She stared into his blue eyes, feeling that weird zing at the similarity to Justice’s gaze. Something really thick moved in her chest, and her anger drained. She wasn’t mad at Noah, it was her idiot ex and his psychotic fiancée who infuriated her. But Noah… “You were protecting me. Again.” No tears. She wasn’t going to cry.
He shrugged. “Justice isn’t here, and I’m not letting anyone hurt you again.” He pivoted slowly.
She called out, “Noah, where’re you going?”
He shrugged and took another lumbering step, clearly favoring his left hip.
She rushed out. “Wait, please.”
Pausing, he kept his head down.
Liza hated the shroud of loneliness around him. It hurt her heart. “Thank you.”
He gave her a barely perceptible nod.
“You don’t believe the things Stacy Jo said, do you?”
He lifted his head, and for a moment, a tiny glitter of humor danced in his eyes. “I hate peas.”
“Uh…” What exactly could she say to that? “Justice hates them too.”
“Can’t trust the judgment of a woman who chooses peas as her weapon.”
He didn’t believe Stacy Jo. And he was making a joke. How could she not grin at him? “If I promise not to let the peas back in the house, will you come in? Your hip is hurting, and I still have some of the pain pills from your broken arm.” She touched his arm, keeping her movement slow and gentle. “This is your home. You have your key, right? And the code to the security alarm. You can leave anytime you want to.” She was the one always preaching to Justice about building trust with his dad.
“I’ll stay the night.” He glanced in the opened door to the house, frowning. “But I’ll stay out here. Keep watch.”
Over her. Had he been doing this? Leaving the center to check on her? Liza had no idea. She looked over to the door and saw her two friends standing there. Were they the reason he wanted to stay outside? “They’re my friends, Emily and Nikki. They aren’t staying the night.” She wasn’t sure how much to push him, but it was February and cold at night. “If you stay out here, I’ll worry and won’t be able to sleep.”
His mouth twitched on one side. “Emotional blackmail?”
She grinned. “Impressive, right? I’m practicing for when I’m a mom. Also it works with Justice most of the time. And when that doesn’t work, I threaten his chickens. You know, all the chicken decorations in the kitchen?”
His eyes crinkled. “I guess I’ll come in.”
Liza led him in, locked the door and rearmed the security. She could hear Nikki and Liza talking in the kitchen. The smell of popcorn told her they were making themselves at home. Turning to Noah, she said, “You hungry?”
“No.” He headed toward the hall.
“One second.” She rushed into her kitchen.
Nikki was dumping freshly popped corn into a bowl and asked, “That’s Justice’s dad?”
“Yeah, he’s staying the night. Let me get him settled.”
Nikki frowned. “With you? Alone? I mean…” She glanced at the doorway to the dining room and back. “Is that safe? I can stay the night if you like.”
She grabbed the bottle of pain pills, dumped out two, then got a water from the fridge. Shutting the door, she faced Nikki. “That man saved my life. The only person I’m safer with is Justice.” She stalked out, trying to calm that spike of anger.
Noah waited for her by the hallway. “Your friend worries about your safety. Don’t be mad.” He took the pills and water, shuffled to his room and quietly shut the door.
Liza stared after him, her heart swelling. How could she not love her father-in-law? Even with his issues, he was a million times a better man than her dad had ever been.
For the first time since she was fourteen, she had a family. Justice and Noah, as well as a job and friends who, as Noah had pointed out, worried about her safety.
And her baby. As she settled her hand over her belly, more love and hot determination spread and cemented. She had too much to lose now.
This time she wasn’t letting Gene Hayes destroy her family or life.
Chapter 16
Justice paced between the kitchen and table on the bus, automatically adjusting his stride as the vehicle rolled out from the Houston venue towards Dallas. He pulled up Beth’s name on his phone and hit call. She’d left a couple voicemails, and he was anxious to find out what was going on. They’d finished the show over an hour ago, followed by an autograph signing. Then Lynx and River made plans to go get shitfaced with some girls…and Justice had to put a kibosh on that idea. They had another interview tomorrow, then a concert, which meant they’d need to be on the bus and rolling out tonight. Simon had backed him up, and so did Gray. But River…
He shot a glare at the back of the bus where the guys were partying with a bottle of tequila.
