Page 59 of Wilde Nights in Paradise

Jude set Libby down and studied the wall of monitors that covered every inch of the house and property. Kenneth Burke stood at the gate with Colonel Pruitt directly in front of him, both of them soaked by the drizzle of rain. Pruitt looked up and down the street, then reached out and leaned on the buzzer again. Nine times.

Short, short, short. Long, long, long. Short, short, short.

S.O.S. in Morse code.

Jude hit the switch for the intercom. “I’m not opening the gate, Pruitt.”

“Good. Don’t. Burke is the stalker. He tricked me into bringing him here, told me she was in danger,” Pruitt said as if giving a sitrep, and the lawyer’s eyes rounded in surprise.

And there it was—the gun. Burke raised it to Pruitt’s temple, pressed it so hard into his flesh that the colonel couldn’t hide his wince.

“Then you’ll kill him,” Burke said. “Are you ready to watch him die?”

“You won’t,” Jude said, even though he didn’t believe his own words. If Burke was demented enough to decapitate K-Bar, the man would have no problem killing Pruitt. But he had to keep Burke talking just long enough for the cavalry to arrive. “Run a man over with a car? Sure, I can see that, but—”

“That was a warning,” Burke said. “I tried telling Libby to watch out for you.”

Watch out.The message on the windshield of her car. Jude cursed at himself. He’d been so focused on it as a threat, it never occurred to him that it might be a warning instead.

“But then she kissed you,” Burke continued. “I have been waitingyearsfor her to realize how right we are together, giving her little gifts, little nudges. Then you come along out of the blue, and it was like our relationship meant nothing to her. Nothing. Understandably, I lost my mind for a moment, thought maybe I could scare you away from her so she’d come to her senses.”

“It takes more than Ford Taurus to scare me, asshole.”

Libby came up to stand beside him and touched his arm with trembling fingers, her complexion as white as the sheet he’d wrapped her in. “W-what’s going on?”

He tried to block the monitors. “It’s all under control—”

“Is that my dad?” Her hand covered a gasp. “And Kenneth?”

“Libby,” Burke called, his voice going all sickly sweet. On screen, his features softened. “I know you can hear me. Let me in, sweetheart.”

“Kenneth?” she repeated faintly. She closed her eyes, and her skin took on a sickly green cast. “Oh God.”

“Libby, open the gate, or I’ll kill him.”

Jude wrapped his arms around her shivering frame and pressed his lips to her temple. “Don’t listen to him. Cam’s sending help. We just have to hold him off until the police get here.”

“Oh, yes, I’ll kill your father,” Burke said matter-of-factly. “I won’t like it, but I’ll do it, and then his blood will be on your hands, sweetheart. Can you live with that? I don’t think so.”

Libby lunged for the intercom. “Kenneth, please, don’t hurt him. We’re opening the gate now. Please, don’t hurt my dad.”

Jude caught her hand before she found the button for the gate’s lock. She stared up at him, her eyes huge and shining with terror behind her glasses, a plea in her gaze.

“Jude,” she said around a sob. “He’s my father.”

“It’s my job to keep you safe.”

“Wouldn’t you have done anything to keep your father alive? Even if it meant risking your own life?”

“Yes,” he said without flinching. “But I can’t let you. I—”Love you.The words caught. He’d never said those words to her or anyone else. Since his parents died, they were just too damn hard to articulate. “I can’t put you in danger.”

She cupped his cheek in her palm, and he leaned into it, pressing his hand over hers.

“You’re not putting me in danger,” she said softly. “I am.” Before he could stop her, she slammed her free hand down on the gate release.

Swearing, Jude spun toward the monitors. On screen, Burke nudged Pruitt through the gate with the gun’s muzzle. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He grasped Libby by the shoulders. “You need to stay here in this room no matter what, you understand? You get my cell phone out of the bedroom, then stay in here and call the police. I’ll stall him as long as I can.”

“My dad—”

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