Wicked Love - Michelle Dare Page 0,53

stalking them in bars and following them out.”

He stiffened. “What?”

I nodded, my hair splayed out on his chest. “Yes, do you want to see?”

“Fuck yes, I want to see!”

I got up and walked naked to my purse in the living room where I’d dropped it before our little romp.

Pulling out my phone, I glanced at the screen to see two missed calls and five texts from Ringo.

Crap.

Ringo: Where the fuck is my target?

Ringo: You wanna get paid, you better deliver the goods, little girl.

Ringo: You can keep ignoring my calls, bitch, but I’ll find you.

Ringo: I’ve sent Talon out to look for you.

Ringo: He will sniff you out. Text or call me NOW, whore.

I shot off a quick text back to him: I’m in Boulder. And I have till the 31st. Calm down, asshole.

I lied about Boulder so hopefully that douche Talon would turn around and go in the opposite direction of Judson’s apartment.

Trying not to shake in anger, I took some deep breaths and pulled up the video footage as I walked back into the bedroom. Judson was looking at his phone when I walked in. I hopped on the bed and handed him my phone. He put his down and hit play on the video.

After watching for several minutes, he looked up at me. “This isn’t me.”

I took my phone from him and then set it on the nearby nightstand. “Yes, it is. But if you said you didn’t kill them, then I believe you.”

“No, Dani. It’s not. I admit it looks like me, but I wore a different hoodie.”

I picked the phone up and watched it again. I couldn’t tell if it was him or not. Couldn’t see the face at all but the height and build were similar. I set the phone down and said, “Okay, if you say it isn’t you, then I believe you.” Of course, I was thrilled with this information. I could take it back to Ringo and tell him to shove it up his ass.

He visibly relaxed and reached up and kissed me gently on the mouth. “Thank you for believing me.”

“We need to figure out who’s doing it so we can get you out of this mess. There’s something else I haven’t told you.” I bit my lip, knowing I had to come clean.

He sat up and grabbed my hand. “Tell me.”

I stared at his tousled blond hair, his green eyes looking hopeful and playful at the same time, and his full lips wet with my kiss. I licked my lips and said, “I’m a bounty hunter and I was sent to kill you. But—”

“What the fuck, Dani!” he snapped, letting go of my hand and jumping off the bed.

“Stop, Judson. Just listen to me.”

He paced the floor, still in all his beautiful naked glory, and raked his fingers through his already messy hair. “I can’t believe this. I mean, I guess I can, since vampires are all murderers, it seems like…”

“First off, no, we’re not. I didn’t ask to be this, nor do I go around murdering humans for no reason. It’s why I never killed you. I had a feeling. Don’t you think you’d be long dead by now if I had thought otherwise?” I huffed out in frustration. Not that I expected this to go well.

He stopped pacing and bent down to put on his boxer briefs. After sliding them on, he stood there with his hands low on his hips and stared at me. He stared so long it almost became awkward.

“What?” I asked. “Say something.”

Then, he burst out laughing. It was almost maniacal, but I could tell it was from stress and not because this situation was actually funny.

“Our first fight… because you were lying to me about the real reason we met. Wow, what a story to tell our children.”

I blinked incredulously up at him and shook my head slightly. “I cannot have children, nor do I want them.”

Judson sat down on the bed next to me. “Since you believed me that I didn’t kill those vampires, then I believe that you don’t want to, nor will you, harm me in any way.”

I bit back a smile. “Pussy whooped.”

11

Judson

Was I p-whooped? I didn’t think so. “It’s more than that, Daniela. This thing between us… it’s come on so fast, but I’ve never felt a connection like this to anyone. I can’t begin to describe the relief I feel by just telling you the truth and you coming clean with me. I’ve been keeping my