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“You’re vile.” When I moved past him, he grabbed my arm. “Let go of me.”
“Listen to me.” He released my arm. “Jude doesn’t need you for much else than warming his bed. You have no money, no job, and no future here. Hell, Bristol told me Jude is teaching you to read.”
“I know how to read.” How did Bristol know Jude was helping me?
“She said Jude took you to the bookstore and bought you all the books that she and Cassie read in middle school.” He grinned. “What purpose does a man like Jude need with someone like you?”
“Why is it any of your business?”
“Because if we work together, we can both have what we want,” he replied.
“What is it you think I want?”
“Security, a family, a man to love you.”
Am I that easy to read?
“I’m right.” He kicked the dirt under his feet. “Why else would you be with Jude?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“You’re working him.” He laughed. “You might not be able to read, but you’re not as stupid as they think you are.”
“They don’t think I’m stupid.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not stupid.”
“Whoa, sweetie.” He held up his hands, mocking me with his expression. “I don’t care if you’re an idiot. I mean, you can’t be that dumb, because you found your way into Jude Cordero’s bed. Even he knows that couldn’t have been an accident, but you have something he wants, and we both know what that is.”
“Shut up.” His taunting triggered memories of the other kids at school making fun of me when I couldn’t figure out a word. They made me feel so small, so ridiculous. “I have to go.”
“Not until you hear me out.”
“There is nothing you can say that would make me go against Jude.”
“Don’t be so sure.” He backed me against one of the stalls. “Whether you want to believe it or not, your days are numbered here. If you get Jude to hire me, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
“I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“Yeah, you do.” He pointed in my face. “Before you landed in the main house, you were sleeping out here with the horses. It makes sense. I’m sure before that, you were in trouble with people that Jude managed to get you out of.”
“How did you…” I stopped because I didn’t want him to trick me into saying too much.
“It wasn’t difficult to figure out,” he said. “That explains the word on the street.”
“What word on the street?”
“Don’t worry about it, but you’re turning into a major liability for your sugar daddy. He’s on the verge of war with a prominent family. It’s only a matter of time before Jude cuts you loose, and when he does, whatever trouble you were in before he found you will find you again. These men are brutal, and Jude leads the pack.”
The man in the club the other night.
“Help me and I’ll help you.”
“No.”
“Look, you stupid bitch, I may be your only hope.”
“Don’t call me stupid!”
“You can’t fucking read, and you’re with a man who has a degree from Harvard. A crime lord who can have any woman he wants, and he picks a piece of white trash from the wrong side of the tracks. You’re no better than me. I can read.”
