Tabloid Star

by T. A. Chase

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Bauer, old man. You’re looking good.”

  Standing, Josh smiled as Morgan and Vance strolled up to him. The three men hugged before the others went to order their drinks. Josh had been at the coffee shop for about ten minutes and already had his black coffee in hand. He watched his two friends standing in line, laughing and talking quietly together.

  Morgan touched Vance on the small of his back. Hmmm…friendship seemed to have moved into something more serious.

  “Josh.”

  He turned and saw Ryan standing a few feet away from him. Smiling, he gestured for the actor to join him.

  “Thanks for coming, Ryan. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’ll keep saying it until you believe me; I had nothing to do with those pictures.”

  Ryan reached out, stopping inches from Josh’s arm. “I know. After the shock, hurt and alcohol wore off, I came to realize that you seem to have something to lose as well.”

  Josh started to speak, but Ryan interrupted.

  “I don’t know what and I don’t need to know. That’s why I’m here to bury the figurative hatchet and see how we go about getting us both off the front page.”

  He relaxed and took Ryan’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Morgan and Vance joined them.

  “Guys, this is Ryan Kellar. Ryan, these are two of my closest friends, Morgan LaFontaine and Vance Colvin. They own a private security company.”

  “Personal security in like bodyguards?” Ryan shook their hands before they sat.

  “Do you want something to drink, Mr. Kellar?” Vance asked.

  Ryan grinned. “I’d like an espresso, Vance, but please call me Ryan. I’m not anywhere near famous enough to rate that kind of respect.”

  Nodding, Vance headed back to the counter to order Ryan’s drink. Morgan watched the tall blond walk away for a moment before meeting Josh’s gaze.

  “Do you think Ryan needs a bodyguard?”

  Josh shook his head. “I don’t think we need to go that far, but I’d like to see if you have any recommendations about someone we can hire to follow Ryan.”

  “Follow me? Why?” Ryan took the espresso Vance handed him with a nod.

  “Because like I told you last night, Rachel thinks someone is following you specifically and I agree with her.”

  “Rachel, your new boss?” Vance sat and put his arm over the back of Morgan’s chair.

  “Yes.” Josh sipped his coffee and organized his thoughts. “She’s looked at all the pictures in the tabloid. She says the first blurry one of us kissing has been altered to look grainy. The others of you punching me and hanging out with your friend are crystal clear. No one took those with a camera phone or anything amateur.”

  Morgan frowned. “You think someone is following Ryan, waiting to see if he does something scandalous for good pictures.”

  “Yes. After we find out whom, we have to find out if someone paid him, or her, to do it or if they decided he might be a likely candidate for tabloid fodder.”

  Ryan glanced around the room, obviously trying to see if he could spot the culprit. Josh laid his hand on Ryan’s and drew the man’s attention back to him.

  “I don’t think he’d be standing there, holding up the camera and yelling ‘it’s me, it’s me’, honey.”

  Blushing, Ryan ducked his head slightly, but didn’t move his hand away from Josh’s. In fact, he flipped his hand over and threaded their fingers together. A smile broke over Josh’s face and he caught Morgan eyeing him with curiosity.

  Josh realized he’d never held hands with another guy in public before. It had nothing to do with being ashamed or worrying about what other people would think. It had more to do with the men he’d dated. None of them caused a reaction close to what Ryan did to him. Josh wanted to protect the younger man from all the bad things that could happen to him while in Hollywood and the film industry.

  It was a strange reaction to have when they had sex one night followed by Ryan hitting him four nights later. Not a promising start to any relationship, if that’s what Josh wanted it to be.

  “We know the names of a couple really good private investigators. They won’t talk and they get results, but they aren’t cheap,” Vance informed them.

  “That’s not important,” Ryan spoke up. “I can cover the cost. I really want this whole thing cleared up before Josh gets involved any further.”

  Josh’s phone rang. Excusing himself, he checked the caller ID. It was Erin and he knew she wouldn’t be calling if it wasn’t an emergency.

