Chapter 13

Eva tried to forget that Brett was going to telephone her, but the more she wanted to put him out of her mind, the more she thought about him. She told herself that the only reason why she wanted him to call was so that she could thank him for fixing her tire, but she knew it was a lie.

The real reason was that she wanted to hear his voice once again, if possible, to see him in the flesh. You must be crazy, she told herself. You'll only get yourself in trouble if you fall in love with the wrong man again. But there was an overpowering quality about Brett Forest, which could never make her forget him, and most importantly, he was fun to be with. That day in Little Havana, she had had a lot of fun, and he had made her laugh, something she had never done since when she had been married. She had felt so relaxed and happy, and she would forever be grateful to him for the experience she had had.

He did not call throughout that week, and Eva's emotions went from impatience to frustration to anger. I said it, she thought, that he's one of those handsome gigolo men who come and go as they want. I know he's outlaying some crazy, dumb bitch right now. She tried to keep herself busy with the household chores, but her mind was not on it. Her mind was continually on Brett, and she was able to think of nothing else except his handsome face and his dashing smile.

Each time she sees her cellphone, she half-expected it to ring, but it remained silent. Screw him! She thought angrily; he can as well go to hell. She went into the bathroom, washed her hair, took a long relaxing bath, and dried herself when her cellphone rang. Her heart almost leaped out of her chest as she went over to it and picked it up. In her haste, she did not even bother to check the caller's name.

"Yeah?" she said casually.

It was Vince. "Hello, baby," he said. "How are you, darling?"

"Vince!" she said coldly, "What is the meaning of this?" She heard him laugh, and it infuriated her the more.

"I call to see how my baby is doing. Seeing that the time for the divorce seems to be drawing nearer," there was a mocking amusement in his voice.

"You know what, Vince? Fuck you," She retorted, and she took the phone from her ear and threw it on the bed. Eva wasn't to know that during the time Vince had a call, he was inside the villa he had bought for Brett, and Brett Forest, the main cause of her anger, was sitting across him, twinkling light in his eyes as he watched Vince made the call.

"Am I right?" he asked, looking at Vince as he took the phone off his ear.

"You're so right," Vince answered. "You should hear her speak. Her voice almost sounded like a demented ghoul. How did you figure this out?"

"Simple," Brett said, spreading out his hands, "It's called frustration. She misses me, that's all to it. That's why I asked you to make that call. It's been a week now, and I've not called her. That's enough to put her on a frustration diet. She won't know what hit her. Her mind, her emotions will all be disorganized, and she won't even be able to think straight."

"My God!" Vince said, grinning. "You're a real fast operator. I never believed you could work on her like that. You've turned her on. I bet she will be all over you by the time she sees you. You're good at this; I can see that."

Brett nodded.

"It's what I do. I was born for this, and I live for this kind of shit."

Vince smiled, admiration in his eyes.

"I am so glad I met you. That woman has been eating my heart out for a long time. It's high time I eat hers too. So when do you propose to call her?"

"I'll call her tomorrow." Brett answered. "But I'll send flowers first. Women love flowers. So I'll send her a whole bunch, but in the meantime, try and stay away from the house as much as possible. We will give her the free air to go anywhere she wants to go without lurking around. She wants freedom, so we'll give her that. With you in the background, she will be free to do as she wishes."

Vince nodded.

"I'll do that. I wouldn't want to spoil all that we've put together and don't forget! You will only fix her when I tell you to do so. Don't do otherwise, alright?"

Brett said alright, and he got up and went to into the bedroom. A few minutes later, he returned dressed in a tailored suit and suede shoes. Vince, who had been waiting impatiently for his return, watched him walked into the living room, and he narrowed his eyes at him. The clothes suited Brett perfectly, and at that moment, Vince envied him

"Where are you going dressed up like this?"

"I'm going to have fun in one of those clubs in South Beach, wanna come?"

Vince shook his head.

"I have got something's to do back at the casino."

Brett smiled stiffly. "Fine. Let yourself out, man." and he moved towards the door.

"Hey! wait," Vince called out, and Brett turned.

"What is it?"

"Which car are you driving?"

"The Range Rover, why?"

"Just be careful with those big cars; I don't kid about me taking them back from you."

Brett scowled coldly at him.

"Don't wave those words at my face again. I don't like it."

Vince lifted his hand and smiled. "C'mon on, man, I'm just kidding around," but his nervous voice betrayed him.

"Fine! But watch what you say to me, alright?" Brett said, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"I will! But with this look, one would have thought you're one of those businessmen in Miami beach."

"Miami stinks of this business shit. I don't like common things. Everybody wants to be involved in the business. I, on the other hand, want to do something different. That's why I love this profession of mine. Not everybody can do it."

