Beautiful Liar Page 18

  “Paul,” she moaned as I slowly moved in and out of her. “Fuck me.”

  I almost didn’t hear her. I started to move a bit faster, push a bit harder. God, she felt magnificent. I wasn’t going to last long at this rate. I felt her contract. “Oh god beautiful, I’m going to lose it.”

  Just as I said it, she let go. I felt her warmth encase me. I couldn’t stop myself as I spilled all that I was deep inside of her. My hands pulling her up against my chest. “You beautiful woman. I love you.” Her head lay back on my chest as I slipped out of her, wrapping her in my arms.

  We washed and got out. “I had some clothes delivered from Saks for you. Bras and panties as well.”

  She smiled at me. “Thank you.” I watched as she got dressed. I threw on a pair of jeans commando and a tee shirt. We walked out barefoot, and had a lovely dinner with Jo.

  “This is the best cake, I’ve ever had Joanna. Thank you,” I smiled at her.

  “I mixed it up and baked it all by myself.” She was proud. “Momma, will you read me a story before I go to bed?”

  “Of course, do you have one in mind?”

  Jo nodded, climbing off the chair we watched as she ran down the hall to her room. She came back with a story book in her hand. “This one,” she said handing it to Victoria.

  “Well come on then, let’s get you a bath and into your jammies and we can snuggle up and have us a read.”

  I watched as the two of them walked hand in hand down the hall. I cleared off the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher. I grabbed a beer and headed out to the patio, where the guys were finishing their burgers.

  Joe looked at me, “Is everything all right?”

  “Not sure, she hasn’t said a word. She is giving Jo a bath and then reading her a story, so about another half an hour. So do you have a game plan?”

  One of the men sitting at the table spoke, “I think the exchange of information would help us figure one out.”

  I just stood there looking at him.

  I laid in bed with Jo, for a long time after she fell asleep, looking at her. I couldn’t help but think she knew more than I believe she does. But how do you question a three-year-old? You don’t, she can’t be involved in this.

  I got out of the bed, kissing her on the forehead. “I love you beautiful,” I whispered. As I walked out of her room, Max was sitting in a chair across the hall.

  “Max, I can’t thank you enough for your devotion to Jo.”

  He smiled at me, “I know we got off on the wrong foot, but no child deserves what has happened to her.”

  I smiled at him, “Thank you.”

  He nodded and I headed out to the deck. Taking a deep breath, I have to remember to keep my cards close to my chest. No need giving them all the information I have. When I walked out, doc walked up to me. “Let me get you bandaged up and that cast re-set, while we talk.” He led me over to a chair where he had everything waiting.

  Introductions took place. The five men who were new were in fact, FBI and CIA. “I guess the place to begin all of this is with the information you have, Miss Holmes.”

  I giggled, “My name is Victoria Parker.”

  “Miss Parker,” he paused and looked at the papers in front of him. Lifting his head, he stared at me.

  I laughed, “I think this would be easier if I knew who you all were.” Looking at the man staring at me.

  “My name is James Little. Parker?”

  Smiling, I laughed, “Yes, my father, Jerry Parker, is the head of MI6. He has been for the past fifteen years.” I happened to look at Paul. His eyes spoke fear to me. “Mr. Little, obviously you are here because you are at an impasse. You believe that Steven Holmes was in fact Andy Marciano. You believe I took him out and that this was over. I suppose the fact that I had obviously some kind of chemical weapon implanted in my arm, that your red flags flew up in the air and now you are sitting here torn between arresting me or using me. I just want to be clear here. You are not going to use me, I’m the one who will be in fact, using you. I can’t do this alone. You want me to end this? Well, I’m not going to do that for you, I am doing it for me, for my daughter. One of those trackers was injected into her neck, whoever did that, planned on using her to control me. She would have been killed along with me when I complied. You need to understand one thing in the big picture here. You don’t own me, you don’t control me, you don’t get to dictate what I do, where I do it and how I do it. I am the only one sitting here who knows the true identity of Andy Marciano. I am the only one sitting here who has the ability to get close to him. Do we understand one another?”

