“I can tell that Ivy is special.”Sully smiled at Jude.“Who the fuck else would put up with your grumpy ass?”
He rubbed his forehead.“Think they’re okay down there getting coffee?”Jude said, changing the subject.
They heard whispers outside the door, and Iron face broken into a smile.“What do you want to bet right now they’re giving your woman a pep talk on how to deal with you?”
“Jesus, you’re probably right.I just don’t know if I can do it.You guys somehow figured it out.I just don’t know if I can.”Jude’s heart constricted tightly at the thought of losing her.
“Don’t let her get away,” Red said with a hint of desperation in his voice.
“She looks at you like you have the whole world in your hands,” Sully added.
“Don’t throw away the love of a good woman.”Iron clapped him on the back once more.“It’ll be the worst decision you’ll ever make.”
Vivienne poked her head through the door, her long blonde hair loose and untamed, and she smiled brightly when her eyes landed on Iron.
“Come here, sweetheart.”He held out his arm, and Vivienne practically skipped across the room and sat on his lap, handing him the coffee.Iron took a sip and grinned.“Extra sweet.”
“Just how you like it.”Vivienne smiled up at the gruff man, her eyes shining with adoration.The men chuckled at Iron’s show of affection.Aside from Jude, he was one of the most hardened of them.Lost in tremendous grief from what he saw in the field.Now he was married to Vivienne and seeing him with her wrapped around his little finger did them all some good.
Thalia went directly to Red, and Jane sat beside Sully.
His heart pounded in his chest when Ivy locked gazes with him across the room.Even though he’d been cold and distant in the waiting room, she gave him a smile and brought him a coffee.He still wasn’t sure if he could make room in his life for Ivy.If he tried, he had a feeling it would be the best thing he ever did with his life.If he failed, he knew it would be his biggest regret.
The group stayed and talked for a while longer, and the women agreed to get together for drinks some evening.He could tell his friends were doing what they could to pull Ivy into the fold and make it more difficult for him to fuck things up.Still, none of them knew some of the things he’d done so long ago.Would they still think him worthy of Ivy if they did?The men would understand his need for revenge against the murderers who’d killed his family.He wasn’t so sure about the women, though.When Agent Levine, Cameron, and Ross came into the waiting area, his friends stood to leave, offering words of encouragement as they filtered out.
“We got him.”Cameron’s shoulders depressed as he sighed with relief.
Agent Levine shut the door to the private waiting area and dropped his voice.“Career criminal who was approached and offered a million dollars for a contracted kill.Half of the money was paid up front, and the bureau is investigating the bank account it came from.Whoever set it up is hiding behind layers and layers of false businesses.One of our tech guys hacked in and was able to locate some other recent transactions.Turns out one is from a woman right here in San Diego—get this, 2.5 million dollars.I want my agents to interview her.”
Ivy gasped and Jude squeezed her hand.“Do you think she paid for one of the children I heard those men referencing?”
“That’s our hope,” Ross said leaning in toward her.“Because if that’s the case and the money already went through, it’s possible that other logistics were arranged.Like a pickup point.”
“Whoever had the idea to consolidate their illegal dealings into one holding space for the children was a fucking idiot and makes our job a hell of a lot easier,” Cameron said.“If they’ve already started to move the children together, chances are, finding one will lead to the rest.”
“I hope they find them safe,” Ivy whispered.
“Now that we’re here, why don’t you two head out.We’ll update you the second we hear something, Jude,” Agent Levine added.
He ran his hand over his face and nodded.“Update me on any news, no matter how small.”
“You got it, Boss.”Ross nodded.
Ivy said goodbye to Cameron, Ross, and Agent Levine.Jude waited by the door, simply giving the other men a chin lift.When they walked out of the hospital and into the parking garage, he told himself he was only wrapping his arm around her to mitigate the threat to her if someone fired on them.All he could think about, though, was how good she felt pressed into his side.As they drove toward his apartment, he fought an internal battle.All the reasons he couldn’t have her.
He briefly considered bringing her to Jess’s condo and dismissed it.Their time in the hot tub kept spinning in his head.How fucking right she’d felt in his arms.How she made his heart crack open, letting light seep into crevices that had gone dark long ago.Tension filled the space between them and by the time he parked the SUV in the apartment complex’s garage, he was desperate to get out into the open, afraid the moment he turned off the engine he’d be unable to stop himself from kissing her.They rode the elevator up to his apartment, walked to his unit, and opened the door.Once he had locked them inside, he paced into the living area, then paused, feeling her hand clutching his arm.
“Jude,” she whispered.So many questions were laced up in his name, but what he heard the most was the care, compassion, and desire in her tone.
He paused.His heart was pounding as all his blood raced straight to his dick.In one breath his hands spanned over her waist as he turned her, pushing her against the wall.He moved his palm over the soft material at the back of her shirt until his hand was fisted in her short, glossy hair.Her pupils were blown out, making her eyes nearly black and hazy with lust.He stared at her for a moment, then crashed his lips against hers.The kiss ignited something lethal within him.Heat rushed through his veins as she buried her tongue in his mouth.He tugged her hair, angling her head so he could kiss her more deeply.He swallowed her moan.Or maybe the sound of pure desperation echoed from his throat.He’d never felt more out of control.He wanted to devour her.Touch every part of her body all at once.This woman made him reckless.Made him forget decades of caution with each desperate kiss.He had no idea how she’d gotten under his skin.Now that she had though, he couldn’t image her anywhere else.His body trembled with the need to claim her.To mark her as his.He braced his hands on the wall above her head and shoved himself away.
Fuck.What the hell was he doing?There was no place in his life for this woman.He couldn’t handle the pain that would come when she was ripped away from him.Her memory would be scorched into his soul, and he’d go mad trying to forget her.
“Don’t walk away.”The words tore from her throat.Made him desperate to turn around and face her.To finish what they started.Once she learned the truth, those decadent, honeyed eyes he wanted to die staring into would go flat.
“I have to.”His voice sounded like it was scraped raw.“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“That’s right.Because I haven’t asked for anything.I’ve watched you, wanted you from the start, but I’ve respected your boundaries even when you’ve looked at me the same way.”
