13. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The Huntress
I’ve never been so fucking confused. And as I watch Jude walk away from me, I’m torn. I don’t want him around. But I might murder that blonde woman for just talking to him—and he is pretty fucking drunk right now.
‘He could tattle on you to your brother.’
My shoulders slump, and I let out a groan, spinning on my heels and taking off after him. I mean, I do owe him for covering for me, even though I’ll never admit to what happened with Samuel.
“Why are you following me?” Jude grunts as I fall in step beside him. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Right, okay,” I say carefully. “But maybe you should just go back to the apartment. Vegas isn’t that safe.”
“Yeah, I bet Sam Erickson would agree with that,” Jude drunkenly snorts. “I read there were drugs found at the scene.”
“Where’d you hear that?” I ask, my hands beginning to sweat.
“I have a way of learning a lot of things.” He looks down at me, an eyebrow cocked. “And for the record, it’s not public knowledge.”
“I don’t do drugs,” I tell him, for some reason feeling the urge to convince him of that. “I really don’t.”
“Yeah, you just go home with men you meet in sex clubs.”
My jaw drops. “How much digging have you done into me?”
He spins around, his eyes narrowing with accusation. “Enough to know you have secrets —and my guess is they’re big ones.”
“Fuck you,” I snap at him.
“Bet you wouldn’t,” he scoffs. “I’m not your type.”
I clench my fists as he smirks down at me, anger simmering in my chest as I speak. “You don’t even know my type.”
“Wealthy assholes who don’t take no for an answer and will fuck anything that walks past them.”
Damn, he’s good.
He waits for me to answer, but then sighs, and heads away again. “I’m getting coffee.”
“It’s three o’clock in the morning,” I reason, picking up my pace. “Henry is going to be worried about you—and you need to go to bed, sleep off the drunkenness.”
“You afraid I’ll spill your sex addiction?” Jude says flatly, heading toward a twenty-four-seven coffee shop.
“I don’t have a sex addiction.” It’s a murder addiction.
“Yet you go to sex clubs in your little modest, sexy get up and take the first dick that gets hard for you.” He spits it out with so much aversion I feel it in my core. “You deserve better than some guy who just wants to pump-and-dump and leave.”
A knot forms in my throat, and I’m surprised at the truth spilling from my lips. “I don’t sleep with them, Jude. It’s not like that.”
He stops right outside the door of the small café, his expression incredulous. “Right. Maybe your brother will buy that cute little schoolgirl excuse, but I don’t.” Jude grabs the handle and rips the door open, shaking his head as he stalks toward the front counter. My shoulders drop as I follow him, avoiding the gaze of any curious onlookers. I want to scream at Jude as his expression remains annoyed—with me.
I don’t sleep with them, Jude. I just fucking kill them.
If we were anywhere other than Vegas, someone might look at us funny given our odd dynamic tonight, but thankfully, eccentricity permeates this place. Standing next to Jude as he orders, I fold my arms across my chest.
“You want anything?” Jude glances down at me with nonchalance—like he didn’t just berate me for last five minutes.
“No,” I say flatly, borderline pouting.
“Cool, so she’ll have the same thing as me,” he tells the barista, who starts giggling beneath her thick eyeliner.
“What’s the name?”
“Jude.”
“I love that name,” the cute little barista coos in a way that makes me want to pull her hair and cut her vocal cords.
“I don’t.” Jude doesn’t even look up as he pulls out his card and drops it on the counter.
I exchange a quick glance with the woman. Yep. Now you know how it feels to be ignored by Jude, too. Sucks, huh?
“Have a good evening,” she mutters as she hands him back the card. I watch as Jude takes the card from her, shoves it back in his wallet, and puts the whole thing into his back pocket. I have no idea why watching him do something so simple is so intriguing, but here I am, my eyes drinking in the veins in his arms and the dead expression on his face. My mind wanders back to when I grabbed his hand, and suddenly...
I’m tempted to do it again. What would it feel like if there was no urgency? If it was intentional...intimate.
