“Then I threaten to pull you. They know that there’s neither a judge nor jury alive that will ever convict you with the flimsy evidence that they have against you. Besides being a straight shooter, I know how to manipulate the law as well.” After recalling that conversation, I knew the use of the double entendre was meant more for me than law enforcement. I stayed leaning over the toilet, trying to digest everything before finally getting up, flushing the toilet and going to take a look in the mirror to see what a real fool looked like.
Chapter 46
After nearly twenty minutes of reflecting, I rejoined everyone who was eagerly awaiting my return.
“Are you feeling up to continuing?” Agent Garza asked.
I took my seat and pushed the water away from me. “Yes, I’m sure. It must’ve been the seafood salad I had before coming here.” I stared at Aliyah with daggers in my eyes, but no one noticed, especially when she smirked back at me.
Phoebe Bercherot had a few questions of her own that she needed answers to. “Have you any idea of how to locate this woman whom you call Seven? Whatever became of Giovanna? She seems to have suddenly vanished off of the face of the earth which is hard being a world-famous supermodel. This Snake person, you say you saw him shot, but did you actually ever see them get rid of the body?” She fired off one question after the other, not giving me time to answer. I looked over at Aliyah who pretended to be studying on her laptop, but was really giving me death looks.
“Umm . . . no. I have no idea on how to get in contact with any of these people. As for Snake, I told you what I saw. Easter shot him.”
Phoebe snorted out a condescending laugh. “Luckily for you, you’re on American soil. This oversexed, poor-is-me story wouldn’t fly in Paris. Your participation in all of this is just as guilty as the ones who actually stormed our beautiful treasure and violated her! And you should pay for your part in all of this.” Her once alabaster skin was now a flushed crimson red.
“Phoebe, as you said, if we were in Paris, but we’re not. So watch how you speak to my client.” Aliyah’s voice was professional, but carried heavy undertones of a threat. She cleared her throat before continuing in case someone picked up on it. “Ahem, I understand your frustrations. Hell, we’re all frustrated, but Ms. Brooks is giving you information that, until she decided to talk, you didn’t have.”
Phoebe’s bark calmed down a bit. “Understood, but I’m not buying her story on not knowing where The Tarantula is hiding out. The others maybe, but from what I’ve heard on the other side of that glass, she’s in love with that man. Never would she let him out of her reach!”
“Her being in love is besides the point, Agent Bercherot,” Aliyah challenged with a hot stare.
Marlow jumped in. “You know if not for this deal, your client would be behind bars. If she’s withholding any information, then I suggest you inform her to be forthcoming with it.”
“Marlow, you and I both know that the evidence you have against her will do nothing but piss a judge off for wasting his and the taxpayers’ time and money. You got a tip that she was in a hotel room and with a dead man. How convenient was that?” Aliyah laughed and shook her head. “Who made the call? Did you ever figure that one out? It screams a setup and you know it. At best, my client would receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist and be made to pay restitution, but for what? You have no records of what she actually collected from the man you want, if she ever got anything.”
“She admitted to receiving money from the Tar . . . I mean, Jordan Lei on a few occasions, even taking her Pleasure Principles staff on an extravagant vacation that she left behind to go and commit yet another crime,” Phoebe reminded the room.
“Great listening skills, Agent Bercherot . . .” Aliyah clapped. “But do you have proof of this influx of cash? Bank statements? Wire transfers? Or maybe even evidence of money laundering?”
Agent Garza stopped the recording. “We don’t have proof, but it’s not like we can’t obtain it.”
Aliyah laughed out loud this time. “You’re just hell-bent on wasting taxpayers’ dollars when my client has been exonerated for cooperating. What good would that do you all now?”
By this time, Phoebe was burning with rage. Agent Garza got her attention to step outside with him and DA Marlow Hayes. He came back in a few minutes later minus them.
“Did Special Agent Bercherot and Marlow decide to leave us?” Aliyah asked before Agent Garza could make it back to his seat.