  “Erin, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  Erin’s sobs came over the phone mingling with the screams of an angry child in the background. Shit, something bad had happened. He hadn’t heard Pedro act like that in over a year.

  “There was a reporter here, Josh. He surprised us when we were coming back from Pedro’s therapy. He kept yelling questions and snapping pictures. Pedro’s on overload and I can’t get him to calm down.” His sister’s words ran together and Josh knew her reaction to the reporter was fueling Pedro’s issues.

  “Fuck. God damn.” He kicked a chair and everyone looked at him.

  Ryan, Morgan and Vance all stood and headed toward him, herding him out of the coffee shop without any other incident.

  “Take deep breaths, Erin. You know he’s reacting to you and if you’re not calm, he won’t settle.” He held on when Ryan took his hand, gripping it tight to ground himself, so his anger wouldn’t upset Erin more.

  “I know, but I’m scared. What if that reporter puts our pictures in the paper? What if Geraldo sees it and comes after us?” Erin’s fear grew in her words. “I can’t run again. Pedro won’t be able to cope and he was doing so well.”

  Josh growled deep in his throat at the thought of his ex-brother-in-law. “I know, sweetheart, and I’ll drive up to visit you. Tell Pedro I’m coming. That might help calm him down a little. It’s at least ten hours if the traffic isn’t bad.”

  “I’m sorry to do this to you, but both of us will feel better with you here.”

  “I’ll get there as soon as I can. Keep the doors locked and the shades drawn. Don’t answer the door or the phone. I’ve got a key, so I’ll let myself in when I get there.”

  Erin sighed and Josh heard the relief in her voice.

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m your big brother. This is what I do and I brought this on you. Try to get Pedro calm and I’ll see you soon.”

  He hung up and swore, remembering he held Ryan’s hand only when he tried to punch the brick wall he stood by.

  “Shit.”

  “What’s wrong?” Morgan gripped his shoulder.

  “How can we help?” Vance stood beside Morgan, blue eyes filled with concern.

  “I’ll get my car and drive you wherever you need to go.”

  Ryan’s offer was the only one that really sank through his anger and fear. He glanced at the actor and saw sincerity in his eyes.

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Sure. This is all happening to you and Erin because of me.”

  “Take him up on his offer, Josh. You’re in no condition to drive. Morgan and I will get on the investigator. You said your boss knows about this whole thing. We’ll get a hold of her and have her bring us up to speed on it.” Vance hugged Josh tight.

  Morgan gave him a quick hug as well. “Text us with Erin’s address and we’ll send two of our guys up there to keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, you can’t be with them all the time, though you might want to consider moving up there to be closer to them.”

  Josh nodded. “Thanks, guys. You’re right, but we don’t want Geraldo to find them and he tended to follow me around every so often before he went to jail.”

  “We’ll do what we can to keep your sister and nephew safe.”

  He watched his friends walk away, both pulling out phones and dialing. Ryan tugged on his hand and he looked at him.

  “Do you want to stop by your apartment and get any
thing?”

  Josh shook his head. “No, I have clothes at Erin’s place to save me from having to lug a duffle bag or suitcase with me each time.”

  “Good. My car’s just around the corner and I have some clean clothes with me.” Ryan smiled at Josh’s silent question. “I picked up some dry cleaning on my way to our meeting.”

  Checking his watch, he started down the street toward where Ryan pointed. They needed to get to Erin as quickly as possible. Usually his sister was more than capable to handle Pedro’s fits, but when she was scared herself, it all compounded and things could get worse.

  Ryan caught up with him and led the way to where his red Cadillac CTS was parked. Josh waited until they were both seated before reaching across the console and wrapping his hand around the back of Ryan’s head. Pulling the man to him, he kissed him gently without the force and passion that created their last kiss.

  There was desire and need in this one, but there was mostly thankfulness and maybe a quiet plea for Ryan to be there for him. Ryan’s answering movement pleased Josh and he smiled against the man’s lips.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ryan sank into the kiss, allowing Josh to lead him where he wanted them to go. He opened and moaned slightly as Josh swept his tongue in, stroking and learning each tooth and every nook of Ryan’s mouth.

