Chapter 5
Anxiety churned in May’s stomach, making her ill. Was she doing the right thing? If she didn’t call the police, would Jude end up hurt, too? Her decisions could cause more problems, could endanger others.
But what if she went to the police, and they never found out who wanted Jude dead?
In equal parts, she wanted to throw up, turn the car around, drive away, and disown her brother. But none of those options would get the results she needed. The responsibility for helping her brother fell to her shoulders, because no one else could do it.
Certainly not her mother or father.
Definitely not Tim himself.
And because she believed the horror of it, she doubted that even the cops could unravel such a mystery. Tim didn’t know who had beaten him, and they couldn’t put him under twenty-four-hour surveillance.
Without a name, the insane threat against her brother—and Jude—would forever be there.
No one had followed her, she was sure of that. It amazed her that she’d made it to Jude’s in one piece. Between her shaking hands, her repeated glances in the rearview mirror, and her nervousness at what she needed to say to Jude, she’d probably been the worst driver on the road.
Her tires slipped in the mud and leaves as she accelerated through the ornate gate to the sweeping drive in front of Jude’s mansion. Immediately, the gate clanked shut again behind her. The sun had yet to rise, but gray dawn lightened the sky, and as she neared Jude’s house, she could see the enormity of the structure, the aura of wealth.
Wide porches, one for the first floor and one for the second, wrapped around the grand structure of brick and stone. A sweeping cobblestone walkway led to double columns at the entrance. At any other time, she probably would have appreciated the details of his home, the meticulous landscaping, the fountains and faceted windows.
Right now, she only concentrated on getting inside. To her nervous observation, Jude’s home looked huge, unwelcoming, cold and dark.
A six-car garage sat to the side, but given the hurried nature of her visit, she parked Ashley’s brightly colored car right in front of the entry door. Floodlights came on, blinding her but lighting the yard to make it easier for her to navigate.
She dug out the cell phone from the big tote bag and called Ashley first. The second Ashley picked up, she blurted, “I’m here.”
“Inside?”
“About to be.” Damn, her voice squeaked. “He’s letting me in.”
“You weren’t sure he would?”
“No.” With the way their last encounter had gone, she wasn’t sure of anything.
“Okay. Enough quaking—and don’t deny it, because I hear it in your voice. But you’re too strong for that, May. We both know it. So chin up. Shoulders back. Remember, Jude Jamison is just a man like any other. Flash him some cleavage and he’ll be putty in your hands. And if you need the cavalry, I’m only a phone call away.”
May smiled. “I don’t know that you could get in. He has a tall stone and iron fence around his property.”
“Hey, I can climb a fence. No problem. But if it comes to that, God help him when I do get inside.”
The image of Ashley scaling a fence and wreaking havoc on someone of Jude’s height, weight, and capability left her chuckling. “Thanks, Ash.”
“Go get ’em.”
The line went dead, and May put the phone away.
Despite tripping over her own feet, she reached the front door and raised a fist to knock. Before her knuckles met wood, the double doors opened and the man from the intercom greeted her with a distinct lack of formality.
Hair on end, he looked her over with a comical expression, shook his head, and said, “Come on in. Jude’s upstairs. He’ll meet ya in the library.”
“Thank you. I—”
He turned away, forcing May to swallow her apology and hurry after him.
He had a long stride and a booming voice. “I’ll bring you both some coffee, but I gotta get dressed first.”
Filled with apprehension, hope, and a lot of uncertainty, May looked around as they passed through the house. She made a quick note of polished marble floors, soaring ceilings, and masculine hues of brown, tan, and cream. Jude had simple tastes and apparently liked clean lines, but everything he owned screamed of high quality.
Especially the multiscreen monitors flanked by intercoms that graced every room. Though some were turned off, most of them showed various angles around the house and grounds. High tech didn’t even begin to describe it.
When the man stopped at the entrance to a stainless steel kitchen with granite countertops and floors, May almost ran into him.
He turned, jumped to find her right behind him, and frowned. “I told ya Jude was upstairs.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t go upstairs.”
Oops. “I was supposed to?”
He crossed bulky arms over his chest. “Be easier to see him that way, dontcha think?”
