by Lori Ryan
When the aftershocks ended, he lay back on the bed, hugging her to him, scooting them up to the pillows.
“You thought Lydia was going to hurt me, didn’t you?” PJ asked when they both had caught their breath. She raised her head and looked at him as he nodded.
“It turns out,” she said, “she’s been holding herself together this whole time by throwing herself into making the arrangements and taking care of her mom. She’s torn up about losing Ellis, and doesn’t feel she can turn to her mom because her mother’s grieving herself.”
“Then I’m glad you were able to be there for her,” Gabe said, brushing his hand over her wild curls. “You sure you’re ready to return to the stage tomorrow, babe? You sure you’re not pushing too fast, too much?”
PJ paused, not sure how much to tell him about what she’d been thinking lately.
“That doesn’t sound very sure,” he said with a laugh, but she heard his concern.
“It’s not tomorrow that’s got me thinking. It’s the end of the tour.”
He leaned up on one elbow and looked at her as she spoke, one arm stroking her shoulder.
“When the tour ends next month, I’m not sure I want to book another one. I think maybe it’s time to retire. Or, at least take a break. Write at my own pace, release stuff on the Internet when I feel like it – or not, when I don’t feel like it.”
“What brought this on?” Gabe asked.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I think I’ve been winding down for a while now, but honestly, having the last week off has been really nice. I want to do other things right now. Like make friends.” She paused to kiss him before continuing.
“I want to spend more time with Matthew, make sure we’re okay. I want to spend more time with you,” she said, a flush telling him she wasn’t sure he’d want that, too.
“I want nothing more than to spend time with you too,” he said. “But not unless you’re sure it’s what you want. I can follow you to most of your tour stops. Jack’s already started the process to sell my company. All that really needs to be done is to settle on terms and take care of due diligence. That’ll keep me busy for a bit, but my assistant and her team are set up to handle a lot of that workload for me. You don’t need to stop touring to be with me.”
She smiled. “It means a lot that you’d do that for me, but I think this is what I want. I think I’m finished. I’ve been on the road almost nonstop since I was fifteen. I think it’s time to settle into a different life. Besides, didn’t you say Jack had an offer for you? Some new project to keep you busy after you sell the hotels?”
He nodded. “He wants me to come work at Sutton with him, advising start-up companies, helping to tweak their business plans in the first year of business, that kind of thing. It’ll be interesting. I’ll get to work with different types of companies, be in on the exciting stages at start-up and then move on to something new. But, I’d only want to do that if you were living in Connecticut with me. If you wanted to be there with me,” he clarified.
She straddled him again and smiled down on him while her hair fell over her naked shoulders and breasts. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Then, that’s settled,” Gabe said. “We finish out this tour, then head back to Connecticut.”
She nodded, her smile wide, but then a shadow crossed her face.
“I do worry about Lydia and the band. This means forcing them to find other jobs. I feel guilty,” she admitted.
Gabe shook his head. “You can’t live your life for other people, honey. It’s one thing to worry about other people and be considerate of their feelings. It’s another to live a life you don’t want because of their needs. You can’t let yourself feel guilty for living the life you need after so many years on the road.”
“Yeah,” she whispered, letting her head fall back down to his chest. He felt her yawn and pulled the comforter up over them.
“Sleep, Pru,” he whispered and let his hands go back to rubbing her shoulders until he heard her breathing even out.
Chapter 20
PJ looked up from her phone to see Lydia striding toward her, a bag slung over her shoulder, her take-charge look set firmly on her face.
The only thing was, PJ hadn’t expected to see Lydia this morning. The plan had been for the group to go ahead to the next few tour stops without her. Debra would take over Lydia’s duties so she could spend a few more days with her mom. In fact, they’d told her to take all the time she needed after Ellis’s death.
“Lydia,” PJ said, as the other woman drew close to where PJ and Gabe stood next to the tour bus. “What are you doing here? You should be with your family.”
The other woman’s smile was tight, and PJ’s heart twisted in her chest for this woman she’d never really seen as a friend, but felt for all the same.
“My mom doesn’t need me right now, and I’d feel better just getting back to work. I need to keep myself busy.”
PJ nodded, and they waited quietly for the rest of the team to assemble. It wasn’t the right time to tell Lydia that this would be her last tour. She would hold off on that and let Lydia bury herself in work if that’s what she needed.
PJ had a lot of contacts in the industry, and Lydia was well known and respected for her ability to handle anything and everything that was thrown at her on a tour. With PJ’s help, she’d have a number of jobs to choose from when the tour ended.
Gabe’s arm came around PJ, and she smiled up at him as they slipped into the SUV they’d be taking to the airport. There would be sound checks and makeup and hair prep to sit through. After over a week of just throwing on moisturizer and lip gloss and mascara, PJ knew sitting through the hours of makeup and hair wouldn’t be easy.
Gabe wrapped his arms around her, and she snuggled into him for the drive to the airport. They’d fly to Denver and go straight to the venue for the show before even checking into the hotel.
PJ sighed.
Yup.
She was finished with this life. It was time to say good-bye.