“What’re you staring at me for?” Jude’s slightly drunken voice cuts my thought short.
“Nothing,” I mumble, looking away. My heels click on the floors as we make our way to the other side of the bar, waiting on our drinks. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to avoid staring at the man I’m here with.
Why do I feel like I’m in high school again?
I keep waiting for the voices to show up, too, but they’re suddenly silent—and I don’t know what to do with that. They never seem to stop chattering in my head. Ever.
The barista sets two iced coffees on the counter, and I reach for mine, my fingers brushing Jude’s. I freeze, ignoring his gaze. His hand quickly retreats, and I pick up the cup, taking a long gulp of the vanilla tainted drink.
Yikes. He drinks girl coffee.
And I can’t help but smile as we step out into the night again.
“What’re you smiling about?” Jude nudges my arm, and I can’t help it. I begin to... laugh. I feel it start in my core and bubble up and out of my mouth. His eyebrows shoot up as he takes a sip, his nose wrinkling.
“You drink prissy coffee,” I say through my giggles. “You wanna go to Target next? I’ll push the cart for you while you pick out cute minimalistic décor for the kitchen.”
He rolls his eyes, but then chuckles. “I couldn’t read shit on the menu. I didn’t wear my glasses. I just picked a fuckin’ number.” We both fall silent, staring at each other—and then start laughing again.
“I wear contacts,” I tell him as we start back for the apartment. “I have glasses though. I had to get them when I was in third grade.”
“Kindergarten for me,” Jude chuckles. “Was destined to be a fucking blind nerd.”
I shrug. “A lot of people have to have corrective eyewear.”
“Who the fuck calls it corrective eyewear? ” Jude makes a face, his deep tone tugging at me, and making my head grow light. “I feel like you just read me a brochure for positive self-image.”
I open my mouth to say something in response but freeze as my eyes land on a familiar face walking toward us. A very familiar face. Any shred of enjoyment drains from my being as a nightmare descends upon me. I suck in a breath as I make eye contact with Ben Lenard, my old colleague—and the reason I’m no longer a practicing lawyer.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Cher?” he gasps, his dark hair parted to the side as he stands in a fresh suit alongside a pretty redhead. “What the hell are you... Who is...?”
At first, I consider ignoring him, but my inability to say anything at all seems to come across as a confirmation—and I have to get ahead of this. “It’s, um...” My hand trembles, growing clammy at my side. “It’s been a while,” I finally spit out. This is going to be a disaster... What if he says something?
“Yeah, like three years.” His expression is tense, and it’s a clusterfuck seeing him again. I ruined his life. He ruined mine. It was mutual destruction—but he keeps talking to me anyway. “What’ve you been up to?” Ben eyes Jude beside me.
My lips move in a state of numbness. “I, um, haven’t been up to much.”
Ben cocks a brow, his dark eyes taunting me. “Not assaulting anyone with paperweights for trying to help you get an eyelash out of your eye, I assume?”
That’s not what happened, I want to scream at him.
But instead, I merely shake my head. Jude straightens up beside me, and I briefly close my eyes, embarrassment flooding through my body. What will he think of me? This all happened before I knew something was wrong with me—back when I thought I was normal. I no longer act out... Well, like that, anyway. I glance up at Jude, who’s only staring at Ben.
‘He’s probably so humiliated to be spotted with you,’ the voice jumps in.
Great, you’re back.
“Wait, so she’s the one who assaulted you?” the woman beside him points to me with pure intrigue. “Wow.” Her sultry gaze rakes over me and I chew my lip, nervously beginning to tick. “I’d never peg her for an upscale attorney. She looks...”
“Rough,” Ben finishes for her. “But I guess that’s what happens when you’re clinically psychotic.”
“Says the man in a suit that costs less than my coffee,” Jude spats at him, his face contorting in disgust. “I bet you’re a shoe salesman at Payless. Big talk for a man with those kind of ambitions.” My eyes widen at Jude’s vile tone.
