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“You can see her at school. You can go to her house. But if I find out you’re seeing Josh, I’ll kill him. I’ll also stop your credit card, I’ll take your car, and I’ll freeze your endless bank account. Are we clear?”
“You’re being ridiculous.” She got up. “I don’t understand why Josh did any of this. I don’t get why Bristol can’t come over.”
“You don’t have to understand it,” Jude yelled. “You just have to listen to me. From now on, no strangers at the house. No talking to people you don’t know. If anyone approaches you asking questions about me, you don’t answer and you tell me immediately.” Jude pointed at her. “No sneaking around. I need to know where you are and who you are with at all times. I’m assigning you a guard.”
“No,” Cassie whined.
“Where did you hear the word ‘negotiable’ in any of that?”
“I’ll go live with Mom,” Cassie said. “You can’t treat me like a prisoner.”
“Cassandra, don’t test my patience.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You won’t be moving in with your mother. You’re safer here with me where I can keep an eye on you.”
“Safer from what?” Cassie shouted. “What is going on?”
I wondered that myself. Did this have something to do with the man who crashed my birthday dinner? Joey Morelli? I looked him up that night. There was nothing positive about him in the results. A local mafia guy with ties to New York and Philadelphia. And now this situation with Josh. Could they be connected?
“I’ve told you everything you need to know,” Jude said. “If you can’t abide by my rules, then you will be a prisoner in this house. Trust me, you don’t want to try me. I’ll bring in tutors to finish out your last year of high school. There will be no prom, no senior trip, no graduation party.”
“You are impossible!” she screamed, then looked my way. “How do you put up with him?”
She stormed out of the room without waiting for an answer.
“Sorry about that.” Jude cleared his throat. “She’s the impossible one.”
“I wonder where she gets it from?”
“Her mother.” He smiled as he joined me on the couch. “She will come to her senses. She’s not winning any battles against me. She got my message.”
“Why didn’t Josh tell Bristol it was you?”
“I let him live.” He put his arm around me and pressed me into his side.
“Not that I would want you to kill anyone, especially not for me, but if you suspect he knew who you were before he met Cassie, well…” I didn’t want to ask the question, but I did want the answer.
“Why didn’t I kill him?”
I nodded.
“Because he might not have come here on his own, and if that’s the case, I need to find out who sent him, and why.”
“That’s why Cassie needs a guard?”
“I don’t anticipate any problems, but it’s better to be prepared.” He kissed the top of my head. “Like I said to Cassie, you both know all you need to know. I’ll take care of anything else.”
“Will you be safe?”
“Always.”
“It’s just that I… I don’t want anything to happen to you.”Should I tell him how I feel?I wanted to, but then I remembered his words when he offered me that deal.
“I’m a busy man,” he said with no emotion in his face. “I don’t have time for relationships. For feelings.”
I didn’t care at the time, because I needed a way out, and I thought that I could never fall for someone like him. Older, intimidating, dangerous, dark. I could list all of his frightening qualities, but none of them stopped me from falling in love with him. Despite what he thought about himself, I saw the real him. The generous, caring, and tender man he hid from everyone. Even himself. But I saw it all, and I wanted it all.
“I—”
“Shh.” He looked down at me. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I’m very experienced at what I do. I didn’t get this far to get this far, you know what I’m saying?”
