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“Jude,” she breathed.

The way she said his name always felt like she meant
more
to it. That she’d uncovered some secret side of him that even he didn’t
know.

“You sleep okay?” he asked. He didn’t want this to end,
wanted to stay closed away in the bedroom with her forever.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “I did.” The smile spread until it
reached her eyes, and Jude grinned in response.

“I did too.”

Indigo yawned, stretching, the sheet dropping down to her
ribs, exposing the curve of full breasts and lean stretch of ribs.

“What time is it?” she sighed, rolling onto her back. “I’ve
got a class at nine.”

Jude dragged his eyes away, turning onto his side and
checking his phone.

“Little after eight.” He set the phone back down, tracing
the line of her hip through the thin layer of the sheets. “You need to head
home to grab some clothes?”

“I brought a change,” she said, “just need a bathroom and a
minute to clean up.”

Jude leaned closer, and her expression changed, growing
wary. He touched his lips to hers. The kiss was softer than the ones they’d
shared last night, full of longing. He finally pulled back, his hands combing
her hair off her face.

“I’m glad you texted yesterday,” he said.

“Glad you answered. I wasn’t sure you would.”

Jude pushed the guilt away. He wouldn’t think about that
right now. Not when she was here with him.

“I’ll do better,” he said, laying his face down on the
pillow next to hers. It was on the tip of his tongue to promise other things
too, but he didn’t dare. Instead he kissed her again, the two of them delaying
a few minutes longer.

The alarm on Jude’s phone chimed and he groaned, rolling off
of her. Indigo sat up, crossing the floor, naked, and grabbing her pack from next
to the door. Jude watched her hungrily as she pulled on a bra and panties and a
black turtleneck sweater, followed by the same jeans she’d been wearing last
night. She leaned to the side, brushing her hair with her fingers, before
flipping it back up. Two minutes after waking, and she looked better than any
woman Jude had ever met.

“Back in a minute,” she said, heading to the door and
stepping into the hallway.

Jude dressed in silence, a contented smile on his face. He
wasn’t scheduled in the Tech Department until ten, but he’d go in early. All
the moments he’d missed with Indigo now felt like wasted time.

Since she was still in the bathroom, he tucked his phone and
wallet into his jacket pocket, wandering to the living room. His eyes widened
in shock. Marq sat on the couch, dressed in his work clothes, a line of energy
drinks lined up on the coffee table, laptop propped up in front of him. It was
a rare day that Marq got up before Jude, especially if he’d been drinking the
night before.

“Morning,” Jude said. “You’re up early.”

“Trying to get a project done,” Marq muttered.

“What's the rush?”

Marq clicked save, looking up. “That guy I was telling you
about called back.” He turned back to the screen, typing again. “Kevin. No –
Keith. Anyhow, I told him I had to finish this other thing first.” He began
typing again. “Then I’d talk to him about his project.”

“I thought you were saying no to him,” Jude said.

 “Turns out this guy is made of cash,” he snorted.
“Gonna meet with him when things slow down.”

“What’re you doing for him?”

“Not sure,” Marq admitted. “I’m supposed to get the details
about the project when we meet. Guy’s a bit paranoid,” he laughed.

“Huh,” Jude grunted, irritated, though he couldn’t explain
why.

Marq looked over. “You watch, buddy. Give me a couple months
and I'll be rolling in dough.”

The arrogance of Marq’s tone didn’t surprise Jude, but it
worried him. In the hallway behind the two men, a door opened, and the click of
heels sounded. Jude stepped toward Marq, dropping his voice.

“You’re not worried about how King’s gonna take you doing
other jobs on the side?”

Marq shrugged. “It’s my business, not his,” he said
sullenly. “Nothing to do with him at all.”

Jude opened his mouth to argue, just as Indigo walked into
the room. Marq’s fingers paused on the keyboard, his mouth widening into a lewd
grin.

“Well, hello gorgeous,” he said, using the exaggerated voice
Marq always affected around women. “How’re
you
doin’?”

Indigo rolled her eyes. “Nice to see you too, Marq,” she
said tartly.

“Y’know,” Marq said, pushing his laptop onto the couch’s
cushions and leaning against the back. “You should come out to party with us
sometime. There’re some great clubs downtown, if you know the right people to
get in.”