Ben takes a step forward, his six-foot frame intimidating, though still falling short of Jude. “You really wanna take up for a woman who belongs in a psych ward? Do you know how nuts she is?”
Jude’s lip curls into a snarl, and I reach for his arm to stop him—but it’s too late. Jude’s faster than everyone, flipping the lid and launching the entire contents of his coffee right down the front of Ben. “Whoops,” Jude laughs like a mischievous child as Ben and his lady friend gasp at the audacity. “You might have to buy a new suit now.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Ben roars at Jude, lunging forward and shoving his chest. I jump in to break them apart, terrified that Jude might get his ass beat. However, much to my surprise, Jude swings, his knuckles making contact square with Ben’s nose. I hear cartilage snap, and stumble away from the two as Ben makes his own swing.
As the woman with Ben starts shrieking, Jude avoids a punch to the head with a block of his bicep. My heart jumps, and I find myself admiring him as he punches again, knocking Ben on his ass with a hit to the side of the head.
“ Stop!” Ben’s lady friend wails, falling to her knees beside him as a group starts to gather around us. “You’re going to kill him!”
‘Do it. Kill him. He deserves it.’
Shut up. We’re in the middle of the street.
“We need to go,” I grab Jude’s arm and tug him forward, excitement and urgency pulsing through my body.
“I’m not fucking done,” Jude growls, lifting his foot off the ground.
I jerk him hard enough to catch him off balance. “ No, you’ll end up in the back of a cop car.” I tug him through the crowd as Ben begins to stand to his feet, desperate to get us out of sight. Jude mutters incoherently behind me, but I ignore him, leading him to the first alleyway I can find so we can cut back to the apartment as unnoticed as possible.
“Slow down,” Jude pulls back, stopping me. “Nothing is going to happen. That guy’s ego is too big to make a report.”
I turn to face him and notice blood oozing from a busted bottom lip. “I didn’t see him hit you,” I nearly whisper, unable to look away. Fingers trembling, I reach up, and try to brush the crimson away. However, it smears underneath his lip. My core reacts in an unexpected way, and I brace for the panic to set in...
But it doesn’t. My arousal intensifies.
Swallowing hard, I meet Jude’s eyes, and even in the darkness, I can see my desire reflecting in his. The air charges around us, tangible waves of anticipation rolling down my spine.
Jude threads his fingers through my hair, heat exploding from his fingertips. He closes the space between us, leaning forward until his nose brushes mine. His lips follow, and I freeze as they make contact with mine.
That does it for me.
No, no, no, no.
NO.
Panic crashes into me, destroying every fucking ounce of excitement prior and I shove him back as hard as I can, shocking both of us. He grunts, and I spin on my heels, charging out of there.
I start to sweat, hearing his footsteps behind me. My chest tightens, my stomach furls with worry, and my head spins faster with every step forward. I taste a hint of copper as I run my tongue over my bottom lip, a mixture of impenetrable sadness and disgust washing over me.
“Cher,” Jude calls. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t... I didn’t mean to... I thought...”
I don’t turn around, terrified that he might somehow be able to see the secrets I hide from the world. I’ve never let someone touch their lips to mine since I was seventeen. And now, Jude McKenzie, my brother’s best friend has done the one thing that will catapult me right back into the hollow, bleak hole I’ve worked so hard to crawl out of.
“ Cher, ” he says more sternly. “I misread you. I thought you wanted... me. ” My heart does a strange squeeze at the pain in his voice. Jude was acting like any other man would in a dark alley with a woman, and here I am... feeling sympathy.
“It’s fine,” I choke out, just as he grabs my wrist lightly, whirling me around to face him once more. “Let me go.”
“No,” he rasps, his eyes studying my face. “Tell me what happened... Did I read you wrong?”
I stare back at him, trying to appear as a stone while he visibly softens with rejection written across his handsome features. My jaw aches with tension as I open my mouth, spitting another lie that causes my chest to ache. “Yes.”