Page 15

As promised, Jerry brought Jude his favorite meal from the Golden Arches, but he’d lied when he said the food wouldn’t be drugged. Jude had planned to work on escaping, but had found himself unable to keep his eyes open ten minutes after he’d eaten.

Now, with his head aching and his body feeling like it hadn’t gotten any sleep at all, Jude had no idea if it was night or day. Worse, he didn’t know how long he’d been locked in this cell. Jude knew Cope would be worried sick if more than a day had passed, even with as angry as he’d been when Jude walked out of the house. The kids must be missing him something awful. Wolf especially. The two of them were so much alike in their mannerisms and whatever Jude liked, Wolf did too. His son was his mini-me. Jude couldn’t remember if he’d told his kids he loved them before they’d left for the party. He knew he didn’t tell Wolf before he’d gone to the library with Tennyson and Everly.

Speaking of Everly, Jude wondered how his niece was handling his disappearance. The two of them had been close since Everly was a baby. She was his first experience in unconditional love. It was thanks to her that he’d had the courage to fall in love with Cope, and later with Wolf and Lizbet. Everly prepared him to be a father, she’d given him confidence in the man he’d become.

Jude knew his niece was doing everything in her power to bring him home, but what would happen to Everly if Jude never came back? Would she blame herself? Would that lead her down a dark road and ruin her future? It would kill Jude if Everly lost her joyful innocence. Even when she saw things with her gift that were horrible or devastating, Everly always managed to find the silver lining. The last thing Jude wanted was to take that away from her.

For that matter, how would Jude’s death effect Ronan? Their relationship started out in an adversarial way with Jude being a private investigator and Ronan being a detective with the Boston Police Department. Both men had seen how similar they were and played off their oil and water relationship. As much as Jude “hated”

Ronan when they’d first met, he’d seen the hard work and dedication Ronan put into everything he touched, including his life with Tennyson. He’d learned everything he needed to know about being a husband from Ronan. He’d also picked up a thing or two about what not to do as a husband. Jude had learned those lessons well. When he’d walked down the aisle with Cope, it was thanks to Ronan and everything he’d taught Jude.

Jude would be the first to also credit Ronan with teaching him what he needed to know about being a good father. When the call came that Wolf’s parents were dead and that Jude had been named the baby’s guardian, he hadn’t hesitated to get to Arizona and his son. If it weren’t for Ronan, Jude might not have had the confidence in himself to take on Wolf and all the responsibilities that went along with fatherhood.

If he were being honest with himself, Jude would admit that Ronan was the best friend he’d ever had. Ronan had always seen Jude as an equal, no matter what. They’d relied on each other for help, advice, and as a sounding board with things they couldn’t speak to their husbands about. Ronan would be lost without Jude, and that wasn’t his grandiose self-confidence speaking. If the roles were reversed and it was Ronan who’d been abducted, Jude would do everything in his power to find him and bring him home. There was no doubt in his mind that was exactly what Ronan was doing.

It would be the same with Fitz. Their relationship had grown over time. The captain had always been grateful for the work Jude did for the Boston Police, but it wasn’t until they’d decided to form the detective agency that Jude and Fitz got closer. Jude had skills and resources Fitzgibbon was unfamiliar with and had been more than happy to show him the ropes. The two men had enjoyed playing basketball together, until Jude injured his knee nearly two years ago. It had been Kevin who’d bumped into Jude, sending both of them crashing to the court.

What followed was nothing shy of a horror story, with Jude finding himself in the sights of the killer angel. Jude knew Kevin blamed himself for the close call, but Jude hadn’t felt that way at all. Jude had nearly died thanks to the killer, but he would much rather have it be him, than some other innocent who didn’t know the danger that lurked around the hospital corridors. He’d almost lost his life that day, but Ronan, Fitz, and Cisco Jackson had been there to save him when it counted.

Jude had learned a ton from Fitzgibbon as well. He’d also adopted two kids and was Jude’s go-to when Wolf asked questions about his birth parents. Yes, he and Ronan were both fathers, but Fitzgibbon understood the complexity that went along with parenting a child who’d lost their mother and father.

His friends had brought so much to his life and knew he’d done the same for them. How could life ever be the same again if Jude never came home? His loss would cause pain to the people he loved the most, which was completely unacceptable. Jude was going to survive. He was going to go home. There was no other viable alternative.