It took some concentration, but May fashioned a smile. “Yes, of course. The, ah, stairwell is back that way?” She pointed over her shoulder. The house was so immense, a body could get lost going from room to room.
Suspicion darkened his green eyes. He had the most imposing visage she’d ever seen, yet somehow he looked familiar to her.
“Want me to take your wrap and bag?”
“No.” Clutching the tote in front of her, May shook her head and said again, “No, thank you. I’ll…keep them with me.”
“Fine.” He started back the way they’d come, until they got to the sweeping, double-wide wooden stairway leading to the next floor just inside the foyer. “Go on up, then. To the immediate right is the library. Make yourself comfortable.”
May stared up and gulped. Knowing Jude waited at the other end made the stairs feel ominous in the extreme, like the flame that lures the moth, a path that, once chosen, would change her life forever.
And she wasn’t ready for that much change yet. “Umm…”
The older man’s face softened. “I’ve known Jude a long time. Been working for him for a few years now. No reason to be nervous.”
Belatedly, May held out her hand. Introductions would help put off the inevitable. “I’m May Price. Jude buys a lot of his artwork from my gallery.”
Her hand got swallowed in a giant mitt. “You can call me Denny. I’m Jude’s personal assistant, bodyguard, housekeeper, and general go-to guy.” With added curiosity, his gaze went over her again. Satisfied, he gave a brisk nod. “And he buys all his artwork from you.”
This time the smile came of its own accord. “I’m so sorry to have bothered you at this time of the morning—”
“No bother. The sun will be up shortly, anyway. Now, go on.”
“Thank you.” May waited until Denny went back to the kitchen and the all-important coffee preparation, then she forced herself, one agonizing step at a time, to climb the stairs. The closer she got to the upper landing, the faster her heart galloped and the tighter her stomach got.
Deciding to call on Jude was far different from actually doing it. She held tight to the handrail, her gaze darting everywhere as she viewed the upper floor. She could see yet another hallway that led to various rooms—probably bedrooms. She gulped.
She peeked into the darkened, empty library that looked as if it doubled for an office. Muted light came through the windows and a set of sliding doors that led to the balcony. Long shadows crept across the floor and over a variety of large furniture pieces.
“Jude?”
No one answered her pathetic whisper, and that amplified her unease. She reached inside the door frame and felt along the wall until her fingertips encountered a switch. She flipped it on, then stared in awe.
Floor-to-ceiling cherry shelves circled the room, topped with detailed crown molding and filled with books of every size and color, some paperbacks, some leather bound. Some very formal, some tattered and worn.
May stepped past an imposing cherry desk that faced two padded chairs and a love seat, situated around a matching coffee table. Her sneaker-clad feet sank into ultrarich burgundy carpeting. At one end of the shelves, she found a collection of classics alongside resource books on everything from sailing to decorating to accounting to natural home remedies. Coffee table books, biographies and dramas, action adventure, and finally, shelved eye level at the farthest end, mysteries, thrillers, and even romances took up a considerable amount of space.
When she pictured Jude lounging in one of those overstuffed, enormous chairs, a paperback romance in his hands, she couldn’t help but sigh. He was such a capable man. A guy kind of guy.
Long before she’d met him, she’d watched him in bouts at the SBC. She’d paid to watch them live on her satellite TV, and then rented every single competition to watch again. Thanks to her fascination with Jude, she now knew more about mixed martial art fighting techniques than she’d ever imagined existed.
With one punch, he could knock a man out. He didn’t swing; he drilled straight forward, hard and fast and on the button. Not just one shot. But two, and three, and four…however many it took to drive back and conquer his opponent.
Because he had phenomenal submission skills, he could hold his own on the ground, too. One challenger had said that fighting Jude on the ground was like wrestling with a shark in the water. Not only impossible to win, but you were liable to lose a limb while trying.
Jude matched up with the best of the boxers, and the best of the grapplers.
It spoke of his confidence that he displayed all his books, not just the ones most acceptable by society.
Walking to the wall of windows on the farthest end, she looked out at his property. In the distance, a fat red sun broke the horizon, spreading pink ribbons across the sky. The land was so incredibly beautiful, but isolated—deliberately so. He kept himself away from the public, yet still needed the monitors to ensure his safety and privacy. A sad way to live.