  As the kiss grew deeper, he wished they weren’t in the front seat of his car. He wanted to press tight to Josh’s chest and feel him over every inch of his body. He drifted his hand down the other man’s side to where his shirt was tucked into his jeans.

  Tugging on it drew Josh’s attention and he sat back, breaking the kiss. Ryan pouted, not wanting to take his hands off the man.

  “We need to get going, honey.” Josh rubbed his thumb over Ryan’s swollen bottom lip. “As much as I’d love to drag you back to my apartment for another round, Erin and Pedro need me.”

  Ryan took a deep breath and settled back in his seat, letting his heart beat calm down before he spoke.

  “I know. It’s just that I’ve been dreaming of your mouth for the last several days, pretty much ever since I left Friday morning.”

  Josh blinked and a smug smile crossed his face. Laughing, Ryan shook his head as he turned the car on.

  “Don’t be all pleased with yourself. It could just have been that I haven’t been kissed in a while.”

  He pulled out of the parking lot and headed north. “What highway do I take?”

  “Hop on I-5 north. It’s pretty much a straight shot from here to Etna.” Josh pulled out his phone. “I’m going to call my sister and let her know we’re on our way. Also, I better let Rachel know that I won’t be in tonight or tomorrow night. Luckily, I already had the days off from the restaurant.”

  Keeping his gaze on the road, he tried to ignore the conversations going on beside him. He smiled at the gentle tone in Josh’s voice when he talked to his sister. There was a great deal of love present between the siblings. Ryan could tell that much just from Josh’s side of the discussion.

  “No, Erin, don’t open the door. If the guy’s still around, we’ll take care of him when we get there.” Josh’s firm command would have made Ryan obey. “Put on one of Pedro’s movies and try to relax a little. Help is on the way.”

  Erin must have asked who was coming with Josh because he said, “A close friend agreed to drive me up. I’m pretty angry right now. I don’t want to become a road-rage statistic.”

  Josh’s laughter washed over Ryan and warmed him. A close friend? At least he didn’t say it was no one. Josh hung up and dialed again.

  “Hey, darling, I’m heading up to Erin’s. A reporter accosted her and Pedro today. She’s freaked, plus he’s having an episode.”

  Pause.

  “I should have known someone would figure out where she was. I need you to do me a couple of favors.”

  Another pause.

  “Ryan’s going with me…I know… Don’t worry. I didn’t get much of a chance to explain everything to Morgan and Vance, so they’ll be contacting you to set up an investigator. Plus I need you to use your contacts and find out where Geraldo is. Vance promised to send a couple of his guys up to Etna to keep an eye on Erin and Pedro for me. I want to know if I need to worry about Geraldo showing up or one of his associates.”

  A lengthy pause and Josh chuckled.

  “Now, I know you can handle Morgan and Vance. Trust me, those guys will treat you with respect. If not, just let me know and I’ll take care of them… Thanks, sweetheart, I appreciate you helping me and I’ll make up the time I didn’t work next week… Bye.”

  Ryan waited for a little while, needing all his concentration to navigate L.A. traffic. When they finally got through the densest part, he shot a glance at Josh.

  “Is Erin younger or older than you?”

  Josh clenched his hands and Ryan could see it was a struggle for him to trust him with the information. He understood why, but he hoped they would get to the point where Josh wouldn’t hesitate to tell him things.

  “Younger and she’s my half-sister. My mom never married Erin’s dad. She wasn’t the best mother in the world, so I spent a lot of time raising Erin.”

  Without thinking, Ryan reached over and took Josh’s hand in his. Josh tensed and he thought he would pull his hand away, but after a moment, Josh relaxed and let Ryan rest their hands on his thigh.

  “I’m not surprised you were her protector. You strike me as someone who would make sure everyone you considered family was okay. ” Ryan grinned. “I’m glad you consider me enough of a friend to include me in your inner circle.”