Moving back to the bucket, Jude unhooked the metal handle and was about to go to work on the lock when he heard the metal against metal screech of the door opening. He quickly put the handle back where it belonged and sat down on the bed, mentally preparing himself for the fresh hell to come.

“Good morning, Jude!”

Jerry greeted, sounding like he was standing on top of the world.

“Hey, Jerry.”

There was nothing of Jude’s usually sunny personality in his greeting.

“Now, Jude, surely you can do better than that,”

Jerry urged with a sickly sweet smile.

“Go fuck yourself. Let me out of here so I can go home to my family.”

Jude was sick of Jerry’s bullshit. He’d told the prick several times that he wasn’t interested in more than a friends with benefits relationship back in the day. That hadn’t been the answer Jerry was looking for and now Jude was having to pay the price for his audacity in not returning the feelings Jerry had for him.

“That’s not very nice, Jude.”

“Neither was drugging me again last night.”

Jude decided the gloves were off. He wasn’t going to turn himself into a sniveling, kiss ass, shell of himself in the hopes that Jerry was just going to let him go.

“Ah, you noticed that, did you?”

Jerry chuckled. “It’s nice for once to be in control of things. When we were dating, you held all the cards, Jude. I’m quite enjoying our second time around together.”

“Enjoying our second time?”

Jude asked, rolling his eyes. “What the fuck is enjoyable about being locked in a cage with no toilet with drugged food and water?”

Jerry shrugged. “You’ll never be able to leave me this way and there won’t be any other men for you to fuck. Two birds. One stone.”

Jude took a deep breath. “The entire point of being in a relationship with someone is free will. You’re both free to come and go as you please. The magic in it is when you choose to stay, not when you’re forced against your will.”

His eyes raked over Jerry’s body. “Look at you, you’re a good looking guy. You’ve put on about twenty pounds of muscle since the last time I saw you.”

“Try thirty pounds.”

“See, there you go. We both know what guys at the club look for in a man and you’ve got it all, in spades. There are men out there who’ll want to go home with you just for that body alone, never mind your successful career and your owning your own home.”

Jude was laying it on thick, but his silver tongue was the only weapon available to him at the moment.

“I don’t want any of those other men. I want you, Jude.”

Jerry’s voice had taken on a bit of a whiney tone.

Jude remembered that tone was one of the big reasons Jude didn’t want to see Jerry again. Back in the day, he had a busy slate of cases he was working in Boston, trying to get wrongly convicted criminals out of prison. His job required hours of work, some of them at odd times of the day. Jerry had wanted Jude at his beck and call, which made Jude want to run for the hills. He’d been too stupid to realize that the way to get Jude to stick around was to act ambivalent to him leaving.

Cope had understood that concept perfectly. His future husband acted like he didn’t give a fuck if he saw Jude again. He never tried to make future plans, and made it a point to tell Jude that he was a busy guy with a life and interests of his own, which of course made Jude all the more curious about Cope and those interests. Jerry wanted what he wanted, when he wanted it. Jude hadn’t been interested in those terms, not even if they meant getting the best blow jobs of his life.

“In that case, we’re at crossed swords.”

Jude shrugged. “You want something I can’t, and more specifically, won’t give you.”

He watched for Jerry’s reaction. It didn’t disappoint.

Jerry’s hands balled into fists. His eyes, usually a gorgeous shade of green, turned black with hatred. This was the man Jude walked away from eight years ago. He hadn’t regretted that decision, and still didn’t, present situation excluded.

“I’ve changed my mind,”

Jerry began.

“You’re going to let me go?”

Jude asked, feeling ridiculously hopeful.

“No, I’m going to ask for a ransom. You mentioned that rich friend. I did a little research on Jace Lincoln and that asshole is fucking loaded. How the hell did you get to be friends with a man like that?”

Jude felt heartsick. He never should have mentioned Jace. It had been his ace in the hole. Now that it had been played, Jude wished he’d kept it up his sleeve. “He’s my captain’s husband.”

“That’s right, the man in the blue tuxedo.”

Jude nodded his agreement. Jace was a lot of things, handsome, rich, successful, the one thing he wasn’t, was fashionable. Jace had looked like he’d walked out of the 1970s with his blue tux. No one seemed to notice his back to the future style and Fitz looked even more crazy about his husband than usual. “Don’t do this, Jerry. Don’t ask my friends for money unless you’re going to let me go. Jace has a lot of friends who are even richer than he is. Guys he went to Harvard with. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to set you up with some of them.”

