Jaded (20 page)

Heat rushed to her core and she turned around to see Jase coming toward her. Despite his custom suit, he looked disheveled. Off balance. Hungry. And he was coming straight for her. He touched her elbow and moved right into her space. His lips were so close, she thought he was going to kiss her. “Can we speak in private?”

She nodded, her drink forgotten. “My office?”

He started toward it and she followed. As the door closed behind them, Jase reached over and locked it. He turned to face her, his eyes dark and fiery. He looked all of the predator he was, and excitement over being the hunted nearly knocked the breath from her lungs. She felt her chest rise and fall as excitement filtered through her every pore. “What do you want, Jase?”

He moved closer, stopping a foot away. “I want this to stop.”

“What to stop?”

“I want you to stop lying to me. I want bodies to stop appearing after they’ve been with you. I want you to fucking level with me!”

She blanched at his angry outburst.

“I want you to leave.”

His lip curled back. “You’re a coldhearted bitch. I don’t do fuck and run. Either you fess up, or stay the hell away from me.”

A smile tugged at Jade’s lips. “What? Can’t the big bad police officer stand the heat?”

He grabbed her arm and yanked her hard against his chest. “I can stand the heat, sweetheart, I just can’t stand the lies. There is nothing I detest more than a lying woman.”

She nipped at his chin, but he jerked away. She felt the hard rise of him against her belly. She pushed against him, digging her hip into his erection. He hissed a breath and glared down at her. “Bitch.”

“I never promised you a rose garden, Detective.”

He pushed her away, the instant lack of contact nearly making him howl. God, he wanted her. His hands opened and closed at his sides and he cursed. Just once more to feel her hot wet depths surround him—one more kiss, then he could forget she ever existed.

As Jade moved toward him, he moved back. If she touched him, there would be no retreat. He was weak when it came to her. She was his kryptonite, his Achilles’ heel, his silver bullet.

She walked him into the door. Running her fingers up his jacket, she pressed her body full against his. Soft curves molded intimately against him. “Do there have to be messy words? Why can’t there just be you and me and what happens?”

His dick strained against the fabric of his pants, the blood pounded, demanding release.

He gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching, his hands flexing open and closed at his sides. “There is you and me, but your lies get between us.”

Jade laughed, the sound soft, beguiling, and he fell for it. His body pressed back against hers. She snaked her arms around his neck, her fingers twisting in his hair. She reached up on her toes and pressed her lips to his mouth. “No lies, Jase, just us.”

He pulled her hair back by a hank, his gaze bore into hers. “Tell me who ruined you.”

Jade gasped and attempted to step back. He held her close, forcing her to stay face-to-face. “Who made you hate men? Who made you think so little of yourself you cock tease for a living?”

“How dare you?” she hissed. She tried twisting out of his grip, but he was relentless. She cried out. Instead of loosening his grip, he reduced the small space between them. “Tell me, Jade, why do you hate men so much?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Should I call you Ruby Leigh?”

Jade stood, openmouthed. “Don’t ever call me that again!” she snarled.

Jase moved closer, while she backed away. He did not release his grip. “Who, Ruby? Who ruined you?”

Her body started to shake and she shook her head. The hot sting of tears burned her eyes. “Leave me alone. You have no right to interfere in my life.”

“Tell me who hurt you.”

“Let go of me.”

Reluctantly he did, but Jase stood his ground. He would have his answers and he would have them now.

And for the first time ever, she wanted to give some. Jade’s body loosened for the briefest of moments before she crossed her arms over her chest and straightened up. “My mother turned me out when I was fourteen.” She threw him a glare, daring him to put her down for it.

Jase stepped toward her. Unwrapping her arms, she stepped back, putting a hand up to stop him. “Don’t touch me!” She stepped around to her chair, putting more distance between them, and sat down. Pulling a tissue from the top desk drawer, she dabbed at her eyes. Her makeup was ruined. She blew her nose and looked up to see Jase standing patiently, waiting for more answers. She expected a sneer. Not tolerance. “What else do you want, Jase? A play-by-play?”

“I want to know why a mother would do that to her daughter.”

Collecting herself, Jade shrugged. “We lived in a small town. There were mouths to feed and no work to be had. You either starved or found a commodity. I was the commodity and there was a man in town willing to pay.”

“So, you went to this man so your family could eat?”

“That’s about the long and short of it.”

“Bullshit, Jade! Why the hell didn’t your mother go instead?”

Jade laughed, the sound acidic. “My mother was a dried-up drunk. She didn’t have her two front teeth. Some john knocked them out after my sister was born. My mother couldn’t have snagged a sex-starved rapist. I was the prize, and she sold me to the highest bidder. End of story.”

“Where is she now?”

“Dead, and so is that fourteen-year-old girl.”

