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As she entered his room, she wanted to be anywhere but there. She wanted to run and hide, to pack her bags and hide out where no one could find her. To be alone again.
But even as she thought it, she knew she was tired of being alone, of only having her parents and the closest members of her team as friends. There hadn’t really been anyone else in a long time.
Her high school friends had all gone on to lead such different lives than the one she’d led. They had tried to stay close to her, but honestly, after her spiral with alcohol and the baby and the fight to get herself on track, she’d felt alienated and removed from them. Notbythem.
It was something internal. Something she felt had created a wall between her and her friends. It was as though they were no longer able to connect.
She had no friends who would do what Jill and Andrew’s friends had done: rally around when she needed them. Well, except for Gabe. He had rallied for her the second he found out she was in trouble. He’d been there for her, and he was still here for her.
And then it dawned on PJ. that Gabe had seemed to be expecting Zach, even though Gabe had told Zach earlier they wouldn’t need him to come tonight. Something had changed Gabe’s mind about Zach coming to the house.
PJ stood and straightened her skirt, buttoned her shirt and pulled her hair up in a knot, then pushed the door to the room open. Both men were bent over the kitchen island looking at papers.
“What happened, Gabe?” she asked, but it came out more as an accusation. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He tried a halfhearted ‘it’s nothing’ kind of response, but she put her hands on her hips and waited him out.
He picked up the envelope and handed her the sheets of paper. “These came to me by courier while you were sleeping,” he said as she read the sheaf of papers.It’s almost time, Pretty Pru. It’s almost time, Pretty Pru. It’s almost time, Pretty Pru.
She looked up at Gabe and Zach. “He knows where I am.”
Gabe’s face was grave as he nodded. “Yes, he knows.”
She looked at him and knew he wasn’t telling her everything. “What are you hiding?”
“This came, too,” he said quietly. She knew what it was the minute she saw it. Matthew’s baby picture. The one she’d carried with her until it was lost a month ago. The photo of him the day he was born.
PJ didn’t hesitate. She dropped the photo back on the counter as though it had bit her, and ran to her room and began haphazardly shoving her things into her bag. She needed to get to Matthew.
Gabe and Zach followed her. She felt Gabe’s arms come around her, stilling her hands and stopping her frantic packing.
Zach came around in front of her. “PJ, I’ve got guys headed that way now. They’ll have Matthew and his family on the road within the hour, and they’ll get them to a safe place. Somewhere we can control.”
Gabe kept talking to her, his breath warm and reassuring as her heart raced in her chest. “They’ll get to them, Pru. I promise. We’ll keep Matthew safe. I’ll keep you both safe.”
But PJ didn’t care about her own safety anymore. In a heartbeat, she’d give herself to whoever it was that was doing all of this in exchange for Matthew’s safety.
Her whole body was weak and shaking. She walked to the couch and sat, Gabe following. She let him, but as she sat and looked at him, she felt angry. Angry at how helpless and powerless this person made her feel. Angry at how she let this blackmailer make her hide, make her run and curl up in a ball.
She was done with that. She sat up and looked at Gabe.
“Show me the picture again,” she said. She expected them to argue, but neither man did.
Zach sat across from them as she studied the picture. Matthew was only hours old in the picture. Looking at the photo, no one would be able to make out who was holding him, but she knew it was one of a handful of times she’d held him when he was that young. After she left the hospital, she hadn’t let herself visit him for almost two years.
She had known she wouldn’t be able to handle the pain of seeing him and having to say good-bye afterwards. When he was two, it was harder than she’d expected, but by then he’d truly been Brian and Susan’s baby. She was able to see him in that light instead of as the son she’d given up.
“This was in my wallet until about a month ago,” she said. “I lost it when we were in Indianapolis at the Kulsich Music Center. I had it out in my dressing room, and then I forgot to put it back when I closed up my purse before the show. I just figured one of the team tossed it by mistake when they were clearing my dressing room in a rush to move on. I planned to get another copy of it when I saw Brian and Sue again. They have a few pictures from that day.”
Zach picked up his phone and sent a text. “Indianapolis was one of the cities where Kurt’s band was there a day after yours. I’ll see if Samantha found any footage showing Erika hanging around.”
PJ looked up. “She texted me a lot after Kurt left me for her. She was obsessed, always telling me I had to stay away from him. I changed my phone number and the messages stopped.”
She lifted the picture again and stared at the image of Matthew, so small and vulnerable. He was still vulnerable, even though he was older now.
Zach spoke up as Gabe rubbed her back, the hand that had set her on fire only a short while before now soothing her—adding his strength to hers.
“PJ, I don’t think this picture means the person actually knows who Matthew is or where he is. If they had identified him and his family, they would have sent a current picture of him. We’ll take precautions as though he’s in danger to be on the safe side, but I think this is just your blackmailer’s way of trying to get to you.”