Vince regarded him with a lift of his eyebrow.

"You’re right, but what's your beef with businessmen? you've got a problem with any businessman around here?"

Brett shrugged his massive shoulders and smiled.

"Never! But business seems like a whole important thing to people around here…" he broke off, and his smile vanished. "Damn it! How could I have forgotten about it."

The sudden snap in his voice startled Vince, and he stared at Brett.

"What is it? What do you mean?"

"The word business just clicked something in my head. Eva told me she'd got a friend here in Miami beach. She told me he's a businessman and a very good friend."

"A good friend?" Vince asked blankly. "Here in Miami beach? I don't think so."

"You better think so!" Brett retorted. "She told me his name was Darius Kane!"

Vince felt a cold sensation moved over his body.

"Darius Kane? My God! How could I've been so blind? So Eva has been with this monkey all this while?"

Brett moved into the room, dipped his hand inside his pocket, brought out a cigarette, set it alight, and pasted it in his mouth.

"So you know him?" he asked, blowing out a thin stream of smoke, which evaporated into the ceilings.

"Fuck yeah!" Vince snarled. "I knocked this bastard out with just a punch right on the Miami Edition Hotel patio." he boasted, raising his hairy hand to show Brett a clenched fist.

Brett eyed the hand but said nothing.

"How could I've been so stupid?" Vince growled.

Brett drew in a long, slow breath and crushed out the cigarette, his mind busy with thoughts. After a while, he looked at Vince.

"I'm thinking something. It's just a hunch, but I think it's better than not thinking it at all. I believe this Darius guy, his connection to that car I shot that night."

Vince looked at him sharply.

"Connected? What the hell are you talking about?"

"What I am talking about is very simple. If this guy had been with Eva all this while without your knowledge, being Eva's good friend, she would have told him something she would not have ordinarily told another person. Let's take the divorce deal as an example. I'll bet my last buck, this guy knows about your divorce deal with Eva, and he also knows about what you and Eva concluded on. Don't get it twisted. Eva was the one who will tell him all these things. As a smart guy, that's if he's smart, he would be on the lookout for Eva. He would make sure nothing happens to her, and if he's in love with her, it would even add more to the excitement. I think this guy knows about us, and I won't be surprised if he knows about our plan to fix her."

Vince, who had been listening, narrowed his eyes at him.

"You can't be serious? This guy can't creep up on us so fast like that? He can't be too good to get us."

"I would have believed that, but that red car had struck that idea off my mind. I'll ask you this; who drove the red car that fateful night? Was it Darius? A stalker? A lost driver? And what was the driver doing there? I'll tell you what I believe. It's either it's this Darius guy or somebody related to him. Look! Why don't I go after this guy? I'll fix him, then fix Eva too. It will be like killing two birds with one stone."

Vince shook his head.

"Finish one job first before starting another."

"He'll make trouble for us sooner or later. If I'm going to fix Eva, then let me fix this guy first. Let me lick him while I still can."

"No! Finish your assignment first. Then you'll go after him later."

Brett sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and moved towards the door. As his hand rested on the door handle, he turned to give Vince a last look.

"If anything happens, it's your funeral. Don't say I did not warn you," and he turned the handle, jerked the door open, and went out.

Vince watched him go and grimaced. He thought about what Brett had said, and he drew in a long, slow breath. Brett will fix it if anything goes wrong, he thought, he's the man for something like this, and I've got nothing to worry about.

***************

Somewhere downstairs, the clock chimed four. The warm afternoon sun, seeping through the slats of the shutters, woke Eva. She opened her eyes, stretched like a sleek, beautiful cat, stifle a yawn with the back of her hand, and ran well-manicured fingers through her hair. She lay still on the bed for some minutes until her mind was active and thought about Brett. He was such a selfish, egoist man, and she did not care whether she ever saw him again. How could he have ignored her for a whole week? You keep blaming him, she told herself, but what if something had happened to him? What's if he had been in an accident and was lying helpless in a hospital, or what if he was dead? She shivered. She could not bear the thought of something happening to him.

Though it was that day on the Biscayne Boulevard that she knew him, she found out that just within that short time, he had filled her thoughts and mind. I wish there were a way I could get him, she thought bitterly, but how? How? She bit her lower lip, her mind busy with thoughts. Then she had an idea. What if she goes to Little Havana? Somebody there might know him. Though it sounded like a vague idea, all her worried sick mind could come up with at that moment.

