by Wendi Zwaduk
“So things are working out for you?”
Andre shrugged. “I couldn’t stand seeing the drunks drooling after her, so we decided that I’d be the only one to see her goodies. She wanted to quit anyway. Got tired of the late nights and she wanted a family. Tiny paid for the honeymoon.”
Corey emerged from behind the dressing room door. “Andre!” His smile dropped and he slipped a handful of condoms into his snug jeans pocket. “Decker.”
“Put that shit away,” Andre growled. “We know what you’re doing.”
Ramon cocked a brow, half expecting an explanation.
“Not in front of the newbie,” Corey snapped. “And Judy Blue left through the side door. She went home. Wasn’t that into you.”
Ramon sprang from his seat and spoke past the lump in his throat. Maybe expecting her to be his informant wasn’t such a great plan. “No problem. I wasn’t waiting for her anyway.” Like hell. He nodded at Andre and Corey. “See you Tuesday?”
Andre dipped his head and stood. “Six o’clock on Tuesday.”
Corey grunted.
Ramon tossed the bottle into the nearby waste barrel and strode into the foyer.
“Wait up!”
He turned on his heel to see Jude running across the tiled floor. The red and grey flannel shirt slipped off her shoulder, revealing the strap of her crimson tank top and creamy skin. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink. She panted and stopped a foot away from him. “I thought you wanted to see me.”
“I did.” He grabbed her hand and linked his fingers with hers. “I just fell for some bad information. May I walk you to your car?”
She lowered her gaze. “I insist. Saturday nights seem to bring out the worst in people.”
Ramon inhaled the sweet scent of her body spray—roses or something floral. His heart thumped against his chest. Being with Jude seemed like the most logical thing in the world. “Where do you live, sweet girl?”
Jude stopped by the rear bumper of a worn red Neon sedan. She cocked her head. “With you.”
“Huh?”
“The Sanborn apartment building, where you live. Tiny expects all his employees to live there. Didn’t he ask you to move in there yet? And don’t call me sweet girl.”
Her sass piqued his interest. “I’m sorry…Jude. I signed my lease a month ago.” She furrowed her brows, so he fumbled for a lie. “I needed a cheap place to stay after I left my last place. Ross suggested the Sanborn—guess that’s why. As for the nickname, you’ll have to settle for ‘sweet girl’. I save that name for the special women in my life.”
Jude unlocked the door and tossed her bag on the passenger seat. “Only call me that if you mean it… Being one of your many women isn’t my idea of great. So, why’d you leave?”
“I left for lots of reasons I’d rather not bore you with.” Ramon held his breath. She was asking questions he couldn’t answer, not just yet. He held her door open and leant forward to kiss her cheek. “But Jude? You are a babe and a sweet girl.”
Ten minutes later he parked next to her in the Sanborn lot. Jude scampered to the right side of the car and climbed in. “I figured you for a truck, Ramon.”
Ramon reached across the console and laced his fingers with hers. God help him, he needed to touch her. “I had a maroon S-10 extended cab, but it wasted too much gasoline.”
Although she didn’t pull away from him, the twenty-minute drive to the diner passed in silence. Ramon caressed the skin on the top of her hand, memorising the feel of her softness. He held the door for her as they entered the restaurant. Jude murmured a thank you and averted her gaze. Didn’t men treat her with respect? Probably not, with the calibre of men at the club. He’d fix that.
An elderly waitress with two yellow pencils stuck in her frosted blue hair escorted them to a table. “You two are the earliest risers of the morning.”
In accordance with his better judgement, Ramon sat opposite Jude. “Order whatever you like, sweet girl.”
Moments later, the waitress disappeared with their requests and left them alone. Ramon took Jude’s hand in his. She tensed then relaxed. “What’s wrong, Jude?”
She shrugged. “This is my first sort-of date in over two years. When guys find out what I do for a living, they expect horizontal meetings and I don’t play that way.”
His heart wrenched. “Then let me make it up to you.”
A smile curled the corner of her mouth and slowly lit up her face. “How do you suggest you do that?”
