Chapter Nine

"IT'S TOO LOVELY a day to brood." Brenda commented to Sonny as they were eating breakfast on the patio. He'd beent treating her to a stony silence since the moment he came out of the bathroom and donned the clothes she had picked out for him to wear. "I don't know why you're so upset. All you did was kiss me."

"While I was with you in a bathtub naked." He spat back, finally ending his silence. "I'd love to see how I could explain that. Oh, Carly, I didn't make love to Brenda, I just took a bath with her."

"I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you tell her you also slept in the same bed with me." She laughed. "Never mind that you woke up to find me giving you a hand-job."

"This isn't funny, Brenda." He told her angrily. "I'm married. So are you for that matter. What we're doing together is wrong."

"We only have six days left to live." She retorted. "Right or wrong no longer matters. All that matters is that we live the time we've got left together to the fullest."

"You weren't really serious about that were you?" He asked. "That your husband intends to kill me when he gets back."

"He told me so before he left." She confessed. "He told me I had a week to get my revenge on you." She added. "When he learns revenge was the last thing I wanted from you, he'll kill us both when he returns."

"And you're just willing to let him do it without putting up a fight." He would never understand her.

"Baby, don't you get it." She declared passionately. "I don't want to live in a world that you're not in. I would rather spend a week gloriously happy in your arms then live the rest of my life without you." She added. "You asked me how I got hooked up with Alcazar. Well, the answer is you. I knew he had mob contacts and I hoped by being with him I'd be able to find you. I got him to look for you by claiming I wanted revenge on you. And for awhile after I found out you had married Carly Roberts, I did want revenge about you. It's always been you from the moment I met you. Whether I love you or I hate you, it's always about you." She caressed his cheek. "You're my only reason for living."

"But what about Jax." He brought up. "The night of the warehouse fire you ran past me to get to him. You didn't care if I lived or if I died."

"I saw you there, that night." She admitted. "I saw that you were both all right. I wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me, so I ran past you and acted like I didn't even care if you lived or you died." She added. "See what I mean. Everything I do is about you."

"Maybe we could escape." He suggested. "Maybe we could make a run for it before Alcazar returns."

"He has guards surrounding this place." She told him. "We'd never make it. All we have is six more days together, then Alcazar will return and he'll kill us." She pleaded with him. "Baby, don't waste another moment that we've got together by trying to be true to vows that no longer matter. Be with me like we were meant to be. Don't fight it any longer."

"Senora Santiago." The same guard who had interrupted them this morning, interrupted them again. "May I speak to you for a moment."

"I'll be right back." She promised, as she stood up and walked over to where he was standing. "What is it, Raoul?"

"I just thought I should inform you." Raoul began. "That I contacted Senor Santiago. I wanted to make sure if what you said was true. If Senor Santiago had asked you to be with Mr. Corinthos. And he said he had, and that he'd be home tomorrow morning." He added. "My sincerest apologies for doubting your word, Senora Santiago." With a stiff bow he walked away from her.

Brenda grabbed for the nearest piece of furniture as her knees buckled on her. My god, that little toady had no idea what he'd just done. Alcazar knew Sonny had spent the entire night in their bed with her. He wasn't stupid. He would know that she had lied about wanting revenge on Sonny and that she was still in love with him. That she had lied to him and used him.

Brenda had intended for Alcazar to find out the truth, but she had planned on him finding out after he'd returned from his trip. After she and Sonny had spent this week together, like they should have spent their lives together. She had planned on having six more days with Sonny, now all they had was today. It wasn't enough. It wasn't fair. They'd been apart for so many years, they deserved more than one day to be together. They deserved a lifetime together.

The minute Brenda came back to him he knew something was wrong. He stood up and held her face in his hands. "What is it, sweetheart? What's wrong."

She took his arms and placed them around her. "Just hold me, baby." She begged him. "Don't ever let me go." She buried her face in his shirtfront as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Tighter."

"You're scaring me, sweetheart." He kissed her hair. "Tell me what's wrong."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Alcazar knows about us." She told him. "Raoul called him and told him about us. He's coming home, tomorrow." She added as she buried her face back into his shirtfront. "We don't have six days left together. All we have left is today."