  No one said a word. I looked at Paul, he had a smile on his face. The men talked in whispered voices and I watched as doc re-casted my arm.

  “Miss Parker,” Mr. Little began.

  “Victoria,” I interrupted him.

  “Victoria, we have decided to play this your way for now.”

  I busted out laughing. “Not to sound like a bitch Mr. Little, but you don’t really have a choice. But I’m not doing this for free. I have a few stipulations of my own.”

  “Victoria, you really aren’t in a position to make demands. We can and will arrest you for espionage and for bringing chemical weapons into this country illegally.”

  Doc finished with my arm and I stood up, leaning on the table I looked Mr. Little in the eyes. “Don’t think for one minute that you can threaten me or scare me into believing a fucking word coming out of your mouth. If you arrest me, I’ll be dead the minute you close the cell door. This isn’t something that can be washed under the rug. You know it and I know it. You do not own me.” I pushed off the table and walked off the deck headed towards the beach.

  I heard the voices but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. A few minutes after I sat down on the beach Paul was sitting next to me. He put his arm around my waist pulling me onto his lap. “You are not alone beautiful.”

  I wrapped my arms around him, “Why are all men so arrogant?”

  He laughed, “I think it has to do with our genetic makeup. We think, or believe that we are superior because women are generally the weaker sex.”

  “Paul, I’m scared. I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared before. I can’t do anything until these stitches come out of my arm. So we have a few weeks before we can move on this. Are you sure we are safe here?”

  “Awe baby, I’m not sure. But we have plenty of men to watch out for us. Joe has more men coming tonight. We have the FBI and the CIA to look out for us as well. I suppose we are as safe as we can be. No one knows what I’m about to tell you. This house has a safe room. I didn’t put it in, the man who owned it before me did. It’s in my office, so if anything happens at least we can get Jo to some kind of safe place.”

  “Paul, I’m tired. I need to sleep.”

  His hands never stopped moving up and down my back. “Come on. We can go get some sleep. These guys aren’t going anywhere.”

  We got up and walked back to the house. When we walked up the stairs eleven heads turned to look at me. “Miss Parker, we will do as you ask. Let’s get started, with the exchange of information.”

  I smiled at him, “I am going to bed. I can’t and won’t do anything until my stitches come out. Having these wounds on my arm are a weakness I don’t need or want. If you want to give me your file, I will read it and you can come back tomorrow around one in the afternoon when Jo takes her nap. Otherwise I am going to bed.”

  “I’m sorry Miss Parker, but we need to discuss this now. Not tomorrow, not the day after but now,” Mr. Little said. I watched as two of the men stood up.

  “You’ve got that wrong. I am going to bed and if you want to try and stop me then try. But you don’t own me and if you want to push me I will disappear and take my knowledge with me.” I turned to walk away and one man reached out and grabbed my arm. I spun around slamming my casted fist into his throat. He went down, as the other man grabbed me around the waist. I slammed my head into his face breaking his
nose. He let me go and I turned cracking him across the face with my cast. When he fell on the deck I spun to look at Mr. Little. “Don’t fucking touch me again. You want to arrest me, do it. But don’t fucking touch me or believe you can manhandle me in anyway.”

  He smiled at me, “Well, I guess I underestimated you Miss Parker. My apologies.” He handed me the file. “I will see you tomorrow at one.”

  Joe and Al were standing a few feet from me smiling. Joe looked at Mr. Little, “James, you told me you could do this without force. She has the means to do this job, as you can see. You need to back off, this is a two-way street. If you can’t or won’t stick to your word, I will personally help her disappear. I gave her my word that she can trust you. I guess I was wrong in believing you were on the up and up. Get the hell out of here. Either you are with us or not. I was under the impression that capturing, possibly putting the biggest fucking arms dealer, out of business, was on the top of the list in this fucking war against terrorists. But again, I am reminded why I no longer work for you or this fucking government. There are some people left on this planet who matter. You are way out of line.”