“A kiss here and a caress there, with kind words mixed in.”
“That’s corny, but sweet.” She crinkled her paper placemat. “So did you notice—?”
Ramon kissed her hand, enamoured with her honesty. “Your beauty? Your charm? Or do you mean the fact that I’m drawn to you? You make me a better man when you’re with me.” He had to stop the syrupy words from slipping from his tongue before she questioned his integrity.
She laughed and stared at her lap. “You get cornier by the minute, but no.” Jude brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I mean the cameras in the apartments. Tiny thinks we don’t know, but they’re everywhere. It’s like he doesn’t trust us and has to see everything we do.”
His ire rose. Trust? See everything? The fucking pervert. Before Ramon could question Jude further, the waitress returned with their food. She left again without a word. Ramon toyed with his scrambled eggs. “I’m corny because I care.” He dropped his fork. “Jude, what doesn’t he trust you to do or not do?”
She munched a piece of crispy bacon and shrugged. “Talk to cops.”
He swallowed hard. “Why?”
Jude stabbed a chunk of hash browns. “He’s sure they’ll find out that the girls go above and beyond the call of duty.” She tapped the plate. “And then there’s the condom packs that aren’t really condoms. Some are, but some…”
“What are they?” Like he didn’t have a pretty good idea…
She lowered her voice and shrank back in her seat. Her brow furrowed. “Drugs. Cocaine and heroin. You’ve been given some to sell, haven’t you?”
“He gave me some to peddle. I haven’t had time.” He poked the sausage link. “I’ve kept an eye on you. You don’t sell. How do you keep yourself clean?”
“I keep my mouth shut, but see… You work there, so I figured you knew.” She froze. Her eyes widened and her cheeks paled. “Why do you look like you didn’t know?”
He flicked his fingers to swat away her fears. “I’m supposed to test you. Nothing big, promise.” He smiled, hoping to reassure her.
Jude dropped her fork and rubbed her temple. She inched to the edge of the booth seat, fumbling for her purse. “I need to go. Breakfast was great, but I need to go.”
Ramon stood and touched her arm. Jude paused. Her shoulders slumped. “Honey, you didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. It’s fine.”
She covered her face in her hands. “You don’t understand. He’s got eyes everywhere. He probably knows we’re talking. It’s what happened to Slade and Astra. And I like you. I don’t want to find you…” She trailed off and her eyes widened. “Never mind.”
Ramon wrapped his arms around her. Her sobs racked her body and made him tremble. The operation at the club went deeper than the force even figured. Randy—as Slade—must’ve got too close. What had Randy known? What had he seen? Hell, what had she seen?
“Take me home, Ramon.”
Ramon kissed her temple. He needed to talk to Wallace, but, damn, he didn’t want to let her go. “Yes, babe. I’ll take you home. I’m sorry I pushed.” He flipped a handful of bills onto the table and led her out of the diner. “Let’s get you home where you feel safe.”
* * * *
Forty-five minutes later, Ramon strolled alone, not into the Sanborn, but into the foyer of the MacAdam Grande Hotel in Carrington Falls. The urge to beat the hell out of the drug lord weighed heavily in Ramon’s mind. Who gave Tiny the right to live out his voyeuristic tendencies with unsuspecting women? H
e grinned at the redhead behind the counter. “Hello, lovely. I need the room key for five-oh-six.”
She handed him the key card with a piece of paper wrapped around it.
He nodded and sauntered away. Around the corner, he unfolded the note. Use the motorcycle when you leave. Balthazar put a tracker on the Nissan. Damn it. Balthazar knew where they’d gone. Probably heard the conversation through some sort of spy system. Ramon balled his fists. Jude shouldn’t have to work for the bastard. She didn’t deserve to live in fear. She’d earned the right to have a normal life. Tiny’s behaviour merited nothing less than a six by nine cell…and yet right now Ramon worked for him.
Ramon continued to the meeting room. He knocked and inserted the key card. Time to tell his fellow officers what he knew.