  Josh flipped his hand over, so that his palm lay on Ryan’s leg and he flexed his fingers, digging into the muscle a little. Hissing, Ryan spread his thighs wider, hoping and praying Josh would move his hand higher.

  “Are you saying I’m over-bearing?”

  Josh trailed closer to Ryan’s groin and his cock stiffened. Not a good idea when he was driving eighty on the highway.

  “No, not over-bearing, just very dominant.” He bit his lower lip, not wanting to beg for Josh to cup his prick.

  He jerked as Josh’s thumb grazed the seam of his jeans drawn tight over his balls. “Fuck,” he breathed.

  Josh squeezed his cock quickly before backing off. “Doing this in the car while you’re driving isn’t a good idea. As for including you in the family, it might sound silly, but I thought we connected the other night on more than a sexual level.”

  Wiggling in his seat, Ryan nodded. “When I saw the pictures of us kissing and I thought you had taken them, I was more hurt than angry. I mean, I was furious that anyone would invade someone’s privacy like that, but when the possibility of it being you came up, I didn’t want to believe you would do that to me.”

  “I think we both might be slightly cracked.”

  “Could be,” he agreed.

  Yawning, Josh settled back in his seat. “Would you be upset if I took a nap? I haven’t slept well the last couple of nights.”

  “Nah, go ahead. I just stay on I-5?”

  “Yes. I’ll be awake before you need to worry about getting off.”

  Ryan fought the laughter wanting to burst from him. He managed to smother it to a soft chuckle. Josh shot him a curious look.

  “Sorry. My mind hit the gutter with that comment. I’m already worrying about getting off.” He leered suggestively at Josh.

  “Goofball.” Josh punched him in the arm.

  “Ow… Hey, I can’t help it if you’re so fucking sexy, you put my mind permanently in the gutter.” He shrugged. “Or maybe it’s permanently in bed.”

  Josh’s cheeks took on a pink tinge and Ryan laughed.

  “You’re not blushing, are you? Surely lots of guys have told you how fucking gorgeous you are?”

  “Sure, I’ve heard it before, but it’s different coming from you.” Josh stared out the window.

  Ryan frowned. “Why would it be different coming from me? I’m nothing special.”

&n
bsp; Josh shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with this conversation. “I don’t know. It just is.”

  Not wanting to make the man decide talking to him was too much of a bother, Ryan let the subject drop.

  “I’ll wake you up when I get past San Francisco.”

  “Thanks.” Josh leaned back and closed his eyes.

  Ryan turned on the radio, leaving the volume low. He enjoyed the feel of Josh’s hand on his thigh and the sound of Josh’s breathing next to him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The silence woke Josh and he rolled his head to the side. Ryan was turning the car off and climbing out.

  “Wait. Where are we?”

  He pushed himself straighter and scrubbed a hand over his head, trying to shake the sleep from his mind.

  “Just north of San Fran. I needed to stop for gas. While I fill up, why don’t you type your sister’s address into the GPS? That way if you fall asleep again, I won’t have to wake you up until we get there.”

  Ryan leaned in and smiled, nodding toward the dash where the pop-up navigation screen was. It was a good idea, even though Josh didn’t plan on sleeping anymore. By the time he’d gotten the address entered, Ryan had filled the tank and climbed back in the car.

  “I’m going to stop at the fast food place across the street. You want anything to eat?”

  Ryan pulled out of the gas station and into the restaurant, getting in the drive-thru line. Josh gave him his order and waited until they got their food and headed back out on the highway.

  “I know I said this earlier, but I really do appreciate you doing this. I’m sure this wasn’t how you wanted to spend your weekend.” He munched on his fries.

  “Driving anywhere in this kind of traffic is never how I want to spend my time.” Ryan flashed him a wink. “Don’t worry. The only thing I’d be doing would be trying to explain to Bill why I didn’t want to go out to another club.”

  “Have you and Bill been friends for long?”

  Why was he asking? At what point had Ryan gone from a great one-night stand to a friend or possibly more?