Chapter 20

Jude was cold. Sevastopol in the Crimea region of Ukraine wasn’t a pleasant place in the midst of winter, and as he watched Georgia head his way with a bottle of whiskey, his current state of mind made the location even less so.

“Have one,” Georgia said with a grin as she tossed back a shot of amber-colored liquor.

“I’ll pass,” Jude told her. “And maybe you should lay off a bit?”

Georgia had proven to be a valuable asset when he’d needed to get Ella out of Dresden’s house. On this go-round, she was proving to be a pain in the ass that he was struggling to keep sober. The woman could drink Jonah Knight under the table, and that was saying something. Jude had once watched Knight down an entire bottle of Scotch, then start in on a fifth of gin on the same night.

“You my daddy all of a sudden, Dagan?” Georgia asked, quirking a brow at him.

“Nope. You do you, G,” Jude replied with a shrug. His neck prickled. “What do you see?” he asked, leaning in as she gestured him to come closer.

“Looks like we’ve got company,” she whispered in his ear. “Fedir and his men just walked in.”

Jude glanced up as the man walked up and sat down, grabbing the whiskey Georgia had been drinking and pouring himself a snifter. “You the one needs ride to Simferopol?” His English was bad and so accented it was hard to follow.

“Yeah, I need transpo,” Jude said, “and Georgia told me you’ve got architectural plans for that mansion,” he added with a smile.

“I’ve got them. Cost you big,” Fedir said. “And I want know why you want.”

Jude shook his head. “Not your concern. I’ll pay whatever you’re asking.”

“I want go with,” Fedir said suddenly. “The devil in that house has my sister.”

“I don’t do rescues,” Jude said impatiently. What had Georgia gotten him into? He just wanted a fucking reliable vehicle and the plans to the bastard’s house.

“I go or no plans,” Fedir stated implacably.

He threw Georgia a look full of retribution.

“Come on, baby, let’s help him out,” Georgia wheedled. Something in her tone told Jude this was important to her too. He wished he knew why.

“You go, you handle your own business. I want the plans,” Jude bit out.

The man handed over a rolled set of plans and tossed back another whiskey. It seemed that was all people did here…drink.

“I always take care myself,” the man said darkly.

Jude grabbed the plans, stood, and tossed some money on the table. “We leave in the morning. Six.”

He walked out of the bar and headed toward the ship docked in one of the berths along the shore. He’d tracked Dresden out of his mountains and all the way to Ukraine. He had one mission—blowing Dresden’s head off.

Ella would be free. Jude would be free. Hell, the world would be free. That’s all that mattered to Jude right now. He didn’t give a shit about any shadowy group on the fringes of society looking for world order or power. He didn’t give a shit that the Piper was invested in all of this for personal reasons. He cared about two things: Ella and his team.

“Wait up,” Georgia called. “Jesus, Keeper, what’s your issue?”

He turned on her as they came to the ship. “Why are you here? What’s your op?”

She couldn’t meet his eyes, gazing instead over his left shoulder. “I’m only here helping you.”

“I’m calling bullshit.”

“Then call it,” she huffed, turning around and walking away.

“What do you owe the Piper?” he called out.

She stopped on a dime, spine stiffening, and Jude knew. She was in the Piper’s pocket. “You don’t want to know,” she whispered.

But Jude heard.

“I’m going to suggest you head back stateside. I’ve got it from here,” Jude replied.

“I can’t,” she said miserably.

“Tell me why,” he demanded.

“Because I’m not here for you, or Endgame. I’m here for Loretta Bernstein. She’s my objective.”

“She’ll eat you alive,” Jude told her. “I don’t know why the Piper involved you in this, but you’d do better heading home and taking refuge at Quantico. You aren’t cut out for CIA work, Georgia. They have no soul and will suck yours from your body to compensate.”

“I know, I know!” She paused. “But I owe him. He helped a friend of mine a few years ago when he was in a sticky situation in Afghanistan.”

“And that put your ass on the line? Must be a helluva friend. Because let me assure you, Loretta Bernstein will knock you down and keep moving,” Jude assured her. “The woman is a stone-cold killer. And how do you know she’s here anyway?”

