tasks. Jude sent a text around eleven asking what he wanted to eat for lunch. They had a teleconference with Jillian Sharkey, aka Jude’s mom, planned at one o’clock. This was one of the moments when Felix was sure the events from the previous few weeks were nothing more than a dream.
He’d known Jude’s mom was a lawyer, but he had no idea she was The Shark. He’d been so intimidated when Jude called her over the weekend to give her an update. Jill, as she’d insisted he call her, morphed from concerned, to angry, to outright furious by the time they told her everything.
“Jude,” she’d said. “Why couldn’t you have let this go as I asked you?”
“This sounds familiar,” Felix whispered into Jude’s ear.
“Because I’m your son,” Jude responded.
“Flattery will not save your ass, young man,” she’d replied, but the fury in her voice ebbed a little. “Why didn’t you tell me at least?”
“I didn’t want to tarnish your reputation,” Jude had explained. “My goal was to handle this in a way that kept your name away from it. You shouldn’t pay for Dad’s mistakes.”
“Nor should Felix sacrifice his life for them,” Jill had said. “Give me the names of these potential shell companies, and I’ll start working on it. We’ll regroup on Monday.”
Monday had arrived, and Felix was just as nervous as he’d been over the weekend. He wanted to make a good impression on Jill, and not because she was a kickass attorney. She was Jude’s mother, and he adored her. Of course, Felix wanted Jill to like him. But if she didn’t, it wouldn’t change anything. He’d try his best to meet her in the middle, but he wasn’t giving Jude up again. Not for anyone, including the woman who’d given him life.
Felix smiled as he read Jude’s text. He told Jude to surprise him, then set the alarm on his watch to go off at noon. He tended to get lost in his work, and he didn’t want to be late.
The receptionist at Channel Eleven perkily smiled when he arrived. She handed him a visitor’s badge and started to give him directions to Jude’s office.
“I know the way,” he said.
Stopping outside Jude’s office, Felix took a few deep breaths before knocking. The door opened before his fist could land against the wood. Jude tugged him inside, shut them away in his lair, and kissed Felix until he was breathless.
“Hiya,” Felix said. “Miss me?” It hadn’t been that long since they’d crawled out of his bed and got ready for the day.
“Terribly.” Jude kissed Felix again until another knock interrupted them. “Lunch has arrived.” Jude smoothed a hand over the front of his shirt and readjusted his semi-erection before answering. He accepted the food, tipped the delivery man, and shut the door. “Steak hoagies, French fries, and Sprite.”
It had been Felix’s favorite meal in college, and it warmed his heart that Jude still remembered those little details about him.
“Perfect.”
They enjoyed their sandwiches while getting caught up on their morning so far. Jude wasn’t surprised to hear the guy who’d set the bomb was wise enough to do it without getting caught on camera.
“He set the damn thing during broad daylight,” Jude said. “Either his balls are bigger than his brain, or he’d taken the time to scope out the security camera situation beforehand.”
“He also knew how to avoid CCTV.” The security measure didn’t encompass the entire city, mostly just the touristy parts.
Jude shrugged. “They might pick him up elsewhere in the city. All they need is a quick glance at the license plate.”
Felix held up crossed fingers.
They’d just finished tidying up their lunch mess when Jude’s mom called. He put her on speakerphone but kept the volume as low as possible.
“Hi, honey,” Jill said to Jude. “I hope you’re having a good day so far.”
Without looking away from Felix, Jude said, “It’s going great.”
His lusty gaze made it clear Jude was thinking of the way they’d started off their day and the kisses they’d exchanged at lunchtime. It should’ve seemed weird considering Jude’s mom was on the phone, but he only felt desired.
Jill laughed, breaking their trance. “I bet,” she said wryly. She wasn’t the least bit confused about the source of Jude’s good mood. “I’m about to make it even better.”
“Impossible,” Jude countered.
Jill responded with an indecipherable sound.
“Mom, are you giggling?” Jude asked.
“The Shark doesn’t giggle,” Felix said.
“She does when her son is happy,” Jill told them.
Felix tried to dig deep for some kind of