She didn’t wait for a response as she wrenched open the apartment door. Dropping the food on the counter, she went right to bed, soaking the pillow in her tears without even getting undressed. He was right. There was no point in trying to escape. She didn’t have anywhere to go. There was no one waiting for her anywhere, no one who missed her, no one who cared where she was. She wondered if her shadowy captor actually slept, hoped that he did. Hoped that he could hear her crying and that the sound would follow him wherever it was he retired.
***
When the sound of an engine rumbled through the parking lot again just a few nights later, Jude wondered if this was to be a new routine.
Never able to let her guard down, even an inch. Always on edge, always afraid. Always wondering if this would be the night they were coming to get rid of her for good.
She didn’t bother leaving her room. Instead, she turned out the lights, pressing her ear to the wall. She recognized the sound of Vin’s voice, laughing with two other men. But then his voice abruptly grew closer, the sound just at the top of the hallway that led to her door, and she lurched across the room in a panic, searching for something she could use as a makeshift weapon if necessary.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
It washisvoice, her shadowy captor, sharp and white and ringing.Can he see through walls?Jude’s mouth dropped open, but before she could defend herself, she heard then Vin respond angrily and realized the question was not directed at her.
“What difference does it make to you? Get out of my way.”
They were in the hallway, the hallway that only led to her door. Her heart climbed up to her throat and she gripped the base of the table lamp, the only thing she had.
“No. I think it’s time you left. You know, for someone whose indiscretions caused this mess in the first place, one might think you’d be a bit more sensitive to the quiet nature of this situation. Leave her alone and go.”
Jude could easily envision the look on her short lived fiancé‘s face. He would be turning red, a vein popped at his temple, nearly going cross-eyed with rage.Such a fucking cliché.
“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve —“
“I don’t take my orders from you, little boy. I have a job to do, and I can’t do it if you decide to make this your new little playhouse for all your thug friends. I wonder if Carmine knows you’re doing business here. In any case, your presence is not going to preventmefrom doing what I am here to do. Now why don’t you run along before you get hurt, and I can promise you, youwillget hurt.”
She moved out of the living room then, taking the lamp with her. Closing her bedroom door, she pulled her laundry basketfull of books in front of it. It wasn’t much of a security system, but it was the best she could do, and she didn’t need to hear anymore.
He protected you. He kept Vin away. Why would he do that?
Jude twisted in her sheets, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The truck had rumbled away, and the night beyond her door was silent.
He was out there, though. Watching over her. Keeping her here, keeping her captive . . . but keeping her safe. She didn’t understand why, and at length, her eyes grew heavy, and she pushed the confusing thoughts away.
New information to work with, her specialty, but that was a problem for another day.
Part 2
Chapter 4
His name was Lux. It was, she thought, the most preposterous thing imaginable.
“Doesn’t that mean light? Isn’t that a little ironic?”
Jude didn’t bother hiding her grin as he shot her what she imagined was a disdainful look. It was impossible to tell, with his countenance all being the exact same shade of black. Since that first afternoon that he’d caught her, he’d not taken on the hyper-focused form again. She wondered if it was tiring to do so, and in any case, she preferred this — human features, still maybe only for her benefit, but a uniform opaqueness. It seemed less contrived, and the lack of artifice made her relax, as much as she was able to relax in this place.
She’d woken the morning after the unexpected visit deciding to make the best of her situation, and had done her damnedest to do so since.
She knew how to turn on a dime. Remaining fluid and flexible was not just a skill in ballet — it had been essential in the pack. Growing up different from her peers meant she never knewwhen friend would become foe, when she would need to harden herself and carry on. Her high school homeroom teacher had called it disassociation. Her family had already been ousted from the pack by then, making her even more of an outcast. She knew how to make due, make the best of things, at least until a better opportunity presented itself, and the skill would serve her well now.
“Isn’t it a bit ironic that you know Latin, and you werestillsold away as a child bride?”
“Oh, Mr. light man, I’m no child,” she snorted with derision of her own. “Two years of Latin as an elective. Werewolves were the founders of Rome, you know. It’s sort of a big deal to us. And you didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t recall there being an actual question? You know the meaning of my name, a lasting testament to the diligence of your study, I’m sure, so I can’t imagine why that remains a question.”
She grinned broadly. Despite the issues she had in school, Jude had always loved to learn. The public library had been a godsend growing up, and she’d swiped the vocabulary word-a-day calendar from her guidance counselor’s desk two years in a row, bolstering her education in nontraditional ways. To her shock, Lux was well-spoken with refined manners, reminding her of that same guidance counselor, not at all what she would have expected from someone in his unsavory profession.
Despite the fact that he was her jailer, Jude was beyond bored, and he seemed more than happy to spar with her.
