"Not to mention what he did to Mercedes," Judge adds bitterly.
"Mercedes?" I repeat. "You mean because he didn't marry her?"
Judge is quiet for a pause before he answers. "He should never have courted her if he had no intentions to marry her."
His remark surprises me. I know he's protective of Mercedes because she will be his charge should anything ever happen to me. I detect a hint of something that sounds like resentment in his tone, yet I can only laugh as I consider the notion that his attachment runs any deeper. Judge will never marry. He is taking care of Mercedes, looking after her best interests, but I find it highly unlikely he could harbor any real feelings for her. Judge doesn't involve himself in romantic entanglements. I know because I've seen him at the IVI Cat House, picking out a woman as one might pick out a pair of shoes for the evening. He chooses what suits him, uses them for their purpose, and then returns them without any emotional investment.
"You shouldn't worry about Jackson hurting Mercedes again," I tell him. "Once she is scorned, she doesn't forgive. I am quite certain she only wants to make him sorry for it."
"I'm aware," he muses. "But is there a possibility that Jackson could have been courting her to serve some bigger purpose? If he never intended to marry her, and you suspect him of being dishonorable... it isn't much of a stretch of the imagination."
"I don't know," I admit. "I would find it difficult to believe he'd get into bed with Abel on any dealings, but Eli is another matter, perhaps. He was a respectable man, once. I believed so too. Perhaps they were scheming together."
"I think the only way to know for sure is to crack Eli while you still have the chance," Judge says. "You've been too lenient with him, and you don’t know how much time you’ll have. Someone already tried to clean up that loose end once. How long will it be until they do it again? It's time to put the screws to him. I can help if you require my assistance."
I don't want to tell him that he's still recovering, and it gives me pause to torture such a weak man. Or that he was right to assume Ivy's presence in my life has given me doubts about my own intentions. I can't think of torturing Eli without considering the consequences to my relationship with her, so I give him the only assurance I can.
"I'm going to speak with him tomorrow."
There's a slight pause, and then Judge answers. "Weakness will get you killed, Santiago. You can't afford it. There are already holes in your armor."
"I know." I lean my head back and close my eyes. "I won't deny it."
"Speak to Eli," he says. "And I'll keep looking through the files you sent. If anything else catches my attention, I will let you know."
I thank him and say my goodbyes, and when I open my eyes again, Evangeline is standing in the doorway to my office, staring at me.
"What are you doing?" I frown.
"Nothing." She shrugs a shoulder and ventures inside without being asked, her eyes moving over everything with interest. "I'm bored."
"Bored?" I repeat. "And what would you like me to do about it?"
"Want to play a game?" she asks.
I stare at her, incredulous. "I have to take care of your sister."
"She's sleeping," she says. "How about Tic Tac Toe or Hangman?”
When I don’t respond, she sighs.
"Fine. MASH then."
"I don't even know what that is," I answer dryly.
She makes herself at home, settling into the seat across from me, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen from my desk. "I'll show you. It's easy."
Somehow, she ropes me into answering a bunch of inane questions, which she follows up by marking lines into the paper until I tell her to stop. I watch her as she proceeds to count, scratching off items one by one until she's circled a word in each column.
"Okay, you're going to live in a mansion, and you're married to my sister, obviously. You drive an Aston Martin, and you're a math geek for your job. You'll have five kids and no pets."
"This is the dumbest game I've ever seen," I tell her. "What's the point of it?"
She laughs and rolls her eyes. "Um, duh. It's just for fun. Do you know how to have fun?"
"Clearly, I do not."
"Okay, now my turn." She slides the paper toward me, and I consider telling her this is ridiculous. But when I notice how at ease she seems to be around me now, it makes my chest feel strange.
"One game," I say firmly. "And don't expect me to know who Damon Bieber is."
"Those are two different guys." She laughs. "God, you are so out of touch. Okay, let's do this. Put down mansion in every column for me. Pink, purple, blue, and red."