Judas (17 page)

“Where did the two of you meet?” Adessa asked, changing the subject.

Jaime stole a glance at him and he nodded, letting her know she could answer. “I was working at Sensations,” she told her, skipping the part about him paying her for a private dance at the strip club.

“Oh, I wasn't aware they had escorts there,” Adessa said, clearly challenging her.

Jaime shrugged, “They don't. He and I made our own private arrangement,” she told her, taking her cues directly from Judas.

             
She answered a few more of the grilling questions but she was losing her patience and fast. The woman was digging and every sugary sweet remark was meant to be a jab of some sort and if she thought Jaime would just take it, she was wrong. Jaime didn't roll like that. Besides, Jaime had some questions of her own. She didn't want to overstep the line, but she was in some sick, twisted way, in love with this man and she wanted to know about him, and his life. “When is your baby due?” she asked.

“August,” Adessa answered, sliding her hand over her growing bump. “We can't wait. This is his first baby. Our first,” she corrected herself, stroking his arm.

              She did the math in her head. It was March now, so that made her about four months. Jaime envied the woman. Not for how completely fake she was, but for being his wife, and for knowing a side of him that she didn't, and for carrying his child.

Jaime had always wanted one of her own but since she made the arrangement with Judas, she knew that the only way to pursue that would be to give that up, which
meant that she couldn't even afford to support a kid. She had no education, save for a G.E.D. when they met, but his money was paying for a comfortable life for her and it also helped fund her college education. 

             
She needed a Master's degree to begin teaching full time, and that meant another two years of school. Her dream life would have to wait. She just wished sometimes that her dream life didn't include him. She knew she would never be his wife or mean anything to him, but the woman inside her still liked to pretend sometimes. She needed to get out of here. “J, may I be excused?” she finally asked him. He nodded in response and was about to say something but Adessa cut him off.

“Oh how cute! She's got pet names!” Jaime ignored her but she could tell that Judas was not happy.

              He stood, letting her hand fall from his arm. “That's really not necessary, doll,” he said calmly before telling her, “I need a word with Jaime in private before she goes. I'll be right back.” He led her outside and lit a smoke as he leaned against the hood of her car. “I know that was painful, but hopefully it will put her mind to rest. She's really not accepting this well,” he said, sucking in a long drag.

“You don't need to explain, I get it,” she smiled warmly. “Besides, I enjoyed seeing your home and I'm glad you asked me to come.”

He nodded thoughtfully, looking over her shoulder toward the front door. Keeping his voice low, he asked, “You have more?”

             
She nodded and pulled it from her pocket. “Be careful with this. Don't need you getting addicted,” she warned, folding it into his hand. He smiled weakly and for a second, she thought he would kiss her but he didn't. He pulled away, clearly struggling inside. “You know where to find me if you need me,” she reassured him. She had a feeling she could expect him soon. Everything was suddenly starting to make sense.

              He sat on the patio under the clouds. There was no sunshine today and the weather was calling for thunderstorms for the next few days. He didn't know how long it had been since he began using and every day had left him in a haze. He couldn't remember the last time they made love, but he found that he was no longer even interested. 

He had finally given to Carrie's advances which were almost daily after that night. There were times she spent the entire day on her knees, sucking him and drinking him until he no longer had the strength to stand. Once, she was tucked under his desk with his dick buried deep in her throat while he held a consultation
with an important client.

She enjoyed sex and she was good at it, but she seemed to
have no preference in the way he took her. He knew it was wrong but a man like him had no morals. He had sold them long ago and he had been forced to accept the fact, with the first line he snorted.
              He enjoyed the times he could sneak away to be with Jaime, and Carrie had helped him make it possible. The relationship had grown to a full partnership of lust and secrets. He would pleasure her and she would give it in return and she covered his ass each time he needed it.

Between the two of them, his needs were covered and he was on top of his game. The coke had allowed him to do his work to near perfection and he spent long hours pouring over minor details of each case. He was invincible.
              He was finding that he needed Adessa less and less and his time at home was usually strained. The difference was a stark contrast now to the love and attention he felt in Jaime's arms. It was intoxicating, and he was finding that wanted to be with Jaime more than Adessa. It was sad, really. He wondered when she had become the nagging housewife and had ceased to be his friend.
              She went to the doctor a few weeks back and a new ultrasound confirmed that their baby was a boy. He had insisted that she quit her job and she reluctantly did, but it had only given her more time to sit around and think up ways to get him to have sex with her.

It seemed that the only time she wanted to talk was to try to get him to take her roughly and even when they fought, he felt she was just trying to push his buttons. Today was no different. She was in a poor mood, and he knew it was because she wanted him to take her. She refused to understand that he couldn't.
              He finally stood and made his way back inside. It was evening, but too early for bedtime, so he made a few calls. He knew that he needed to be with her and with the birth of their son coming up, he wanted to be sure everything was covered.

An old colleague of his had agreed to handle some of his cases in order for him to have the much needed time away. It was something, anyway. Maybe he would finally take Adessa to Florida. If he scheduled it around the time the baby would be born, they could go as a family. He just knew he needed a break. From all of it.
              “Is this what I think it is?” she hissed, dangling his necklace in the air.
He was caught.