Chapter 21
Gabe barely kept his hands to himself as they made their way to the hotel after the show. He loved the version of Pru he’d been with the past week—with her laid-back style and the light makeup she’d worn each day.
But, he had to say, there was also something compelling about the vixen she became when she performed on stage. Her eyes were done in smoky tones making her that much more bewitching to him. She wore red heels with deep-blue, sequined jeans and a red top that flowed around her curves and hid silken, milky skin that he knew would taste sweet when he finally got his mouth on her.
Her jeans showed him things about her body his hands wanted to learn as well, and he had no desire to wait a minute longer than he had to.
It was agonizing to watch her perform under the lights tonight, because he wanted to haul her off the stage and press her up against the wall on more than one occasion. And she knew it, too. Through the night, she’d looked over and given him a cheeky wink, or an extra flick of her hips when the choreography of her show brought her to his side of the stage.
As they entered their hotel suite, he pressed her up against the wall, pinning her between himself and the door. He’d asked Zach’s guys to stay in a separate room until they needed them later, knowing he’d want privacy for a good long while.
PJ laughed a husky, dangerous laugh as he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing her into the wall, pulling at her shirt. He had a driving need somehow to bind her to him. To mark her and make her his.
He didn’t care when he heard the fabric of her shirt tear under his hands, and she didn’t seem to either. She’d told him once that after a show, she was cranked up and pumped full of adrenaline for hours, and he could feel that now as she kissed him back, her fingers grasping his hair and tugging as she tried to pull him even closer.
Gabe walked to the couch with Pru still clinging to him, not willing to break the connection in any way.
She slid down his body. As her feet came to rest on the floor, he turned her away from him and quickly removed the rest of her shirt.
If you asked Gabe if he could ever be utterly enthralled by a woman’s back before, he would have said no. Sure, looking at a woman’s curvy figure from the back held some appeal, but he’d never imagined it could be like this.
She was a goddess before him, quivering at his touch, as he worshiped her shoulders, the curve on the side of her neck, the slope of her breasts that peeked out along the sides of her body.
When he undid her jeans and slid his hand down her stomach to her center, the place he needed to lose himself in, she was wet and swollen and pressed herself into his hand, grinding against him—her own need as great as his. Gabe moaned and tore the jeans down her hips, taking her lace panties with them.
Their lovemaking wasn’t slow and easy and tender. It was hard and fast and raw. Gabe’s arousal was heightened by the sight of Pru bent over the couch as he entered her from behind, his hand tangled in her hair, pulling to give her that tiny bite of pain that drove her wild beneath him.
God, the vision of her was intoxicating as he spilled into her, plunging again and again while her orgasm ripped through her beautiful body.
Chapter 22
Gabe lifted PJ and carried her to the bedroom where they lay, a tangle of arms and legs, breathing heavily, both trying to recover. PJ ran her hands over Gabe’s back, loving the feel of his muscles beneath her hands.
He was nothing short of absolute perfection, and a small part of her still couldn’t believe this was real. That he was here, with her. That he wanted to be here with her.
Another part of her couldn’t believe how incredible sex was with him, and she had to bite her lip at the thought to hold back a laugh. Being with Jimmy and Kurt hadn’t come close to what it was like with Gabe.
It was as though every cell in her body was tuned to his body, every inch of her made for him and him for her. The thrill of it – of his touch, his taste, of the orgasms he sent screaming through her body – was addictive, and she knew she’d give anything to hold onto him forever.
“Tell me more about your family,” she said, running her hands in light lines up his back, then down again.
Gabe kissed her slowly before drawing back and turning to look up at the ceiling.
“What do you want to know?” he asked. It was his turn to run his fingers over her now, his hand brushing the skin on her arm as she snuggled into his side.
“What was your sister like? Were you close to her?” Pru was an only child, but she couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a sister and a parent at once.
“Mandy? Yeah, I loved her,” he said with a small smile. “She was three years younger than me, so there were times when she was a pain in my—“
“Hey!” PJ cut him off swatting his arm. “Not nice.”
He grinned, then his face grew soft and serious. “But I loved her. I’d have done anything for her. When I came home from school for visits, we’d hang out when I wasn’t seeing friends. Just get ice cream and sit on the hood of my car in the parking lot of DQ and talk about how school was going for her and what schools she wanted to apply to. Or what Mom and Dad were doing to drive her nuts that week.” He shrugged a shoulder. “That kind of thing.”
“I’m so sorry she’s gone, Gabe,” PJ whispered.
“Me too,” he whispered back and kissed her gently. “She would have loved you.”
PJ’s heart flipped in her chest at the thought of all he had missing from his life now. Here she’d been, so jealous of the tight bonds he had with his friends, but he’d lost his sister and father, and he’d told her his mother’s mind was slipping away more and more with each passing day.
“How often do you see your mom?”
This brought another shrug from him, but she knew he cared a lot more than he was letting on. “Once a month. More if I can. She only recognizes me now every few visits. It’s awful to say, but sometimes I think it’ll be a blessing when she dies. She’s in a really good facility that specializes in dementia, but honestly, she began to slip away the minute my father and sister were gone. I don’t think she wants to be here without them. I think part of her always wished she went with them.”
