by Lori Ryan
The man had essentially raped Pru, plying her with alcohol. Gabe had a feeling it was most likely Jimmy who had gotten her hooked on alcohol in the first place. That man should have been strung up – not walking around representing other artists.
Strung up. That’s what Gabe wanted to do to him. Hunt him down and tie him up by the balls and leave him to him rot. He stopped just before the back doors and took a few deep breaths.
He had to get ahold of himself before he saw Pru. He opened the French doors and stepped into the kitchen just as she stepped out of her bedroom, carrying her bag.
“What’s wrong, Pru? Where are you going?” Gabe said, watching an almost guilty look wash over her features.
She fidgeted and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m just gonna get out of your hair, Gabe. I’m going to call for a rental car and drive to a spa for a couple of days.” She looked down at her toes as she spoke and Gabe hated to see her so fragile. So alone.
“Hey.” He stepped closer and put a hand to her cheek, brushing her face until she looked up at him. “I don’t want you to go, Pru. I want you to stay here so we can fix this together.”
Her eyes were like giant saucers looking back at him as if she couldn’t believe he wanted her to stay. “But, you...you seemed so angry with me this morning. And, there was that kiss that made things weird....” She let her voice trail off.
Gabe felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. He hadn’t realized PJ would think he was mad at her this morning. How could she not know he’d be mad at what had been done to her, not mad at her? He wanted to step closer, pull her into his arms and breathe in the sweet scent of her skin.
But, he forced himself not to do that to her. God, this woman had been dealing with people taking advantage of her all her life. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to add to that list.
“I wasn't angry with you,” he said shaking his head. “How could I ever be angry with you for what that...” He felt the bitter taste of hatred and disgust on his tongue at the thought of Jimmy Mondo. “What that asshole did to you. He took advantage of you, Pru. Manipulated and used you when he should have been protecting you. You were fifteen for Christ’s sake.”
"You were so angry when you left here."
He dropped his head, looking down as he realized how that had looked to her when he ran out that morning. "Not at you, Pru. Never at you."
PJ tilted her face up to meet his eyes. "So it's okay if I stay?"
"Of course. How else are we going to solve this problem if you don't stay and help me?" he asked.
“This isn't your problem to fix.” PJ shook her head at him.
He ignored her objection. "The first step is tracking down your ex-manager. We need to see if there's any way to bring charges against him now—and if there isn't, I'll take care of him myself.”
“No, Gabe!” PJ said, a lot more sharply this time, and he could hear the desperation in her voice. What the hell was she trying to hide, and why?
It was stupid, but Gabe actually felt hurt that she wouldn’t open up to him, or trust him, with whatever she was hiding. But really, why should she? They didn’t know each other all that well.
“You can’t do that, Gabe. You need to leave this alone––”
“Are you crazy, Pru? Your parents should have pressed charges against him a long time ago! They should never have let him walk away like they did,” Gabe spit out, and he knew he was doing a piss-poor job of hiding his frustration.
PJ took a deep breath. “Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you have to trust me on this. The time for going after Jimmy is long past. I'm over what happened and I don't want to bring it up again. Well….” She blew out a rough breath—half laugh, half groan. “Not any more than it's already been dredged up for the world to see."
Gabe opened his mouth to object but she cut him off.
“No. Listen, please.” She softened her tone. “I need you to leave this alone for me. Please?” Her phone beeped again and PJ glanced at the screen. She went stark white, and Gabe didn’t miss the little intake of breath.
“What is it?” he asked.
PJ stammered her response. “N-nothing. Just my manager arranging more interviews for me when I get back. PR, damage control, that kind of thing,” she said weakly and shoved her phone in her back pocket.
She was lying. There was no way texts from her manager would bring that reaction—at least they shouldn’t— not even if they were texts about scheduling interviews PJ didn’t want to do. He crossed his arms and eyed her, but she remained committed to the lie.
“Will you at least let me help you figure out who’s got your journal so we can stop them from releasing anything else?”
Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she thought about it. “I don’t really see what you can do to help with that. I mean, there’s not really any way to figure that out, is there?”
“Well, you could start by telling me the truth about who just texted you and why they’re texting,” he said, trying one more time to get her to open up to him.
Nope. He watched her face shut down and go completely blank.
“I told you. It was Debra.”
Gabe ground his teeth together again. He’d been doing a lot of that the last few days. He purposefully loosened his jaw and shrugged a shoulder.
“Fine. Why don’t I make us a little something more substantial for breakfast and you can throw your stuff back in your room. We’ll be heading over to Jack’s for the party at three, if that’s okay with you,” he said.
The look of relief on PJ’s face when he dropped the subject had him worried. What the hell is she hiding?
He watched as she went to her room and shut the door, then stepped down the hall to his own room to change clothes. Once locked away in his room, he dialed Chad.
Chad Thompson was the head of Security and Investigations for Sutton Capital. If anyone could find the origin of the content of those texts coming to PJ’s phone, Chad would be the one to do it.
“Hey, Gabe!” came Chad’s voice on the other end of the phone. “You in town for the party?”
“Yeah, I am. I’ll see you guys later today. I assume you and Jennie and the baby will be there?”
