Page 9 of Judas (The Lito Duet #2)

Chapter four

Babalon

Seven Years Ago

“ C ome on, Nadia, work with me here. We are past the statute of limitations. You can talk about the case without adding to your sentencing,” Warren groans, sitting across the table from me.

His thumb absentmindedly clicking the end of his pen as he stares at me and begrudgingly waits for me to open up.

Nosey fucker.

I don’t know why the orderlies allowed him in here in the first place. He sensationalized my trial, turning me into some sort of predator for everyone in the country to vilify.

At first, I tried to argue my stance through letters and phone calls with news outlets, hoping they would hear me out, but low and behold they didn’t. Instead, the vultures spliced my replies and frankensteined them together in a way that supported their claims: that I took advantage of Kace.

You did, baby.

I did.

I’ve only ever told Detective Whitlock of that and he was kind enough to leave my assault on Kace out of the court proceedings. It was bad enough they were eating me alive in the media, we didn’t want to add that to the mix. I didn’t want more of our relationship to be a stain on his legacy.

In the end, half of the outlets stated I was just a woman who fell for the wrong guy—jokes on them, Kace was definitely the right one.

Wrong time, maybe, but not the wrong man.

The others hailed me as some sort of male-mate killing creature.

Black Widow was already applied to women who murdered their lovers, so they gave me the next best one— Scorpion.

The fucks even named the entire incident after me, though I definitely was not the cause of the riot. That was all Lucien; they should call it the ‘Serpent’ since that’s what Lucien is. Biblical fuck, holy man, wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Snake.

Not once did I trust him; he always set me on edge and for good reason.

He was the cause of everything that happened; I turned out to be a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

A chess piece; someone to use as leverage to get at Kace and the race factions in Darkwater.

I have an inkling of who cares that much but I don’t really have the evidence—so I’ve sat on it for nearly two decades.

Overnight, I went from no one to an infamous inmate-killer all thanks to the media. And this annoying ass fucker holed up in front of me. Propped up there in his fancy Armani dress shirt and slacks, as if his poor—man's wealth is supposed to impress anyone.

Sitting silently, I cross my arms over my chest as he finally stops with the annoying pen-clicking and presses play on his little recording device.

He’s hoping to get me to add something new to the story.

It took me a long time to figure out why he was so interested in me; imagine my surprise— not — when I found out it had to do with Kace.

Everything has to do with fucking Kace. It’s exhausting.

Apparently, the pretty boy used to date Warren’s ex-girlfriend.

When she saw Kace’s mugshot pop up on the news, she wouldn’t shut up about him.

I’m going to take a wild guess and say Warren is jealous and using my downfall as his shot to get back at Kace.

Or make her see how much of a catch he is—I don’t know who I should feel sorry for more.

Him because she thinks he is second to Kace, or her because she needs to refine her fishing skills. Because this fish is not it.

He’s dead. Leave the man alone, dickhead.

“If you can start from the beginning,” Warren presses me.

“Well, 13.8 billion years ago, a fantastical event happened when God said ‘let there be light’ and your mother turned on the switch,” I say dryly.

“You’re not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be.”

“You could have fooled me.”

“That would make you very gullible, Warren.”

“Nadia, I need your story.”

“You don’t need a fucking thing except a lobotomy and to get out of my goddamned face. This is bordering on harassment.”

“Such a foul mouth. Is that what drew you to Kace? His ex said he was a… vocal partner. Aggressive. Now, if you didn’t initiate contact with him in prison, obviously he did.”

Did… did he just say Kace was capable of assaulting someone? Dead or not, I will fight blood, tooth, and nail for my man.

Warren must realize what came out of his mouth because the look on his face is one of indifference, yet I can see a glimpse of concern in his eyes.

Mine must be riddled with anger—I can feel the heat in it.

Then there’s the fact that I don’t believe I have blinked since I insulted his momma.

Reverse psychology, you fucking rodent. Hard to maintain your composure when someone is glaring craters through your entire existence.

