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When I finally got up the nerve to look in theback at ether eme in the mirror was that of the little kid I'd been The one no one had wanted The one who'd been too weak, too pathetic

I dropped ether, Jude" I wrapped es of the raised sink and held on until I finally felt some semblance of control retakein theback The one who didn't take shit frouards

A coolness settled overand seeking out the gar on the back of the bathroo on a clean shirt and jacket

Let Nikolai Falkov wait

It would be tih and I had absolutely no doubt about ould be co out on top this time

Chapter 5

Nikolai

Jesus, rong with uy ticked all ofthem out of harm's way

But every word that came out of Jude's mouth made me itch to put e I wanted to exert that kind of power over him so I could…

So I could what? See that saht so had happened to his lover? No, I didn't want to see that again What I wanted was more of that spark That one that said Jude Archer was alive and well beneath the cold façade His fiery te I wanted h I knew I shouldn't

As I paced around Jude's office, I took in the view and tried to mentally prepare ht would continue But this time, I needed to maintain my own control I was a professional, damn it This wasn’t my first time on the job and he most certainly wasn't the most difficult client I'd ever had Well, at least not yet, anyway Of course, I hadn't ever wanted to bend any of my other clients over the back of the couch and fuck them senseless either

By the tied to settle down enough to at least give the appearance that I was ready for the next battle Jude ca pretty much exactly like he had before he’d spilled the coffee on himself I'd already seen the fresh jacket and shirt in his bathrooed Instead of returning to his desk, Jude went to the counter where there was a sot a cup of coffee going and then snagged a towel and returned to his desk

"So, are you attempt number three from company number two or attempt number one from a new company?" he asked as he mopped up the coffee that he'd spilled on his desk

"I'm from Smithfield," I said

Jude nodded slowly "Right So I' that you won't be distracted by shiny objects like Mr Halsey"

"Most clients aren't in the habit of running from the people who've vowed to protect the excuses for Lenny, but I wasn't about to go apologizing to Jude for the subpar service he'd received thus far fro conversation with Lenny that had pretty ear As for Tolliver, I'd kick his ass if he was ever foolish enough to show hiain

Jude paused for a et little Leonard in trouble with his daddy?" he asked coolly

I didn't respond Instead, I went to the coffeeI turned and took a slow sip of the rich brew and felt a shimmer of satisfaction when I saw Jude's eyes harden just a bit But he didn't say anything as he continued to right his desk

"So I suppose Mr Tolliver earned hi-to," he commented

"That was the plan" I paused and eyed Jude "Now that I've h twenty grand seems a bit low," I said sarcastically