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“I know. I’m exactly your type.”
The grin accompanying his declaration was mildly disturbing. My mouth opened and closed without a reply immediately springing forth.
I turned towards him and glared. “Your presence is nauseating. Go away.”
“I thought you’d want to join the mile-high club.”
He was shameless. Had he not just killed the man in my bed less than twelve hours ago? We hadn’t slept together, but that was beside the point. As for me and him, I couldn’t picture it. I wasn’t going to try.
“Like I said, nauseating.”
“Yeah, turbulence can shake a weaker stomach up.”
“What?” My brows slammed together in confusion. “I’m talking about you.”
“You’re probably right. I won’t have nearly enough time to finish before we land, and I prefer the next time we fuck it be in our bed.”
He stepped back and his full lips returned to their usual state as his mask of obscurity slipped back into place. “Don’t be too much longer.”
With that, regretting having come back there in the first place.
The ride was thankfully much less talkative than our flight, albeit more restrictive in terms of space. Gavin and Judas sat in the front while a dozing Audrey and I rode in the back.
I wasn’t exactly sure what time it was.
I felt drained both physically and mentally, but when we arrived at our destination, my drowsiness was temporarily forgotten.
The blacked-out Suburban rolled through a set of high-tech security gates and up a long winding driveway surrounded by rolling green. It felt like I’d entered a whole new realm. As we got closer, I studied the modern teak-colored masterpiece otherwise known as a house. I was somewhat taken aback at just how opulent it was.
This early in the morning the sun had yet to rise. The property was illuminated by soft glowing lights that allowed me to get a pretty good look at it. The roof was flat, making the slanted glass windows appear bigger than they were.
The SUV came to a stop a few feet away from a six-car garage that had its doors shuttered. I could only imagine what kind of vehicles were stored inside.
Judas quickly got out of the front passenger seat and opened the door for me. I nudged Audrey a few times to wake her up before sliding across the seat.
Ignoring Judas’ offered hand and close proximity, I slid from the backseat, easing by him as best I could in the limited space.
Audrey got out on the other side, her movements slow and lacking any kind of gusto. After working her shift and returning home to a shitshow she had to be more exhausted than I was.
I needed to talk to her about what was going on, but something told me that particular conversation would be delayed until the sun was in the sky. She came to stand beside me, warily eyeing the house as if it was going to swallow us whole. In a way, I guess it would.
“Follow me.”
Judas placed his hand on the small of my back as he moved around us, searing my flesh with the contact. I didn’t have the energy to glare at the back of his head for touching me.
Gavin stationed himself behind us and didn’t move forward until we did.
I looped my arm through Audrey’s and followed Judas up a lighted floating walkway. There was a backlit water lounge that ran beneath it and extended down either side.
I wanted to call it extra, but truthfully this was one of the neatest things I’d ever seen. We passed between two heavyset planters of baby palm trees and a variety of red, gold, and purple flowers, before reaching the tall, double-paned glass doors.
Judas entered something into a digital keypad affixed on the sidewall to unarm what I imagined was a security system because right after that he produced an odd-shaped key to unlock the doors themselves.
We followed him into a two-story glass atrium, the roof right above us arched so high I wondered how they kept it as clean as it appeared to be.
Judas went to the left and disarmed a second security system. I couldn’t even dispute the fact it was more than likely necessary to have so much protection.
To the far right was a wide staircase that curved off to the upper level. The floorplan left you with the option to go straight or turn in either direction. I think our entire apartment could fit in this entryway and there’d still be leftover space.
My eyes landed on the large familial crest that was woven into the design of the polished marble floor, right in the center of the foyer. I released Audrey’s arm and wordlessly approached it.
This one image was an omen for bad things to come.
A scorpion curled around a single rose that had a sash draped it over, Barron scrawled on the center. It was the same crest Judas had tattooed on his arm. This same rose was now inked onto his right hand.