River’s snarling comment blared in his head. You wouldn’t be such a tight-ass bitch if you got laid.
Fucking asshole. Justice wasn’t cheating on his wife. But the point was, he hadn’t even seen his wife’s messages until he’d boarded the bus, and now he had to find out what was happening with his dad. Come on, pick up the phone.
“Justice, hi,” Beth answered.
“What the hell is going on there? My dad’s been arrested?”
“No, he’s fine.” Beth sounded tired. “He’s here in the house.”
“There? He quit treatment? Or was he released?” Justice had seen Noah once at the transitional center, and his dad still hadn’t looked at him. Instead, his dad had focused on Beth and gave one-word replies to her questions.
“I didn’t ask him that, but I don’t think he quit. He’s not an inmate, he can come and go. The center is voluntary.”
Which meant his dad could be sleeping on the street every fucking night. For all they knew, he was using his room there for a shower and occasional meal. “Is he any better? Will he go back?”
“I didn’t exactly have time to do a full evaluation while dealing with the cops and a yard full of crazy. But I’ll try to get him to go back tomorrow. In the meantime, he said he’d stay here tonight. He’s protecting me, so I believe him.”
Yeah, when it came to Beth, his dad would stay. It was Justice who drove him away. A bark of laughter punched out from the back of the bus, reminding him that they weren’t alone. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and tried to get his boiling energy to calm the hell down. He was still wired from the performance, the argument with River, and Beth’s multiple messages. He could actually hear the buzz in his ears.
If Beth were here, he’d get her in his bunk, kiss her to keep her quiet and slide his aching cock into her. Whisper into her ear to bite his shoulder and arm to keep from crying out as she came for him. Or maybe Beth didn’t want to be silenced, maybe she wanted the whole damned bus to know…
“Justice? You still there?”
“Yeah.” Both him and his throbbing cock. Focus. Get your head back into the conversation. “So if my dad wasn’t arrested, what did happen?”
“I guess he saw the Hayes video and wanted to check on me. But when he got here, a man was pounding on the door and calling my name, so Noah tackled him. That’s when the cops showed up. Thankfully, the officer called me.”
“What the hell?” He tried to keep up. “Who was the man? A reporter?” Beth had texted him earlier that she was staying at Nikki’s new place for just that reason—so the media wouldn’t hassle her.
She was taking too long to answer. Suspicion joined the party in his gut. “Beth? What man?”
“Dillion.”
Justice froze mid-pace in the tight walkway of the bus. “Are you fucking kidding me? That bastard came to our house looking for you? What is it with him? Has he been there before?”
“No. I haven’t heard from Dillion since we saw him at Wylie’s months ago. He said he was trying to help me.”
Justice listened as she spewed the story about him advising her to get legal representatio
n. “Bullshit. Goddammit, Beth, he wants you. He’s always wanted you.” He slapped his hand against the paneled wall. The thunk echoed through the vehicle. Leaning on his arm, he dropped his head, staring at the ugly floor. He wanted to punch Dillion’s face in.
“It gets worse. You’re going to be mad.”
He jerked his head up. “Tell me.”
“Uh, well—it’s so outlandish, I still can’t believe it.”
“Stop stalling and spill it.” The day had been long and frustrating enough.
“Dillion says he still loves me.”
The words gonged in his head. “I’m going to kill him. Slowly. I’ve warned him. But he’s afraid of me, so he waited until he thought you were alone and vulnerable. Goddammit.” Jealousy and frustration boiled.
“Knock it off.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I’ve had enough tonight. I not only dealt with my ex, but his fiancée showed up and screamed at me, then threw frozen peas at me. I lost my temper and sprayed her with a hose. So you know what, Rooster? I hit my limit of lovesick morons and jealous jerks. I love you, only you, and I’m not a cheater. Don’t make me fly out there and kick your ass. ’Cause right now? I just might.”
