Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
I shook my head and withheld a sigh. There was no point in arguing against his sarcasm.
Besides, he was right. I never would have willingly let him inside my apartment.
“How did you know Diego was married?”
“I know everything about the people I employ,” he replied nonchalantly.
Jesus. He couldn’t help but drop these bombshells on me without a hint of apology. The Deja-vu hit hard. This was much too similar to the Dax situation. He had been nothing more than another pawn, played with and discarded when no longer needed. Now Diego had met the same fate.
I had once again been too foolish to see I was being maneuvered by someone else’s hand. It didn’t matter that Diego couldn’t have had all of me even if he wanted to. What was left of my heart was too battered and broken to give away. The edges were too sharp, the inside an unhealed wound infected by the sepsis of a noxious soul.
What mattered was that I’d done my best to move forward despite the past constantly hovering at my back. I thought I’d done an okay job piecing myself together and finding some good in the bad.
Diego had been a chance to try and trust someone on a basic level again. He’d outlasted all the others and now I knew the reason for that. Why did this keep happening to me? No--why did Judas step into my life and shred it apart again? What could he possibly want with me now?
Judas settled back in his seat and picked up the tablet that was beside him. With no further commentary, he began tapping away at the screen. If I could open the door of his jet and shove him through it without killing myself in the process, I’d be on my feet kicking his ass all the way there.
I looked around the layout of the aircraft, trying hard not to be impressed.
There was a wave-like design woven into the floorplan versus a typically straight and narrow one. Everything was off-white, dark grey, and silver. LED lights lined the ceiling and floorboards. This thing had to of cost a fortune.
“To the right. Straight back and to the left,” Judas casually remarked without looking at me.
“What?”
“The bathroom.”
I didn’t offer any thanks or ask how he knew what I wanted. I stood from my seat and followed the instructions he’d given, making no eye contact with Audrey as I passed by.
The jet’s layout was mainly an open concept, but there were strategically placed pillars with retractable barriers offering on-demand privacy.
I couldn’t say I’d been on one of these things before because I never had.
I wasn’t aware many had dining areas, living rooms, or offices. When I reached the door Judas had referenced, a bedroom was on the other side. I entered the room and closed the door behind me. If I thought a lock would do me any good, I would’ve engaged it.
Tennis shoes moving silently across the plush carpet, I brushed by a king-sized bed and went to the bathroom. There was already a set of small LED bulbs illuminating the space with a soft glow, so I didn’t bother turning on the main light.
I approached the sink and turned the faucet on for some white noise, closing my eyes on a soft exhale. I hadn’t come in here to actually use the bathroom. Being on this flight left me with limited places to go and I was desperate to put space between myself and Judas.
My head was pounding so hard I could feel it between my eyes.
Too much was happening in such a short amount of time. I was struggling to process it all. I clasped either side of the basin and willed myself to keep my shit together.
This was nothing.
I’d already overcome worse.
Sensing someone’s presence, I opened my eyes and looked over unsurprised to see Judas’ solid frame fill in the doorway. Maybe I should’ve utilized that lock after all. I sighed and returned my attention to the mirror.
“Do you need something?”
“I can’t come to check on you?”
That had me shooting him a look of annoyance. “We both know that’s not why you came back here.”
“Mm, technically I know everything, and you know nothing.”
I closed my eyes and silently counted to five.
I was beginning to think he wanted me so pissed off I literally tried to kill him. I was going to cut his balls off and then shove them in his mouth, so he’d shut the hell up.
“You’ve seen me. Can you please go now?”
“Glad to see you’ve still got some shred of manners. But no, I can’t.” His eyes journeyed over every inch of my body before coming to rest squarely on my face. “I told you once, but I’m going to tell you again. You look good, principessa.”
I laughed bitterly. “You know what you look like, Judas? A psychopath.”