He’d been alone most of his life, and then Ella had left him too.
“Ella? Are you hungry?” he asked, pulling her from her musings.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice rusty from her earlier tears and the restraint she was pulling on to keep from jumping into his arms and begging him to save her.
He smiled at that. “Then come eat.”
He turned and led her into the kitchen—another big space dominated by large, stainless-steel appliances and heavy wooden furniture. He’d set the table that resided in front of a bay window. Two place settings, no candles.
It’s not a romantic dinner, Ella, she admonished herself.
She took a seat with her back to the wall. He took the opposite seat, spearing her with a look. Before Beirut, she would never have made sure to keep her back away from the door. He’d noticed.
He loaded her plate with stewed beef, potatoes, and carrots, liberally pouring gravy over everything before setting a basket of bread between them. “Eat,” he said and then dug in himself.
The food smelled amazing, and her stomach reminded her she needed to build up her strength. The drugs she’d been pumped full of over the last few days were still making her sluggish, and she’d barely eaten.
She picked up her—she laughed out loud—her spoon, and she dug in. She saw the smile that lit his features a second before the taste of the meal hit her taste buds.
Ella groaned. “That’s delicious.”
“I know,” he said with not a hint of humility. “Tia Rosa left me stocked the last time she was here.”
Ella took another bite, watching her food instead of Jude. “You didn’t cook it?”
“No time,” he said around a bite.
She didn’t ask him why he had no time. She knew. He’d been hunting her hard the last six months. Brody had warned her and done everything he could to keep proof Ella was alive from Endgame, but in the end, the world of spec ops was only so big. Word got around. Once she’d save King in Spain, she’d known her gig was up.
She hadn’t anticipated the scenario playing out quite like this though.
“This place yours?” she asked. She needed information on him. Had to have it. Like the Jude junkie she was.
“Well now, Ella, I don’t think that’s any of your business,” he answered in a hard voice.
She winced.
“Unless you’re willing to trade information?” Jude asked with a milder tone.
She couldn’t not look at him anymore. She raised her gaze and found him staring at her, his face blank, his eyes hot. “Don’t ask that of me, Jude.”
She couldn’t call him Dagan anymore. He was Jude. She could give herself that much at least.
He barked out a laugh that was anything but humorous. “I’m going to ask that and more, Ella.”
She kept her gaze on him, and he returned it, refusing to look away. “If you’d just give me some time—”
He cut her off. “There’s no more time. We’re out of it. Dresden is making moves that will decimate world order. We need to know everything you’ve got, and we need it yesterday.”
“That’s not my mission, Jude,” she protested.
He took a bite of his beef and then a drink of tea Ella knew she’d find unbearably sweet. He wiped his mouth, never looking away from her. “Fuck your mission, Ella.”
She snorted. “You have fucked me. Royally.” She wondered where her anger was. He’d taken her off grid somewhere, was making it plain as day he was going to do everything in his power to get information from her, and she was as far from angry as she’d ever been.
“Not yet, lady,” he said with a wink before picking his fork back up. “But that’s coming too.”
Her breath caught, and an errant piece of meat lodged in her throat. She coughed, choking even as she laughed at his overwhelming gall. He started to get up, but she held up a hand, managing to dislodge the meat before she took a drink of his tea.
“Damn that’s sweet,” she complained.
“Only way to drink tea,” he responded.
He was lulling her, and damn him, it was working. She was falling back into her pattern with him, and the comfort of it was a draw she could barely resist.
She couldn’t allow this. She was going to hurt him when she left again. Because she would leave again. She had to take Dresden down, and the only way to do that was from inside his organization.
He was probably wondering where the hell she was and mobilizing to either find her or destroy Jude. And beyond all that, Ella’s skin continued to crawl with worry for Anna Beth Caine.
Fear prickled her skin. “Where are we?” she asked suddenly, her fear communicating in the waver of her voice.
He held up six fingers.
Her eyes watered. Damn tears!
“You’re sure?”
He peered at her, intense and a bit put out, if the look on his face was anything to go by. Yes, she thought, how dare I question the ultimate warrior, Jude Dagan.
“I need to hear the words, Jude,” she admitted.
“We’re safe, Ella. I won’t let anything hurt you ever again.”
“Not a promise you can make,” she countered.
“You don’t think I can keep you safe?” Oh, the affront in his voice!
“I don’t think you have to. I’ve done enough to stay alive the last year, Jude. All you’re doing by keeping me here is making things exponentially more impossible for me.”
He grunted. “They were impossible before you left with Dresden in Beirut. I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“And mine my secrets in the process? Come on, Jude, let’s be honest. The only reason you’ve got me here is because I’ve become your mission. King wants answers. Endgame wants Dresden’s head. What none of you seem to realize is that there is more in play here!” Ella slammed her hand down on the table and stood up, leaning over the table to get in his face. “I can keep myself alive. It’s you I’m worried about!”
He stared up at her, his gaze moving over