Now that her mind had struck the idea, she could not bear the thought of wasting any more time. She jumped out of bed and dash into the bedroom. A few minutes later, she ran out of the shower, hastily dried herself, picked a pink T-shirt and a jean from the closet, slid into them, and wore one of the expensive leather sandals she had bought when she had visited Paris. She took her Chanel purse and stepped out of the room, and a few seconds later, she out of the house. As she sashayed to the garage, her cellphone, which was inside her purse, ranged. She cursed, unzipped her bag, slid the phone out, and stiffened when she saw it was an unknown number. She slid her finger on the screen to receive the call.

"Hello?" she whispered "Hi!" the caller's voice sounded like hot fudge, and she felt a shock go through her body. She recognized the voice instantly.

"Brett! Is that you?" she asked in a small voice, and her heart was pounding wildly.

"Yeah! I'm sorry I didn't call all this while, but something came up."

At that moment, her mind was in turmoil, and she did not know what to say. So she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Can we see? I mean, could we talk?"

He hesitated, and he seems to be thinking about what she had said. Then finally making a decision, he answered her.

"Alright! Let's meet at the beach! I'll be right there waiting for you."

She drew in a long, slow breath, relief flooding through her trembling body.

"I'll meet you there. Just stay there," and she ended the call. She pushed opened the garage doors, got into the Bentley, starts the engine up, and drove fast down the drive. Thirty minutes later, she arrived at the beach. She parked the car under a clump of palm trees and got out. The sun's red ball was going down now, and the atmosphere as at that time was becoming cool and airy.

As she walked down to the beach, she could see lots of people, mostly Americans, as they splashed like whales in the blue ocean water. She moved through the crowds, her violet eyes uneasy and restless, her light, cotton T-shirt was plastered to her sweaty body as she tried as much as possible to dodge the fat and the old, the young and mature bodies who lumbered at her. How did she hope to find him in such a place, she thought suddenly angry he had picked a wild place like this for their meeting. She thought of her cellphone inside her purse and grimaced. Even if she tried his number, how could she hear his voice in a noisy, vulgar place like this?

She walked to a blue palmetto and watched the people on the beach. Some were in swimsuits, some sitting at tables, drinking, others were in the waters. A couple in the waters piqued her attention. The man was teaching the woman how to swim. He held her tiny, lean waist as she tried to stay afloat in the water. She could not swim, and she made giggling, funny sounds as the man held her.

Eva envied her. She wished she had a man who would be willing to teach her a lot of things. Maybe, one day I would find the right man, she thought. It was while she was watching the couple that she saw Brett.

He was walking alone on the beach, wearing only a tight swimming trunk. The sight of him was beautiful. His bronzed, tanned skin glistened like a well-shined copper. His massive bare chest was well defined, and his long, graceful legs moved slowly across the soft, hot sands. To her, he looked like a Greek god. He was taller than most of the men on the beach, and some of the girls in tight-fitting bikinis stared at him, regarding him lustfully. Unable to control herself, she called out to him.

"Brett! Brett!"

Above the crowd's rowdiness, he must have heard her because he turned towards her direction. He saw her and his mouth widened into a smile that melted away any anger and resentment she might have against him. As he walked up to her, her legs felt like rubber sticks from the sexual heat oozing from him.

"Hi!" he said, looking at her face intently.

"Hello!" she answered casually. She wanted to fly into his arms, but she controlled the urge.

"I'm so sorry I did not call. I know you must have been angry with me?"

" No! I've never been angry with you," she lied easily.

"I should have called, but things just got out of control. After we met, I traveled to China the next day to fix some estate buildings. It took me so long to finish, and during those times, I never had a breather. I just got back this morning."

Eva did not even need his explanation. The moment she had seen him, all her anger towards him had dissipated, and she was once again felt his overpowering magnetism.

"I wonder if you would care to have dinner with me this evening?"

"Why, yes. I would love to," She said breathlessly.

He smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Wonderful! Then maybe from there, we'll go to my place, is that okay?"

She wanted to tell him, no, but she had missed him so much that she could not deny him the request.

"Anything you say is fine with me, Brett," she said, and she saw a happy look flash across his face, and she was glad she had not refused him.

"Good! I'll pick you up by eight."

She told him all right and then suddenly remembered something.

"I think it's a bad idea you picking me up. My husband might come home anytime, and he would be suspicious if he sees a strange car around the house."

Brett paused for a moment. He had wanted to brag to Eva that Vince would not do anything, but he conquered the impulse.

"Alright! Why don't you take a cab there? Cabbies always have the geography of different places in their head. So, I'll suggest you take a cab. I am not with my phone here. I left in the car. Give me your cellphone, and I'll type the address there for you."

So she dipped her hand into her purse, brought out the phone, and watched him typed the address, then he returned the phone to her.

"That's the address! It's easy to find. I will make a reservation for two, alright?"