Jase’s voice softened as he moved toward her. “Not all men are pigs, Jade.”

She looked up and smiled. “Who are you trying to convince, Jase? Me or you? Just take a look at the men out there,” she said, pointing toward the lounge. “I caught Genny giving a member a blow job an hour ago, here in my office. Do you think Genny did it out of the goodness of her heart, or do you think that bastard offered her money? I had to fire her! Townsend was a pig, and so was Hiro. They came here hoping for some side action. It’s all about the sex, Jase. And up until last week, it wasn’t an issue for me, because I was dead inside.”

“What happened to change it?”

She looked up at him, her eyes dry now. The barrier went up and she could admit to herself he had touched her where no man or woman alive had.
Had,
past tense.

“Nothing. Just please leave.”

“Stand up, Jade.” The tone in his voice left no room for argument. And quite frankly, she was tired of arguing, she was tired of running, she was tired of pretending her past didn’t exist, and more than anything she was tired of living her life. But—as long as Tina needed her, she had to keep up the pretense. In four years, Tina would be out of school and Jade could finally do something for herself. Start her own business, something, anything other than what she was doing now.

Reluctantly, Jade stood.

Jase moved toward her and she flinched, anticipating his touch. He ran his knuckle gently down the left side of her face. “I’m not like other men, Jade.”

She closed her eyes, wanting to believe him, but knowing he wanted from her what every other man in her life wanted from her, and he was as willing as they were to say anything to get it. “I gave you what you wanted, what more do you want?”

“All of you.”

Her heart twisted. If only it were true. “No, you don’t. You see me as a challenge. I’m not worth it, Jase. Believe me when I tell you there is no future on any level for us. I’m tainted goods and that will never change. Go find yourself a nice girl.”

“I’m not looking for a future. I want you, me, us. Here and now. Nice or not.”

Jade smiled, the hard pull of the gesture reminding her she was not smiling in joy, but bittersweet realization. “I have to hand it to you for your brutal honestly, Jase. Most men promise me the stars for sex, but you—” She touched his cheek with her fingertip, the contact combustive. “You speak plain English. You want sex with no ties. Sex for as long as it’s good for you. Sex on command. Sex regardless of what I might want.”

He stiffened at her last words. “It’s not—”

She shushed him with her fingertips over his lips. “It’s okay, you have elevated yourself from scumbag to Lothario.”

He nipped her fingertip, holding it between his lips. He licked it before releasing it. “Does it change things if I tell you I’ve never wanted a woman like I want you?”

She shrugged and leaned into him. “No. And even if it did, it wouldn’t matter.” She regarded him from beneath long thick lashes. “You don’t understand, Detective Vaughn. While I may not be guilty of crimes here in California, I am guilty somewhere else.”

“Of what?”

“Murder.”

T
he impact of her confession nearly knocked him off his feet.

He didn’t believe it.

He wanted so desperately for her to be innocent. Jase pushed her away to watch her face when he spoke, but he still kept his hands on her arms. Cocking his head, he narrowed his eyes. “Murder? How? Where? Who?”

Jade made it easy for him. She pulled her arms from his grip and meandered over to the fax machine, then turned around and looked him hard in the eye. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done.”

“It does matter!”

“Why? So you can arrest me this time?”

“No.”

“Then what, Jase? I’m confessing! What kind of cop are you if you wouldn’t arrest me for murder?”

“I don’t believe you.”

His words stunned them both.

“What are you saying? You believe me now?”

“I believe you aren’t a coldhearted killer.”

“But you believe I am capable of murder?”

“I believe every person has a flash point.”

Jade smiled and sauntered toward him. His dark spicy scent filled the small room. His dark hair, blue eyes, and dark scowl intrigued her. She knew full well the hard feel of his muscles and skin. She wanted him again, and it didn’t matter that he only wanted her body. She’d come to terms with the fact that her time here was at an end. Otherwise, she never would have admitted what she just had to Jase.

The papers Otis wanted her to sign would have given him custody over the colossal trust account the colonel left her. At this point, it didn’t matter that the money was tainted. Tina would be taken care of. And she…well, Jade could buy another identity and fly off to Costa Rica.

And for the first time in her life, live for the day and not tomorrow.

As that thought settled over her, a calmness swept through her. She had an out. She didn’t have to do this anymore. Her mother had sold her to the colonel for booze money, but the colonel had given her the keys to freedom through his perverted money. And she was not too proud to take it. Indeed, she’d earned it. It would be her sister’s salvation.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, Jade?”

Lost in her thoughts for the moment, Jade started at Jase’s deep voice. “I was just thinking how much I’d like to fuck you.”

Jase moved forward and slipped his arms around her waist, bringing her close. “Such unladylike words, coming from such a beautiful mouth.” He brushed his lips across hers.