May would rather envision a beautiful painting on the wall, instead of the cold, blinking monitor that took up space. To think of him living here alone…Well, he did have Denny.
But it wasn’t the same.
“May.”
At the sound of his voice, her heart shot into her throat; the time of reckoning had come. She pasted on a bright smile and clasped her hands together. Greetings, explanations, pleas, all hovered near her tongue. She turned—and fell mute at the sight of him.
Good Lord. He must have just come from the shower.
Wearing only loose, faded jeans that hung low on his hips, he braced his bare feet apart and slung a damp towel around his neck. A thick black watch circled his right wrist.
Her gaze slid all over him, from his prominent biceps, to his tightly muscled abdomen, to that silky line of black hair leading down into his jeans. Going up again, her attention moved over wide shoulders, and lastly, his naked chest.
Dark, damp hair, disrupted by a few scars, decorated the sleek muscles across his chest.
Jude helped her regain her wits when, with a snort, he walked into the room toward her.
“That’s a new look for you, isn’t it? I’m not sure I like it.”
A nearly hysterical laugh bubbled out of her tight throat. Like it? Of course he didn’t like it. Neither did she. Not only were the clothes not her style, they barely fit.
“I borrowed the outfit from Ashley.”
“Ashley? Didn’t I meet her once?”
“Yes, at the gallery. But Ashley’s not very interested in artwork. She just comes by to see me because we’re best friends and…”
Her thoughts shattered as Jude went past her toward a chair. May took in the sight of his broad back tapering to lean hips, and that supersexy butt hugged by worn denim.
Oh, wow. Once he sat down, she realized that he carried shoes, socks, and a green T-shirt in his hands.
As if her visit were nothing out of the ordinary, as if he dressed in front of her every day, he bent to pull on his socks without saying another word.
May shook her head—but couldn’t quit ogling his body. “I’m sorry to bother you.”
“No bother. I was up. Working out.”
“Oh.” Why in the world had he been working out so early? She’d always imagined that movie stars caroused into the wee hours of the morning, then slept in till noon.
He glanced up. “You’re all right?”
She shook her head, but said, “Yes.” And like an addict, she stared some more, at the thickness of his wrists braced on his knees, the way his thighs strained the denim of his jeans, how the fly had faded from stress…
“May, look at me.”
Oh, she looked. And his body was even more gorgeous in person than on the big screen.
Slowly, he straightened. “My face, May.”
Mortified, she jerked her gaze up to his. Jude cocked a brow. Amusement, determination, and sizzling heat reflected in his clear blue eyes.
She gulped and eased back a step. “I’m sorry. I—”
At her retreat, the amusement fled. “Tell me why you’re dressed that way.”
Oh God. She was a horrible person! One look at Jude and she’d forgotten about the awful threat, about what she had to do and why she’d come to Jude in the first place.
“Right.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “I’m sorry. I’m a little nervous coming here like this, and it’s making me scattered.”
Silent as death, his intensity piercing, he watched her.
Get it together, May. “Yeah, soooo, I dressed like this because I didn’t want anyone to follow me when I left my apartment to come here. I even drove Ashley’s car.”
“You were that worried about the photographers taking your picture?”
“What?” Her legs felt too unsteady to try to explain everything while he sat there, mostly disinterested and somehow calculating. “What photographers?”
“The ones at your gallery. Last night.”
“Oh.” She flapped a hand. Pesky photographers were the least of her worries. “I forgot about them.”
He frowned. “Then why the costume?”
Somehow, she doubted Ashley would appreciate having her wardrobe referred to as a costume. “I really need to talk with you about… everything. Would that be okay?”
“All right.” He didn’t so much as blink. “Take a seat.”
She took a step back instead, prompting a laugh from Jude.
“I take it you don’t want to sit?”
“I can’t…I’m too nervous.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Damn him, did he have to be so distant? She was used to his warmth and teasing and now, when she needed it the most, he almost seemed disdainful.
To get her thoughts focused, May briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Jude had finished dressing and leaned back in the chair. His hands laced over his abdomen, his legs stretched out in front of him. He watched her, waiting, openly impatient.
“Anytime you’re ready, May.”