“
Marq!
” Jude groaned.

Indigo’s lips pursed. “Thank you,” she said, icily polite,
“but I’ve been to plenty of clubs.”

“Yeah, but not clubs like—”

“We should really get going,” Jude interrupted before Marq
could make this any more uncomfortable. “Indigo’s got class this morning and I
don’t want her to be late.”

In seconds they were out the door, Marq’s laughing voice
following them into the hallway.

“It was great to finally meet your GIRLFRIEND, Jude!”

: : :
: : : : : : :

Within days, Jude realized that Indigo had set out some unspoken
limits to their relationship.  He was pretty sure, for instance, that she
hadn’t ever intended to take him back to her apartment. When they went out, he
dropped her off at the door, or picked her up outside, but he was never invited
in.

Then fate intervened.

Indigo’s video project was almost complete when it started
dropping individual frames on export. The day that it happened, Professor
Yamamoto called the Tech Department and Kimbra spent half an hour sorting
through the Media Exporter, but she wasn’t able to fix it. At coffee break,
Indigo was so furious, she told Jude she was considering starting the project
all over again. With her extra coursework, she just didn’t have
time
to
fool around with a computer error.

Jude assured her he could solve the issue. He didn’t know
how, but he knew there was a way. He promised to come by her apartment after
dinner with his laptop. They could upload all her files onto his hard drive,
and he could figure out where it was messing up, and possibly write a patch if
it was needed. It wasn’t something he’d ever consider doing if this was any
other student, but it wasn’t.

This was Indigo.

Arriving, he pressed the apartment button, and Indigo buzzed
him through, warning him to take the stairs, not the elevator. When he reached
the fourth floor, she was already in the doorway, wringing her hands.

“You alright?” Jude asked. “You look upset.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Tanis cancelled on dinner, so
my roommate, Shireese, is still here.”

“And?”

“I’ve kind of… told her about you.”

For a second Jude had the irrational thought that she meant
about working for the mob, but that made no sense. Indigo had no idea what he
did in the hours between work and seeing her.

“Um, okay?”

Indigo glanced over her shoulder into the apartment and then
back. “It’s not actually
you
,” she explained. “It’s just that I have a
bad track record with guys. And Shireese knows that.”

Jude grinned. “So I’m the exception?” he laughed.

“Jude,” she said. “I’m not kidding here.”

His grin softened, and he reached out to cup her cheek. “I’m
not kidding either.”

Shireese, as it turned out, was the same friend he’d met at
O’Reilly’s in the spring. The person Indigo had left the bar with, rather than
waiting for him at the table. When Indigo led him to the kitchen, Shireese was
cleaning. She turned, raising her eyebrows.

“Shireese,” Indigo said nervously. “I um, I don’t know if
you remember Jude or not.”

She smirked, drying her hands on a dishtowel before reaching
out and offering her open palm.

“Oh, I remember you alright,” she said, her eyes drifting up
and down. “You’re the frat boy.”

Indigo winced, but Jude smiled.

“Never actually pledged,” he said, reaching out and shaking
her hand. “And I graduated a couple years ago.”

Shireese nodded, putting her hands on her hips. “You got a
job?”

“Shireese!” Indigo hissed. “I TOLD you this already!”

“Yes,” Jude answered. “I work at the Tech Department at the
university.”

She tipped her head to the side. “Permanent position or
part-time work?”

“Stop it!” Indigo cried.

“Permanent,” he said, “though I do some contract work on the
side too.” (That was still the truth, if you squinted.)

“That’s good,” Shireese said, nodding. “Thinking ahead.”

“Don’t even start, Shireese,” Indigo growled. She looked
ready to attack.

“What?” Shireese snorted. “I’m not doing a thing to him! He
doesn’t have to answer.”

‘Like hell I don’t!’
Jude thought.

“So how about you?” he asked, turning the questions back
around. “What do you do?”

“For a living?” she asked, “or because I live to do it.
Those’re two different questions, y’know.”

Jude stared at her for a moment. He’d never really thought
of it that way, but it was true.

“Both, I guess.”

