Page 11 of Ruthless Protector

The way he was looking at me, I couldn’t decide if he wanted to throttle me or laugh his ass off. He definitely looked frustrated.

“Sure, you are.” He shook his head and drew in what I could only assume was a calming breath. “Look, let’s start again, yeah? I’m sorry I acted like a dick when I called earlier. I can get like that when I’m worried, but I’m not the guy you think I am. What I was actually going to say was, maybe you could keep an eye on Fay. She’s tough and independent, but she’s getting older and I don’t like that she’s on her own. Keep her company from time to time, and we’ll call it even until you’re back on your feet.”

He’d been worried, about us?

I shoved that aside as quickly as it entered my head, choosing to ignore that part completely.

As far as Fay was concerned, she’d draw and quarter the man for even suggesting she was getting older and needed some kind of keeper. Fay was more active and social than I was. Also, Fay was a friend, my only friend, so I was doing that already. I was pretty damned sure Jude knew this. He definitely knew she looked after Tilly. He’d seen me there more than once, which meant…well, honestly, I had no idea what it meant. But I didn’t like it.

I didn’t like charity, and yeah, as far as I was concerned, this would mean I owed him. I so wasn’t on board for that, not one bit, but what choice did I have? Tilly needed a safe place to live and until I found another job, he had me over a barrel.

That thought was accompanied by an extremely graphic mental image.

I shoved it out of my head as soon as it popped in. My face got hotter. But not over the “Adults Only” visuals. Humiliation scolded every inch of my skin and I couldn’t hold his eyes. My mother had struggled raising us on her own; we’d had nothing growing up, but we always had a decent place to live, and she sure as hell had never had to take charity, or beg her landlord not to throw her and her kids out. “Thanks, that’s…yeah, that’s really cool of you, but I’ll pay you back what I owe.”

“Up to you,” he said. “But there’s no rush.”

I didn’t know what to say, and the silence stretched out between us.

“Right, I need to go, got work to do,” he said finally.

I glanced up and for the first time that night, I took him in properly. He was wearing black cargo style pants, and a dark tee. He had ink on one of his forearms, script, but from this angle, I couldn’t read what it said. He also had one of those bulletproof vests you see on action movies, strapped to his monster chest, and a holster at his hip that I guessed was for a gun. It was empty now, and I assumed that was for my benefit.

The man was impressive, there was no denying it. And hot. So freaking hot. Nothing like Evan. Evan had only been a couple inches taller than me. Yeah, muscular, but not the kind of bulky muscle that Jude had; more angular, a skinny guy who went to the gym.

Stop it, Willa.

I needed to stop thinking about Jude like that.

I motioned at him, a head to toe, encompassing all he had on. “The kidnapping case?”

He shoved his fingers though his hair. “Yeah.”

He looked frustrated all over again, and tired.

“Willa,” Tilly moaned.

“I’m coming, Tils.” I looked back at Jude. “I have to…” Tilly cried out sharply, there was a thump, then she started to really cry. I turned and ran, leaving Jude standing at the door.

I rushed upstairs to the bedroom. She’d accidentally knocked over her glass of water, grabbing for the bowl I’d put by the bed. “You promised when I woke I’d feel better, you promised,” she sobbed, then pulled the bowl closer and vomited again.

When she was done, I pulled her into my arms. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. I’ll get your medicine soon, okay? As soon as I can.” I rocked her until she quieted, then lay her down carefully and grabbed the washcloth I’d been using on her forehead and cleaned her up. “I’ll just get another cloth for your head, honey, I’ll be right back.”

She didn’t answer. She’d gone back inside herself, like I did when I had migraines, to deal with the pain.

I rushed out the door and almost collided with Jude. He was just outside the bedroom.

“She okay?” he asked.

Jesus, I thought he’d left. “She’ll be fine.”

“Medicine?”

I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to tell him to get the hell out of my house and mind his own damn business, but it was his house, and now I wasn’t even paying rent. He’d also been extremely good about it. “She suffers migraines, like me, like her mother had.”

His head tilted to the side. “You’re not her mother?”

“No, her aunt. Her mother, my sister, died a while back.”