Jade raised a brow and cocked her head back, exposing the smooth skin of her neck. “I’m no lady, Detective Vaughn. I thought you’d have figured that out by now.”

Jase nipped at her neck and dragged his teeth down the column of her jugular. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.” His hand slid down her waist to her butt. “I want you to tell me where you come from, and why you ran away,” he said against her ear.

Jade stiffened in his arms. “There is nothing to tell. That girl died eleven years ago.”

“Tell me, Jade, tell me who you think you murdered, tell me why you’re working here, and tell me what Otis Thibodeaux wanted from you.”

If she told Jase the truth, who Otis was, it would only take him a matter of a few days to deduce her hand in her mother’s death. He’d have indisputable proof then. She’d have the money in her offshore account by noon the next day and she’d be on a plane to Costa Rica the day after that. She would drive down to San Diego and say good-bye to her sister and then be off. “His father left me some money. Otis wanted it.”

“Did you give it to him?”

“No.”

“Why did his father give you money?”

“I guess the old bastard had a conscience after all.”

“I’m off the Townsend case, you know.”

Her eyes widened. “I didn’t realize that. Why?”

Jase smiled. “You.”

“Me? I didn’t call and rat you out.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“So, that’s what happens when a cop screws the suspect? He gets taken off the case? Not fired?”

“Sometimes. But with me, there was some latitude.”

“Why?”

“I’ve spent the last eight years of my career undercover. Sometimes deep cover. You forget sometimes you’re a cop.”

“So, you forgot you weren’t supposed to screw the suspect?” She cocked a brow. “Or was it your way to pump me for info? Like when you’re undercover?”

Jase gave her a sheepish look, like a little boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Maybe both.”

She smoothed back his hair. “I appreciate your honesty. Now, I do have a job for the time being, and I need to get back on the floor.”

She moved to break the circle of his arms, but he stayed her with a firm hand on her shoulder. “Jade, you can’t run for the rest of your life.”

“I don’t intend to.”

She held the door open for the handsome detective and felt a sharp stab of regret. “Good-bye, Detective Vaughn.”

Jase stood for a long time, staring down at her. He reached out a hand to touch her face. She flinched and pulled away from him. “Please go.”

Jase nodded and walked past her, then out of the door and out of her life. Her knees shook. If she had been gut kicked, it would have felt less painful than what she experienced at that moment, knowing she would never see Jase again. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall, a sense of shock permeating her. She knew there would never be another man like Jase in her life, and somehow knowing that made life not seem worth living.

Every sense, every emotion, every feeling she possessed emptied out of her heart. She was empty. There was no wishing that if things were different she would pursue him. Because things weren’t different. She’d killed her mother. Her sister needed her, and she would sacrifice her own happiness to see her taken care of. End of story.

She walked back into the club and painted a smile on her face for the last time. And strangely, it felt good. There would be no sad sloppy good-byes, she had no loyalty to Jack Morton, and Mac and the others would move forward in their lives as she faded to black. The only regret she had was not being able to see her sister at will. But Tina could visit her, and, truth be told, the girl would be better off without the likes of Jade around. Tina was a good, sweet girl. If Jade’s past caught up with her, it would only bode poorly for Tina.

She doubted the girl remembered much of that fateful night. It had become a haze even to Jade. She’d pushed it so long and so hard from her mind, the night was a blur. Thank god, Tina had been in the other room, and even at seven years old she could not have possibly understood what happened, and Jade would never tell her. There was no point served if she did. Her actions were her own cross to bear, regardless of the fact that she had saved her sister from the same fate she had suffered at their mother’s hands.

No, she would not take back that night if it meant that Tina would not have to endure. No child deserved what she had been through, and she’d been fourteen at the time. How her mother could even have contemplated shipping Tina off to some old coot in New Orleans was beyond her. Jade smiled. She’d made sure that didn’t happen.

The rest of the evening for Jade passed by in a slow abstract swirl. While her heart already missed her sister, it was Jase who played the heaviest on her emotions. She missed him before he left the building, the minute she’d made her decision. She missed the passion they shared. Most of all, she missed what could have been.

She didn’t bother cleaning out her desk. There was nothing worth keeping. It was all a lie anyway.

Jase drove home and hit the computer. The woman who called herself Jade Devereaux was not a cold-blooded killer. His gut screamed it, and dammit, he was going to prove it.

All he had to go on was Otis’s last name and Ruby Leigh Gentry. It took some searching, but he found the obit for Colonel Leland Thibodeaux. The old man died at seventy-six of a heart attack. The coroner was quoted as saying that the old goat never had a sick day in his life, and they were all shocked by his sudden death. Jase scanned back eleven years. He put in “Ruby Leigh Gentry” and came up with zero. Several hours later, Jase hit the mother lode.

