Free Jaded by Karin Tabke Page A

Mr. Thibodeaux, but what are you talking about?”
    He laughed low. “Still think you’re better than everybody else, don’t you?”
    “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about. Perhaps you have me confused with someone else?”
    “You did a good job hiding, Ruby Leigh, but I’ve found you. Now, you got something I want, and I’m not leaving until you give it to me.”
    “Sir, I’m sorry, but—”
    “Do you know what Sheriff Taylor dug up in that burned-out trailer of your mama’s?”
    “Mr. Thibodeaux, I assure you, you have me confused with someone else.” Jade pulled back the curtain and her gaze clashed with Jase’s.
    She turned to Otis, who looked as if he were about to explode. “But allow me to buy you a drink. Your trip won’t be for naught.”
    As she walked past Jase, Otis grabbed her and shook her. Something in Jase snapped. He grabbed Otis by the shoulder. “No touching the merchandise, man,” Jase growled, his voice dark, low, and close. Otis jerked around.
    “Bug off, man. I didn’t come here to take no for an answer,” Otis charged back.
    In a quick subtle gesture, Jase clasped Otis around his thick neck with his right hand. He pulled the man’s face toward his. Low and menacingly, he said, “No touching the lady. Do it again and I’ll kick your ass all the way back to Lusiana, Big Daddy.”
    He released the miscreant, and Otis had the good sense to skulk off to a corner and lick his wounded pride. Jade stood rigid. The only clue to her mood was the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She pivoted on her heels and walked over to where Mr. Hiro watched with a concerned look on his brow.
     
     
    Several minutes later, Jase watched Jade leave with the businessman. Jase caught Ricco’s eye across the room and inclined his head toward the door.
    When the men met, Jase said, “I’m following her, stick around and pump for more info.”
    A moment later he was out the door. He wasn’t sold on the place not being a clearinghouse for high-priced whores. In fact, he was sure Jade had mastered the art of pulling the wool over the local PD’s eyes. Maybe Townsend had threatened to expose her and the club? As motives for murder went, it sounded like a good one.
    As Jase followed the large black stretch with Jade inside of it, he called in to the PD to get the paperwork for a GPS device started so he could watch Miss Jade’s comings and goings from his laptop. The lady was hiding a lot behind those big green eyes and he was going to dig until her secrets were revealed.
    The stretch rolled up in front of La Hacienda Rosa. He’d been there just a few weeks ago with…hell. Jase racked his memory. She was tall, buxom, and blonde, but damn if he could remember her name. The food wasn’t bad, but he suspected what most people were paying for was the Barcelona villa ambiance. It was a nice place. And it had private dining rooms.
    He smiled as Jade exited the limo, towering over Hiro. He watched the man’s arm slip around Jade’s waist as he guided her under the high arch of the entrance. For someone who didn’t like to be touched, she didn’t push his hand away. Once the stretch was gone, Jase pulled his unmarked to the curb, flashed his badge, and said to the attendant. “Don’t move it.”
    Jase made his way into the first of three dining rooms. While there were many tables tucked into alcoves, none of them were occupied by his number one suspect or her “date.” He came up empty in the second and third dining rooms.
    Jase walked back to the maître d’, who did his best to ignore him. He flashed his badge. “The Japanese gentleman and his date, where are they?”
    “I’m sorry, Officer, but when our guests step into our house, their privacy is assured.”
    “How private is your resident status?”
    The man’s caramel-colored skin blanched to white.
    “They are in a private dining room. I cannot allow you to interrupt them.”
    “I don’t want to interrupt them,