Page 105 of Judas

Settling back on the bed, my palms pushed into the bedding, knees wide and relaxed while she paced. Her mind is working overtime to figure out what I’m going to say next—if there’s anything I can promise her, it’s that she will get it wrong. I wove this web, built this life, and I’ll be the master of it until I’m damn well and ready to let go of the control.

When Nadia stops roving around, her arms cross her chest and the eyes I’ve dreamt about narrow and wait for me to finish. Taking the cue, I do just that.

“The information you’d get on Sadie? The adoption was technically open, but the Wilson’s never attempted to connect with you when they were supposed to. Said your record as a convicted sex offender was problematic, therefore a judge ruled in their favor. Mom instructed the lawyer not to disclose it to you because she was going to deliver whatever information you wanted. So, that’s what she did—funneled everything to you.”

Nadia deflates when I’m done.

“Oh, is that all?”

Smart ass.

“Yes, Snitch. That’s all. Everything else, is all you.”

“So, Ra and Ez? That wasn’t something you did?”

“Who?”

Please tell me she isn’t talking about the fucker who put her up in this apartment—who had his mouth on her. I still owe her punishment for that.

“They’re brothers. Said Fury was having them help me. When you said you…”

“No,” I clip my response to her. Irritation begins to take up too much space in my chest for her to finish that sentence. I’d never send a man to help her, not when I knew she was hurt by them. Doctors, therapists, friends in prison, her lawyer, all women.

“Ka—“

I cut her off this time. “Mind what you’re about to say to me, Nadia. This conversation is going in a dangerous direction.”

“How are you going to get pissy with me when you’re part of the reason I’m in this fucking apartment as it is?”

Suddenly, I lean forward and snatch the front of her shirt. Yanking her, my opposite hand grabs her face and drags her down to me. Her pupils instantly narrow to small pinpricks, her breaths become labored, and both nostrils flare—fear.

“He touched what’s mine. Doesn’t matter that I am dead. You’re still mine and I will erase him. Therefore it’s wise that you do not test me Nadia.”

“That’s not fair, Kace, and you know it.”

“Don’t give a good goddamn. I’m dead on paper—not in your heart, mind, and body. Now, do you want to finish the storytelling or keep flirting with a part of me you’ve not quite taken well to?”

“F… fine,” she stammers.

Releasing her face, she stands back up. My other fist still clenches the front of her shirt. The skin of her cheeks have turned a light pink from where I was holding her so damn hard. I’ll beat myself up over that later; another thing to add to the list of shit that will never happen to her again.

“What else do you want to know, baby?”

“Where is Matias?”

“Chicago.”

“Where do you live now?” my sassy brat asks, raising a brow at me.

“We live in Scranton, Pennsylvania.”

“You and Babel?”

“No, baby. Babel is from Oregon. You, me, and Sadie. We live in Scranton.”

“O…oh. Why there?”

“Are we playing twenty-one questions? Cause if you really don’t care about those small details, we can do something else.”

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