“Is that Tia Rosa’s hot pepper chili?”
He grunted, which Ella took as a yes.
“Damn. Do you have Coronas?”
Another grunt.
“Hot damn, Jude! I needed this today!” Her mouth was already watering. She pushed him out of the way because he was taking too long to get the chili thawed and heated. “Grab some bread or something—get it sliced and toasted,” she ordered as she stirred and adjusted the temperature beneath the simmering pot.
Ella heard him behind her, doing as she’d asked. It took him about five minutes to slice the bread, warm it, and set the table. Once the chili was ready, she placed the pot on the table. “Is there any butter?”
He pointed, still clearly wallowing in his anger. She couldn’t blame him, so she didn’t give him hell about it. She just pulled the butter from the mammoth refrigerator he’d pointed at and placed it beside the bread on the table.
“Beer, Jude? We must have beer,” she told him.
He rolled his eyes, but another small smile tugged his lips up as he stood and opened a smaller fridge set into the island counter. He pulled out two beers and placed them on the table.
“Let’s eat,” Ella said enthusiastically.
Jude grunted again. Three grunts. She’d take that after being caught with his laptop.
She took the first bite, felt the warmth of the chili tickle her throat. She closed her eyes, savoring, and then the burn hit, tearing her eyes behind her lids, making her smile. She’d missed this. So much. His aunt’s hot pepper chili was food for her soul. She’d met Tia Rosa three times over the course of the year she’d been with Jude. Each time, the woman had come to the beach house, and each time she’d made her infamous hot pepper chili. Ella had loved the chili, but she’d loved the way the woman fussed over Jude more. Add in the fact that his aunt had immediately taken Ella into her heart, and it was the perfect trifecta.
Ella took another bite and groaned. It was delicious food, and memories, and… She opened her eyes and met Jude’s gaze.
His face was so solemn, so controlled. But his eyes were wet, and she knew it wasn’t from the chili. He’d eaten it for so long that he was immune to the peppers his aunt used to make the base for the chili.
Ella reached for her beer, took a long swallow, and watched him. He did the same, watching her.
“I’ve missed you, Ella.”
She nodded. “I can dig it. I mean, I’m pretty damn awesome and hard not to miss.”
He threw a piece of bread at her, and she picked it up and popped it in her mouth. He gave her a laugh this time. Definitely better than a grunt.
“I missed you too, babe.”
His eyes flared, the black depths no longer cold, but heated, like her stomach.
“How’s the team?” she ventured.
“For the most part, they’re good. We lost four teammates in one fell swoop. It took us all a few months to find our ground. King got pissed before the rest of us…went hunting. Rook and Vivi, Knight, Chase, and Black all entered back into the fray shortly after King. It took me a while longer,” he told her but said nothing more.
Her chest ached at his words. “How’s Tia Rosa?” Ella asked, choosing safer ground.
“She’s older. When she found out you’d died”—Jude choked a bit on that word—“she grieved for a few months too. But the old lady is tough. She’s lost her husband, and her children are all gone. All she had was me and, by extension of me, you. Yeah, it took her a minute too, but she’s doing well now.”
Ella nodded. “We’re in the Sangre de Cristos, aren’t we?”
“Yep.”
“How long have you had this place?”
“Few years. Place was finished right before I met you, but I never had the opportunity to bring you out here before… Well, you know.” Jude shrugged and took another pull of his Corona. His bowl was empty.
So was Ella’s. “I need another beer,” she said. “You?”
He nodded, and Ella grabbed two more beers, handing him one. “Let’s clean up later.”
He stood and walked with her back to the den. They sat across the coffee table from each other. It seemed instinctive to keep that distance. She couldn’t tell him what she needed to if he was touching her.
They sat in silence for long moments. Jude finished his second beer and started a fire in the huge stone fireplace that dominated the southern wall of the cabin. When it was roaring and the heat had staved off the chill in the air, Ella took a deep breath.
Jude leaned against the back of the opposite couch and waited, his gaze hooded but locked and loaded on Ella.
This was going to be so damn hard.
“Just start somewhere, Ella. It’ll come as it comes,” Jude said gruffly.
Always, he cared for her. Even when he knew what she had to say was going to hurt him.
“The Piper approached me about four months after I joined Endgame.” Her opening foray fell like bullets into the silence of the room. A log fell in the fireplace and popped, sending sparks outside the grate. Jude didn’t move. Ella didn’t either.
Instead, she locked her eyes on his and drew strength from him.
“He had concerns and information about Horace Dresden and some underground society comprised of influential leaders who were looking to take over the world—real Illuminati-type stuff.” Ella glanced at the fire. Hearing her own words, she would have laughed had she not seen proof that what the Piper had described was very much a truth. They weren’t Illuminati; they were much, much worse. “He had Endgame hot on Dresden’s heels, but there was something he knew that he hadn’t