Never in her life had she been this jittery, and she hated it. She’d learned early on to assert herself, to go after what she wanted, because no one else would do it for her. Right now, she wanted to protect Jude.
She couldn’t do that if she didn’t explain. “I know you left my gallery annoyed.”
He made no comment on that.
“And I know you must dislike Tim. I even understand why. There are times when I don’t like him, either, and he’s my brother.”
The attempt at humor didn’t faze him.
Giving up, May said, “The thing is, I…I need your help.”
Very slowly, Jude pushed out of his chair and stalked toward her. “Let me get this straight.” He didn’t raise his voice, but then he didn’t have to. “You refuse to date me, to even have dinner with me, but now you need my help?”
Pride would be a luxury, so May dredged up her courage instead. But it wasn’t easy. Thanks to Ashley’s flat-soled sneakers, he towered over her. “Yes.”
“Unbelievable.” Inky black hair, still damp, fell over his brow, drawing her attention to the heat in his blue eyes.
Like a fool, she felt his gaze deep inside herself.
When he propped his hands on his hips, the soft cotton polo shirt stretched over his hard chest, emphasizing the differences in their sizes.
She wanted to touch him.
More than anything, she wished he’d hug her close and joke with her, somehow put her at ease. But he stood silent and still, deliberately intimidating her.
She licked her lips. “I know this is going to sound totally outrageous, and believe me, I’m very, very sorry. But I didn’t know what else to do.” Jude didn’t seem to be paying attention. He reached out and fingered the big button at the neck of the poncho. “What is this you’re wearing?”
“I…what?” Confused, May looked down. “It’s a poncho. If you remember Ashley, you know that she’s, well, smaller than me.”
“Less endowed.”
“Right. Same difference.” Her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose and she pushed them up again. “I needed the poncho because her shirt isn’t exactly a perfect fit and—”
“Take it off.”
Breath froze in her lungs. Three little innocuous words, but somehow Jude made them sound like a sexual command. “I beg your pardon?”
“Take off the poncho. I want to see the shirt.”
She didn’t move, and with a sound of impatience, Jude reached out one-handed and popped the button open. The tote bag fell from her numb hands. “Jude.”
“What?” With practiced ease, he dragged the poncho up and whisked it off over her head.
At the last second, May shook off her stupor and grabbed it to hold in front of her. “What in the world do you think you’re doing?”
Jude walked a circle around her; she turned, mimicking his steps to keep him in her sights.
“I figured you’d be more comfortable without it.” He stopped, and then gestured to the doorway. “And Denny is here with the coffee.”
Startled, May looked up.
Denny, first guilty, then disgruntled, unglued his feet and huffed into the room. “I wasn’t snooping.” He plopped the tray on the desk and glared at Jude.
“Yes, you were.” Jude filled a cup with steaming coffee. He took several drinks before making a sound of appreciation. “Denny has a bad habit of looming around without announcing himself.”
“My looming has kept your ass safe more than once.” And then to May, “If not for me, Elton Pascal would have gotten to him at least a dozen—”
“That’s enough, Denny.”
Unperturbed, Denny gestured at the tray. “Ignore Jude’s bad habits. He’s spoiled. Most of the women he knows woulda had his pants off already. I’ve walked in on more than one uncomfortable moment—”
“Denny.”
May didn’t know if she should blush, take umbrage, or laugh.
“On top of everything else, now I gotta play host.” After another glare at Jude, Denny bestowed a bright smile on her that showed off one silver tooth toward the back. “Would you like me to pour you a cup of coffee? I tried not to make it too strong, you being a woman and all.”
“Thank you.” Struck by the tension in the air, May looked between them.
Rolling his eyes, Jude clasped Denny’s upper arm and started him toward the door. “We wouldn’t want to keep you, Denny. I can serve her.”
Denny protested. “But I don’t mind none.”
“I know you don’t. I’m willing to bet you’d love to hang out and visit. But I’d rather you didn’t.” Jude stopped at the door, and when Denny finally slunk out with some audible grumbling, he said, “Keep your ear off the wall.”
“Go to hell.” Denny’s stomping footsteps faded down the stairs.
Jude eased the door shut—and turned the lock. “Now, where were we?”