  I smiled at him, “Thank you Joe. But I’ve dealt with men like him my whole life. It’s an ego thing, most men just can’t handle a woman like me. I’m all right with it, as long as they don’t mind getting their asses handed to them by a woman who weighs a hundred and ten pounds.” I turned and looked at Mr. Little. “I would suggest you leave. And when you come back, you might want to have a change of attitude. Remember Mr. Little, I don’t need you to do this. I’ve already resigned the fact that this is a suicide mission, so your threats don’t bother me. I will end this, and I am the only one who can, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

  I took the file and Paul’s hand, he paused and said to everyone at the table. “I at one time was all about controlling a woman, until I met this one. If one of you or your men touch her again, I will not be responsible for my actions. It is never acceptable to harm a woman.”

  We walked into the house. “I want to check on Jo.” I said. We went together. Denny was outside her room. “Where’s Max?”

  “Sleeping in the chair in her room.”

  We went in and I kissed her on the forehead. Then we went into our room. I tossed the file on the bed and went to change. Paul didn’t say anything. He was sitting in the chair when I came out of the bathroom. Walking up to him I climbed on his lap, lying my head on his chest.

  His arms wrapped around me, “You all right?” He said softly.

  “No, and I’m worried about you.”

  He chuckled, “Why me?”

  “Because I know that men have a hard time with a strong woman. I’m pig headed, and mean when pissed off.”

  “Listen to me,” he pulled me back putting his hands on my face, “for the past five years, I have objectified woman and brought them to their knees. I’ve tied them up, took away their free will, and used them for my own gratification. I do not, nor will I ever have a problem with your strength. I know part of your back story and you amaze me with how you manage to keep it all together. The way you handle yourself, is unfortunately the only way anyone will take you seriously. I will never underestimate you, I will never take you for granted. You are a precious gift to me, and I plan on cherishing you for as long as I’m alive.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh hell yeah. Come on beautiful, let’s get some sleep.”

  He stood up, picking me up with him climbing on the bed he laid me down and went to change. When he came back to bed, we kissed for a long time, gently touching one another. We didn’t make love; it wasn’t about that. It was about us connecting, letting the other know where our hearts were.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I lay here holding her in my arms while she sleeps, wondering what the hell is going to happen with us. Who is this man she hunts? I have gone through just about every conversation we’ve had and I can only come to one conclusion. I need to be strong for her. I don’t want her to do this alone, I think I have a plan on how I can do this with her. But I know she will deny me. Her first priority is Jo, and I promised her that I would give her a full and beautiful life.

  I wasn’t going to sleep so I got up and made my way to Jo’s room. She was the most important person in this fucked up plan. She looked so angelic cuddled up with her bunny. Max snoring in the chair across the room.

  I made my way into the living room, pouring myself a glass of scotch. This whole thing is fucked up. I feel like I walked into some super spy novel. I can’t even begin to imagine how Victoria survived her life.

  I walked out on the deck and stood leaning on the railing, looking out at the lake. The lights in the boathouse were still on. I wondered what was going on, so I headed down. When I walked in there were fifteen men sitting around a table. Mr. Little and his goon squad as well.

  “Mr. Simon,” he said. I looked at the guy whose face Victoria broke. He didn’t look happy.

  “Mr. Little. What are your intentions towards Victoria?”

  “I’m going to help her bring this man to an end.”

  “And then what?” I needed to know.

  “And then it’s over.”

  I stood there just looking at these men. Al stood up and walked over to me. “Can we talk?” He said softly. I nodded and we walked out. Half way across the lawn he stopped. “Listen, I know these guys, and there is something more going on here. Joe and I are trying to find out what. But something is not right. I’m thinking that perhaps you guys should just disappear and let this go. We are talking about chemical warfare here. This isn’t just about one man, it’s about a chain of people. Taking out this guy isn’t going to end this, it’s just going to put a bigger target on her back. It will never end. Her life will never be her life. I know some guys who aren’t legal if you get my drift, who can make you disappear.”

