“I’ll take care of it,” he tells me, starting to pull away, but I grip him tightly.
“Tell me, Jude, is he just after you, or is he after Kai too?” I ask him the question that I know will change everything.
He locks down tight, his grip becoming painful, but I don’t pull away. His hand lifts and wraps around my throat as he takes a step back. He keeps me pinned against the tree as he puts distance between us, his face carefully blank.
“You know.” It’s a statement, not a question so I don’t answer.
“How long?” he grits out, his grip tightening a fraction. It doesn’t hurt yet, but it’s a reminder of how close I am to a man who could snap my neck without breaking a sweat.
“The first night, at your apartment. You went out, but Kai returned sporting bruises and needing to be patched up. He called me Red, you always call me Cherry. I brushed it off until you took me to division twelve for the first time.”
He loosens his grip a little, so I carry on.
“I knew there was no way you should have known the combination to the safe. Anything else I could have justified, but not that. That night Kai gave me a ledger and pocketed a flash drive.”
His eyes flair at that.
“I took it from his pocket while he drove me to my new apartment. I looked and found out everything that was in that file about the Reid brothers. Identical twins, but Jude Reid has a death certificate with his name on it. Apparently, you died in a car crash with your mother after she took you and ran from your father. That’s when I realized the spare room in the apartment isn’t really spare at all. The closet is full because you use it, don’t you?
“So you looked into me?” He rages.
“Not to begin with. I looked at the flash drive while Kai went to the store for me. When he got back, I slipped it into his pocket before he even knew it was missing. I call you both Reid, not because I can’t tell you apart but because I didn’t want to slip up.”
“Does Kai know? Has he been keeping—” I cut him off with a shake of my head.
“He doesn’t know I know anything either, at least he hasn’t let on if he suspects anything.”
He stares at me, his breath sawing in and out of his chest as his thoughts race behind his eyes.
“You can tell the difference between us?” he asks curiously, his hold loosening further.
“You mean apart from the bruises you collected last night that I’m guessing Kai doesn’t have? I can now, but before it was only when you guys would call me with different names, Cherry and Red. Now it’s second nature. It was you with me last night, your arms I fell asleep wrapped up in, but it was Kai who came back with Zodiac after you left. So I guess my question is, where did you go, and how does Zodiac know you’re alive?”
His eyes widen before he lets go of me completely.
“I went to get coffee and some of those damn pastries you like so much,” he spits out, gripping his hair.
“So how did Kai know he was in the clear to turn up? If you guys don’t think Zodiac knows about you, then you turning back up with coffee and a smile would have been a bit of a giveaway,” I drawl.
“I texted Kai, let him know I was okay and that I was going to drop you off,” he admits, but his words make me frown.
“Wait, did you tell him you were getting coffee first?”
He looks at me and shakes his head. “No, why does that matter?”
“Because the way you worded it sounds like you were taking me home as you replied. Not that you would be taking me home after coffee and pastries.”
“And?” he snaps impatiently.
“And that would mean Kai brought Zodiac to your apartment, thinking it was empty. He wasn’t trying to catch me out,” I reply, relieved. I didn’t realize how much that had been weighing on me until it just lifted.
“Neither of us are out to get you. Jesus fucking Christ, is that what you think? How can the woman who sees everything be so fucking blind?” he whispers, stalking forward once more, this time lifting me off my feet so I’m forced to wrap