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Gabe nodded. “Everything he’s done shows he’s angry withyou, Pru, not with Matthew.”
“Okay, but don’t blackmailers usually ask for something? Money? This guy still hasn’t made any actual demands,” she said, taking a deep breath. “What did Chad find in the background checks of my team?”
Her team had all been vetted heavily when they applied to work for her, so she couldn’t imagine finding anything she didn’t already know about.
“So far the biggest red flag is Ellis’s background. Did you know he’s adopted?”
“Yes. Our parents were friends when we were little, although both Lydia and he were younger than me. He doesn’t talk about it, and neither does his sister, Lydia. He was adopted by her parents when he was about twelve, I believe. It was awful, really. Lydia’s dad died in a car accident shortly after Ellis was adopted. He only had the chance to have a father for a few months, I think. As far as I know, he has no contact with his biological family.”
“Do you know anything about his background before he came to her family?” Gabe asked.
“A little. He was in foster homes a lot. And his mom had left him in the mall before that. You wouldn’t know it, though. He’s so sweet.”
“How did they come to work for you?” Gabe asked.
“My mom thought of Lydia when I needed a tour manager several years ago. She’d been working in project management, I think. My mom still talks to her mom and she mentioned Lydia was looking for something new. She was perfect for the job. She runs everything and is on top of every detail. Ellis came to work for me about six months ago. She got him the interview and I was happy to hire him.”
Zach spoke. “Chad’s sending guys down to meet with your team, interview them and search your luggage. Whoever did this had to find your journal somehow. They had to have seen you or heard you at times you thought you were alone.”
PJ flinched. The idea of someone spying on her made her very uncomfortable, as was the idea that Chad’s people would have to put her team through this interrogation and scrutiny to find answers.
She couldn’t help but think her team would feel they were being accused of something, not just being interviewed. She worried about how Ellis, in particular, would take that. She could picture how hurt he’d look, and the sense of betrayal that would show clearly on his gentle face.
“Chad also ran checks on your background singers and your band. A couple of little things popped here and there. A few with some minor criminal backgrounds. Jaqueline has lost several babies, so he’s looking a little harder at her.”
PJ flinched again. She hadn’t known Jackie had lost any babies, and that invasion of the guitarist’s privacy bit into her. What an awful thing to go through, but to have that bit of your life on record somewhere, a record that an investigator could find, made it all the worse. And, how would Jackie feel when the investigators raised that?
“I can’t even call them and let them know Chad’s people are coming, can I?” she asked, knowing they’d say no.
“No,” said Zach, but then he surprised her. “We can arrange for you to talk to them as soon as the investigators get there. We’ll get everyone into a conference room while we search luggage, the tour bus, everything. You can talk to them by phone and let them know a little about what’s going on. It’s not much, but it’s the best we can do, PJ.” Zach’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it before looking back up at her.
“My guys have Matthew and his parents. They’re safe.”
Her heart felt like it would collapse inside her chest with relief when she heard those words. From the moment she’d decided to give birth to him when she was fifteen years old, that’s all she’d ever wanted for Matthew. For him to be safe and loved.
Gabe stood and held out his hand to her. “Let’s go to bed, Pru.”
She stood and turned toward her room, but he tugged her hand and pulled her toward his, bringing a hot flush to her cheeks.
Zach called out a good night from his place on the couch, and she wondered if he thought anything of the fact that Gabe was leading her to his bedroom.
Probably not. It’s not like they lived in the eighteenth century. But still, the idea of Zach knowing she’d be sleeping in Gabe’s bed was embarrassing. And yet, she wanted Gabe to hold her.
She still felt raw from having so easily slipped into a sexual relationship with Gabe, and they hadn’t had a chance to talk about what had happened earlier. She had no idea what he was thinking or what he expected from her. Tonight or in the future. What would Gabe want from her? Was this a quick screw because he found out how easy she was? How she’d spread her legs so readily at fifteen?
Would he want to continue this beyond the end of the week? Or was she just another one of the stars she always saw on his arm at fundraisers? That thought bothered her. A lot. She wanted to be special to him. Just like she’d wanted to be special to Jimmy Mondo so many years ago.
She’d thought sex brought intimacy, but it didn’t mean that at all. She had learned that lesson early, and she’d learned it well. And she’d remembered it until, apparently, this afternoon with Gabe. She’d forgotten everything she’d ever learned the moment his mouth had touched her.
That needed to stop.
Gabe shut the door behind them, and PJ was suddenly very aware of how alone they were, how close he stood.
“We can’t do this,” she said hurriedly, before she chickened out. “We can’t sleep together.”
His dark eyes studied her, but he didn’t argue. “Sleep together or make love?”
Her heart leapt at his description of it as love not sex, but she knew better than to be fooled by sweet words. She cleared her throat to answer, but he moved before she could get anything out. He just turned and walked to his dresser on the other side of the room.
