by Lori Ryan
Well, that answers that question.
Apparently, tonight they were only going to sleep together – literally. And, it seemed that he was okay with that.
PJ frowned. He’d been easily convinced. Too easily and she wasn’t sure she was okay with that, though that was what she’d asked for only moments before. No, not asked for. She’d demanded.
She quickly changed into the clothes he’d given her, laughing as she rolled the sweatpants up several times around the waistband. Nope. They still swam on her and slipped down when she moved. She took off the sweatpants and checked the length of his T-shirt. The hem fell to her thighs, and covered up more than he’d already seen when she’d been out by the pool in her bathing suit earlier in the day. It would do.
He’d laid out a new toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter and wondered when he’d done that. Exactly when had he come up with this plan for her to move into his room, she wondered as she opened the package and then brushed.
PJ took a deep breath before exiting the bathroom, but still wasn’t prepared for the sight of Gabe in his bed. He lay on his back, covers draped loosely over his lap, arms crossed behind his head. But, as his eyes met hers, she saw he was anything but relaxed. His whole body seemed coiled and tense, and his eyes were heated, seeming to burn through her as he took in her bare legs.
“You’re supposed to be wearing sweatpants,” he all but growled as his arms came down from behind his head.
“They were too big,” she squeaked when he sat up in the bed.
“Christ, woman,” he swore as he threw back the covers. He pulled her toward the bed. “Under,” he ordered and waited as she climbed under the covers.
Gabe drew the covers up to her chin, then lay down next to her, his body on top of the covers, drawing a laugh from her.
“It’s not funny,” he said, his grumbling making her laugh harder.
He rolled her toward him, covered her with his body and took her mouth, his own hot and hard and utterly unyielding on hers. PJ let out a moan as her body responded instantly, despite the layers of covers and clothes between their bodies.
She was suddenly needy and wet, and completely unable to focus on anything other than finding a way through the covers and clothes that divided their bodies.
And, then Gabe was rolling her over again, spooning her, one arm draped over her body, the evidence of his arousal evident, even through the covers.
“There,” he said, triumph dripping from his voice. “You try to sleep now.”
PJ didn’t laugh this time.
Chapter 15
Gabe would have preferred to spend the morning in bed with PJ, but with the way things were heading, he knew that wouldn’t happen. Zach’s light knock on his door had woken him early, and he’d come out to find Chad was already at the house.
Yeah, the whole lying-in-bed-with-PJ-for-hours thing wasn’t going to happen.
“Give me a minute, guys,” he said as Chad and Zach fought over who got first dibs on the espresso machine.
Gabe grabbed PJ’s overnight bag from her guest room and crossed back to his room so she’d have something to put on when she woke up. She was still out cold when he put the bag at the foot of the bed so she’d see it when she woke. Man, he’d give anything to crawl back in bed with her.
After they got this under control and took care of whoever was making her so stressed right now, he’d take her away for a while. Maybe they’d find an island without phones or faxes or fans or crazed blackmailing stalkers and hole up there for a month. Or six.
Assuming she’d go with him, he thought, as he shut the door behind him and went to join the other men in the kitchen. He still wasn’t entirely sure where he stood with Pru. What if she only wanted friendship after this was over? Could he still give her that if that was all she wanted?
“What’ve you got, guys?” he asked as he took a sip from the espresso Zach had just set down on the counter. He swallowed with a wince. “Jeez. I’ll make my own,” he said and handed the cup back to Zach.
“We’ll need to have PJ talk to her people on a conference call in the next hour or so,” Chad said. “My people are in place and are going to begin searching. The plan is to bring everyone on her team and in her band into one suite and let them know they can either submit to a search or lose their jobs. We’ll pitch it that we believe the perp may be hiding things among them, bugging the tour bus and luggage and things. We’ll ask for their cooperation first, but if we have to, we’ll make it clear their jobs are on the line, and refusing will give the police reason to look into them further if we bring the police into this.”