Close to hyperventilating, May shook her head. Being locked in a room with Jude guaranteed she wouldn’t be able to hold a thought.
“Wait, I remember now.” Jude’s insincere smile put her more on edge. “I was going to get you coffee, and you were going to quit hiding behind that deco disaster you call a poncho.” He strode back to the desk. “I assume you take yours with cream and sugar?”
“Yes, thank you.” She did not want to expose herself to Jude.
“So.” While fixing her a cup of coffee, he glanced her way. “You going to drop that poncho or not?”
“Not.” She retreated another step.
“You’ve done a lot of that this morning. Backing away, clamming up instead of being your normal chatty self.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, so you keep saying.” He turned his wrist to check the time on his watch. “Plan to tell me why anytime soon?”
“My brother is in some trouble.”
“Shit.” He put a spoon in her cup and stirred. “I should have known this had something to do with Tim.”
Carrying the cup of coffee, he came to stand in front of May. After a long look, he set the cup on the table and held out a hand, palm up. “Let me have it, May.”
She had no doubt what he meant, and seeing no hope for it, she gave up her grip on the poncho.
Jude tossed it and her tote on an empty seat, then looked her over, surveying everything from below her chin to above her ankles. Voice low and a little rough, he said, “Interesting shirt.”
She wanted to cover her breasts with her hands, but that’d just make her look more ridiculous. She stood stiff, her arms at her sides, back straight, shoulders rigid.
“Those jeans can’t be comfortable.”
“They’re too tight.”
“Wanna take them off, too?” He glanced at her eyes and smirked. “From your horrified expression, I guess I can assume you’re not here to get cozy with me. Oh, that’s right. You want nothing to do with me. You turn down all my invitations. You’re only here because your idiot brother needs some kind of help.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Enough with the apologies.” Casual as you please, he went back to his chair and settled in to drink his coffee. “So am I supposed to drag it out of you? Or do I even need to? History’s taught me that when people come to me for help, that usually means they want money.”
Oh God, of course, they did. People probably hit him up for money all the time—and now he expected the same from her. In a way, she did need money from him, but not for the reasons he’d think.
No, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t be just one more person who…
His voice gentled, even if his expression didn’t. “You came all this way. Might as well see it through.”
Adrenaline rushed into her veins. She had to warn him about the threat. Before she could chicken out, she stormed toward him. “Last night, someone grabbed Tim, pulled him into a dark car, and beat him half to death.”
Jude took a small sip of his coffee. “Half to death, huh?”
“Don’t you dare be callous, Jude. When Tim fell through my doorway—and I do mean fell—he was so bloody I barely recognized him. One of his eyes swelled completely shut, and the other is so bloodshot it hurts to look at him. His lips are cracked. He has bruises everywhere.”
“Apparently, he pissed someone off.”
“He pisses everyone off! You of all people should know that.”
In the blink of an eye, Jude’s expression went cold and hard. “I’ll be a son of a bitch.” His coffee cup clattered as he set it on the desk. Pure rage brought him out of his chair, sending May to scuttle back. “You think I did it.”
Her eyes widened at that barely-there whisper. She started to retreat further, but his hands clamped onto her arms, keeping her immobile.
“You came here, all righteous and pathetically brave to face off with me, the evil outsider, because you think I jumped your poor excuse for a brother.”
Words lodged in her throat. How had he gotten everything so wrong? “I didn’t—”
“Jesus, I’m an idiot.” He worked his jaw before thrusting himself away from her in disgust. “Look at you. You’re shaking in your sneakers. You think I’m going to hurt you.”
That didn’t make any sense. “I’m trying to explain—”
His harsh laugh cut her off. “Your brother provoked me, so naturally I’d want to pound on him a little, right? I mean, what the hell, if I’d hurt a woman, why would I draw the line over a weak-ass like Tim?”
He didn’t give May a chance to dispute that.
“And you know what? I would’ve loved to give Tim one good punch in the mouth because the bastard deserved it. But when I fight a man, it’s face to face. I’m not a coward who jumps a man from behind.”
“I know.”
“I fight fair, and a fight with Tim wouldn’t be that. It’d be like fighting a kid, for Christ’s sake.”
