his woman. There was no way that I was going to face my friends with what I was about to do. I took the chicken way out and I’d left a note with one of the on-call wait staff. There was also information regarding a wire transfer to Reggie with more than enough money to take care of anything that they would need.
A flight was due to leave within the next couple hours to Los Angeles and like that, I’d left Bora Bora with my tail tucked between my legs, abandoning my friends.
Chapter 33
Aboard a jetliner, Jordan bobbed his head to whatever music that was playing on his Beats headphones while staring blankly out of the window and paying me no mind. He had a lot of gall to be ignoring me after I’d ditched my friends to be here for him. Once I’d made it back to Dallas, I learned that there wasn’t anyone else. He knew my jealousy would get me back to him where he said I belonged. Every time my eyes wandered over to Sledge, I would catch him smirking at me, shaking his head and making it known that he thought I was a damn fool. I didn’t even bother to confront him; it was the truth. Seven and Snake were their usual selves, but I still felt like they were all laughing at me for being so weak. My phone rang constantly with the numbers of those that I’d left behind in Bora Bora. I didn’t have the courage to face them in person, let alone over the phone.
I was leery of flight attendants on private planes after that last fiasco. Paying close attention to the tall, but petite brunette, I couldn’t help but think that there was something oddly familiar about her. Her blue eyes were icy, haunting, and her accent I couldn’t place. Her presence was driving me insane. Or could it be that I was finally losing it?
“Would you like something to drink, beautiful?” she asked me.
I was taken aback for a second and she seemed to have noticed the change in my demeanor. “No. No, thank you,” I answered, still unsure why she irked me.
Six pairs of eyes seemed as if they were burning a hole through me. It was as if they suspected something. To play it off, I yawned and pulled my shades over my eyes. Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable, or was it my conscience playing tricks on me, making me see, and hear things, that were impossible.
According to what Jordan had told me, Easter was set to meet up with The Collector to discuss the Louvre and taking out their number one enemy, which was him. Jordan’s head on a platter was their main priority for the moment. Once the pilot let us know that we were at cruising altitude, only then
did Jordan take off his earphones to address us.
After he got our attention, he didn’t waste a minute. “As you all know, this could go either way, but I don’t plan on being the one that it goes badly for. Easter is planning to meet with a Mr. Novikov, a Russian spy, that I’ve had a few run-ins with some years back. Where I have the upper hand is that Easter doesn’t know that the beef Novikov and I had has long since been squashed. I tipped him off on an ambush, which resulted in him being able to get rid of a few enemies and saved him from an untimely death. For that information, he now practically owes me his life.”
“How do you know he’s as indebted to you as you think he is? That setup could’ve been a ploy to make you think you have an ally in him.” Snake hurriedly spoke up out of turn.
“He’s right, Jordan. How can we trust that Novikov isn’t in on what Easter and The Collector is planning?”
“I’ve known Easter for years. I know how he thinks. He wants to be me and there’s nobody who knows Jordan Lei better than I do.” He chuckled as he displayed his arrogance. “Easter has a bad habit of trusting those that he feels have an axe to grind with me, and Novikov is no different. Snake, when you went to him that night in Paris, you saw it firsthand. He was more interested in your hate for me, than he was in conducting business. His obsession with me is to the point that he literally let you take over his operation when he allowed you to choose who you wanted to work with. I would have never allowed an idiotic move like that. I would’ve found another man for the job. Nor would I have disclosed that much information on a first meeting. Like with you, Snake, he feels that he has a friend in Novikov, and that’s what I want him to think.”
Seven interrupted Jordan’s self-absorbed speech. “You’re so sure of yourself. Are you certain that you’re not the one who’s being played?” She smirked.
Jordan rubbed his goatee that he’d recently started sporting. “To answer your question, I’ve placed Novikov in a number of situations to see where his loyalties were. He’s passed them all with flying colors each and every time, proving to be a man of integrity. It doesn’t hurt that just about everyone on Easter’s payroll is beholden to me in some way or another. Besides, his constant contact with Snake; how do you think I’m able to stay on top of everything that he has going?”
Sledge laughed out loud while slapping his knee. His actions were misplaced since no humor could be found in what was being said. To me, it’s like that jab was directed at me. “That Giovanna sure is one of a kind. When are you going to stop playing games with these little girls . . . ,” he pointed at me, “and make an honest woman out of her, my man?”
Jordan’s eyes narrowed and he was about to say something slick when the flight attendant seemed to appear from out of nowhere. “Is there anything I can get for any of you?” Sledge raised his empty glass that once contained scotch. She then looked at me. “Anything for you, beautiful?” That eerie feeling came over me again when I gazed up at her, but before I could respond, Jordan dismissed her.
“We’re fine,” he practically snapped. “Sledge, make this the last time you disrespect Bianca.”
Sledge threw his hands up in surrender. “Chill out, man. I was just fucking with you.”
“Now is not the time. We need to be focused!” Jordan’s eyes connected with mine. I could tell that he wanted me not to react to what was just said, but how could I not.
“Who in the hell is Gio—” And there it was, the bitch on the magazine covers and the woman who Easter was going on and on about. It was something about her that I didn’t like, but to find out that she’d been with my man, intensified my displeasure for her. I felt like such an ass. Was I just keeping Jordan company until her mission was complete? I buried my face in my hands and didn’t pay the rest of the trip any mind until the pilot announced that we were about to land.