“Christ,” Gabe swore. “PJ’s gonna freak. I don’t know if she’ll be able to repair the damage that will be done, conference call or not.”
“What am I gonna freak over?” came Pru’s worried voice behind them.
Gabe turned to find she’d kept his T-shirt on but had slipped jeans under them. The effect of her ruffled hair, the oversized tee and her bare feet had him taking a step closer to the kitchen counter to hide his painfully obvious erection. The men in the room with him might be happily involved with women they loved, but he found himself wanting to toss them out so they couldn’t see his Pru like this.
Zach was the first to answer PJ’s question, and he sugarcoated it more than Gabe would have felt comfortable doing, so he was relieved he’d been too tongue-tied to answer her – so he didn’t have to lie.
“Chad’s guys are getting ready to question your people, so we just need to get you on a conference call to soften the blow a bit.”
“Soften the blow?” she asked, an eyebrow raised. Yeah, okay, she wasn’t an idiot. She wasn’t going to fall for the sugarcoated version.
Gabe cleared his throat. “They’ll be making it clear that their jobs are dependent on cooperating to find out who’s doing this to you.” A lot less sugar in that version.
Though she kept her face blank, he knew that had to be a blow. With the exception of her bodyguards who had been brought on last year when her old security team retired, she had been with her bandmates and team for years. Gabe was sure it killed her to let Chad make that kind of a threat to people she cared about.
“We’ll ask for cooperation first, PJ. We’ll stress you’re in danger and other people have been threatened, and we’ll ask for their help. We’ll only pull out the threat of their jobs if anyone really balks,” Chad said.
“When can we get them on a call together?” she asked quietly, and Gabe admired the hell out of her as she steeled her spine and pulled herself together to face this. She wasn’t falling apart anymore. Damn if he didn’t love that about her. Her strength and resilience.
“Our guys are getting your people together now. We’ll set up a call with you in a half hour,” Chad said, then rubbed his forehead. “Listen, there’s something else we found.”
Gabe wanted to ask what now, but waited for Chad to say more instead.
“Sam’s traced a few sales of pictures of you,” he said to Pru, “back to one of your security guys.” He raised his hand to Gabe’s low growl. “Nothing like what you’re thinking. Just a couple images of her getting ready to go on stage, that kind of thing. Still, not something he should be selling when he’s supposed to be working for you.”
“Which one?” Pru asked and Gabe couldn’t help but think the arm she had wrapped over her stomach was a protective gesture, like she could ward off the blow. It seemed impossible for her to trust anyone in the world she lived in.
“Carl,” Chad said, “though I have to wonder if your other guy knew about it. Seems like he’d have seen Carl snap those pictures. It might be worth hiring a whole new security team.”
Pru nodded but she looked sick to her stomach. “Do you have a way to get in touch with Brian and Susie? I want to check on Matthew.”
Chad pulled his phone out and keyed a button, then waited while the phone rang.
“Hey,” Chad said into the phone, as Gabe went to PJ and kissed her on
the temple, drawing her close to him with one arm. He was relieved when she sank against him, aligning her body with his. He’d been a little unsure of what she’d be like with him this morning.
Chad passed the phone to PJ a minute later, and she tugged Gabe by the arm over to the couch with her, obviously not caring if he heard the conversation. What a wuss ass he was for the wave of relief he felt at that.
“Hi Brian. Is Matthew up yet?” Pru asked. Gabe could hear the answer, “Yes, he’s having breakfast,” through the speaker phone.
“How’s he doing today?” she asked and Gabe heard the tension in her voice, the desperation to have Matthew confirm that he still loved her, still wanted her in his life.
“He’s better, Peej. He’s coming to terms with it. We also talked, and we want to let you know it’s okay if you have to tell your story yourself. If you have to tell the media who Matthew is. He’s already used to getting attention because he’s your cousin. He’ll have the spotlight on him if the story comes out, but we’ll be there for him, and the attention will die down quickly.”