“Got intel right before you called me wanting help here. I was coming and decided to let you hitch your wagon to mine.”

“Bullshit. The Piper told you I was headed this way and thought I’d help you out. I’m getting pretty sick of him manipulating me,” Jude growled.

She shrugged. “Okay, maybe.”

“Just like Fedir, you’re on your own. I’ve got one mission…eliminate Dresden. Other than that, nothing else matters to me. We clear? In, out, home.”

She nodded.

Jude’s satellite phone rang. He ignored it. In fact, he turned it off. He was solo now.

“You realize Endgame is headed this way?” she asked him suddenly.

“It doesn’t matter. I have a head start, and hopefully, I can put a bullet in Dresden’s brain before they get here.” His words were a vow.

“I’m heading back into town. There’s more information to be gained,” she told him.

He snorted. “Stop drinking, G.”

She snapped her fingers. “Shucks, you figured me out. Look, my only other outlet is sex. You game?”

He shook his head. “I’m off the market.”

“Ella locked you up tight, eh?” she asked with a grin.

“Never any doubt,” he answered, and the absoluteness of it rang in the air between them.

She nodded. “Good for you. At least one of us has their shit locked up tight.” Then she walked away.

Jude headed inside to look over the plans Fedir had given him. He needed this over so he could go home to his Ella. That was all he wanted.

* * *

“He’s not going to be happy about this,” Georgia said to King.

Ella looked the woman over, dismissing her as a threat. She may once have had a relationship with Jude, but Jude was Ella’s now. Her conviction was bone deep.

“Which slip?” King asked.

“Three,” she answered before she turned to Ella. “He’s all yours.”

Ella smiled, hoping it was more than just a baring of her teeth. “I know.”

Georgia laughed.

Ella walked over to the bar. “She’s the Piper’s, according to Vivi,” Rook said from the corner of his mouth.

“She told me Jude has the plans to Dresden’s mansion,” King told them as they sat down around the small table by a window.

Ella sniffed lightly. “We don’t need them. They’re probably out of date. Dresden remodeled shortly after taking it from the previous owner.”

“You going in first, Ella?” Brody asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yeah. Right after a shot of vodka to fortify myself,” she said around a laugh. Brody motioned for the woman behind the bar to bring them a round.

“I think we all need one,” he said in agreement.

They each took a shot, slamming their glasses upside down on the scarred wooden surface.

“We’ll bunk on the ship tonight. According to Georgia, Jude is set to leave at oh six hundred. Be ready,” King warned.

They each stood and made their way down the docks. When Ella came to the third slip, she breathed in deeply. He was going to be pissed.

She didn’t give two shits.

She stepped onto the boat, steps nearly silent, wind tossing her hair to and fro. She entered the main cabin and froze as a gun was leveled at her temple.

“Goddamn it, Ella!” Jude pushed out between clenched teeth. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Get the gun off me, Jude,” she demanded.

“Then take yours out of my gut,” he said ruefully as he lowered his weapon.

Ella did the same. Then they were face-to-face. Darkness had fallen hours ago. It had been a hard ride to Sevastopol from Odessa. Puddle jumpers never failed to wig her out. The moon shone bright over the water and highlighted the cabin.

“I’ll accept your apology once we’re home,” she whispered, and they both knew she was referring to his leaving.

“I can’t do this if you’re here,” he said, once again through clenched teeth. “You’ll pull my concentration.”

Ella cocked her head. Frustration gnawing at her. “Well, you won’t be doing it without me here, so looks like you’ve got a choice to make.”

The others stepped in behind her.

“Take her home, Your Highness,” Jude said softly, his gaze never leaving Ella.

“No.” King was implacable.

Finally, Jude moved the weight of his gaze from Ella to their team leader.

“You’ll do it with your team, or we’ll do it without you,” King said firmly.

Jude ran a hand over his head. She felt his tension, wanted to ease him.

“He tried to kill her. Blew my cabin apart to find her. Had his men fire shots at her. I can’t let her go back into that.”

“We go together. I understand why you left, Keeper, but there’s shit you need to know, and Ella was coming after you whether we came or not,” King informed him.

“Then you should have locked her ass up,” Jude bit out.