"Yeah! Sure," she answered.

"Good! I'll be expecting you. You wouldn't be thinking of standing me up, would you?" he asked, teasing light in his eyes. Eva knew he was aware of his closeness to her, his maleness. He had sensed her feeling. She was a woman in desperate need of a man.

"C'mon Brett, I wouldn't think of doing something like that," she said in a solemn voice.

"Alright! Till then," he looked at her for a long moment and then left her. He didn't look back, and she watched his broad back until it melted into the crowd on the beach. She moved away from the palmettos and went to her car. She got in and drove away.

Thirty minutes later, she got to the villa and parked the car in the garage. One hour before Eva was due, a large bouquet of roses arrived with a note attached. She read the note again and again and again before she went into the house to dress up.

Twenty minutes later, she reappeared, dressed in a long, dark blue, shimmering dinner gown with heels and a purse to match. The time was thirty minutes to eight, and the night was hot and airless. She locked the door, left the villa, and started towards the streets.

A taxi slowed down beside the sidewalk, and the driver said, where to ma'am?

She leaned forward, "Ruby restaurant. Do you know the place?"

"Sure, ma'am. I'll get you there in a jiffy," The driver told her.

She got in and relaxed her back as the taxi gathered speed and whisked her down to South Beach. The cab pulled up outside the restaurant. She stepped out, paid off the cab, and entered the restaurant.

She looked around the room and saw a hand waving to her. The hand belonged to Brett; she moved towards the table, a pleasant smile on her face. He stood up and pulled out a chair for her. She regarded him as she sat down. He was dressed in an immaculate, beige suit, and he looked imposingly handsome in it.

"You look ravishing!" Brett told her, and she gave him a warm smile. "Would you like to look at the menu? Or shall I order for you?"

Eva shook her head. She loved a man to be in control, especially when it comes to things like ordering food.

"Why don't you order?"

He smiled and chose his favorite dish, and Eva was pleased with his choice.

While they ate, Eva let Brett do the talking while she half-listened. She was thinking about how exciting he would be in bed. She did not concentrate on the food she was eating either, and she only gave Brett a few nods and smiles to assure him she was listening.

When they were done, he asked if they could see his place, and she told him yes. He got up from the chair, went over to the maitre d' hotel, and cleared the checks, and together they left the restaurant. During the drive, Eva felt her heart pounding wildly, and she felt moistness between her legs. She knew it was inevitable. She had to have this man this night.

Through the corner of her eyes, she watched him as he deftly tooled the car through the main streets that were loaded with fast-moving traffic. The look he had given her on the beach before he had left her told her he was in love with her. No man, she told herself, could look at a woman that way, without being in love, but then, she didn't know how professional Brett was.

They reached a pleasant, quiet residential area with large, tall palm trees lining the street. Brett pulled up outside his villa and turned to her. "My empire," he said quietly. She moistened her lips and nodded. She watched silently as he got out and came around the car and opened the door. He held her hand and guided her into his house. She looked around the room and sighed.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"Perfect!" she said. "Everything about you is perfect." She watched his eyes narrowed at her, and she wished she had not said the words, but it was too late. Unable to stand his gaze, she looked around for means of escape, and she saw that the terrace door was opened, and she walked over to the balcony rail. She stood, her hands on the fence, looking at the moon.

Brett watched her, smiling to himself. Her confession had nailed her. She was hooked. Silently, he walked over to her and put his hands around her, his hands taking the weight of her breasts. She leaned against him, and he bent and slid the tip of his tongue up the superb lines of her throat. She shivered violently and wet herself. Unable to withstand his fiery touch, she turned in his arms, offering him her lips. He kissed her gently, and then more urgently, and she felt so heady as he led her into the bedroom.

The bedroom was done in tones of blue, with tastefully masculine furniture. In the center of the room stood a large king-size bed. Deftly, he undressed her, then shrugged out of his clothes. He felt her drew close to his body and found out she was trembling.

"Eva? What is it?"

"Nothing," she said and swallowed hard.

They stood, looking into each other's eyes, and then he gently led her to the bed and began to kiss her, slowly and yet desperately. His tongue, expertly exploring the crevice of her body until she grabbed him savagely.

"Oh, please," she begged. "Take me, Brett, please take me."

He mounted her and thrust Into her, and she was transported into a wild, explosive sexual ecstasy. When Eva finally lay still in his arms, and sighed. "Oh, my God. I've never known any man like you. What's it wonderful for you, my darling?"

He told her yes, and hearing him say that brought to tears to her eyes. He took her in his arms, and this time, their coupling was ferocious, like two wild animals, and afterward, as they lay still in his bed, Eva knew for the second time in her life, she was in love.