Chapter Four
Four hours later, Ramon stopped outside Jude’s door. His heart slammed triple time within his chest. After the briefing with Mateo and the verbal sparring with Wallace, Ramon had doubted his day could get worse—until he’d found all the miniature cameras in his apartment and cursed the fact that he hadn’t checked for them earlier. Never gave it a thought. Who wanted to see every little thing the employees did on their own time? His thoughts wandered to Jude. Would she give him the time of day? He prayed she’d listen to him, if for nothing more than how to destroy the cameras.
Emotions he wasn’t used to and fears he didn’t need collided in his brain. If there was something going down, he didn’t want Jude in the middle of it. He wanted to protect and cherish her. Hell, he wanted to lo—
No, better not go there. Whenever he loved, he got heartbreak in the deal for free—in spades.
Jude answered on the second knock. Puffy red ringed her eyes and her hair fell around her face in tangled curls, like she’d been crying before she’d fallen asleep. The enormous stock car racing fan shirt hung on her small frame. He fought the urge to yank her into his arms and kiss away her tears.
“Hi, sweet girl.” He peeked over her shoulder. Sure enough, the same art decorated her wall with the same faux-gilt frames. The dome light on the ceiling bore the exact same bulbous knob as the one in his apartment. “Can we talk? I forced myself on you and I wanted to apologise.”
“Trust you to be noble. Bastard,” she mumbled and tugged him close. “He knows.” She turned her head to the side and shouted. “I can’t be with a man who doesn’t respect me.”
Ramon cupped her jaw and pressed kisses to her cheeks. “Then be with the man whose heart is in your hands. I respect everything about you.” Twin sensations of delight and desire washed over him. He respected everything about her. And, in the short period of time since he’d met her, she meant more to him than any other woman. He nibbled her earlobe. “How?”
She whimpered and nuzzled his neck. “A phone call. He told me where we went. With details.” She raised her head and spoke in a strong voice. “Get the hell out of my apartment.”
He shook his head and crushed her in his grasp. “You’re mine.” Her lips parted and he kissed away her protestations. “Pack an overnight bag. We’ll go somewhere and talk.” Ramon wound his fingers in her hair and winked. “You’re going to my apartment—like it or lump it.” Unless a better option presented itself.
Jude turned on her heel and stormed into the bedroom. Ramon followed hot on her heels and punched the frame, right in the camera’s tiny lens. She dressed, but, to add to the farce, he hefted the bag over his shoulder.
“Let’s go. I’m not waiting.” He wrapped his fingers around her arm and led her out of the apartment. “This way.” Ramon scrambled down the back staircase to the parking lot and motioned for Jude to get into his car.
“Are you sure he won’t see us? I’m scared.” She frowned. “What happened to the Nissan? What’s going on?”
Ramon engaged the engine. “The distributor cap on the Nissan blew sky high, so I borrowed my buddy Phil’s car. Pain in the ass, but it happens.”
“Do you think he bought it?” Jude dropped her head to his shoulder. “I trust you. I don’t know why, but I do.”
Ramon drove four blocks and stopped in a fast food parking lot. Things were happening too fast for his comfort and yet a part of him didn’t care. Rescuing her, being her white knight, appealed to him all the way to his core. “I want to take you away from here for a while so you can unwind. I promise to be a gentleman. Do you trust me enough to take a chance?”
Jude nodded.
Ramon peeled out of the parking lot and drove another eleven blocks to Drew’s apartment. He stopped in front of his storage garage. “We’ll ride in style.” He grinned and backed his Harley out onto the gravel. “I’ll tie your bag down on the back.”
She stood silently as her belongings became one with the machine. He removed his worn black leather jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and gave her a squeeze. “I think you need this more than I do.” You look better too…
She slid her arms through the warm sleeves then caught him in an embrace. “Thank you.”
Jude mounted the bike and settled against him. Ramon ignored the silly grin tugging the corners of his mouth. She felt too damn right to be wrong.
He pulled away from the kerb and headed west out of Carrington Falls. Thoughts raced through his mind as they sped down the main drag. He wanted to hurry home and get down to business. Then again, he also wanted to cruise the strip all night showing off his lady love.