“I let them know that we could handle it from here,” he answered back curtly while deadpanning Aliyah.
To stop what I knew would turn into another heated debate, I grimaced and rubbed my stomach for show. “On second thought, Agent Garza, I think I do need to call it a day. I’m not feeling too good, after all.”
Aliyah stood and protested, her eyes darting about wildly. “But Ms. Brooks, I thought you wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible?”
I continued massaging my stomach and spoke in the sickliest voice I could muster. “I did, but whatever I’m coming down with has other ideas. Now that I think of it, I’ve missed my period again this month.”
The men in the room quickly took that as their cue to go about their business. No way did they want to listen to a woman, no matter how fine, complain about missing her menses.
Agent Garza shook his head while watching the men go at breakneck speed to try and clear the room. It was almost comical to him, but the matter at hand was serious. “I think that would be a good idea, Ms. Brooks. I can’t have your attorney trying to sue us on your behalf saying we forced you to finish this interrogation under duress.”
Aliyah reluctantly stood and stretched before gathering her things. “You know, Marlow said the same thing, so I just might do that, anyway, Agent Garza.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Ms. Talal.” He went about clearing the room of the water bottles and other items that the others had left behind. He then took the day’s session out of the recorder to prevent it from mysteriously disappearing.
“I’ll give you a ride home so you won’t have to worry about driving since you’re not feeling too well,” she offered a little too graciously, instantly putting me on edge.
“I think I can manage. Besides, now that I just realized my dilemma, I need to make a quick stop to the drug store for a pregnancy test and a few other items.” Aliyah’s head looked as if it were about to explode. Just the thought of me carrying Jordan’s child was enough to make her blow her cover.
Agent Garza walked us out making small talk along the way. After giving the tape and video to that fine-ass Agent Carter that went to get the goods on Ramon Benavidez aka Sledge, he walked us out to the parking garage.
“Well, ladies, I will see you around nine a.m. Don’t be late, Ms. Brooks; we still have a lot of ground to cover. Don’t try anything tricky as we have our eyes on you,” he said, eyeing me suspiciously.
I looked at him and shook my head for emphasis. “You don’t have to remind me, Agent. I’m well aware that big brother is always watching.”
“As long as you remember that, Ms. Brooks, and don’t try anything rash.”
“Enough already, Agent Garza. I will see to it that my client is here at nine a.m. sharp and not a minute later,” Aliyah announced tartly.
“Yeah, you see to it that she is,” he answered back just as nastily.
They went back and forth like I wasn’t even standing there. While they were trying to see who had the biggest balls, Agent Carter walked out to his car. When he noticed that he was being watched, he winked and gave me a smile that had my thong about to disappear even further up my ass. Oh, he just didn’t know how much I wanted to jump in with him and head to the nearest hotel, or did he? I exhaled and digressed from my wayward thoughts. Hell, being shot in the ass is what had gotten me in my current mess. Hating to leave all of that sexy behind, I climbed into my car, and then gave Aliyah and Agent Garza one more pathetic look before pulling off.
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For good measure of the lie I’d just told about missing my cycle, I actually decided to make a trip to Walgreens. Thank goodness it was only around the corner from my house. I purchased a pregnancy test along with something to soothe my nauseous stomach. One never knew what that sneaky bitch Aliyah was up to, and I needed to cover my ass in case she was watching.
Chapter 47
The moment I walked inside of my dark house, I had a feeling that I wasn’t alone. Thinking quickly, I decided that leaving was the best decision. The moment my foot was nearly out of the door, the lights came on and his voice stopped me.
“Don’t be afraid,” he spoke barely above a whisper.
It was then that his cologne filled my nostrils instantly making me want him. I forgot all about the masturbating session I had planned with that fine-ass Agent Carter being the star of my thoughts. I inhaled his scent and held it for as long as I could before exhaling and speaking his name, “Jordan.”