From the Shek Kong private airport in Hong Kong, we were swiftly whisked away by helicopter and landed on an estate that had its own heliport pad. From the glass rooftop, I could see a beautiful view of an indoor swimming pool. The house was huge with fifteen fireplaces, Scandinavian marble flooring, a four-story solarium, twenty-four-karat-gold gilded ceilings, a glass elevator, and an array of other high-end features. It was amazing to me how Jordan knew people that lived so lavishly, yet I’d never seen where he called home. I was beginning to wonder more and more about whom was I really dealing with.
Jordan led me by the small of my back to one of the two master suites. Once we were alone, he pulled me into him and kissed me passionately. Normally, I would have been on fire from his touch, but with all of the questions swimming around in my head, sex was surprisingly, the last thing on my mind, if at all. Jordan noticed my hesitant demeanor.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
I shrugged my shoulders while looking down at the beautiful floor. I couldn’t give him eye contact for fear of what would be revealed. “Jet lag, I guess.”
He led me over to the king-sized sleigh bed and pulled back the duvet. He slipped out of his Gucci loafers, climbed into bed and pulled me in with him. In the spooning position, he held me close while alternating between caressing my body and placing featherlight kisses along my neckline and earlobe.
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” he asked for the second time.
I took in a deep breath and stuck to my lie. “Like I said, jet-lagged.”
Jordan rose up on his side and nudged me until I was facing him. He cupped my chin and did what I didn’t want him to do. He stared into my all-revealing eyes. “What Sledge said is bothering you. I know it is. You’ve been quiet ever since.”
The waterworks started and I wanted to kick myself for being so weak in front of him. “I can’t—I just can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.” I made an attempt to get out of the bed, but Jordan wasn’t letting me out of his reach. He held on to me tightly as the pain that I’d been holding in for so long finally took over and ravaged my body. Tears and foreign-sounding sobs escaped me for what seemed like an eternity.
Chapter 34
Agent Garza stopped the recorder. “It took you that long to figure out that the bastard didn’t give a damn about you?”
The memory caused a sudden sadness and Agent Garza’s wisecrack didn’t make matters any better.
District Attorney Marlow Hayes waved him off. “Ms. Brooks, you must excuse Agent Garza, for his injudicious behavior. Your deal is with me, and I want to see The Tarantula—”
“Uh, we’re referring to him as Jordan Lei, per Ms. Brooks’ request. She just hates it when we call him the latter,” Agent Garza interrupted with a condescending remark.
“Duly noted, Agent.” District Attorney Hayes gave him a contemptuous look, then focused her attention back on me. “Ms. Brooks, I see that you’re experiencing some difficulty carrying on. If you need another break, we can reconvene at a later time. Just remember our terms and you should be fine.”
“No, we’ll finish this now, Marlow,” Aliyah spoke on my behalf.
“I believe I was speaking to Ms. Brooks,” the DA said, never giving Aliyah any eye contact.
Aliyah stood in the DA’s line of vision, making her have no choice but to give her the attention she felt she deserved. “And I believe that I’m the one she’s paying five hundred bucks an hour to represent her.”
District Attorney Hayes crossed her arms over her voluptuous breasts. “Is there a reason for the hurry, Aliyah?”
Aliyah sucked her teeth while tapping her pen against the table. “My client isn’t the one under investigation or have you forgotten that, Marlow? Once she’s done, she’s free to do as she pleases so long as it’s in accordance with the law.”
“This is my show and until I’m satisfied with Ms. Brooks’ deposition, and anything else that I deem as necessary, she’s not to leave the state of Texas.” District Attorney Hayes didn’t give Aliyah time to respond. She signaled for Agent Garza, who couldn’t hide the enormous grin on his face if he wanted to, to start
the recorder back up.
• • •
After much cajoling, I had convinced Jordan that I was OK and only needed to take a walk to clear my mind.
“There’s a lot of land here for you to get that done on, but don’t leave these grounds, Bianca, and I mean it.”
I offered him a smile that belied what I was really feeling. “I won’t, especially since I don’t speak Chinese, let alone know my way around Hong Kong.”
“Cantonese,” he called after me.
I stopped to understand what he was talking about. “What?”
“Most of the people speak Cantonese, not Chinese, but you’ll need to learn both languages if you plan to reside here with me.”
“What happened to the sandy white beaches of Anguilla? I thought you were thinking of retiring some place like that.”
“I never said I was going to retire here. This is only one of my homes,” he revealed.
Just when I was beginning to wonder about where he resided, he’d floored me with this news. “Are you serious, Jordan?”
“This was one of the homes that belonged to my family until my father gambled it away. I bought it right from under The Collector’s nose at an auction for next to nothing. He never wanted this place. He only wanted to further humiliate my family.”
I leaned against the wall thinking of all the things Jordan was going through to restore his family’s name. “He must’ve been pissed when he learned that it was you who got it back.”
Jordan laughed slightly. “That would’ve been sweet, but I acquired it under a fictitious name so that nothing would happen to it. The Collector’s a vengeful man and he would’ve rather had it burnt to the ground than letting it fall back into the hands of the Leis.”
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