Gabe had already considered having Pru release her version of the story herself before the guy coming after her did. Even so, they’d still need to find out who this was because they would remain a threat to Pru—but having the story released would take some of the stress out of the situation. It would also ensure no one ever held this over Pru’s head again after this guy was caught.
“I’ll think about it,” PJ said and her eyes met Gabe’s.
Oh, he was such an ass for being so damned happy she looked to him for support. Such an ass.
“Hang on, Peej,” Brian said. “Matthew wants to talk to you.”
Gabe heard a choked sob come from PJ, and he tightened his hold around her shoulders. Chad and Zach had slipped out to the patio, leaving only her and Gabe in the room, and he was glad she’d have privacy for this. Her hand landed on Gabe’s chest where her fingers closed around his shirt, clutching him tight.
Gabe couldn't hear anything from the other end of the phone, but PJ must have heard something. “You there, Matthew?”
There was a small sound from the phone. It wasn’t quite a grunt, but just a murmur that let them know Matthew was on the phone.
“Please don’t tell me I’ve lost you again, Matthew. I don’t want to lose you,” PJ begged, and Gabe would give anything to make this better for her. To make her heart whole again.
“Dad said you were fifteen years old,” came Matthew’s quiet voice.
“Yes,” PJ said and Gabe saw her close her eyes. “Almost sixteen when you were born.” He didn’t know whether she was praying for more or thankful for small gifts. He was praying for more. He wanted Matthew, who was much too young to have to be this mature, to find the strength to forgive Pru. The strength to let Pru remain a part of his life.
There was silence on the line for a long time as PJ and Gabe waited.
“I’m thirteen,” Matthew said and Gabe held his breath. The kid was doing the math. He was putting it together. He understood how young Pru was when she had him.
Pru waited.
“You coming home for my birthday, Aunt PJ?” Matthew finally asked, his voice cracking a bit as he spoke, and Gabe watched as Pru cried and nodded, trying to say yes into the phone, but not quite getting anything out.
An hour later, showered and dressed, they met with Chad and Zach in the kitchen and looked at all the information they had gathered to that point.
“So far, your blackmailer hasn’t done anything that required him or her to leave the tour, other than possibly tampering with Jimmy Mondo’s car or somehow setting Jimmy’s accident in motion. And in reality, we still don’t know for sure that’s what happened. Jimmy’s death could have been an accident,” Chad said.
Zach cut in. “We’ve got a few friends on the police force in Los Angeles where the accident took place. We’re waiting to hear if the car had been tampered with, and to get a tox screen back on Jimmy to see what was in his system.”
Chad nodded. “So far, everything your guy’s been doing has been from behind the scenes, hiding behind texts and messenger services. It’s highly likely that this person’s absence from your team would be noticed at any exact moment, and it would be easy to connect that absence with any attack on you here.”
Chad pulled his cell phone out and read from the notes app on the screen. “Unfortunately, your entire team hasn’t been together since you arrived here. Your tour bus was sent ahead to your next tour stop in Denver and the driver has been waiting at the Towers there. Your team and band met them there yesterday, but between then and now, Debra has gone back to her office, and Ellis and Lydia took two days off. Ellis said he was driving across the country, stopping at civil war monuments on the way. He met up with Lydia at the Towers in Denver late yesterday afternoon.”
“So, it’s possible he could have gone out to LA and tampered with Jimmy Mondo’s car before meeting up with Lydia?” Gabe asked.
Chad nodded. “Exactly. But, the others are equally unaccounted for. Lydia supposedly stayed at the Towers in New York for two days before she went to Denver. But, since checkout is automated and there’s no record of her using room service or anything, we’ll need to get someone on the ground there to see if any of the staff remember seeing her. Gabe, can you take care of that for us?”
