Page 90 of Axe-ing for Trouble
“Obviously whatever the lady is comfortable with. But after a night with you, I’d probably be so pent up, I’d come in hot and have your legs wrapped around my waist and your back pressed to the front door in a matter of seconds.”
My entire being heated. He was the perfect combination of crude and thoughtful. But as much as it turned me on, it also made me sad.
“How’d I do?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, wringing out every last drop of this fantasy before returning to the real world. His words had made me ache for a life where everything he described was possible. Simple pleasures, getting to know one another, leaving the house and exploring the world. Navigating life with a person at my side.
But all of that had never felt more impossible.
I choked back the heartache. “You were amazing.”
He shifted and pressed his lips to mine softly. “We will get that date, Trouble.”
A dull pain radiated through me. “I hope so.”
Ripley wasn’t ready to settle for the night, so Jude let her out once more, and the two of us went through our nighttime routines. We took turns brushing our teeth, and while he was still in the bathroom, I slipped into one of his T-shirts, pulling the collar up to my nose and inhaling deeply.
The last thing we should be doing was sleeping in the same bed like we’d gotten into the habit of. It was dangerous. But it felt so good.
He smiled as he returned, his running shorts slung low on his hips. “You wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon tonight?”
Ignoring him, I arranged the pillows to support my shoulder and climbed into bed. Willa had given me the go-ahead to sleep without the sling.
He climbed in and snuggled up next to me, careful to not bump my shoulder, then turned off the light.
“Jude?” I worried my lip.
“Yes, Trouble?”
I cleared my throat. “You know how you said we were in this together and there was nothing you wouldn’t do to help me bring down the bad guys?”
He let out a big sigh, his body deflating. “Yes. I remember.”
“Great. Because tomorrow, we’re taking a road trip to chase down a lead.”
“Where?”
“New Hampshire.”
He was quiet for so long that I worried he’d fallen asleep. And as I was resigning myself to not getting a response, he gave me a squeeze and said, “As you wish, Trouble.”
Chapter30
Jude
Hours into the road trip, we finally came to a sign that readEnd of the Road Farmand turned onto a winding country road. An old white farmhouse with peeling paint stood in the distance, and in the field behind it was an array of junked-out cars. It looked like the setting of a horror movie, and not the artsy type that won Oscars. Mila had been cagey, telling me we had to talk to a source and brushing off my concerns. But now I wished that I’d pushed harder for more information.
“No,” I said, stopping the car part way down the long dirt road.
“Keep driving,” she said, leaning forward in her seat. “Nothing to worry about.”
“No. I’m not letting you walk into a slasher movie set in Shitsville, New Hampshire.”
She patted my arm dismissively. “It’s fine. And this is not Shitsville. It’s actually Pittsburg, New Hampshire. Did you know Pittsburg is the northernmost town in the state? Canada is right over there.” She waved ahead of us, as if the proximity to the border was a comfort.
I stopped the car, put it in park, and glared at her. “I need information. Badly. Who is this guy and why are we here?”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s Dickie Perkins.”