Hearing her rant at him made him think of Beth that night the naked girl had been in their hotel room. She’d been furious and beautiful and his. More and more, Beth was becoming fierce, and it was hot. “Wait, you got in a girl fight? On our front lawn?”
“It’s not funny.”
“Oh it is. And sexy too. Couple chicks in a water fight and I missed it? What were you wearing?”
“Damn it, Rooster, this isn’t the time to be a pervert.”
“Is everything okay there now?”
“Yes, and honestly I feel better having your dad here tonight.”
He knew she did, and if he was being honest, Justice felt better too. His dad had proven exactly how far he’d go to protect Beth. But he didn’t want to think about his father right now, he wanted to think about his wife. “Then it’s the perfect time to be a pervert.” Loneliness closed in on him. “I miss you so damned much, Beth.”
She blew out a breath. “I miss you too.”
He glanced toward the back of the bus, where voices rose and fell, and up front to Joe, their driver. “I wish we had privacy for some real perversion. But I’m trapped on this bus.”
“Em and Nikki are here too. But I’ll see you next week in Florida. I mean…if that’s still okay? How was your concert tonight? Did the Hayes video affect your sales or anything?”
“I need you, hell yes, it’s okay. The concert was fine. There were only a few protesters out front, maybe four or five. No one paid much attention. Our single is still in the eighties. It’s all going to blow over.” But his band and Christine had been riding him to get the postnuptial agreement to protect S.I. Records. “Listen, is there any way you can take Monday off and stay an extra night in Florida with me? We’ll be at the Bayside Manor instead of a hotel. It’ll be a chance for us to spend a little time together.” It’d be easier to talk to her about the postnup then, and explain he was doing it to protect their future, not just the band.
“I’d like that. Let me check with Sloane, but I think I can do it.”
Relief unknotted his neck and shoulder muscles. He’d tell Christine he’d talk to Liza next weekend, and they’d all back off. “I wish you were here now.”
“I offered to come out this weekend.”
The slight hurt in her voice cut. Things had been going so well until Gene Hayes fucked it up. “I’m just worried about you and wanted to give it a week or so for the media and people to lose interest in the shit Hayes stirred up. I want you safe.”
She sighed. “Is your band upset?”
Hell, she would ask that. He phrased his answer carefully. “They’re better after seeing there wasn’t much protest at tonight’s concert. Let’s not talk about them, Gene Hayes or the escalating feud with Jagged Sin.”
“Then what?”
“You.” If he couldn’t have her here, then he’d have to settle for second best. “Did you work on more pages?”
“The sex scene.” Her voice dropped to a throaty whisper. “The one with the bassist.”
“Send it. If I can’t go to sleep with you, let me at least have your pages.”
“Now? But Emily and Nikki are here. And your dad’s in his bedroom.”
“So?” He wasn’t letting her stall or talk herself out of taking a risk with this book. “It’ll take you a minute to get on your laptop and send the file.”
“You want them that badly?”
He laid his head back, hearing the sounds of Beth walking through the house. Homesickness lodged in his chest. He missed the little things, like going into the kitchen and finding her making some tea and grumbling that it wasn’t coffee since she’d cut back on caffeine for the baby. Or watching her work in the backyard. Or spotting her glasses on the nightstand, or the way candles, pillows and plants kept appearing. And her peach scent…he missed that so much. “I want you. I don’t even know if you’re showing yet.”
“You’ll find out next weekend.”
Just the thought of stripping her down, touching her everywhere, dragged a thick groan from him.
“Okay, I’m in our room,” Beth said. “I’m sending the file with the new pages now from my laptop. Hey!”
Justice sat up. “What? Is it Dillion?” That weasel better not have returned to the house.
“Get away, you snoops.” Her voice was far away then returned. “No, not Dillion. My two former friends were standing behind me reading over my shoulder.”
He could hear the girls firing questions in the background.