“Yeah, right.”

Jerry didn’t look very impressed with Jude’s offer. “Like I said, I want the money you offered, and to get it, we’re gonna make a little ransom video.”

Jude’s heart sank. This wasn’t what he expected at all. “Fine, do whatever you want, but I’m not taking part in any of this.”

“Don’t forget I know where your family is, Jude. It wouldn’t take much to pay them a visit. Maybe they’d like to join you here, although I can’t imagine your little girl, what do you call her again? Oh, yeah Lizzy B. That’s right. I can’t imagine Lizzy B being very happy with these conditions.”

Jude felt his anger rising. He’d die before he let his daughter come anywhere near this place. He wanted to scream and shout at Jerry, but he quickly realized that’s exactly what he wanted. All Jude needed to do was be his old self. He shrugged and didn’t answer. Jerry hated it when Jude ignored him, so he was going to get a double helping of Jude being Jude.

Jerry pulled out his phone and held it in front of his face. “Hi, Cope! It’s Jerry! Remember me? Yup, I’m Jude’s once and future lover! I’ve got him here with me and we’ve been getting reacquainted. Wanna see?”

Jerry waggled his eyebrows at the screen. “Heeeeere’s Jude!”

He tapped the phone screen.

Jude assumed he’d turned the camera around to face him. He got up from the bed and walked quickly to the front of the cage. “Cope! I’m sorry, I love you! Tell the kids I love them!”

“There you have it, proof of life. In return for that touching video, I want one million dollars. Don’t give me that, ‘I don’t have any money,’ bullshit. I know you’re Buford Forbes’ son. He was loaded when he died, but not as loaded as your friend Jace Lincoln. One million dollars, Cope, and for that, you get Jude back. I’ll be in touch with a drop off location. If you involve the police in the ransom drop, Jude dies. I’ll send him back to you in pieces. I’m in my Dexter era!”

Jerry laughed. “Don’t fuck with this bull, you will definitely get the horns. Byeee!”

Jerry tapped the phone several more times. “All I have to do is route this message through a couple different IP servers and bingo! It’s off.”

“You’re not going to let me go even if Cope and Jace turn over the money.”

It wasn’t a question, Jude knew he wasn’t going to walk out of this cage alive. At least he’d had the opportunity to apologize to Cope and tell him and the kids he loved them, one last time. He supposed that was all he hope for.

“Of course I’m not letting you go! First of all, your mine now. Second of all, if I let you go, the first thing you’d do is go to the police.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,”

Jude said. “All I want is to go home to my family. I don’t want to see you arrested or in jail. Live and let live, you know?”

Jude actually sounded sincere, when he was anything but. In fact, he’d do more than call the police when or if he was set free. He’d be the star fucking witness at Jerry’s trial and would be there for every parole hearing making sure Jerry was the one behind bars. Permanently.

“Oh, Jude. Jude. Jude.”

Jerry shook his head. “You must think I’m pretty fucking stupid.”

“Actually, I think you’re pretty fucking pathetic.”

“I lost everything because of you! My one true love. My job! My house! My family. It’s all gone because of you!”

Jerry’s bellow echoed around the small chamber.

Jude could see the anger in Jerry’s eyes. This wasn’t a performance, this was real. “How did I cost you your job, house, and family?”

He was genuinely curious.

“You were supposed to die at the hands of the killer angel! It was too good to pass up, finding out you were going to be in the hospital after your surgery. I couldn’t wait to watch the life slowly drain out of your eyes.”

Jude’s eyes narrowed. “Wait! You weren’t the killer angel, Paul Armstrong was. Why would you have been there to watch me die?”

He didn’t like the sound of this one bit. If Jerry were caught up somehow with Armstrong, this wasn’t good. Maybe he could have played on Jerry’s love for him to get out of this mess, but it was an entirely different situation all together if he was mixed up with Armstrong.

“I was Armstrong’s physician’s assistant.”

“You, what?”

Jude asked, feeling chilled to the bone. He was aware of what PAs did, assisting doctors in the operating room and even performing minor procedures. “I was awake during my surgery. You weren’t there. I would have heard your voice.”

