Conquering Jude (5 page)

She glared at Jackson once more before looking over her shoulder at Jude. “No, Boss. Other than that, everything else ran like clockwork.”

Jude nodded. “Good. Then why don’t you clock off early with pay.” When Jackson looked like he was going to say something lewd about her leaving early, like her being able to party in
his
bed, Jude was quick to add, “My treat for having to deal with Suzette last night.”

“Suzette stopped by?” Jackson’s normal molasses accent was gone. In its place was nothing more than the cold clipped tones he reserved for people who’d pissed him off.
Or in this case, his very vindictive ex,
Jude thought.

“What does she want this time?” He stalked towards Jude’s desk.

“Don’t know. She left me a letter. I was waiting until you got here to open it.” Jude held it up.

Jackson’s eyes narrowed, his ardor for Rena now completely forgotten. She’d wisely slipped away while Jackson was recovering from the shock of hearing his ex’s name, which was just as Jude had hoped. He hadn’t meant to spring it on his partner this way, but he didn’t want a front row seat to the ravishment and physical altercation that was sure to have happened.

“Well, we did promise her dad we’d take care of her, Jackson.” Honoring Lenard Ralston’s dying request had made both Jude’s and his partner’s life a living hell. Lenard had been a good friend of both of their dads before cancer had taken him. He’d begged Jackson and Jude to protect Suzette, who’d only been seventeen at the time. Lenard’s only child, Suzette, was pure hell on any man’s patience but a promise was a promise. Somehow Jackson had ended up engaged to her for six months. That occurrence had been a huge surprise for the man who went through women like some people slid though underwear.

Perhaps it was because Lenard thought Jackson’s dominating personality would bring Suzette in line. It did until Jackson got tired of playing dictator to a spoiled rotten brat.
Jude poured both himself and Jackson a much-needed cup of coffee.

“Here.” He forced the cup onto Jackson. “Drink this.”

* * * *

Two hours later, Jude was buried up to his neck in paperwork when his phone rang. Without looking to see who it was, he answered.

“Larson.” Scribbling a suggested improvement on the security layout in front of him, he wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear.

“Hey, Jude.” The sultry southern voice filled his ear. Dropping his pen to the desk, he squeezed his nose between his fingers.

“Suzette.” Leaning back in his chair, he looked heavenwards, praying to God to give him patience to deal with the bane of his existence.

“Did you get my letter? I gave it to some nasty black security guard. I wasn’t aware you were employing that type of person these days. Daddy would be shocked.”

Leaning back forward, he sighed heavily. “Rena is very qualified to do her job, but I’m sure you didn’t call to just find out if I got your note. What the hell is going on? The last I heard you were married to some attorney down in Charleston.”

“Oh pooh, I signed the divorce papers eons ago. I’m a free woman now and I needed a change of scenery. So when I happened to mention to Shelly, you remember her right?” she continued on without letting him answer, “Dad’s old housekeeper? She told me she’d spoken with your dad a few weeks back. It seems he moved up North to be closer to you. So after a few drinks…well more than a few, I decided to hop a plane and come up to see you. It’s been years since we’ve even had the time to talk.”

A groan escaped him. “You jumped in a plane and flew half way across the country to hold a conversation you could’ve just picked up the phone to have?”

“Why not? It’s not like there’s anything down in Charleston for me anymore.” The bitter tone didn’t surprise him. Suzette had a way of pouting when things didn’t go her way. “You left, and Jackson won’t speak to me anymore.”

“What the hell did you think was going to happen, Suzette, when you dumped him for the idiot lawyer you married?”

A silence filled the air for a moment before she finally answered. “I didn’t expect this out of you, Jude. I thought if anyone would understand it’d be you. I was pregnant. A woman has to do what’s best for her baby.”

A cold fury enveloped him. “This has nothing to do with me and Kathleen. I loved her and offered to marry her when she found out she was pregnant. You choose to dump Jackson after finding out you were pregnant with
his
baby.”

A long put-upon sigh was her response. “My baby would’ve needed things Jackson couldn’t provide. Isn’t that why Kathleen refused to marry you, Jude? Because you didn’t have two pennies to rub together at the time? Then you let her go. She married that other guy and…”

“Enough! I’m not going to talk to you about Kathleen or Deborah. Just tell me what the hell you want, or I’m hanging up right now.”

“Dinner! Have dinner with me tonight. I just need to see a familiar face. I don’t care if its Mickey Dee’s, just agree to meet me for dinner. I promise you won’t be sorry. I won’t mention Kathleen or Deborah. I swear!”

Gritting his teeth, Jude weighed his options. If he met her, more than likely she would hop a plane back to Charleston. If he refused, then she would dig in and never leave him alone.

There was a red flash on his monitor before an address flashed across the screen. A silent alarm had been triggered. His eyes widened as he recognized the address.

“I gotta go, Suzette. Duty calls.” He dropped the phone into its cradle. Surging out from behind his desk, he headed for the door, his cell already pressed against his ear.

“Jackson, it’s me. There’s been a code four-oh-six at Olivia’s. I’m en route right now.”

* * * *

Pulling up in front of Olivia’s, Jude was surprised to see there were no police vehicles or other state officials.
What the hell? I had that alarm wired to contact the police. Why the hell aren’t they here yet?

Exiting his truck, he strode towards the front door. When Carlos spotted him, he moved out from behind the counter and pushed outside.

“Jude.” The man’s posture was stiff. “What are you doing here?”

Jude’s eyes narrowed. “My job! Why the hell aren’t the police here? I received the alarm over thirty minutes ago. They should’ve been here already.”

“What alarm?” The look of surprise on Carlos’s face couldn’t be faked.