Or hurting a woman? May’s heart broke for him. He sounded so wounded that she wondered how many times those accusations had been thrown in his face. For an honorable man like Jude, being blamed for something he wouldn’t do had to be unbearable.
“Here.” He picked up the phone and tossed it toward her. She didn’t move, and it landed on the floor in front of her.
“Call the cops, why don’t you? Share your damn theories. Tell them whatever the hell you want. I don’t care.” He started to turn away.
“Yes, you do.”
“The hell I do!” In a heartbeat, he was back, nose to nose with her. “Just because I wanted in your pants doesn’t mean you can—”
Nervousness fled in the face of raw anger. “Will you shut the hell up?”
He did a double take, his tirade suspended.
Shocked at her own loss of temper, May groaned. She’d lost her control more in the last twenty-four hours than she ever had in her life. She had to get it together. Crossing her arms tight, she tried to contain herself.
But she flared anew when Jude’s gaze dipped down to her chest. “Oh no you don’t! Don’t you dare start eyeing my boobs, damn you.”
Jude blinked at her. “I—”
“In all the time I’ve known you, never, not once, have I accused you of anything.” She hadn’t slept yet, she was tired down to her bones, and now her head wanted to explode off her shoulders. “But from the moment I walked in here, you’ve done everything you could to make this more uncomfortable for me, when let me tell you, bud, it’s plenty uncomfortable already.”
Jude regained his aplomb with a vengeance. “If you didn’t voice the accusation, you’ve sure as hell thought it.”
“You have no idea what I think.”
“It’s obvious.”
“Apparently not.”
He took several deep breaths, and in a more moderate tone, asked, “If you don’t think I’m dangerous, then why keep denying me?”
Oh, shoot. Her loss of temper had her heaving and left her brain blank. He was dangerous all right—to her peace of mind, her heart, and her blood pressure. “Ummm…”
Jude again closed the gap between them. “Why, May? If you’re not afraid of me, why refuse to have dinner with me? If you don’t believe all the rumors, then why dodge me?”
Somehow, they’d gotten way off course. She tried to inch away, and he growled with frustration.
“Why shy away from me all the damn time?”
May pressed her hands to her temples. “Stop yelling at me!” They stared at each other. “I can only deal with one thing at a time, and for right now I have a whopper of a problem with my brother.” And with keeping you safe.
Jude struggled with himself.
“I mean it, Jude. You’ve bullied me enough. I don’t take it well on a good day, and today is not going to be good. So tell me right now, will you be reasonable, or should I just leave and figure things out on my own?”
“Could you?”
Through her teeth, she said, “I’ve managed so far.” Though how she’d manage this one, she had no idea.
For only a moment, he looked admiring. “Fine. You have a reprieve. For now.” He put space between them, slouched into his chair, and gestured at her. “You have the mike, Miss Price. But I’m tired of playing twenty questions. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”
“All right.” He had her just annoyed enough that she didn’t bother to measure her words. “Tim owes fifty thousand dollars, and if he doesn’t pay it, there’s going to be some nasty consequences.”
To her surprise, the bald statement didn’t affect Jude at all. “Tim is an ass.”
“I had to leave him at my place. Ashley is taking care of him. Tim claims the men who beat him up said they’d be watching him, and if he tried to go to the police, they’d kill him.”
“And you believed that?”
Only because the threat implicated Jude—and Tim’s beating made it all too real. She’d get it all said now, while they were both being reasonable, calm adults. “The man he owes…he told Tim that they’d be even, that he wouldn’t have to pay it back, if he…”
Jude closed his eyes and sighed. “If he what?”
He looked bored again—but it wouldn’t last long. She sank down to sit on the edge of the chair facing him. “If he killed you.”
That got his eyes opened. He stared at her, his expression blank before breaking into humor. “You’re kidding.”
“No.” She bit her lip, sick at heart. “Sorry, I’m not.”
He started laughing. “Damn, I didn’t see that one coming.” The amusement quickly waned. “So tell me, how the hell did I get into this?”
“I don’t know.” May wished she had the nerve to crawl into his lap and put her arms around him. It couldn’t be a good feeling, for someone to want you dead. “All I know is that Tim is pulverized, and whoever did it to him said he’d be watched around the clock to make certain he doesn’t go to the cops. He’s to pay—either with cash or by…” She gulped. “Doing you in, or else he’ll be killed.”