“That shit don’t work, man.” Brody spoke up. “Even Dresden figured out real quick that Ella doesn’t do real well locked up.”

Jude dropped into a chair by the captain’s table. He hung his head and took deep, even breaths. He was struggling with it. With having her here.

“I spent the last year tortured every day with thoughts of Dresden possibly killing you. I have done things I won’t ever receive forgiveness for. The least you could do is look at me when you talk about me,” Ella demanded.

His gaze rose to hers.

“When he shot me in Beirut, I thought it was over. When I woke up, I knew I was going to suffer and then die. You were there with me every step. And now, when you need me the most, you’re shutting me out. I want to know why.”

“I would die if I lost you again,” he said simply.

Every word was a bomb dropped right on her heart.

But she raised her head and nodded. “And I would do the same. It’s why I suffered the last year—doing the Piper’s dirty work, dealing with Dresden, doing every last thing I’ve done to help that monster. Don’t shut me out because you think I’m weak and can’t handle it. If you don’t understand what I gave up when I stayed gone, letting you think I was dead, then we have nothing between us.”

He stood at that and rushed her, taking her arm and moving her to the back of the forty-foot boat, as far away from the others as he could get. He slammed a door behind him, and they were enclosed in a small space. Too small to contain the aggression pouring off them both.

Ella opened her mouth, and he was on her. Mouth closing over hers, tongue demanding entry. “Take it all off,” he whispered savagely.

“You first,” she returned stubbornly.

He had to realize that while she wasn’t as strong as he was physically, she was an equal in this. Dresden was hers. For everything that bastard had done. He was hers.

Jude ripped her shirt in half. Okay, she really wasn’t as strong. She pushed her hands under his tee and pushed up. “Get it off,” she pleaded.

His lips left hers long enough for him to tug his T-shirt off. Then he was back on her. He unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down her legs. She stepped out. Her panties followed. She reached for his fly, unbuttoned and unzipped him, then reached in and freed his shaft.

“So hard, Jude. I need it,” she said, desire coating her words, making them thick in her throat.

“I’m going to give it all to you,” he replied, following her down as he laid her on the small bed.

He was inside her as soon as she parted her legs, sliding home with a groan.

“God,” she prayed reverently. “I love you, Jude.”

His response was to push deeper, forcing her body up the bed with the sensual ferocity of his thrusts.

She wrapped her legs around his hips, sank her fingers into his shoulders, and held on for the ride. Over and over, he dove and retreated, his cock filling her up and then emptying her. She spiraled up, felt the heat of his skin melt into hers, and then saw the sun behind her eyelids as he took her to the peak.

“Give it all to me, Ella. Every last bit of you,” he begged harshly.

“It’s yours,” she promised as she exploded around him.

He rode her through the orgasm, slowing for a time, never leaving her body, using his pelvis to build the fire between them again. He rotated his hips, and she lifted hers.

“Don’t let me go,” she whispered in his ear.

He cursed and withdrew from the clasp of her body, turning her over to her stomach and using his legs to spread her. “On your knees, Ella.”

She complied, her body begging for what he was about to give her.

“Relax, baby. I’ve got you.”

His voice in his ear was a low growl of need. His cock parted her folds and slid so deep that he was the center of her world. He sank inside, pulled out all the way, and dove back in.

Every hard stroke was a loving declaration, a promise of ecstasy, a vow fulfilled between two people who only knew that their hearts resided in the other’s chest.

When release came, it slammed into her, a supernova of pleasure as his body curved over her back, his voice in her ear praising her body, her desire, and the way she gave both to him without reservation.

His release followed hers, and he groaned her name, soft, seductive. She was reborn in the sound of it.

Ella fell to her stomach, her body limp and sated. He fell on top of her but rolled to the side, his hands tracing her spine as their breathing calmed.

Ella opened her eyes and found him watching her in the darkness.

“You shouldn’t have come, but I get it.”

The pressure in her chest released. “You shouldn’t have left, but I get it.”

He snorted, then pulled a blanket over her body. “Stay here,” he said, getting off the bed and dressing. “I need to talk to the team. Rest, Ella. It’s a big day tomorrow.”

She didn’t argue with him. But she didn’t sleep either. She wouldn’t do that until he came back and slid in beside her.