Yeah, I must be having some kind of psychological break. Maybe being locked in this room has made me delusional...
His attention moves away from me to the corner of the room where his brother stands. “If you have to, tie her down, chew up the food like a mother bird, and spit it in her fucking mouth.” He jabs at Caleb’s chest. “Make her eat.”
Anger bubbles beneath my skin, heating my cheeks as I watch him move toward the door. I have absolutely no control over anything, not even what I eat. The urge to throw something at him is strong. “You’re a fucking psycho!” The words come out before I realize it, and that smirk of his deepens.
“You have no idea, little girl.”
He ducks out of the room, and Caleb falls onto his chair, grabbing the remote. “Sorry…”
He’s not sorry, though, because Caleb does whatever Jude says, regardless of the fact that the guy is insane.
Please, please, please, Euan, pay your damn debt. I pray to nothing and no one.
5
Jude
The smell of her is still on me when I walk into Elysium, and it’s driving me fucking crazy. Thoughts that shouldn’t exist run through my mind like a Wall Street ticker, fast and constantly changing. The soft feel of her jaw under my grip was intoxicating, the slight blush to her cheeks a shot of adrenaline straight to my dick. Every-damn-thing about her from those doe-like blue eyes and her fuck-me hair has me aching for things, things the very thought of makes me feel guilty over. I’ve never had such a carnal attraction to a woman in my life, and the worst part of it is, she’s my fucking hostage.
I’m losing my ever-loving mind.
Heavy club music thumps through my body. It’s early in the evening, and the place is just beginning to fill up. By ten o’clock, this place will be packed, and the more customers I get through those doors, the more money I can clean. It’s not just a second form of income. It’s the way I hide my other streams, the ones the IRS and feds would have a shit over. And what better way to filter illegal money than with booze and strippers?
I pass the stage, ignoring the girl on the pole with her tits out. I take a seat at the bar, and Marney shuffles up to the counter, his gaze glued to the stage behind me. “That new girl Caleb hired…” He whistles, then slides a bank deposit bag across to me. “Makes me think about popping a Viagra and making her call me daddy.”
Marney was my dad’s best friend. Not only is he old, but he’s also like a surrogate father. The thought of him popping anything makes me sick. I cover the bank bag with my palm. “How much is it?”
“‘Bout thirty grand.” He grabs a bottle of whiskey from the shelf. “Paul went to collect from that Euan kid. He’s skipped town and—” He twists the cap to the liquor then shoves it in front of me. “Might wanna neck that real quick-like, boy, ‘cause the shit I’m about to tell you…”
I figured the kid didn’t have the money, which is going to be a pain in the ass since his girlfriend's been locked up in my little brother’s room for the past three days. But the wrinkle of concern on Marney’s face tells me it’s more than that. “What?” I frown.
“The kid’s Tom’s nephew.”
The club music and dancing girls fade into the background, and a sinking sensation settles in my gut. I’ve had all my guys digging into any minute detail pertaining to Tom ever since he sent that Magnolia last week. They just found it too late. And now I know that girl is no coincidence.
I take a swig of liquor, my leg bouncing on the barstool while I struggle with the possibility of what this entire shitshow means for her. If she’s come here as a mole, as a favor for Tom, it leaves me no choice but to take her life.
Marney’s expression grows grimmer. He’s Tom’s half-sister’s bastard kid with some highfalutin Nashville lawyer. Trust me, I had to do some sniffing around to find that shit out.”
“Get someone from Dayton PD to tap Euan’s line or something.” I swipe the bank deposit bag from the counter and push up from the barstool. “I want to find out if she’s in on it.”
“Already have West on it, but Jude...” Marney takes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it, blowing smoke from his nostrils as he flattens his lips into a concerned line. “Don’t let your soft spot for females get you in a heap of shit. This ain’t no coincidence.”
Hell no, it isn’t a coincidence, but if I’m going to end the girl’s life, I need to be damn sure she’s involved and not some innocent bystander. Speaking of no coincidences...“Find out what Rich knows. Then kill him.” Because I can’t trust he’s not compromised since he’s the one who took her.