Jerry laughed. “Not true on both counts. The anesthesia you were given was meant to cause anterograde amnesia, meaning you don’t form new memories while under the drug. Mickey Fucking Mouse could have performed your surgery and you wouldn’t have remembered it.”

Jude thought back to his time in the hospital. He remembered saying goodbye to Cope and Nurse Betty wheeling him out of the pre-op room and into the operating theater. His surgeon said hello and Jude remembered Armstrong telling him to count back from one hundred after putting a mask over his mouth and nose. The next thing Jude remembered was waking up in the recovery room with Betty offering him Biscoff cookies and a heavily iced cup of ginger ale. “Were you there?”

“After you were under the anesthesia.”

Jerry laughed at the shocked look on Jude’s face. “I didn’t want you to see me that morning. My plan was to come to see you after Doctor Armstrong paid his visit. In fact, I was waiting in the hallway, watching his every move. I hand-picked you, Jude.”

“I don’t understand. You wanted me to die because I didn’t want to be with you?”

Jude’s voice sounded small. He was well aware of men who stalked and killed their exes, several of the cases he’d worked with the Salem Police had been thanks to husbands and lovers who couldn’t stand to see the relationship end. It was one of the most extreme example of domestic violence imaginable. The only thing worse would have been hurting the kids.

“Yup! That’s exactly why I wanted you to die. I was just lucky that my father owed me a favor.”

Jerry laughed again. He sounded insane, like a movie villain going over the edge.

Those words stopped Jude cold. He remembered Jerry saying his father had never been a part of his life. What the hell was he talking about? “Who is your father?”

Jude asked, having a very bad feeling he already knew the answer.

“Doctor Paul Armstrong, of course.”

“How?”

Jude couldn’t have been more surprised if Jerry said his mother was the Queen of England.

“Now Jude, I hardly think you need me to explain the birds and the bees to you. Surely you know where babies come from.”

“You told me your father walked out of your life before you were born and your mother wouldn’t tell you who he was. I remember you asking if I would consider working for you to find out who your father was.”

Thank fuck Jude hadn’t accepted that job. He’d told Jerry he never did work for lovers and never fucked men he’d worked for. Thank goodness he had some standards.

“I did one of those genealogy kits. When the results came back, I spoke to my mother and she told me the truth of what happened back then. She’d been desperately in love with my father and thought getting pregnant with his child was a sure fire way to keep him in her life. Doctors married nurses all the time, right? Mom was wrong.”

Tale as old as time, Jude thought, women trying to trap men with a baby. He guessed the apple didn’t fall far from the tree with Jerry kidnapping him. “I can’t believe you’re Armstrong’s son.”

“If that shocks you, then finding out who my mother is will surprise you even more.”

Jerry laughed again. “Come on in, Mom! You remember Jude.”

Jude had never met Jerry’s mother. In fact, he never met any lover’s family. How the hell was it possible the mother knew him? Had she been stalking Jude along with her son? A macabre mother-son bonding session. A twisted case of families who stay together, slay together.

Jude’s eyes were on the door. A woman walked into the chamber, dressed in blue hospital scrubs. Her face was hidden in shadows until she was only two steps away from the bars of the cage. “Nurse Betty?”

He blinked a few times to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. This woman had been his pre and post-op nurse at Salem Mercy.

“Hello, Jude. It’s nice to see you again,”

Betty said. “I can’t thank you enough for your sacrifice.”

“What sacrifice?”

How the hell had Jude not noticed the crazed light in this woman’s eyes. He’d relied on her to answer all of his pre-op questions and allay his fears. She’d cared for him in the post-op recovery room when he’d been wonky from the anesthesia and at his most vulnerable.

“I did everything in my power to make Paul love me. Nothing I tried worked, but if I tell him I was the one who killed his greatest nemesis, along with your detective friend, I think that would be the thing that would push him over the edge to realizing I’m his soulmate. We’d finally be able to be together forever.”

Betty sounded as nutty as a shithouse rat. She was as insane as her son, maybe more so. Jerry had held on to his feelings for Jude for eight years, Betty had been in love with Armstrong for over thirty.

It wasn’t this brand of unrequited love psychosis that scared Jude. It was the mention of them wanting to kill Ronan too. Gathering every bit of strength in his body, Jude reached out to Bertha and Everly. He sent a three word message, hoping it would be enough.

If not, he and Ronan were both going to die.