An article in the
Sykesville Holler
dated more than eleven years ago read:

He scanned for more articles. He found an article on Bobbie Jean’s funeral. No one attended, but a statement from the cops said that Ruby Leigh had not surfaced, and she was wanted for questioning in her mother’s suspicious death. While they didn’t go so far as to say the old woman was murdered, Jase knew how cops thought. Ruby Leigh was suspect number one and if they hadn’t charged her in absentia, the minute they knew she was in California they’d extradite her.

Jase pulled up articles on the philanthropic colonel. He followed one link to another, but there wasn’t much to go on. While the superhighway of technology was fast and furious in California and everywhere else, it seemed like the rural town of Sykesville had a lot of catching up to do.

Although he couldn’t locate a picture of Jade, he was sure she was Ruby Leigh. While she hadn’t admitted it, she did admit to knowing Otis. Where was the sister? It was who Jade was protecting.

He called Ricco.

“Hey, man, anything come up on the Thibodeaux case?”

Ricco responded with a long silence, then said, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, man, but they found a picture in his hand.”

“Of what?”

“Not of what, of who. A teenage girl who looks suspiciously close to your woman. The words ‘I found you, do you want me to find Crystal?’ written across it.”

“Shit!”

“It gets better, man. The fax number it came from is the hotel number, and guess who it was faxed to?”

“Callahan’s?”

“Bingo.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah, Kowalski wants to bring her in and book her. The DA wants physical evidence, since her alibi is airtight. He’s pretty pissed, Jase. It’s an election year and the last thing he wants to air is the fact that his lead investigator on another case that’s tied to this one was sleeping with the prime suspect. You’d better hope your girlfriend doesn’t take off.”

“She’s not going anywhere.”

“Look, I pulled up some info on Otis Thibodeaux. The guy was a player in his home state of Louisiana. He liked the whores and the ponies. His old man died last year, and from what I gather, there was a sizeable estate. The guy ran straight through it. I haven’t figured out how he’s connected to Jade.”

“His old man left her some cash. The son came to claim it.”

“What made him so cocksure she’d sign over a fortune?”

“I guess he had something on her. Or thought he did.”

“Don’t tell me.”

“Her mother died mysteriously. I’ve been digging online for days and I’m not coming up with much. I want to get to the bottom of this. I’m taking a few days and flying out there tomorrow. I need to know what the fuck is going on.”

“I think it’s pretty clear, dude.”

“Yeah? Why don’t you tell me?”

“You’re being played. She’s a man-eater. She knows you’re tracking her! Fuck it, Jase. She’s a damn black widow. Watch your damn back.”

“I’m going to Avoyelles Parish and getting to the bottom of this. Whatever the hell is going on started there over a decade ago.”

“Jase?”

“Yeah?”

“Listen, there was another piece of evidence in Thibodeaux’s room.”

Jase rubbed his hand over his eyes, dreading the information. “What?”

“A video.”

“Of what?”

“I think you should come down here and see for yourself.”

Jase sat rigid in his chair and watched as a very young Jade was seduced by a man easily ten years her senior. She couldn’t be more than fourteen. The man looked like a stable hand. He was slick, and it was obvious he knew there was a camera in the room, which looked like a barn office. He worked her good, cajoling her, telling her how much he loved her, how they would run away and leave Sykesville and find work. He promised her she’d never have to see the colonel again, or his snotty-nosed son, Otis.

“Otis wants you, darlin’. He told me if his daddy didn’t take you, he would. I clocked him good. I told him you and me were in love.” He reached out and touched her on the shoulder, shoving the thin strap of her sundress down her shoulder. Jase could see the gooseflesh rise on her arms. The way her big green eyes looked up into the prick’s face, so trusting, so in love, it made him want to puke.

“I told Otis I loved you and you loved me. I told him I’d kill him if he so much as looked at you wrong.”

“Donny! You could have gotten fired!”

“Darlin’. I don’t care about this job. I care about you.” He pressed a kiss to her naked shoulder and maneuvered her around so her back faced the camera. He looked directly into the lens and smiled, then turned her back around so the hand squeezing her breast was in full view.

“Oh, Donny,” she sighed, her sweet little-girl voice breaking his heart. Jase watched in disgust as Donny maneuvered her clothes off her body and in her sexual inexperience she fumbled with him. He saw it in her eyes. She wasn’t sure. She was afraid. The bastard was less than gentle with her. She cried when he entered her, his loud panting making Jase sick to his stomach. But what made his blood boil was how Donny Boy smirked into the camera lens as he thrust into her, her eyes closed, the tears glistening on her cheeks.

Jase stood, the fury of his action so violent his chair skittered halfway across the room. “I’ve seen enough!”

Ricco looked at him, his eyes curious. “There’s more. It gets worse.”

“I said enough!”

Ricco hit the stop button. The screen went blank. “How is it we have this and San Jose doesn’t?”