Page 98 of Ruthless Protector

“I’ve got you, you know that, you know it. Now I need you trust me, to trust your man.”

His deep, raw voice moved over me, through me, until I could focus on what he was saying.

“You need to tell me everything, okay, Willa? Everything. I’ll find her. I’ll bring her home. I promise you that. I promise,” he said.

“Why would he take her? He doesn’t care about her. He doesn’t care about her,” I said louder, starting to shake so hard my teeth rattled. “He won’t keep her safe, Jude. He won’t care if she’s hungry or thirsty, or if she’s sick with one of her migraines. He won’t care if she’s cold at night.” I gripped his shirt. “She’s scared of him. Oh God, she’s so scared of him.”

He cursed, the sound rough and vicious. “You’re talking about her father? Trent?”

I nodded.

“Do you know where he was staying?” Jude asked.

“No, I…I don’t…he never said…”

“He’s been extorting money from you?” Jude asked.

I nodded again, ready to tell him anything he needed to know; anything, if it got Tilly back. “He said if I didn’t give him money, he’d try and get Tilly back. He’d say I was a stripper, a hooker. I was pretty sure he was back on drugs, I thought he might be, but if I got the police involved and I was wrong, he’d turn it around on me. I had no proof. I gave him his money, but he always wanted more. He put Tilly through a visit with him to make sure I’d do what he wanted. After that, I couldn’t do it anymore.” I was breathing hard, feeling dizzy with fear, trying to get everything out, everything Jude needed. “The visit was too much for her. I couldn’t put her through that again. I asked how much to make him go away for good, how much to sign all rights to his daughter over to me and walk away.”

Jude’s thumb slid along my jaw. “That’s why you went to Tomas?” he asked.

“You knew?”

He dipped his chin. “Tomas and me, we go back a long way. He knew you were mine, so he came to me with it.”

Another sob burst from between my lips. “It was your money, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said.

He’d known that night, when we made love. He’d wanted me to tell him what I was hiding and I refused. I clung to him tighter, a fresh wave of tears burning a path down my cheeks. “If I’d told you, if I’d…”

“This is not your fault, you hear me?” he said.

He waited for me to nod. I did, but I didn’t believe it. I’d tried to do this on my own and because of that, Tilly was gone.

“I need you tell me the places you met with him, if he ever said anything about where he was going, where he’d been?” Jude said.

I gave him the names of the diners we met. “He didn’t say much, though, nothing useful. He just made his threats and took his money.” Where was Tilly now? Was she scared? Was she hungry, alone? Oh God.

“Focus, Willa. Eyes back on me.”

I did as he asked, needing the strength I saw in his eyes to stop me from falling to pieces.

“Did he say who he owed money to?”

I shook my head. “He was always nervous, though. And that creep, Jethro… Trent wanted me to make a good impression, wanted to impress him or something.”

Jude nodded. “Okay, I need you to check your phone, sweetheart. See if he’s contacted you, made any demands.”

He lowered me to my feet and I quickly pulled it from my pocket. The surge of hope vanished instantly. Nothing. I held it up for him to look at.

“You think you can get it together enough to call him?” he asked, tucking my hair behind my ear. “All you need to do is ask him what he wants. If he thinks you’re handling this on your own, he might agree to meet for an exchange.”

“I can do that.” I hit Trent’s number, keeping my eyes on Jude’s. It rang for a while, but he didn’t answer. “Fuck!” I shoved my fingers in my hair and paced away from Jude.

“We’ll find them. This is what we do.”

My phone beeped.