“Well, to earn enough to pay my half o’ this rat-hole,”
Shireese said, leaning against the cupboard, “I do custodial work. Not a fancy
position or nice, but it’s a good steady job, and the company I work for has a
union. I’ve done it for years.” She nodded to Indigo. “It’s how we met,
actually.”

“Please, Shireese,” Indigo gasped. The sound of her voice surprised
Jude enough that he turned. Her eyes were wide and terrified, face bloodless.

“It’s
fine,
” Shireese snarled.

Jude turned back to her. “And the other stuff you do?” he
prompted.

“Oh, I love to cook,” she laughed. “I’ve been working on
saving up recipes since I was a kid. Some day me and Tanis are gonna run a
restaurant.” She winked. “Gotta save a bit to start first, but… yeah. That’s my
hope.”

“Your get-out-of-Dodge plan,” Jude said.

“Never heard it called that,” Shireese chuckled, “but yeah.
So how about you, Jude? Where’re you headed? In the long term, I mean.” Her
eyes drifted knowingly to Indigo.

“I swear to God!” Indigo barked, “I’m gonna
kill
you
for this!” She grabbed Jude’s arm, dragging him out of the kitchen before he
could answer.

“It was nice to meet you, Shireese!” Jude called.

“You too, hon,” she laughed.

: : :
: : : : : : :

Jude’s usual schedule was to visit Elliot every second day.
He’d missed that standing appointment yesterday, so he was rushing when he
arrived at the second floor trauma ward. He jogged down the hallway, slowing as
he passed the nurses’ station, then picking up his speed on the other side.

Elliot had been moved from ICU a few days earlier, though
the long process of recovery had barely begun. Jude was almost to the door when
it opened, and a uniformed officer walked out of Elliot’s room. She had ebony
skin and full lips, dark eyes sharp and inquisitive. Jude stopped a few feet
away from her, and the woman’s gaze snapped onto him. He had the irrational
thought that he should run, but she was already too close.

“Excuse me, sir,” the officer said, her voice drawing the
attention of passersby. “Are you here to see Mr. Baird?”

Jude nodded, his mind going a million different directions
at once. The woman strode forward, clipbook in hand. She held out her badge.

“I’m Detective Schaeffer,” she said brusquely. “Are you a
friend of Elliot Baird’s?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m Jude. Jude Alden.”

She glanced down at her clipboard.

“Ah yes,” she said, making a notch next to his name. “His
mother told me I should contact you.”

“Is everything okay?”

“No, actually, it isn’t,” she said dryly.

Jude blanched. “What?”

“Mr. Baird is refusing to give any kind of statement about
the attack.”

Jude released his breath, shoulders sagging. “His tongue was
sliced,” he explained. “He can’t really talk yet. Or not so he can be
understood, anyhow.”

The detective shook her head.

“His mother tells me he’s been leaving simple messages with
his tablet the last few days,” she said. “Elliot can point to words even though
he can’t say them. He
could
make a statement if he wanted.”

“Oh,” Jude said. “I didn’t realize.”

Elliot hadn’t done anything like that around him. For the
most part, he just stared at the window, dozing. Now Jude wondered how much of
that was because
he
was the one visiting.

“We’d like to get some information about the person who
attacked him,” Schaeffer continued. “The fresher it is in his mind, the
better.”

“But does he even remember the attack?” Jude asked.

“The nurses seem to think so,” she replied. “I’m sure you
know he’s been having nightmares at night…” Jude frowned. He hadn’t known
that
either. “…and the psychologist thinks that this is because he
does
remember
the attack. I’ve been trying to get a statement, but so far he’s refused.” For
the first time since the conversation began, she smiled. “I was hoping you
could talk to him. Convince your friend to do the right thing.”

Jude felt himself deflate. He didn’t tell Elliot to do the
right thing. It worked the other way around. There was no way to explain that
to her though.

“I’ll try,” he said weakly.

She reached into her pocket, pulling out a card. “Give me a
call if you make any progress with him, Jude,” she said. “This is important. Whoever
did this to Mr. Baird is still out there on the streets.” She paused, staring
at him for a long moment. “And the longer that person isn’t caught, the more
likely it is that he’ll do this to someone else.”