PJ framed his face with her hands and kissed him long and gently, willing away the feelings of sorrow she could see on his face as she did. She’d give anything to take away that pain for him. His arms came around her and pulled her on top of him, and she felt herself sink into the kiss, hoping he would lose himself in her body until the sad memories left him.
Chapter 23
Over the course of the next few days, Gabe tried to tell himself to relax. That the immediate threat to Pru was gone. Her secrets were out to the world and Ellis couldn't hurt her any longer. But, when he thought about the fact that Jimmy had lost his life in all of this, it hit home just how vulnerable Pru was. Ellis could have killed her.
They’d gotten the final reports on a lot of the missing details and the picture of what had happened was becoming clearer. Jimmy Mondo’s blood alcohol level had been below the legal limit, but he’d had high doses of a date rape drug in his system.
The police theorized it had been slipped into his drink just before he left the bar. It wouldn’t have kicked in until he was already behind the wheel driving home.
The bandmate who suffered numerous miscarriages had been exactly where she said she’d been when Jimmy had been killed. More than one person had verified that she’d spent those days in New York City with friends.
Gabe’s hotel hadn’t found Lydia on the video footage in any of the public areas of the hotel, so her whereabouts were still a little murky, but the police had shared more information on Ellis’s case with Chad.
Ellis had a lot of photos of Pru on his phone. Everyone had known he had a crush on her, but the photos made it clear it went beyond a passing crush. It had been an obsession. And, in addition to finding the USB drive in his luggage, there had been a burner phone in there as well. The same burner phone that had been used to text the threatening messages to Pru.
As harmless as everyone wanted to think Ellis had been, he’d turned out to be hiding a very dark personality behind his meek facade.
But, what still ate at Gabe was the fact that Pru remained vulnerable as long as she was such a public figure. There were other weirdoes out there. Her secrets might be out in the open, making it impossible to hold them over her again, but that wouldn’t necessarily stop some crazed fan from going after her….
Gabe had to admit he was more than a little relieved she’d decided to step back from touring for a while. He’d feel better when they were just two normal people living an ordinary, everyday existence in Connecticut.
Oh, he got that she could never be obscure. Her fame was a part of who she was and would be a part of her forever, but if she stepped back from the limelight, he’d at least feel like she wasn’t as big a target anymore. Wouldn’t be as out there to the world.
His phone buzzed and he glanced down at it. He was sitting outside the venue of Pru’s show, catching up on emails and messages from his assistant. Pru and Lydia were tucked inside the tour bus that idled in the alley next to the venue, working on last-minute changes to her schedule.
He’d grab her for an early dinner in about thirty minutes. Some days, if no one made sure she ate, she didn’t. Ironically, it used to be Ellis who always made sure she had her meals.
“Hey, Chad,” Gabe said, closing his laptop as he answered the phone.
Chad didn’t bother with a greeting, and the tone of his voice set Gabe on edge. What he said sent his blood running cold.
“Lydia’s mom was discovered dead in her bed this morning. The police believe she died two days ago, the evening of Ellis’s funeral.”
Gabe was up and moving as Chad continued.
“The police initially thought it was suicide, but one of the officers was paying close attention and realized the glass of juice she ha
d next to her bed had powder residue in it, as though the pills from the empty bottle of valium next to her had been crushed and put in the juice, not swallowed whole. Or, as though someone gave her a small dose in the juice to disorient her, and then force-fed the others once she was out of it. They haven’t said conclusively yet whether it was murder or suicide, but if it was murder, there’s only one suspect.” Chad didn’t have to tell Gabe who that was.
“Lydia,” Gabe said.
“The police are on the way. Is PJ with you?”
Gabe didn’t answer. He’d dropped his phone. He couldn’t just wait for the police to arrive. Not when Pru was inside the tour bus, alone, with Lydia. He needed to get her out of there.
He waved to Zach’s guys—Justice and Eric—who had been told to take a break nearby and quickly filled them in on the situation. They were on the same page as he was—try to get Pru out of there before the police arrived, and the whole thing got a hell of a lot more complicated.
Gabe headed to the side entrance of the tour bus, the one that would lead into the living room space, while the others made their way to the back of the bus, toward the sleeping quarters. Justice and Eric were two of Zach’s best men, but Gabe’s world still slowed to a crawl as he opened the door to the bus.
PJ knew at some point she’d come clean with Lydia; tell her they’d focused on her for part of the investigation into who was blackmailing her, and who had killed Jimmy.
As they sat in the tour bus going through the schedule of added interviews she would do in response to all that had happened in the last week, guilt gnawed at her stomach. She felt she should confess that they’d gone so far as to try to pinpoint her location during the time of the murder.
Gabe and Chad would probably tell her she shouldn’t feel any guilt because they needed to find out who was trying to hurt her. At the time, they’d had to do whatever it took to keep her safe. But, now that she and Lydia were spending more time together, now that Lydia seemed to be turning more toward PJ in her grief over Ellis’s death, PJ felt almost like she’d betrayed her friend.