Chad laughed. “Kelly and Jennie would both string me up if I missed it. I think they’re having pony rides for the kids.”
Gabe shook his head. Leave it to Jack to have pony rides for a two-year-old’s birthday party.
“Listen,” Gabe said and lowered his voice. “I need a favor. If I give you a cell phone number, can you see texts coming into that phone without me handing you the phone physically?”
Chad groaned. “Do I want to know what this is about?”
Gabe hesitated a minute before speaking.
“It’s Pru. She’s in trouble, but she won’t tell me what’s going on.” He didn’t have to explain who Pru was. Chad and Jack and Andrew all knew Gabe was more than a little infatuated with PJ Cantrell, and that he still called her by her pre-fame nickname of Pru. It was how she’d first introduced herself to him and it had stuck.
“What kind of trouble?” Chad asked.
“I really don’t know for sure. Have you caught any of what’s going on in the news?”
“Jennie said she’d been having a tough time lately. Something about rumors and leaks,” Chad said.
“It’s pretty bad. Someone has her journal, and they’re posting all kinds of personal stuff about her on the Internet and leaking similar things to the tabloids. But, I think there’s more to it than she’s telling me. She’s getting texts that seem to have her reeling, but she won't tell me what they’re about or who they’re from.”
Chad was quiet for a long time before answering. “Is she there with you at the house?”
“Yeah. She’s coming to the party later.”
“If I can get hold of her phone at some point during the party, I’ll duplicate her SIM card and put it in a blank phone for you so you can see what’s coming in.
If we can’t get hold of her phone, I’ll have to load some software onto your phone and then, provided you’re both within range of the same cell tower and she isn’t having messages encrypted, you’ll be able to read them on your phone.”
“Thanks, Chad. I owe you one.”
“Shoot, you owe me a lot more than that. This is extraordinarily illegal and pretty damn immoral. Are you sure you want to spy on the woman you want a relationship with? This is beginning to feel stalker-ish,” Chad said.
“I can’t have a relationship with her if she’s not safe. I’m sure someone’s threatening her, Chad. I can tell from her reaction to these texts. I want to keep her safe, and if that means giving up a shot at a relationship with her, so be it.”
Chad was quiet for a long moment before grunting his agreement and hanging up the phone.
Gabe steeled himself against the guilt creeping into his gut as he remembered the kiss the night before. He went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. He needed to focus on PJ’s safety right now. Nothing else.
Chapter 9
PJ stared at the words that came through on her phone display moments before.
Pretty Pru? Are you having a good morning now that the world knows you’re a whore? Whores who spread their legs have to pay the price someday, Pretty Pru. Or did you plan to lie to the world forever? Did you think you could hide what you truly are from everyone?
Anger flashed hot and strong through PJ, past the fear and panic she was feeling. Who was this person and what reason did they have to do this to her?
What do you want? Why are you doing this? She typed and sent the text back.
It was a long time before a response came back, and she had begun to wonder if the person would even answer her.
I want the world to know the truth. To know how much you’ve lied to everyone all these years. But, if I think you’ve paid your debt and are truly repentant, perhaps I won’t tell your final secret.
PJ waited but nothing more came. She threw her phone across the room. Not hard enough to damage it, but enough for a satisfying thunk to sound through the room. She walked from the room without picking it up.
She should have turned it off after watching the third interview Kurt Tollison had done since the news of her and Jimmy broke. He was getting more than a little mileage out of this whole thing.
At least, he’d been sympathetic to her in his interviews. He put on his best serious face and told people he was wrecked by the news. No, she hadn’t ever told him. Yes, he would have supported her if he’d known what happened.
Because he was such a good guy like that.
Lydia had let PJ know Kurt had reached out again, wanting her phone number. He said he wanted to call and let PJ know he was there for her.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how Erika would react to him trying to get in touch with PJ. She’d always been so threatened by PJ and the idea that Kurt might go back to her.
It always made PJ’s head spin to think about women who dated someone who’d cheated like that. Who would want a man who had cheated on someone else to be with you? You’d have to be an idiot not to realize if they did it with you, they would do it again.
Gabe and PJ walked across the back lawn and through the wooden gate in the stone wall that split Jack and Kelly’s property from Gabe’s. PJ felt almost wistful at the idea of living so close to such good friends. Of course, Gabe didn’t live here full time. His life was almost as much in motion as hers. But, at least he seemed to be starting to put down some roots. She had no stability anywhere in sight, but the more she saw of the life Gabe was beginning to build for himself here, the more she thought about making changes in her own life.
“So, if you do end up selling your hotels, is this where you’ll come? You’ll live here full time?” PJ asked as they walked up Jack and Kelly’s lawn toward the back of the house.
“Yeah. I think so. I like it here and I have more ties here than anywhere else,” he answered, pulling her hand into his.
“What about your family?” she asked. She realized they’d never talked about his family. She had no idea if he had brothers or sisters or was close to his parents, but she didn’t miss the sadness in his eyes at her question.
“My mom’s in a home about an hour from here. She needs round-the-clock care,” he said.
PJ squeezed his hand and he continued.