She had found it. “Yes, it is,” he answered evenly, feeling his pulse quicken.
“You're a druggie now?” she shrieked, slinging it at him.
He picked the vial up from the bedroom floor, not looking at her as he opened it to be sure the powder was still inside. “It's not like that, doll.”
“It's not? Are you going to tell me you're holding it for someone?” Her voice was vicious and scathing.
He locked his heated orbs onto hers, “No, it's mine,” he ground out.
              She shook her head, “You're using this with Jaime, aren't you!”
He nodded. She wanted answers. He'd give them to her. “I use it to keep me from doing things I'll regret.”
“Oh, right. Forgot about that. Your whore does things for you that you can't imagine doing to your wife. I don't believe you, Judas. You're either with her for drugs, or for love. Which is it?” she demanded.
The word rolled right off his tongue. “Both.” He had no idea why he said that. It was an open provocation and it wasn't even the truth. He loved no woman.
“Well, hell! I'd give you drugs if it meant you'd love me! Why didn't I think of that?” she was belligerent now.
He said nothing. He simply walked into the bathroom and locked the door.
              She was pounding furiously on the door, and he could hear the sobs begin to choke her words as she begged him not to do this. She had stood before him naked, hurling insults and accusations and she expected a different outcome? He was beyond caring right now. She was going to get what she asked for. He splashed cool water on his face to no avail.

She was still outside and demanding his presence. He removed his clothes before yanking open the door and catching her wrist in his hand, twisting it roughly as he pushed her onto the bed. “Is this what you want from me?” he roared, pinning her beneath him. The vial was still clutched firmly in his hand as he spread her legs wide. “Do not move. Do not fucking move,” he warned her.
              He poured out two thick lines along the lips of her sex, and resealed the container, dropping it to the floor. She was sobbing now and obviously terrified but she was still and that was all he cared about. He inhaled deeply, taking it all in, allowing the rapture to come. He was invigorated, empowered. Higher than he had ever been. He licked the remaining residue from her causing her to startle at the invasion.

He was only beginning. He grabbed her hair and pulled her to a sitting position and ordered her to suck him. It was heaven. Her sobs made it even more enjoyable, knowing she had earned each one. She had pushed him and begged. She would now know exactly what she was missing.
              It didn't take him long to release in her throat and he forced her to swallow every drop, between the gagging and the pleading. Her crimson hair was matted and her face stained with salty tears but he wasn't finished. “Face down, ass up. Do it. Now,” he barked, and she complied. “Good girl. Now spread your ass for me,” he commanded, already stroking himself as he watch her open herself for him. He reached out and began to trace the tiny opening with the pad of his middle finger. “Judas, please, no,” came a small voice. One he barely recognized.
“Oh yes, this is what you wanted. You begged for his. Now take it like a good girl,” he said, hooking his finger just inside her opening. He tugged against the rim, stretching her as he worked the tight muscles.
              She was rigid and unwelcoming. He slapped her ass hard, “Relax those muscles, doll, or it will hurt more than necessary. I'm going to fuck you here, and I don't care if you want it or not,” he bit out before shoving himself inside of her. He worked the muscles as they pushed againt his thrusts, forcing them to expand around him. He rode her rough and hard from behind and when he was finally finished, he collapsed on the bed beside her and lit a cigarette. He had done it.
 

             
He was right. She couldn't handle it. She felt sick and dirty and she hated every second of what he did to her. She was no masochist. She was wrong. She pushed him until he finally snapped and regardless of his drug use, she knew that he had been trying to warn her of this all along.

The cocaine no longer mattered. Nothing did. She couldn't stay. She wanted nothing to do with this man or his mental problems. She gathered her things and began to carry the three overstuffed suitcases to the car, one by one as he watched, not stopping her.

              Her emotions were on a roller coaster. She was going from angry to sad to just blank and back again. She wanted to hate him and wanted to hate herself. Their perfect life had been shattered by a cracked out hooker named Jaime. But then again, Jaime was there first. Maybe she shattered their life. It didn't matter anymore.

She refused to care, just as
he refused to care about her when he used her the way he did his whore. The two were perfect for each other in her eyes. They were both evil and sick and she couldn't believe she had ever fallen in love with him. Her eyes were still swollen from her tears and her hair still a mess but she was determined to fix this.

             
She slid the rings from her finger and handed them to him. “You can have those back. I don't want them.”

He didn't look up at her as he accepted them. “I tried to warn you. I tried to stop this.”

She nodded, “I know. It's my fault.”

He shook his head, “It's not your fault. It's mine. I'm the monster. I never deserved you to begin with.”

She couldn't disagree. “I'll let you file the papers if you want to,” she said quietly. “I know there will be questions and it's up to you how you answer them.” She had no idea why she was still willing to protect this man. His secrets had destroyed them and the one who would pay was their unborn son.

             
“You can have anything you want, Adessa. And I'll provide for you and our baby. Just please don't keep him from me. He's all I have left,” he said, nearly pleading.

She shrugged in response. “You have Jaime.” She knew the words would sting but they were true. He never needed her to begin with. It was always Jaime. He could start over with his whore and have all the kids they wanted.

“Promise me, Adessa,” he persisted.

She shook her head, “I promise nothing. You taught me that.”

She could tell he was becoming angry now, but she didn't care. He deserved to hurt just as much as he had hurt her.

             
“You will not take my son from me. I won't allow it!” he growled, nearly frantic.

She cleared her throat, “You need help. You need therapy. You need something. I won't subject our child to whatever your malfunc
tion is. I won’t bring our son into that lifestyle.”

His jaw clinched and she knew her point had been made. “Goodbye, Judas.” She walked out the door for the last time and headed toward the only place she wanted to be right now. Rose Verino would be proud of her for standing her ground. Long gone were the days of being the meek Adessa Ryan. She was Adessa Quinn now, a
nd Quinns as she knew them, were  powerful and confident. And rich. She would play whatever part she needed to play, but he would pay for what he did to her.