  I chuckled, “I’m a billionaire, it’s kind of hard to disappear with that kind of money.”

  “It’s not really. It will take some time, but I can make it happen. Listen we are going on the assumption that she isn’t going to do anything until her arm heals. Doc already said he could delay it as long as we need. Let us do this for you, for her, for that little girl. It can be done. You know it can, you have been swimming in the back pools of legality for years, you know there are ways to disappear.”

  He was right. “I’ll talk to Victoria.”

  “Do it where there aren’t any ears around. With these guys anything is possible.” He turned and walked back to the boat house. I knew exactly what he was saying. The house could have ears. I walked back in and wrote Max a note, then headed back to Jo’s room, giving Max the note. I went into our room and woke Victoria.

  Putting my finger to my lips to let her know not to talk, I led her into my office shutting and locking the door. I didn’t turn on the lights, I triggered the safe room door and we went inside.

  “What’s going on?” She asked.

  Taking a deep breath, “I just had the weirdest conversation with Al. He seems to think this is a bad idea. Victoria, taking this man down isn’t going to end this. Al told me that we are dealing with chemical warfare here. That this person isn’t the head of the snake, and by killing him it would only put more of a target on your head. Have you had a chance to read that file yet?”

  She stood there looking at me. Shaking her head. “Paul, can you live with this? Can you live with knowing that the man who ordered your wife’s death, your child’s death is going to just walk free?”

  My heart broke when she put it that way. “Victoria, I’ve thought long and hard about how I feel about revenge, and that is just what this is. Revenge. There will be no justice for this man, you and I both know it. Death won’t be payment enough for what he has done, and it isn’t going to stop this. Maybe before all the lies it might have had some impact on the bigger picture, but you probably already know that he wasn’t the one who put those explosives in your arm. I mean how many more people ar
e they doing this to? It’s not just him baby. We have each other now, and because of the sick and twisted shit that has taken place in both of our lives, we have found each other. We have Joanna, to consider in all of this. Yes, I want justice for Sylvia’s murder, more than you will ever know. But I love you now, I love Jo. I want the happiness this bastard stole from me and I want it with you and Joanna. I can make my peace with it, simply because as fucked up as it is, it brought me you. I’m terrified that you are going to get dead as well, possibly even Jo.”

  She sat down in the chair, leaning her arms on her legs. “I’ve been thinking about it as well. I want to confront him. I want to make him pay for what he has done, but I’m not so sure he is the one who ordered the death of my brother, or your wife. I think it was bigger. Can we do this? Can we just disappear?”

  I knelt in front of her. “I think we can. Like I said, I’m in this shit, or at least was in this shit, but not to this extent. I’m sure I’ve pissed off more than a few people, hence Max, Denny and the guys. They are trained killers. My past isn’t a place I wanted to be. When I met you, I knew I was done with it all. But that doesn’t mean it was, or is an easy transition. Hence the henchmen.” I chuckled. Putting my hands on her arms, “Victoria, we can become new people, have new lives and just live out the rest of them raising Jo and being happy. I want to make you happy, I want to have a life with you. Do I want to run away like a scared rabbit? Hell no, I want to fight, but I don’t think we are going to win this fight.”

  She just sat there looking at me. Her hand came up to touch my face, “Paul, I really think I’m in love with you. Deeply in love with you.”

  Pulling her off the chair onto my lap I kissed her. She has become everything to me. There weren’t words to explain how deeply I feel for this woman. We kissed so slowly and for so long. It’s like it always is for us, she tastes so damn good. Pulling back, I whispered, “The minute I touched you in my brother’s office I knew I would want no other. I feel the same way.”