“Who does he owe?”
It bothered May that Jude seemed to take it all so well. “He’s not sure. He borrowed at the boats without getting a name. Tim said he thought it was a friendly exchange…”
“Tim never thinks. It’s one of his biggest problems.” Jude tapped his fingertips together, thinking. “By the way, if I had jumped him, he sure as hell wouldn’t be able to come crying to you.”
“I know.” The urge to defend her family burned inside her, but unfortunately, Tim had no defense. “You have to give him the money, Jude.”
Incredulous, he shot forward in his seat. “I don’t have to do a goddamned thing!”
This time, May did reach out to him, putting her hand on his forearm. Muscles bunched. Their eyes met. “Don’t you see? It’s the only way. Tim said they want the money soon, but I don’t have that much. I’ll have to sell…things to get it.”
His jaw locked. “It’s not your debt. It’s Tim’s.”
“At this point, does it matter whose debt it is?”
“He’s an adult. A man. Let him grow up.”
If only it were that simple. “A life is at stake here.”
“Should I break out my violin?”
He didn’t believe her, didn’t understand that the threat really did exist. “Tim probably should be in a hospital, but he’s afraid to go. Whoever did this to him means business. I realize eventually we’ll have to notify the police, but in the meantime, if you’d only give him the money, then he won’t have to—”
“Kill me?” There was no amusement in Jude’s grin. “I have another solution.”
“You do?”
“Damn right.” He caught her hand and laced his fingers with hers. Eyes bright and direct, he said, “I could kill Tim instead.”
“That isn’t funny.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
Maybe he could take death threats in stride, but she couldn’t. “Of course you were. You could no more kill than Tim could.”
Jude’s attention stayed glued to her face. “Where have you been? Don’t you watch the news? I’m the scourge of the earth. I murdered a woman. In com parison, offing a creep like Tim would be a piece of cake.”
She was in no mood for his sarcasm. “We have to get serious here. Paying them off is the only option. But we need to move soon. Who knows what they might do next?”
Jude tugged on her hand, forcing her to lean toward him. “You don’t think I’m capable of murder?”
Distracted once again, May stared at his mouth. “For the last time, Jude. No, I’m not afraid of you, and no, I don’t believe you’re a murderer.”
He released her so suddenly that she almost fell back in her seat. “So now your reprieve is over.”
“No way.” She rushed to her feet and moved behind the chair. “We haven’t figured out what to do about Tim’s attackers yet.”
Smirking, Jude stood, too. “Look at you, cowering behind the damn chair.” And in a taunt, “I thought you weren’t afraid of me.”
“I do not cower.”
He took a step toward her, and she scrambled to the side. “Looks like cowering to me. You trust me enough to have in your gallery, to keep me as your best—maybe your only—customer.”
“I have customers!” Just not enough to keep her in business.
“But you don’t trust me enough to date.”
Why did he have to turn insistent now? “It’s not a matter of trust.”
He stalked her. “Bullshit. You want me to choke up fifty grand to save your brother’s sorry ass, but God forbid you have dinner with me.”
Anger stirred inside her again; her brother’s ass wasn’t the only one on the line. “You’ve got it all wrong, Jude.”
“You’re no better than Tim.”
The insult cut deep, making her rigid. “Take that back.”
“He uses you, and you want to use me. My money’s good enough—as long as you don’t have to touch me to get it.”
Infuriated, May launched herself across the chair. Jude stumbled back, but not fast enough. She was on him in an instant.
Poking him hard in the chest, May shouted, “I have always wanted you. Always. I don’t accept your offer of dates because I know exactly how we’d end up.”
Jude grabbed for her pointed finger but missed. She advanced, and he backed up. “Yeah? And how’s that?”
Sounding demonic, she growled, “In your bed.”
Disbelief replaced surprise. “Oh, really?”
“Or my bed. Or on the damn street corner.” The look on his face gave her pause, but anger ruled. “Around you anything is possible, because the second you’re close, I start thinking insane things that can’t be. Around you I’m a jellyfish.” She punctuated that with another hard poke that made him jump. He butted up against the desk and came to a halt. “And in case you’re still confused, that means I have no backbone. You look at me and I melt.”
