Page 41 of Out of Reach
Cold fear gripped Hawk’s heart, and he met Mal’s worried gaze. He had a terrible feeling. “Slade, is Jude in danger?”
“He could be, if Prescott hasn’t given up on getting that list. If Knight’s disappeared, though, I’m thinking he’s compiled another one. But I want you and Mal in New York as soon as possible.”
Relieved he’d be able to watch over Jude, Hawk wasn’t about to argue.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Jude
Jude was in shock.
“You want me to take Seb’s place at Fashion Fest next week?” he asked. “Surely there’s someone better—I’ve never been on the catwalk.”
“You’ll do fine,” Tomaso said. “Sorry it’s such short notice, but you need to get home and pack. We have to be on a plane to LA tonight.”
Jude couldn’t believe it. He’d done plenty of photo shoots, but never a live event. And he was nervous. What if he tripped? What if he fucked up so badly that Tomaso let him go for good this time? Even Sam couldn’t do anything about it if Jude couldn’t do his job.
He drove to his apartment and packed as fast as he could, and just made it out of the building when a sleek black limousine pulled up to the curb. The driver hopped out.
“Jude English?” he asked.
Jude nodded, and the man opened the back door for him.
“Help yourself to the champagne and snacks. Traffic’s pretty bad,” the driver’s voice came over a speaker beyond the dark partition that separated the front seat from the back of the limo.
As the car pulled smoothly into traffic, Jude sat back in the seat, reeling from the day he’d had. First, a long shoot at a studio just outside the city that had been extremely taxing since all the photos were group shots. Every single time, one of the models wouldn’t be doing what the photographer wanted them to do, and the shoot had gone on and on and on. They Jude had gotten that call from Hawk, which had been weird. Jude hadn’t heard anything from Sam, and he couldn’t imagine why Sam would want his old laptop. Then came the news about Fashion Fest, and the hurry to pack.
Deciding a glass of champagne was exactly what he needed to take the edge off his nerves, he pulled the bottle out of the ice bucket. It had already been opened, and he only had to pull out the cork and pour some into a provided glass. Sipping it, Jude watched out the tinted window as the limo crawled through heavy traffic.
As he finished the champagne, it occurred to him that things were only going to get busier once he got on the plane. He might not have time to talk to Hawk again for days or even over a week, as there would be rehearsals for Fashion Fest and all kinds of promotion going on. Maybe he should shoot Hawk a text so he’d know.
He fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket and then to open the app. He’d lay off the champagne—that one glass was already going to his head.
Going to LA as Seb’s replacement in FF. Will call U when I get back late nxt wk.
Leaning his head against the windowpane, Jude closed his eyes. Not only had the day been hectic and stressful, the last two weeks had been almost as rough. It had been rougher than he’d expected getting back into the groove of modeling and, determined, he’d thrown himself into it. He’d been kind of glad. Without Hawk, the apartment was quiet and depressing. The last thing Jude wanted was time to think.
He hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep, but he must have because suddenly he was bodily lifted from the back seat of the limo into open air.
Confused, he struggled to open his eyes, but he was just too tired. Distantly, he wondered who would be picking him up like that. One of Tomaso’s bodyguards? Fuck, he was tired. Head falling listlessly onto a hard shoulder as he was carried at a steady walk, Jude succumbed to a blanket of darkness.
***
Jude woke slowly. The first thing that registered was the round, smudged window in front of his face. Outside it, clouds and gray sky with the faintest tinge of pink on the horizon.
A plane. He was on a plane.Tomaso Ricci’s plane, he remembered. He was going to LA Fashion Fest.
But he didn’t remember getting on board, only the limo ride.
“You’re awake.”
Turning, Jude stared into a familiar face.
“Sam?” The word came out sounding groggy and faint. Jude licked his lips. They were dry. “What are you doing here?”
Handing him a bottle of water, Sam said, “We’re going to LA. Tomaso told me you were taking Sebastian’s place. Congratulations. I thought I’d go watch, and then I thought that I’d save you the miserable trip with the rest of the models flying economy.”
Jude looked around and recognized Sam’s private jet. He put his hand to his head.