“It’s not eye-fucking if she already knows what the goods look like,” Brayden countered when we all took our normal seats at the bar.
“Says who?” Jenna retorted. “I still eye-fuck Richard and we’ve been married for a year!”
“Speaking of which,” I said, sipping my sparkling water once more, trying to get the focus of the conversation off me. “How’s everything going with you two?”
“Good. Better than good.” She swirled the liquid in her wine glass that the bartender had just poured for her. “I took your and Brayden’s advice and talked to him. He explained everything.”
“What did he say about the lack of any record of his previous marriage?”
“Well, it was like you said. He agreed to give his ex-wife a very hefty settlement, but a contingent of doing so was her agreeing to have all records of their marriage and subsequent divorce completely expunged. I had always just assumed she served him with divorce papers, not the other way around.”
“Why did he want that?” Brayden interjected.
“He said he didn’t want one of the biggest mistakes of his life to always follow him around. He wanted a fresh start, a new beginning, and he didn’t think he’d have that if his previous marriage and subsequent divorce were always lurking in the background. It was really kind of sad, listening to him talk about her. I was always hesitant to bring her up because I know all about wanting a fresh start, but…”
“Yeah?” I popped an olive in my mouth. “What is it?”
“I actually felt bad for him. He was more or less conned into marrying her. He was in his early forties when they met. She was in college.”
“He’s got a thing for younger girls, doesn’t he?” Brayden commented, winking.
Jenna smiled, a small laugh leaving her lips. “Yeah, I guess he does. Anyway, they dated, but it wasn’t anything serious. He said they were better off as friends, and that’s what they remained for a few years. He was tapped to take over the entire hotel chain, and she continued with college. One day, he got a phone call from her and she was sobbing. He said he had never heard her so frightened.”
“What happened?”
“She found out she was pregnant. When she confronted her boyfriend at the time, he split, disappearing into nowhere.”
I glanced down, placing my hand over my stomach. I could certainly sympathize with how she must have felt. Although the circumstances were different, I knew what it felt like to think you were alone.
“She came from a very strict Irish Catholic family and she couldn’t go home as she was unless…”
“She was married,” I finished.
Jenna nodded. “And Richard, being who he is, agreed to the marriage. They had a small ceremony a few weeks later. He called it a blessing in disguise. He had been so busy with the hotels and building the brand, he never took a minute for himself or his personal life.”
“Sound familiar?” Brayden mumbled under his breath, looking at me.
I shot my eyes to him and slapped him playfully.
“So he settled down with his new bride and began buying baby clothes. He couldn’t wait to be a father. He didn’t care that the kid wasn’t technically his. He said that’s not what makes someone a father… It’s being there, supporting them, putting their needs above your own. And he was ready and willing to do that.”
“But…”
Jenna took a deep breath. “About a month later, she came home from her doctor’s appointment and told him she lost the baby. She was upset, but he told her if she wanted to be a mother, they could try to have a kid themselves. They had trouble conceiving, and Richard became increasingly busy with the hotel. They would argue and Richard would suggest just stopping the whole charade, considering the only reason they married in the first place was because she had gotten pregnant and was worried about telling her parents. She didn’t have that problem anymore. However, each time he was ready to walk away, she would tell him she was pregnant, but she kept losing the baby. Finally, after the fourth or fifth time, Richard grew suspicious and called her doctor, then a private investigator. He soon found out there was never a pregnancy, not even at the beginning. He realized this woman, Ariana, was simply after his fortune that was slowly growing as his hotel brand became more and more popular.”
“That’s why he was able to convince her to sign off on wiping the slate clean,” Brayden interjected.
Jenna nodded. “Yes. Instead of facing a very public divorce based on who he was and everyone learning what she had done, he offered her a way out and she took it.”
“Well,” Brayden said, raising his own wine glass. We both followed suit. “Here’s to both my girls being happy with the men they love once again.”
“Here, here!” Jenna said.
“I’ll drink to that.”
Tyler
EARLY SATURDAY MORNING, I parked my Bronco at the back of the club. I had been back on South Padre for less than forty-eight hours, but it was time to finally get back to work. There were still more questions than answers, even more so now that the CIA handler who had reached out and asked for our help with this case had been missing for several months. Was it connected? I didn’t know, but it was a bit too suspicious.
Walking through the back door, I heard voices echoing down the hallway. I headed toward my office and entered, eight men and one woman immediately ceasing their conversation when they saw me. Scanning the room, I made mental notes of who everyone was. I had reviewed their files earlier that morning as I determined who I should keep and who I should send back. Apart from Eli and Martin, they were mostly new faces to me, except one…
Rage washing over me, I stalked toward a tall, muscular man of similar build. “You asshole!” I bellowed out, surprising everyone, Benson included, as I landed a harsh blow to his face.
He stumbled back, attempting to maintain his balance.
“We were on the same training team! We were friends!” I spat. “And this is how you repay me? You agree to fuck with her memory? I thought you were better than that!”
Straightening his spine, he wiped at his lip, smearing the bit of blood that was visible. “I did it for you, Tyler. Do you think I liked having to do that? I hated it. I knew you’d never forgive me for betraying you like that, but it was all about keeping her safe. From day one, everything we’ve done on this island has been to keep her out of harm’s way.”
“How?!” I shouted. “Please tell me how you staying at my house and telling her you’ve lived there for years could possibly keep her safe? If anything, it just confused her more!” I pulled back, about to take another swing when I was swiftly disabled and pushed against the wall.
“No plan is without its faults,” Martin growled, restraining me. His eyes met mine as if he was trying to tell me there was no other way.
“My brother said the reason he gave the go-ahead on gaslighting her was to protect the integrity of the mission, to make her think she never met me, to protect my ass. He didn’t mention anything about trying to protect Mackenzie.”
“That was one of the reasons. We had to go through every possible scenario,” he explained, releasing his hold on me once he grew confident I was no longer going to do Benson any more harm. “I was the only one who had been made aware of some of the details of the mission and I had to act quickly. My biggest concern was her safety and protecting her true identity. What was one way of putting her on the radar?” Martin asked.
“A police report,” I mumbled under my breath. I had done my fair share of interfering with a few police investigations while working the case in order to keep her true identity hidden. I understood all too well.