“Melt, huh?”
May had the awful suspicion he might laugh. “Yes, damn you.” She thrust her chin up close to his. “You shake my control and I can’t stand it.”
“Then why not just give in?”
“Argh!” She knotted her hands in her hair, amazed that he could be so dense. “It would never work, that’s why.”
“I see.” Furthering her suspicions that he found her loss of control amusing, he rubbed his mouth. “Funny how you never told me this before, no matter how many times I asked you out. But suddenly you need my money for your brother, and just like that”—he snapped his fingers right in her face—“you confess all.”
“What are you talking about?” He couldn’t have meant that the way it sounded.
“Planning a little trade-off, honey? I get a fuck, and your brother gets bailed out of trouble?”
If she’d had time to think about it, if the insinuation hadn’t been so ugly, and if she hadn’t been running on lost reserves, she might not have swung at him. But before she knew it, her fist flew through the air and connected with his chin.
He grunted as his head snapped back. “Son of a…”
May’s mouth fell open. “Ohmigod.” What had she done? “Ohmigod, I’m sorry.” She shook her hand, but it continued to sting—so how must his face feel? “I’m so sorry!”
Rubbing at his chin, he gave her a cross look. “Just calm down, May.”
“Ohmigod.” Mortified at her own awful behavior, she rushed away from him, snatched up the poncho, and tried to jerk it on.
He reached for her. “May—”
Frantic, she screeched, “Don’t touch me!” Stupid poncho, it was all twisted inside out, fighting her. Dear God, not only had she screamed at him that she wanted him, but she’d struck him, too. While fumbling with the poncho, she turned to look at him. “I am really, really sorry.”
With a long sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Out of here. Away. I should never have come here.”
“You didn’t hurt me, honey.”
Her eyes flared. “I punched you.”
Mouth twitching, he said, “Yeah, I know. But it’s just a little swat. I’ll live.”
She covered her face. “Not if Tim kills you.” Her knees almost buckled at the thought.
“He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Trust me on that.”
“But whoever wants you dead could.” And just saying it aloud made her want to be ill. How could he accuse her of using him when the main reason she’d come to him wasn’t even for her brother.
No, she’d come because she knew Jude could be in real trouble.
“Tim’s probably either lying or exaggerating, so just calm down and take a deep breath.”
She’d borrow against her gallery. Between that and her savings and whatever Tim had put away…
“May, listen to me.”
Giving up, she threw the poncho aside. She had no time to waste now that she knew she couldn’t take money from Jude. He’d never believe her motives, not after he’d been hurt so badly by the trial and all the negative press that had followed.
Anxious to go, she grabbed up the straps to the tote.
Jude snatched it away from her. “You’re not leaving.”
“Yes, I am.” She reached for the bag, and Jude held it over his head.
“No, you’re not.”
“Fine, keep it.” She’d call a cab from the kitchen. Denny would help her. When she got home, she’d call the cops, and together, they’d make Jude accept the reality of the situation.
But when she tried to rush past Jude, he caught her wrist. May kept going, Jude didn’t let go, and the momentum turned her full circle until she ended up wrapped in his arms, her back to his chest.
Shock rippled through her.
He touched her everywhere, his arms circling her upper body, his feet caging hers in, his hard thighs snugged up to her backside.
Heat rushed along her nerve endings, closing her eyes, parting her lips, making her belly tingle. A damn jellyfish.
She tried to explode away, but he easily subdued her, saying, “Settle down, honey.”
She could hear his smile, and it enraged her all over again. “Don’t you dare laugh at me.”
“Wouldn’t think of it.”
“Jude…”
He nuzzled her ear and whispered, “We need to talk.”
If not for him holding her, her weak knees would have given out. “There’s nothing else to talk about.”
“I disagree. We need to talk about your idiot brother. And whoever told him to kill me.” His mouth touched her ear. “And most of all, the idea that you want me. Because, you know, thinking you didn’t is what made me so mean. Now that I know you do…Well, I promise to be Prince Charming.”
And finally, he gave her the hug she’d been craving.