Wilde Nights in Paradise (A Wilde Security Novel) (Entangled Brazen) by Tonya Burrows Page B

“May they always cover your ass, even if it nearly gets them killed.”
    Oh, yes, there was a story here. She set her drink down without taking a sip. “What happened?”
    Jude twirled the neck of his bottle between two fingers. “I was supposed to go on that mission, the one that… Fuck.”
    Libby waited, her instincts telling her that if she opened her mouth now, he’d use the opportunity to change the subject. Worse, he’d clam up, and she’d never find out what happened between him and Seth. For reasons she couldn’t begin to name, it was important to hear the story.
    “Seth wasn’t supposed to go on the mission,” Jude said softly after a long moment. “But he covered for me. I woke up that morning sick as hell. He was afraid I’d go out there and get myself or my men killed, so he took my place. Told our captain I had the flu.” He gave a humorless laugh. “Turns out, he wasn’t lying. The nasty food, shitty living conditions, and lack of sleep all combined into one helluva bug that kept me bedridden for a week. I ended up in the hospital in Germany with pneumonia, and I didn’t find out for another week that they’d been ambushed. All but three of them died in the attack. Of those three, Seth’s the only one who survived captivity.”
    Oh God. She couldn’t begin to imagine… No, she decided. She didn’t want to imagine what it must have been like for Seth. She couldn’t help him, but Jude was another matter entirely. Sitting there in the tub, reliving the nightmare of discovering his best friend was a prisoner of war, he looked so worn down, nothing like his usual jovial self.
    Unable to think of anything else to do to offer comfort, Libby reached out with her foot and touched her toes to his calf. He glanced up in surprise at the contact, and she made herself hold his gaze. “I can see why Seth doesn’t blame you.”
    Jude snorted. “He should.”
    “Why? Did you mastermind the ambush?”
    “Hell no.”
    “Did you purposefully get sick so you couldn’t go on the mission?”
    “Of course not.”
    “There you go. No court in the country would find you accountable for what happened.”
    He said nothing, just continued twirling the bottle.
    “Do you blame yourself?”
    “You ask a lot of questions,” he muttered.
    “I’m a lawyer. It’s a requirement.” She scooted around the edge of the tub so that she was sitting beside him and waited until he lifted his gaze to hers. “Jude, do you blame yourself?”
    “Nah.” He took another long pull from his beer. “I don’t play that blame game. It happened. It sucked for everyone involved, especially for Seth. Nothing I can do to change it.”
    Uh-huh. That was a big, fat lie. “So you drink away your issues.”
    “No. I just don’t look back. It’s a philosophy that hasn’t done me wrong yet.”
    Now that lie she would call him on. “You’re full of shit.”
    He said nothing more. Libby sighed and drank from her own bottle.
    “So how is this bodyguard thing going to work?” she finally asked. “Are there rules or something?”
    “We need to keep a low profile,” he said, sounding more like his usual self. Back in his comfort zone. “I’ll be in touch with my brothers, but otherwise, we’ll have a strict no-contact policy. No phones, no Internet, no contact with anyone you know in D.C. Anyone around here asks, we’re James and Liza Wilson.”
    “Who are they?”
    “Us. Greer pulled some strings, got us some fake IDs. We’re honeymooners from Virginia, but I don’t plan on giving anyone the opportunity to ask about us. We’re going to stay in this house unless we absolutely have to leave for some reason, like for groceries. No beach trips.”
    “Stuck in Key West and I can’t even go to the beach.” She laughed humorlessly. “Figures.”
    “Hey, I’m no happier about it than you. I’d give anything to be out there right now dancing my legs off to that music.”
    Libby tilted her head and listened. She hadn’t