“Hush!” Liza snapped at them.
Justice laughed. “Busted.” He didn’t think she’d told her friends that she was writing books.
“It was a sex scene. This is your fault. If your dad finds out…” Her voice faded away again as she threatened her friends. “You’ll both regret it. Nikki, I’ll post every bad-date story about you online. Emily, I’ll tell your brothers your job made you cry like a baby. That’s what I thought, walk away.”
Amusement and lust put on gloves and duked it out inside him. He loved it when Beth got fired up—she was fucking hot.
And she was his.
* * *
Excitement danced in her stomach as Liza deplaned and followed the signs in the Tampa Bay airport. She’d finally made it to Florida and couldn’t wait to see Justice. She checked her phone.
Rock Rooster: Outside in the pickup area. Look for a black SUV.
She’d brought a carry-on bag, so she lugged it through the airport, bypassing baggage claim. No one paid any attention to her, which was exactly how she wanted it. She liked moving anonymously. A little part of her mentally flipped off Gene Hayes. He’d tried to ruin her life, but he failed.
Once she found the sign for the passenger pickup area, she headed outside into the bright eighty-degree sunshine.
“Beth!”
Justice stood by the passenger door of an SUV. Her heart jumped at the sound of his voice, and she ran toward him, dropping her bag and throwing herself into his arms.
He swept her up, burying his face in the side of her neck. “You’re here. I’ve missed you too damned much.”
The warm scent of vanilla, wood oil and Justice filled her lungs. Pulling back, he dropped a kiss on her mouth. “No more until I get you alone.” He swung her into the seat, then scooped up her bag and tossed it in the back. “That’s all you have?”
“I packed light.”
He slid into the driver’s seat, and they took off.
“Did you rent this car?” She’d expected an Uber or something.
“No. It’s from the Manor.”
“Bayside Manor? The place you’re staying?”
“Yep. They have a fleet of cars we can use. Plus space to park our bus with the hookups. It’s really cool. The main house is a mansion right on the b
ay. There’s an outdoor kitchen, a pool, and a dock with a boat and jet skis.”
His excitement rippled in the car and touched the spot of unease over all these experiences he was having without her. Liza shrugged it off. She was here now. “Cool. So how was Screech’s Tampa club?” She wished she could have gotten here to see the performance, but work kept her tethered to San Diego.
“It was nuclear. That place is over-the-top crazy with a full light show, and the piano under its own spotlight. We performed Screech’s song, ‘Reaper’s Child,’ and the audience loved it. And our stuff too. We signed a slew of autographs, then Lynx and River invited a bunch of people to the mansion, and that party went on well past when I went to bed at 3:00 a.m.”
Ugly bile washed up her throat. “Any girls in your bed?” The hard question shot out of her mouth before she could engage her filter. Liza put her hand on her belly, as if she could shield her child from the answer. She remembered those parties from her childhood. Wild drug-and-sex fests. Women with smooth skin, tiny hips and big boobs. Sex was like a handshake for these people. She’d seen more blow jobs and—
“No.”
The sharp word pelted through her memories, leaving a weird buzzing between them.
Justice gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I thought you’d want to hear about my night. Obviously I was wrong.”
“What are you so pissed about?”
“Because, goddammit, I’m the only one not getting laid. I was excited about you coming here, but you want to start in on me with accusations that I’ve been fucking around? I don’t need this, Beth. I’m working my ass off. I can have a couple drinks without you…” He clamped his mouth shut.
What was happening here? They never fought like this. She turned, looking out the window, seeing the city glide by in the midafternoon. She’d caught a 6:00 a.m. flight, had to run like hell to catch her connection in Dallas, and she lost three more hours in the time change. Tears threatened, but she wasn’t doing that. She was tired, but he was the one who’d been living on the road for over a month now.
“I’m sorry. I can’t wait to see the manor.” She couldn’t look at him, afraid of what she’d see on his face.
Savaged Vows: Savaged Illusions Trilogy Book 2 Page 21
