5. Chapter 5
Chapter five
E liza stared at him, breathless, only the fading out of the music into a new song about red, white, and blue patriotism registered in her mind. Nothing else in the room even slightly penetrated her consciousness. At that moment, she stared only at Judas and his sparkling hazel eyes.
He seemed just as swept away as he took her by the hand whisking her away from the busy room. Leading her out a doorway and into the hallway, he released her the second they were away from prying eyes. She wanted to plead with him to wrap her up in his arms. She wanted to feel him as close to her as she could get him. He wanted the same but was too desperate to clear his mind from the fog she’d placed him in to take any action other than to create space between them. He paced the hallway for a few moments, running his hands through his black, shoulder length hair. This woman was quickly turning his world upside down. He was usually cool, calm, and collected, but Eliza seemed to steal away all of his careful thoughtfulness. She made him feel impulsive, needy. She made him want to give up everything for every stolen moment he could have with her.
After a few steadying breaths, Judas returned to her side, “I have to make rounds to check in with the rest of my security staff. I’m sorry I was so forward and distracted you from your night. You can go back in and enjoy yourself. I’ll see you later, okay?”
Eliza stared at him for a long moment. Did he seriously think he was bothering her? Has he lost his mind? How can he not see that she was feeling equally drawn to him if not more?
“Can I come with you?” she asked.
He was taken aback by the request, “Would you want to?”
A giggle spilled from her, “I would rather be anywhere but back at the party. Especially if it’s somewhere with you.”
Judas felt warmth spread through him as a smile took over his face. Eliza delighted in his obvious joy at spending more time with her.
She threaded her arm through his as they began to make their way down the darkened hallways. The only lighting was the red glow of the exit signs and the moon shining through the few windows. It set a candlelight-like glow on their skin. Almost simultaneously, they thought to themselves how perfectly the ambiance compliments the other. How his eyes sparkled in the dim light. How her hair shone against the darkness. So completely in sync, both feeling the same, but neither really brave enough to admit it.
They walked a distance in companionable silence, but Eliza had so many questions about this beautiful stranger and was finding it impossible not to ask. Inquisitive by nature she contained herself as much as possible already. “So… security? How did you get into that? Are you like an ex-CIA operative or something?”
Judas raised an eyebrow at her, “What kind of back story have you created for me in that head of yours?”
Eliza humored him with all her wildest ideas, “Well, I think first you were probably in the military and they decided that you were so smart and wonderful that some super secret government agency scooped you up and placed you in the heart of danger and let you fight your way out. You probably know jiu-jitsu and taekwondo and how to kill a man with nothing but a ballpoint pen.” She sighs now, as if picturing him in all his glory, “But then you grew tired of the assassin’s life and decided to put down roots in good ole small town Texas.” She looked up at him expectantly, “How’d I do?”
Laughter filled the space, “So very, very bad. Excuse me for a moment.”
Judas stepped away to check in with the man in a black suit standing at the rear exit of the building. After just a few seconds, he returned and offered Eliza his arm once more before continuing, “I've spent some time in military service, but I was never more than a foot soldier. I do know several variations of martial arts, but I’m really more partial to yoga. Never been in the CIA or any other secret government agency and definitely never been an assassin. I just like to protect people and I think I’m pretty good at it.”
“Someone in the CIA would so say all that,” she responded with a grin.
Judas shook his head laughing out loud as he left her side to speak with another shadowy figure, this one larger than the first. He was out of sight for a much longer period, but when he returned, he somehow magically materialized two champagne flutes full of the bubbling spirit. She took hers from his hand and they cheered one another in the darkness. The bubbles tickled Eliza’s nose and Judas felt his heart squeeze looking at her silly, scrunched up face. She was absolutely perfect in every way.
They continued their journey down the halls, “What about you, Miss Eliza? How did you end up as a political coordinator?”
She made a gagging noise and stuck out her tongue before answering. “I'm most definitely not in or into politics of any kind. I’m simply the resourceful daughter of a wealthy man who decided to run for office for some god-forsaken reason,” she finished with a roll of her eyes.
“I can’t imagine you not doing this professionally. You are very good at it,” Judas offered.
“I am just good at handling my father,” she said with a snort, “The rest is all just leftovers from finishing school and cotillion classes.”
“So what do you really do? I can’t imagine you don’t have a profession of some kind.”
