“Dustin, Jude is dangerous … a heartless murderer. I think … I think he killed the woman they found in the lake. Her name was Diana Maliano. I think there are others… He said—”
Dustin shot to his feet. “What? I know he’s a son of a bitch, but a murderer? Why would he kill that woman?”
“She had been one of the people he hired to watch me. But she became useless to him when I managed to escape the first time.”
“You ran from him before?” Shock deepened his voice as he paced the room.
“Yes, I went home … to Serendipity. He found me the next day.” I paused and bit my lip. “He made me pay for deceiving him.”
“He beat you?” He halted in front of me and swiped his hand over his brow. “Did you ever go to the police?”
“I couldn’t. He said I’d end up being the one behind bars. He has money, influence, power.” I dropped my head and relived the pain he had caused me.
“Why would you end up in jail? He’s the bloody criminal. He was just messing with your head. If he really killed that poor woman, we should call the police.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “I’ll do that right now. You’ll be safer with him behind bars.”
“Don’t … please.” I reached for his hand and clutched it. “He was right. If the police get involved, I will end up in jail. I killed someone, too.”
The phone slipped from Dustin’s hands and fell to the floor between his perfectly shined shoes. “No, you … You what?”
I licked my dry lips. “I killed a man. Jude covered it up. The man,” I dropped my gaze so he wouldn’t see the shame mirrored in my eyes. “He was my client.” I paused. “Dustin, I used to be a prostitute.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Jude pulled on a black cap and stepped out of the car into the cool night.
He wanted to rage inside, but from business and personal experience, he had learned that emotions drove people to make stupid mistakes. He didn’t make mistakes.
Haley flashed in his mind and a small grin spread across his face. “Game over,” he said and climbed out of his Rolls Royce. The bitch had dug her grave. Now she would have to lie in it.
He would not go after her this time. She would come back to him willingly. He just had to send a few clear messages. The longer he stayed away, the clearer those messages would be.
He walked into Allure, just another man out for a good time. He pressed a wad of cash into the sweaty hands of the owner, and he nodded and disappeared through a door behind the bar. Jude had called him an hour ago to tell him exactly what he wanted. And he paid the man more than he could ever make in a single night.
Jude slipped into a seat at one of the small tables and was served vodka on the rocks. He had never been one to drink much, but in the past months, his tongue was starting to like the taste of alcohol. After a single swig, twenty-something-year-old woman appeared before him. Waist-length hair, ample breasts, and green eyes. Just like Haley.
Haley could run, but he had found a way to still keep fucking her, even from a distance. Until he got her back.
He eyed the whore’s breasts, thinking of Haley. Desire yawned inside him, and his pants grew tighter.
He didn’t talk, just placed a bill next to the glass and took her hand. He led her to his car and drove away.
“Hi,” she said once he had started the engine. “I’m Rosemary.”
“Good,” Jude said and kept his eyes on the road. Making conversation was not in his plans. He was definitely not going to tell her his name.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
“And you talk too much. That’s not what I paid for.”
That made the bitch shut up, and she turned to gaze out the window. He pressed a button and classical music filled the car.
Twenty minutes later, he led her into a secluded cottage by the river, into a room that was lit by a single shaded lamp.
He slid a finger into the front of her tight top and pulled her to him. Then he yanked at her hair until her face was upturned and her neck exposed. As she groaned with a mixture of pleasure and pain from being handled roughly, he ran his tongue from the hollow of her neck along her throat to her chin. Then he let go of the hair and turned her around. He pushed her onto the king-sized bed.
“Undress,” he said quietly but firmly. She did as she was told.
As he watched the pieces of clothing falling to the floor and her milky skin becoming more exposed, he unzipped his pants, pulled out his hard cock and ran a hand up and down the shaft.
When she was completely naked, he approached the bed, pushed her down with one hand, and used the other to push himself into her. Unlike Haley, she moaned instead of yelping. He didn’t like it. He stilled and then thrust deep into her. She gasped and he smiled. He did it again, this time pressing her harder into the mattress.