Page 61 of Killing Emma

“Luca?” Jude’s voice cuts in. “You good?”

“Yeah,” I say, adding a chuckle to make it count.

“Thanks for showing me this,” Emma says to Jude, pushing her chair back from the desk. “I needed it.”

“No problem.” Jude watches her as she stands to her feet. She heads for the door, passing by me. As she does, she runs her fingers across my torso, leaving a trail of goosebumps in her wake. I want to grab for her, hang onto her, and then smother her until I’m the only man she ever sees when she closes her eyes.

I watch her leave, drinking in the sight of her in those black leggings, giving me the perfect view of her ass. My guess is she brings plenty of men to their knees without much effort—and I’m just another victim.

“What’s going on between the two of you?” Jude asks as soon as the door closes. “Because there’s no way you’re doing all of this just for Henry and Lydia.”

“It’s complicated,” I answer him.

“It reeked of sex in here.” Jude leans back in the chair. “Which isn’t surprising, but I’ve never seen you so…”

“Pussy-whipped?”

Jude chuckles. “Yeah, something like that. I can tell she’s got a hold on you, which explains Manny’s death better… I mean, you never snap.”

“Guess I do.” And I need to right now.

“I get it. Sort of. I was seeing someone for a while, but it didn’t work out.” His words are flat. “It never fucking works out for me. I’m the good guy.”

“Yeah, well, it’s never worked for me either,” I tell him.

“Because you never wanted it to,” he clips. “That’s the thing with Henry, too. He never had an interest in it working out, and then bam, he gains interest, and it does.” His tone is wry as he rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think it’s working out for me. She’s… hung up.”

Jude nods slowly, putting it together. “Oh. Shit. Yeah…” His reaction is enough to bring the rage back—and I need to do something about it.

“Can you watch her for a while?”

“What?”

“Can you stay here with her for a while?”

Jude narrows his eyes. “Depends… What’re you going to do? Because you need to stay away from Jared—and any of this mess right now. You’ll bring it right to your door. Ivan’s watching it like a hawk.”

I nod. “Won’t touch him. I just need to blow off a little steam.”

Jude takes a deep breath. “Okay. Go.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Emma

I saw Luca from the window in the kitchen, zooming down the driveway on his motorcycle—and the sight is alarming. He didn’t say he was going anywhere. Where is he going? Am I alone? A sear of panic bursts from my chest. I drop the slick bowl coated in suds, and it splashes into the dish water.

“You okay?” a voice asks from behind me.

I spin around to see Jude, fear pulsing through my body. “Yeah… Where did Luca go?” My mind flashes to the basement. To Manny. To the moment I thought he was going to destroy me.

Jude holds his hands up. “I’m just here to hang out while he blows off steam.”

“What?” I snap, glancing back to the window. “Where’s he going?”

“I don’t know.” Jude shrugs. “Maybe The Den?”

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