Camden made a sound full of disgust. “Man, you know I love you, but you are a complete asshole. Mom would be ashamed, the way you go through women like other men go through socks.”
Jude hissed softly as the barb struck home. Okay, that hurt, especially coming from Cam. He expected—hell, even looked forward to—those kind of remarks from Reece. But not Cam, the Wilde family’s glue, the peacemaker, the only one of his brothers that understood him. Or so he thought.
“Well,” he finally managed. At least his voice didn’t sound as raw as his emotions felt. “Everyone has flaws.”
“Some people more than others. You’re thirty fucking years old, Jude. When are you gonna straighten up your life?” Before he could formulate a response, Cam muttered a curse. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m exhausted, and my mouth’s working faster than my brain. I’m starting to sound like Reece.”
“No. You’re right. You’re both right. When this is over…” He trailed off. He didn’t know what would happen, but something had to change. He was tired of pretending. Tired of wearing a smile while everything else stayed locked up in his chest, slowly clawing him into shreds from the inside out.
“It is over,” Cam said. “Greer wants to pull you both out and relocate Libby to her father’s cabin in Vermont.”
So Pruitt had talked Greer into the cabin idea. If Jude thought that would do any good, he’d be in packing their bags now—wait. Cam only mentioned Libby’s name. Relocate Libby. “What about me?”
Cam stayed silent for a moment. “You’re coming home. Pruitt wants me to stay with her.”
“No.”
“Jude—”
“No fucking way.”
A pause. “Goddammit. Are you sleeping with her again?”
Okay, he hadn’t meant to give himself away like that. “So what?”
“So you’re seriously going to risk her life for a few more nights of fun?”
Jude’s teeth ground together so hard he felt his jaw pop from the pressure. “I’d never risk her life. For anything.”
More silence. Then, “Whoa. You care about her.”
“And you call yourself a detective? That should have been obvious from the start.”
“Yeah, I knew you cared—at one time. But I had no idea you’re still in l—”
“We’re not leaving,” Jude interrupted. “There’s nowhere safer for her than Seth’s house. This place is a fortress. Top of the line security, better than anything we have in our arsenal of tricks. Can’t Vaughn lay the cyber trail back to D.C. or even to the cabin in Vermont? Make it look like we left?”
Cam exhaled hard. “Vaughn’s good, but he’s not Reece. If K-Bar, or whoever, had the technology to track you to Key West in the first place, there’s a good chance he’ll see through it. I still think you should exfil. Greer’s gonna have a fit that you’re refusing.”
No doubt about it, and Jude was extremely glad he wouldn’t be around to receive the brunt of Greer’s temper this time. “Believe me, Cam, I want her safe as much as anyone. If I didn’t think she was safe here anymore, I’d be the first to say so, but there’s no place on Earth better to hide than in this house. You know how paranoid Seth got after everything he went through.”
“Then you need to utilize every safety measure he has in place,” Cam said. “We lay that trail, you’ll have to stay inside the house. No more jaunts to the beach in your underwear. No more paddle boarding trips. No Duval Street. No grocery shopping. Everything will be delivered to the front door by men I’ll personally pick. You’re not even walking out to the curb for the newspaper, got me?”
Jude thought back on the day. So perfect in every way until he spotted that car tailing them and now Libby would never remember anything but the fear of running from someone who may not have even been chasing them. This threat to her was a boogeyman—intangible, but scary enough to make you check under the bed twice before going to sleep.
And, like he’d told her in the car, he was done taking chances.
“Yeah, I got you. We’ll stay inside the gate,” he said to Cam. “Call me as soon as you find out where the hell K-Bar’s hiding.”
…
Libby heard the patio door slide shut and stilled her hand on Sam’s back, feigning sleep. Jude’s footfalls came softly as he extinguished lights on the way to the bedroom, but he hesitated in the doorway, and she lifted one eyelid to watch him. He stood just inside the room, a pool of cool moonlight splashing around his feet from the sliding glass doors that led to the garden and pool. Simply standing there, staring at the bed. She felt his eyes sweep over her and despite the chill in the air, her skin heated in response with the memory of sun, water, and sex.