Was she his lady love? He shook his head. This was too powerful, so it had to be the real thing. How could it be love? Everything seemed unreal except the grip of her arms around his midsection.
He desired to kiss every part of her body until she begged him to stop—to experience her warmth and make her come. Would she allow it? He wanted to ride around all night and hold her tight, so she’d never let go…
The thought of having her around long-term really tripped him up. It was a gut response and he couldn’t tamp it down or push it aside. Where was this coming from? It sounded like he truly cared. Ramon had to stop—he couldn’t give her a solid future. He’d been down that road and it only led to pain. He was a cop, not Superman, and he wasn’t in love with a woman whose heart he had to break.
He breathed in the night air. The scent of her natural perfume mixed with rose petals twirled in the breeze. It was intoxicating. Too intoxicating. Ideas of forever coiled around his brain, muddling his thoughts. Jude had blind faith in him—she believed he would take care of and protect her. She didn’t trust the cop because she didn’t know the cop. She trusted Ramon. Once she fell in love, she’d give her heart, forever.
He’d sure as hell like to try to give her a future in his arms.
Jude rubbed her cheek on the back of his neck. The gesture sent shockwaves of desire ricocheting through his body. He could almost taste the softness of her skin against his and the heat pouring from the special place between her legs. What went through her mind? Did she fantasise about him? Did she ache for him?
He hit a slight ridge in the pavement and Jude’s hands shifted to Ramon’s waist. She gripped tighter. Blood and excitement rushed through his body at warp speed. A blush grew on his cheeks. He liked her attention. Her hand gravitated to the bulge in his jeans. A shiver ran the length of his spine. Bold—he liked her bold.
Oh my…my…
Ramon shifted in the seat to allow her better access. Delicious pleasure rocked his body. Heat surged to his cock as she stroked and caressed him. He’d finish before they got off the bike at this rate, but he didn’t want her to stop. He released one hand from the handlebars and grasped hers in sign of ownership, but that wasn’t what he desired. Theirs would be a mutually respecting passion. No one compared to Jude.
* * * *
An hour later, Ramon rolled down a stony lane. Fields of green and yellow surrounded them like a live, warm blanket. A white farmhouse welcomed from the east and a collection of brick-red barns stood to the west. The sweet smell of clover and pungent country air wafted through the breeze. Jude to
ok a deep breath, savouring her surroundings.
“This place is beautiful, Ramon.” She gasped when he brought the bike to a stop. Her chin rested on his shoulder. “Why leave here to live in that shitty apartment building?”
Ramon kissed her hand and helped her off the chopper. “I spent my summers and a couple of periods of self-confinement here.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Jude span around twice, trying to soak in the sights. Everywhere she looked was an opportunity for a painting or photograph. “This is the kind of place to raise children,” she murmured and shielded her eyes from the sun. He grinned at her and nodded in agreement.
“Drew?”
They turned in the direction of the bold baritone voice. “Uncle Elmer, what’s the trouble?” Ramon laughed heartily and stuck out his hand.
The older gentleman took his hand and shook it vigorously. “Thought you weren’t coming around these parts no more.” Elmer grinned at Jude. “I see why now. Good job.”
Drew nodded. “This is Jude Nelson. Jude, this is my uncle, Elmer Alwyn.”
“I thought you said your name was Ramon?” What wasn’t he telling her?
He shrugged. “I’ll explain later.”
Jude nibbled her bottom lip, but she couldn’t stop the smile. Elmer looked like an older version of Ramon or Drew or whatever his name was. Elmer’s temples were greyed and his step was a little slow, but otherwise he looked fit enough to run the farm single-handedly. Both men shared the same mischievous eyes.
“I hate to interrupt your visit.” Elmer turned to Ramon. “But we got a cattle problem. I can’t seem to get Ray on the phone and Logan’s not answering over at the Malone place.”
Ramon looked puzzled, making Jude snicker. “Cattle problem? Gramma Edna’s only got two cows,” he replied. “How did they get through the fence? Ray and I fixed it last summer good and tight.”