“Yep. I’m on it,” Gabe said, sending a quick text to the general manager of the Towers New York asking him to send security footage from the hotel lobby and all other public areas for the day Jimmy was killed, and to see if any of the staff remembered seeing Lydia that day.
“There’s also the band. They split up and went their separate ways. The driver of the tour bus continued on to Denver, and the various members of the band each went to stay with friends. We’re working on getting in touch with the friends they saw, trying to confirm they were with them for the days we need to track,” Zach said.
“So you think the reason this person hasn’t actually come after me yet is because they can’t slip away from the group unnoticed?” PJ asked.
Chad nodded. “I think so. They clearly know where you are. They know a lot about you, and about Gabe, it seems. Enough to know he owns this house—that not many people know about—and what courier Gabe’s assistant uses to send things to him here. This person must be someone who moves around the Towers properties easily and unnoticed.”
“Lydia and Ellis are often in the Towers offices talking to my staff about arrangements for PJ,” Gabe said. “We let her security move around the hotel so they can check on things for her. I don’t think the band would move around easily in the back areas.”
Chad nodded, making notes before looking at PJ. “Who did you tell about your plan to stay with Gabe?”
“Only Debra and my parents should know where I am right now. I didn’t tell the rest of the team, and I asked Debra not to share it with them,” PJ answered.
“I think whoever this is wanted to scare you with Jimmy’s death, but now, unless they can somehow arrange for everyone to split up again, it would be obvious who it was the minute someone comes after you. All we would need to do is look to see who’s missing, and we’d know who to go after,” Chad said.
PJ was quiet for a minute, and Gabe felt his gut clench. He knew what she was thinking before she voiced it a split second later. “I need to go back.”
“No, Pru,” he said quietly, but not at all softly. Her gaze cut to him quickly, but she looked away. She looked back to Chad and Zach, squaring her shoulders.
“No!” Gabe said, not even going for quiet this time.
“Let’s head back,” PJ said, completely ignoring him. Chad and Zach were silent, their eyes watching PJ and Gabe as Gabe came up behind her and turned her to face him.
“Are you crazy? You’re just going to walk back there and let this guy do whatever he wants to you? Is this some kind of twisted punishment you feel the need to take on because you gave Matthew up? Because Matthew’s forgiven you. He
’s happy and safe. He has everything you ever wanted for him. You don’t need to do this.”
PJ’s eyes flashed, and she put her hands on her hips and squared off with him. “What would you have me do, Gabe? Hide out here with you forever? Give up my career? Leave my life because some sick, twisted asshole has it out for me?”
“It’s a start,” Gabe said, hearing how insane he sounded, hearing how idiotic that plan was. Of course she couldn’t hide out forever. But, he wouldn't watch her walk back in and hand herself over to this guy.
He saw Chad and Zach slip out of the kitchen and knew they’d probably station themselves in the front of the house, or one in the back and one out front. Either way, they were giving him and PJ space—and he appreciated it.
He needed to find a way to talk some sense into her. To hell with talking. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to drag her off to his room and lock her in. And never let her out.
Realistic? Probably not, based on the way she was looking at him…like she’d draw and quarter him if he tried.
“Pru, please,” he started. “Let’s just find a better way to deal with this than sticking you out there as bait for this lunatic. Whoever he is, he’s angry and resentful, and he didn’t hesitate to kill Jimmy. If he gets to you––”
PJ knew Gabe wanted to take care of everything for her. He’d try to fix everything and make sure she never had to worry about anyone coming after her again. He’d find a way to get her journal back, to stop the person who was doing this to her. To take care of it all. And a big part of her really wanted to let him do that. Wanted it in a way she never had before, not even with Jimmy way back when.
But, the thing was, she was twenty-nine years old and so far, she hadn’t had a whole lot of luck with men. At each and every turn, men had stabbed her in the back and walked away when she needed them. Jimmy hadn’t batted an eye before telling her to get rid of ‘the problem,’ as he’d referred to the baby growing in her stomach when she was just fifteen.