“My dad and sister died in a car accident when I was in college. It was the day before my sister’s high school graduation and my mom…. She just never really recovered from that.”
PJ shook her head. “I don’t know how anyone could recover from that,” she said and his eyes met hers.
Her breath caught at the intensity of the look in his eyes, but then the moment passed, as quickly as it had come and she felt Gabe break the connection.
PJ was about to press him further, but he laughed and pointed across the lawn, clearly not wanting to talk about his family anymore. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, but would the words really offer any comfort? Most likely just letting him drop the conversation would be best.
“Not only did Jack get Maddie pony rides for her birthday, he’s got a bouncy castle and jugglers. Man, what will he do when she turns three? Or sixteen?”
PJ laughed and looked across the lawn at the large spread before them. There were kids and adults everywhere, some jumping and playing in the pool, others fisting cupcakes and hot dogs. Apparently, they weren’t going to wait until the birthday song had been sung to dig into the sweets. PJ grinned. She wouldn’t mind a cupcake.
Gabe’s thumb moved back and forth over her hand and she felt her stomach jump. He’d made it clear the other night that he didn’t want anything more than friendship but apparently the jumping beans in her stomach hadn’t gotten the hint.
She was hyperaware of how she looked, what she was wearing, and whether he might find her attractive. Enough so that she had a hard time focusing when several of the guests made their way over and introductions were made.
She tried to remember if it was Andrew and Jill who lived up the street, or Chad and Jennie. Jennie held a beautiful baby girl who twisted in her arms, reaching for the ground.
“Okay, Ella,” Jennie said as she put the little girl on the ground and watched her crawl into the soft grass of the large backyard. “Run amok, baby girl.”
Then there were Jesse and Zach and Jack and Kelly. With all the Js, PJ felt sure she’d get something wrong and mix them up. But Gabe stayed with her the whole time, and made more introductions and included her in the conversations.
His friends were welcoming, too. Once she’d sorted out in her head who was who, she enjoyed seeing them all catch up with Gabe and fill him in on their lives since he’d been back for his last visit a few months before.
“How are things at the bakery, Jesse?” one of the women asked. PJ was almost certain it was Jill. Or maybe it was Kelly. No, Kelly was chasing the adorable birthday girl who was currently screeching, “Mine! Mine!” and indiscriminately pointing to all of the toys, ponies and the bouncy castle.
“It’s been really great. We had the soft opening for people in the office building about three months ago and then the grand opening for the public a week later.” Jesse smiled. “I had a couple employees that just didn’t seem to get that we needed to treat the customers as though we wanted them there, but they’ve been replaced and things have been running smoothly ever since.”
“That’s great. It must be so exciting to see it all coming together,” Jill said and then turned to PJ. “Jesse owns a bakery in the lobby of the building where Sutton Capital is located.”
PJ smiled. “Oh, that’s exciting. Is that how you guys know each other?” She was still trying to match up all the connections between the friends.
Andrew, Chad and Jack worked together. Chad and Jack were also cousins. But, she hadn’t quite figured out where Jesse and Zach fit in.
Jesse laughed and shook her head. “I’m Kelly’s older sister. Jack ga
ve me the bakery as a gift.” Her grin got wider as PJ’s eyebrows rose.
“I know. Some gift, huh? It was mostly a bribe. I had, uh, a little trouble going out of the house and feeling safe for a while after Kelly was kidnapped. I had to put my dream of going to pastry school on hold. Jack eventually hired Zach to be my bodyguard, gave me the bakery, sent me to school and, well, pretty much fixed my world.”
Zach’s arms linked around Jesse as she spoke and he pulled her back into him. PJ smiled.
She had known Kelly had been kidnapped. Gabe told her about it shortly after it happened during one of their rooftop talks. She had no idea Jesse had developed anxiety issues because of it. Seeing the couple now, though, it looked like it might have been a blessing in disguise.
Jill’s phone chimed and she excused herself from the group to take the call. The chatter amongst the friends continued until Jill came back, looking visibly shaken.
“What is it?” Andrew asked, crossing to take her hand. Jill tilted her head up at him.
“That was the agency. They have a baby for us. Well, no…. They have two. Twins. Twin boys. They’re in a hospital in Houston, and the birth mother is ready to give up her rights, but we have to decide right away if we’re okay with twins.”
PJ’s stomach bottomed out as the topic of birth mothers and adoption was discussed. Within minutes, Jill and Andrew were surrounded by Kelly, Jack, Chad, Jennie and even Jack’s housekeeper, Mrs. Poole.
“We’re not even remotely prepared for twins, Andrew.” Jill all but whispered the words, and it was clear she was uncertain, but hope and excitement were also evident in her expression.
“We’ll get you guys ready before you can even get those babies back here,” Kelly said, not missing a beat—Jennie and Jesse nodded.
“We can shop for doubles of everything,” Jesse said. “We’ll just match what you already chose and buy a second.”
Jennie spoke up. “And we can rework the nursery or move it to one of the bigger rooms if you need us to. That larger guest room on the other side of the master bedroom would work well for two babies. We can paint in there and have it finished before you get back.”