“I started out as a prosecuting attorney for the county. I put bad guys away all day, every day. Pretty easy to do in a state that prioritizes law and order over everything. One day I just came to the realization that we weren’t just putting bad guys away. They were fathers, mothers, sons, daughters. And a lot of them, more than I’m comfortable admitting, could very likely have been innocent. I couldn’t live with knowing that my job was tearing families apart like that, ruining lives. So, I quit and I started a non-profit to help innocent people who were wrongly convicted get the justice they deserve.” She shrugged nonchalantly.
Her words slammed into him in the deepest parts of his soul. Judas had always felt like an outsider because of his past. He always felt as though he was unredeemable because of the assumptions made and lies told about him. This woman before him made an entire career out of giving others in the same kind of torment respite. She forgave and redeemed the wrongly accused as her day job. He had never felt more safe with another human on this planet and it filled his throat with emotion.
He stopped her cold and turned her gently to face him, “You just said that like it’s nothing special. Eliza, that’s truly something to be proud of. You are doing something that makes the world a better place. You’re saving lives. You should own that. Say it with pride.”
She blushed, not at all used to having her work praised, “I guess I’m used to downplaying it. It is pretty cool. My dad hates it. Thinks it’s a waste of time so I guess that’s why I don’t lead with that. Texas isn’t known for loving criminal defense issues.” She shrugged her shoulders again as if this foregone conclusion was just the way it was.
He shook his head, “No, that’s bullshit. What you do is amazing. I’m really proud to know you.”
Eliza’s heart soared with pride. She knew that her job was important but it was not often she heard it, especially lately. Just looking at him, she knew he was being honest and that truly did things to her that she could not fully comprehend in the moment. All she knew was that right now she wanted to kiss him. She had to, needed to.
She reached for him, placing her hands on either side of his face. He moaned and leaned into her touch, setting her on fire. She lifted herself onto tiptoes, pulling him to her. Their lips nearly colliding…
A loud thud startled them back to reality. They quickly moved as far away from one another as possible while waiting to see who’d invaded their moment.
Chet rounded the corner swiftly, looking concerned. Was Paul suspicious of where the two have disappeared to? Was Chet here to warn them?
Relief washed over his face as he spotted them, “Eliza, I know you’re probably busy, but I wanted to let you know that your dad has had a few drinks and I- uh... You know how it is… I just wanted to let you know before things get too out of hand…”
Eliza didn't even need to ask. She knew exactly what Chet’s concern was. Her father was about to make an absolute fool of himself and ruin everything he was trying to build before he even got it started. Eliza knew this scene well as she'd lived it and cleaned it up too many times to count. She threw back the last gulp of her champagne and walked back into the gala resigned to her duties as Paul Arthur’s only child.
Judas watched as she lost all the shine she’d had with him all night. Her shoulders dropped. The blood faded from her cheeks. It was devastating to see her shoved dutifully into the role of fixer for a man that had little if any decency to offer the world. Still, Judas followed behind her knowing he would be there for her the entire way, no questions asked.
As they re-entered the room they escaped from earlier, Eliza saw him immediately. Thankfully, the crowd was busy listening to a speaker from their team so it still appeared to be an isolated incident, but Paul was belligerently drunk and appeared to be hitting on the same poor intern he screamed at just yesterday.
Honestly, hitting on was too kind of a term. He was pawing at her. Placing his hands on her in ways that made it clear what his intentions were. He was bordering on sexual assault and committing human resources violations that could easily get him sued if the girl was willing to fight him on it.
Eliza hated him at this very moment. She wanted to yell and scream and cause a scene so everyone could see him for what he really was. She wanted to end his whole facade right now, but she knew she wouldn’t as the tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she came to terms with this truth. No matter how terrible he was, he was her father. He was the only parent she had left and he gave her everything he could after her mother died. She owed him this, no matter how crushing it was.
Eyes now red and brimming with unshed tears, Eliza turned to Judas. She couldn't say anything because if she did she was afraid her emotions would betray her. She hated to cry in front of anyone and she was certain crying in front of him, strong and kind Judas, would be something she would never forgive herself for allowing to happen So, instead, she just looked at him, while trying her best to regain composure, but he didn’t need her to do anything.
Judas took her hand saying, “I’m here and I’ll do whatever you need.”