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“You’ll run out of things to do around here soon if you keep fixing up the place like this.”
“I’m doing up the apartments next, so there’ll be plenty to do.” He turned to look at me. “Yours is up first.”
I took my attention off the road, meeting his gaze. “Why would you fix up my apartment?”
“Because it needs an upgrade. And I want you—I mean my tenants—to feel comfortable. So why not start with your place?”
I was still reeling from the visit to the lawyer. The last thing I wanted was to figure out Jude’s agenda. Because everyone always had one. Nobody just did something nice for someone else.
“You know what? Knock yourself out.”
Who knew how long we’d be here? If Lenny decided he wanted to live with his grandparents, I wouldn’t stay here. Not only because it would remind me of him but also because I wouldn’t bother with a fixed address anymore.
Jude frowned, my easy acceptance no doubt taking him by surprise. “What’s going on? Did something happen?” He sat up, his body that always seemed to be in motion going still. “Is Lenny okay?”
Sighing, I played with the hem of my shirt. “For now.”
I bit my lip, cursing myself for slipping and saying even that much. But I was worried, and my thoughts were scattered.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means my mom wants Lenny back.”
And there I go again, saying exactly what’s on my mind.
Jude’s hands were now balled into fists by his sides. “I hope you told her to get fucked.”
I chuckled because I’d have loved to do just that. “Not in those words. But I told her I’d fight for him. If he wants me to.” The last part was added on in a whisper. Because I was scared. For the first time since taking Lenny and walking away, I didn’t know if I’d done the right thing.
What did I really have to offer him? I had a job I couldn’t tell anyone about. A job that would most likely get me killed. And we were broke because all my money went to Mom.
“Of course he wants you to. He loves you.”
I dropped my head, surprised when a tear splashed on the roof. I never cried.
Jude’s arm came around me, and then his warmth engulfed me. He rested his head on mine, and we stayed on the roof until I was too exhausted to keep crying.
For the first time in my life, I felt connected to another person who wasn’t related to me by blood. And I was petrified of how vulnerable that made me.
10
JUDE
Liam slappedan envelope down on my desk. “I found out who the Russians hired to take out Dad.”
I’d come into the office today. I wasn’t getting anywhere at the apartment building. At least most of it was now either in the process of being renovated or had already been done. I’d never been good at sitting around doing nothing.
I was putting new roofs on the walkways, and I was making my way through the apartments.
My brother’s announcement sent my brain into overdrive. Was there a chance that we’d really found something this time? Because so far, Ariel was a dead end. Something I wasn’t ready to admit yet because if I did, I’d have no excuse left to stay close to her. “Who?”
“It’s not a person. It’s an organization. Remember the secret society we’ve heard rumors about over the years? They call themselves Gladius. The only reason we got the name is because Quinn’s restaurant manager is Aleksándr Volkov’s brother.”
Fucking Aleksándr.He hadn’t given us all the information after all. “Why haven’t we talked to him before now?”
Liam sat down on the edge of my desk. “We did. But he didn’t know anything back then. Now he does.”
Opening the envelope, I pulled out photos and documents. “And he’s sure?”