“Please, close the door and come back in.” He was being unusually gentlemanly and not cocky like he normally was. That gave me a cause of concern.
I slowly shut the door, and turned to face him. He walked up to me and relieved me of the bag from Walgreens and my purse. When he hastily set the bag on the floor, the pregnancy test fell out. Jordan looked at the test, and then at me. “I know everything,” Jordan explained, ignoring what he’d just seen. “I know you spent the day being questioned. I know Seventhia, better known as Seven to you, represented you using her first name, Aliyah.”
“So what she said about you setting them all up to kill them . . . and me . . . is true?”
Jordan quieted me once more. His face was a mask of seriousness that I’d never seen before or was it fear that I was detecting. “You can’t believe a thing she says. She’s dangerous, Bianca. Do not, under any circumstances, take anything about her lightly.”
Then another revelation hit me. “O . . . kay. So, what Snake was saying to Easter about you and her was true?”
Jordan took my hand and led me to the sofa. “Yes, and no. Seven and I was long before Snake ever came into the picture. Snake knew that no matter how hard he tried, that her heart would never belong to him. She loved him, but she wasn’t in love with him. Seven used him as a way to make me jealous, and for a while, I’ll admit that it worked. We saw each other behind Snake’s back for years until I broke things off with her permanently. Every woman that I’ve ever gotten close to, she would give a hard time. Snake couldn’t stand it, but as time went on, he learned to deal with it.”
“A triangle, I see. Why are you risking everything to—”
He put his hand over my mouth. “Shh!”
That instantly got me beyond nervous. Was he alone? My heart was beating an up-tempo beat that synchronized perfectly with the rhythm of the ball of nerves that danced in my stomach. He then pointed toward the stairs, which led up to my bedroom.
He led me by the small of my back up the steps. “I think we would be better off just in case someone is at your door listening. There was someone watching your place earlier, but I had Tony and Johnny take care of him. He was one of Giovanna’s go-to guys.”
“Why was he here?” I let the words slip out of my mouth smooth and without surprisingly throwing up everywhere due to being on edge about my current situation. Although I was a panicky mess, my libido was in overdrive and had me wanting to jump his bones.
“He was just doing what he was told to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t been watching you since you’ve made bail.”
As he stood next to my bed, I could see how devastatingly sexy he was. Oh, how I missed those eyes. Those lips. Those hands. Those—
Jordan’s bass-filled voice startled me back into reality. “Bianca, did you hear what I’d just said?”
I didn’t know what he’d just said, but I guessed it was crucial—whatever it was. “I’m still stuck on you saying that I was being watched.” Jordan knew that I was lying. I should have been ashamed of myself for the direction my ill-conceived thoughts were taking me instead of focusing on the imminent danger that I could’ve been in.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Our eyes locked and at that moment, I didn’t give a damn as I went in for a kiss. It was tender and filled with everything that I’d been missing. Maybe seduction would have bought me a ticket to live past that day.
Jordan ended the kiss abruptly. “Bianca, now is not the time for that.”
I looked down at his pole that was straining to break free from his jeans. I groped and massaged it, loving the way it felt growing at the touch of my hand. “Why don’t you tell him that?” I went in for another kiss.
Jordan was swept up in emotions trying to fight the urge. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I got what I was working for. Maybe, just maybe, he would be so caught up that he would forget if he was there to kill me.
Jordan bit his bottom lip, but not before a lustful moan escaped. His eyes became tighter as his breathing labored. To not be overcome, he pushed me back and held me at arm’s length. “Bianca . . . as much as I want you . . .” He had to compose himself before going on. “As much as I want you, we need to talk. Can you behave while we do that? Besides, someone could be watching us at this very moment.”
I lurched forward again only to be stopped in my tracks. “Hmm, that’s never stopped us before. In case you forgot, and thanks to you, I just love an audience.”
Jordan did his best to ignore me and started back talking. “I know that Snake, and Seven, along with Giovanna, were behind the shooting at the airport. It was Seven who set you up with Easter in that hotel.”
