Brat.
“A bit. I have–some work to finish, but I promise afterwards I’ll be completely at your disposal.” Cupping her face I kissed her breathlessly. I watched her eyelids flutter shut, the lashes like dark crowns on her face and goal one is accomplished.
“Hmmph.”
“Make no mistake, Jude. I want you and I will have you.” Even if it’s only temporary. Her cheeks flushed a sexy shade of pink that I’d like to match on her ass with my handprint someday.
She takes my hand and kisses it tenderly. “Well when you find that asshole, give him my regards.”
It’s unbelievable how she reads me. “Is that where you think I’m going?” She makes me laugh because her intuition is spot on. She’d probably make a snarky comment if she could see my smirk.
“Lorand, it’s not every day I get duped, attacked and saved. You’ve told me virtually nothing about you other than what I would have already known.” It’s her comments though that had me sobering my thoughts. I do have business to take care of and until then I don’t get to enjoy this time with her as I should.
“Do you have a phone?”
“Yes, I do.” Yawning she waved me to the nightstand on my side of the bed and I picked up her phone.
“I’m going to program my number for you.”
“Mmhmm.” She’s half asleep already so I lean down to kiss her coherent enough to listen to me. “I made my number the first contact and shifted everyone else down one.” No response. She’s out and I figured this was easier. Get the work done then get the girl. “I’ll be back after lunch. Don’t put any clothes on and under no circumstances do I want you to leave the house today.” I leaned over her kissing her lips soundly again and she pulled my face back down to hers. Her cloudy eyes rolled as she flopped back down on the bed spooning a pillow, eyes drifting shut and waving me away.
“Please, Jude, don’t leave the house today.” I leaned my forehead against hers hoping it wasn’t for the last time whispering into her riotous dark hair. Slipping out from under the sheets, I headed for the bathroom taking my jacket with me.
Turning on the faucet inside the shower I sat down on the toilet and pulled out the envelope that Sorenson made me take the night before. I crumpled the fine paper threads opening the note.
Kenneth Halstad, a junior member of The Club, frequents the Friday nights once a month. Take care of him and you’ll have fulfilled your debt to me. His father, the senator is aging well, his body riddled with cancer of the balls. A fitting punishment, you agree? He is the one connected to your sister. The son has taken up where the father has left off. Finish this. – S
Rage and despair equally filled me as I crumpled the missive and prepared myself for–work. Watching Ju
de sleep peacefully keeps me in check for now. What I wouldn’t give to wake her and slide between her creamy thighs letting her dew wash over me. The pleasure would wash away the pain for a time.
I don’t have to hazard anymore guesses as to why Sorenson wanted me to take this job. Slipping on my suit and running my fingers over my shaved head puts me back into work mode, my priorities once again aligned. I become the killer I’m trained to be.
I rushed getting out of there hunting my target down. Sitting in my car now, Kenneth, rather Ken Halstad, the son of the man I’ve hated and have been hunting all these years is sitting at the outdoor café free as bird with no cares sipping his fucking coffee in the sunshine. He was going to pay, they all were eventually, but today I was going to begin fulfilling my obligation with this man first.
Eleven
JUDE
Ringing filled the silence as I reached a flopping hand outside the shelter of safe covers to shut it off.
“What?” I answered the phone petulantly but I couldn’t stop smiling either. I finally had my mystery man and he was coming back later today.
“Jude, oh my God!” Her voice instead turned my stomach to more sour and sobering things.
“Ella?” I sit up amongst the pillowed down blankets hand chopping the fluffiness out of the way. Anger coursed through me in nuclear heatwaves.
“I am so sorry. I…”
Agitation coupled with dread fills me to the brink of overflowing. “No. No. We’re not doing this. We are not having this conversation like you didn’t do anything to put my safety in jeopardy last night.” I’m shaking and the cold feeling of being unable to trust is back again.
“Ken, he and I…”
“I trusted you.” There was no amount of apologies that would fix what she did. I fooled around with Ella to forget about the man I didn’t know. I made a number of bad decisions, but you never knew when a bad decision in the moment would put you irrevocably in danger the way mine did. Lorand never forced me into anything I wasn’t comfortable doing. Sure, he played with me, but I consented and I craved having every part of him that he would give me. I would have offered myself up to be his sacrificial lamb without a second thought.
It was all so–so very fucked up.
“I broke that trust. I get it, but for what it’s worth, I am sorry. Nothing I do can fix this and I’m leaving town for a while. The shit Ken got me involved with is crazy.”