Sadly, the orderlies gave him an hour to sit here and hound me for answers. Therefore, I might as well give him details—but not the ones he actually wants.

“First of all, Kace never assaulted anyone, Warren. If you want a juicer story, then you should ask about why Kace was in prison to begin with. How that correlated with me being raped by three prisoners, as another one sat on the side and watched before stepping in. Or maybe you want to know how that’s connected with the correctional officer that has been running the AB from inside Darkwater.

You’re focusing on the wrong thing if you want to get famous. ”

“No, I’m not. Sex sells, Nadia. People want your story because they feel for you.

Well, some of them do. Some envy you for being surrounded by attractive yet dangerous men and had two of them vying for your attention.

Some are angry with you for taking advantage of a man who was lonely.

Others are indifferent to your existence and wish we would all stop talking about you. ”

“Trust me,” I reply, “I wish you would act like I don’t exist, too.

I want to move on with my life and not relive this shit every few weeks when you come up with some new question to pester me with.

Also, who the hell told you the inmates were attractive?

Have you ever seen the inside of a male prison?

Those men are likely some of the least attractive people on the planet.

Not to mention the poor hygiene and the rampant HIV infections. ”

“If you would just give me everything, then I will stop coming around and effectively disappear.”

“Permanently? As in cease to live, breathe, and consume irreplaceable resources?”

He pales at the hint I am dropping and it makes me smirk.

I’ve never killed someone, but at the moment, I’m not above it.

We sit here in a very uncomfortable silence for several minutes before he shifts in his seat.

To the left at first, then I notice his shirt wrinkle only to straighten out.

He must be uncrossing and crossing his legs, his eyes focused on me, but then I see his right arm and shoulder move.

Fucker is adjusting himself.

Ahhhh, I see now, Warren.

“Warren?”

“Nadia.”

“You’re curious, aren’t you?”

I’ve been around enough shitty men in my life to know interest when I see it. If not for me, then for the predicament we are in, and this two-pump-chump is no different. He wants to keep pestering me, then lets make him even more uneasy.

“Curious about what?”

“This place… Bluitt. The women here. Or perhaps what it was like for me in Darkwater. You don’t give a damn about the story between Kace in I, at least not in the way you’re playing it off.

You want to know how things went from nothing to a child.

What he was like, what you aren’t doing to keep your girlfriend satisfied.

What Kace would do to the both of us that have us both clinging to a dead man. ”

He falters. “You’re only half wrong. I want to know why an officer fell for an inmate and vice versa.”

Mistake number one, asshole, don’t stutter.

“You sure? It’s not hard to see what the appeal is, at least from a guard’s perspective. Take me, for example. I’m in here day in and day out, with nowhere to go. I am trapped. I cannot run. I’m the easiest prey known to man.”

With a chauvinistic tip of his chin, I catch his interest. Yeah, he wants to know about the way things work.

Leaning forward, my handcuffed hands twist where they are able to grip and squeeze the chains that keep me restrained to the table.

The metal is ice cold in my hands, biting at the skin there, even pinching if I move at all.

My head tilts to the side, eyes roaming him from his head to where his body disappears under the tabletop.

Let’s see what else I can get him to do.

He may be denying the truth of being here, but the shifting is a dead giveaway.

He’s interested in the power exchange. I guess his girlfriend wears the pants in their relationship and he wants to flip the script.

Scooting to the edge of my seat, the tone of my voice lowers just slightly and I lace it with what some would consider curiosity.

“Imagine having uninhibited access to something you want and having a plethora of it. Drugs? The men in Darkwater had an endless supply of it. They did what they needed to get their fix—whether that be blowing some other inmate or getting their ass blown out. Smokers? They peddled and traded. People who wanted the burner phone? More favors.”

It’s interesting how he hasn’t moved since I started giving him details that sit only at the tip of the iceberg.

His eyes are glued to mine, every bit of his attention focused on me.

I can feed this fucker whatever I want. Lies, conspiracies, half truths, hell…

whole truths, at that. He’d eat it like a death row meal. Maybe I should.

No, I will.