I stopped long enough to look at Jordan. “But I thought you killed Easter when you went into the mausoleum?”
“That was the plan, but he got away.” Jordan placed his hands on my shoulders to get me to calm down and so that he could finish. “Easter revealed more to me than he realized. He tried to bargain for his life with the luring promise, or shall I say lie, of letting me have the Bangkok gold. It was then that I knew Seven, and Snake, were behind the airport shooting and killing Pierre and Étienne.”
“That makes sense because surely he wouldn’t be fool enough to use a barter that he knew was defunct.”
“Now you’re thinking with your head instead of what’s between your legs. Had Snake been there at the moment—” Jordan rubbed his temples like simply thinking of Snake’s betrayal was painful. “My father said that I had enemies in my camp. I never would’ve thought that it would’ve been those three.”
“So whose fingers did Jim break?”
“No one’s. It was to make everyone involved more at ease. The wedding and taking the ring was one thing, but I had to go even further by doing something even more drastic. Once I learned of Snake’s and Seven’s betrayal, I had no choice but to take out his entire team with the exception of Jim. Adding Snake, Giovanna, and Seven to that body count and giving them a one-way ticket to hell would’ve been icing on the cake had they been there.”
Now I was dumbfounded. “Question. How was Easter able to get away? More importantly, how did he end up in a Dallas hotel bed with me and with a bullet in his head?”
Jordan sat down on the bed, pulling me along with him. I straddled his lap and tried to listen when I felt his bulge greet my pleasure zone. “Easter was wounded. Being that Seven wanted revenge for Snake, I knew it wouldn’t be long before he was taken care of. Giovanna was his weakness, and I’ll put my last dollar on it that she was the cause of his demise.” Jordan laughed like he’d just remembered something.
“What’s so damned funny?”
“Delilah said something about women being the cause of many powerful men’s downfall. To think that Easter, being the chauvinist that he was, fell for a woman’s beguiling lure. He never stopped to think that it could be a trap, being that she suddenly went missing after the heist and then just magically reappeared like she’d gone shopping or to the spa.”
“I really didn
’t get to know Delilah, but from what I saw, she seemed like she would be your type. I mean, is it a prerequisite for all of the women in your circle to be stunningly beyond gorgeous?” A deadpan expression marred my face, but inquiring minds, mainly mine, had one more pressing question needing to be answered. “Never mind that; I guess what I really want to know is . . . did you fuck her too?”
Jordan let off a nervous chuckle this time instead of the confident one he’d had a minute earlier. “Bianca, don’t be ridiculous. I never met the girl until this job. She was one of Snake’s people and got her due just like the rest of them,” he lied.
“Umm-hmm . . . whatever, Jordan.” I rolled my eyes. “Does it look like I have the word stupid stamped across my forehead?”
“Now is not the time for one of your jealous temper-tantrums.”
I reluctantly got off of Jordan’s lap and made my way to the other side of the room. “I can’t get mad over what I can’t prove. I didn’t know Delilah, or what she was about. However, I do know that Giovanna is a supermodel, so how does she fit in all of this?” I exhaled loudly and ran my hands across my face and exhaled again. “Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?” I paced back and forth shaking my head. “I can’t believe I was so blinded by your bullshit, Jordan. I’ve never had a run-in with the law.” I looked at Jordan still filled with questions.
Jordan sat stone-faced, watching me become unraveled before speaking a couple of minutes later. “I wouldn’t stand in front of that window, if I were you.”
I hurriedly moved away from the window and into a corner where I couldn’t be seen from the outside.
“Now to answer your question, being a model is her cover. Giovanna is a chameleon, a merciless killer. She and Seven met in the military and are longtime lovers. Snake was fine with the relationship because it also benefited him.”
“Bullshit! Sledge said that Giovanna was the one you needed to make an honest woman out of. So I don’t buy that she’s in a relationship with Seven and Snake.”
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