Grinding his teeth together, he sighed. “I received a four-oh-six on the entry point in the alley. Someone just tried to use the same door Raphael used to enter Olivia’s unseen. It’s the weakest entry point of the whole building. I told Olivia that when I set up her security. It was wired to contact both my office and 911.”

Carlos blanched. “I don’t know, Jude. I didn’t hear the alarm go off, but I just came on duty fifteen minutes ago. Olivia didn’t say anything about any alarm during my briefing this morning.”

“Fuck! That’s it.” He stormed towards the club. Carlos moved in front of him, blocking his entry.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you in.” Carlos shifted his weight as if preparing himself for an out and out physical brawl.

He gave a sigh of frustration. “I don’t want to fight with you, Carlos. You’re a good kid and everything, but this has nothing to do with my relationship, or lack of one, with Olivia. This is business, pure and simple. Think about what it would do to my reputation if I let an alarm go unanswered? I just need to talk to her – to find out what happened to trigger the alarm.”

“I understand but orders are orders. If I let you in, not only would I be in a world of shit with Olivia, she’d tell Mistress Keisha I disobeyed a direct order and…” his expression hardened. “…friend or no friend, I won’t get on my Mistress’s bad side.”

Yanking a hand through his short hair, Jude growled.
Fuck, I don’t want to get Carlos in trouble with his Mistress or Olivia…but if I don’t get some answers ASAP, I’m gonna just kick the man’s ass and let the pieces fall where they may.

“How about I call her? You can talk to her on the phone,” Carlos offered.

Jude’s head flew up. “You didn’t say anything about her allowing me phone contact, Carlos.”

A flush covered Carlos’s face. “She banned you from the physical premises, not from all forms of contact. You flew out of here so fast you didn’t allow me to tell you all of it. Besides I figured you needed time to cool down.”

“I ought to kick your ass, Carlos. But I’m not going to if you get her on the phone in the next thirty seconds.”

Carlos nodded before punching a number on his cell phone.

“Mistress Olivia? Jude is here and wants to talk to you.” He paused for a moment. “I know, I told him…yes.” Carlos nodded and handed the phone to Jude. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Whether you like it or not, my company holds the contract for your security and I need to do my job. You had an unreported alarm. Why?”

Her sigh of frustration carried through the lines. “Pet, you’re trying my patience. Patience I don’t have today. Have Jackson stop by around three.”

“Why? I’m here. I can take care of it…”

Her voice was firm. “No, you can’t. I’m the client, and if I say I want Jackson to handle this, he will. Unlike you, Jackson has experience in the BDSM world and I don’t have to worry about him interfering in things better left alone. Good-bye.”

This time Jude didn’t redial. He gave the phone back to Carlos before returning to his truck. The resignation in Olivia’s tone had made him suddenly realize he didn’t want her giving up on him.

Chapter Three

Olivia looked up from the paperwork on her desk as Jackson Levough entered her office with nary a knock or even a request.

“Jackson.”

The tall, lean blond stalked towards her. His expression was cold. “What the hell is going on? I trusted you with my best friend. You were supposed to help him. Instead I find out that you’ve banned him from Olivia’s. Consequently I’m now dealing with a break-in that in all rights should be on Jude’s plate, not mine!”

The sub at Olivia’s feet stilled. Glancing down at Micah, she gave him a smile. “Slave, go get yourself something to eat from the bar. I need to talk to Master Jackson for a moment. I’ll call Jolene when you can come back and finish my foot rub.”

He nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” Lumbering to his feet, Micah rushed past Jackson totally unconcerned with his nearly nude body. Other than the collar around his throat and the leather thong covering his equipment, he was bare.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Olivia focused on Jackson. “Sit.” Her order was met with a stiffening of his shoulders. She counted mentally to three before tacking on a soft, “please.”

With a growl, he tossed himself into the chair across from her. “What the hell is going on, Olivia?”

“There was a minor break-in this morning. It’s nothing to really be concerned about. The sound of the alarm scared the man off. The best I can figure, it was either a homeless person looking for some place warm to sleep, or a vagrant looking for a free meal.”

He arched a brow. “Really? You honestly expect me to believe that a man wearing a Brooks Brothers suit to be a vagrant? I’ve seen the footage, Olivia. The man was after something specific.”

“Well he didn’t find it.” Olivia could feel the tension building behind her eyes. Now she doubted her decision about forcing Jackson deal to with the break-in instead of Jude.
With Jude I could’ve pulled out my Domme voice and he’d have backed down. Jackson is immune to it. The little bastard knows me from a totally different lifetime and isn’t above using it. Damn.

“I’m going to put Olivia’s under surveillance twenty-four/seven for the next couple of days. If nothing else happens I’ll buy the random stranger thing.” He leaned forward and propped himself on the edge of desk. “If there’s even one whisper of unease or one thing out of the norm, I’m assigning a permanent security guard until we catch whoever it is who’s after you, Baroness.”

Olivia stiffened. “How dare you use that against me?”

Jackson’s teeth gleamed in the dim light. “I dare many things, Olivia. Uncle Claude may be gone and you may not be acknowledged by the family as the baroness, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still carry the title.”

“I refused the title, you ass. I gave it back to that bitch of a mother-in-law before I left Northern Ireland.”

A confused look crossed his face. “I should’ve heard about it, Olivia. Aunt Aggie would’ve crowed to anyone who listened if you gave her back the title. Lord knows, she hated you replacing her as the dowager baroness when her son died. But I haven’t heard a word. Who else knew about it?”

She frowned. “Anyone who looked at the registry would’ve known. I went to Claude’s barrister and had him draw up papers to give everything back to her – the lands, the titles, any money made from his various properties and businesses. The only thing I kept was the yearly stipend that Claude left for me. It’s how I financed Olivia’s when I first came Stateside.”