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“I’m thirteen,” Matthew said and Gabe held his breath. The kid was doing the math. He was putting it together. He understood how young Pru was when she had him.
Pru waited.
“You coming home for my birthday, Aunt PJ?” Matthew finally asked, his voice cracking a bit as he spoke, and Gabe watched as Pru cried and nodded, trying to say yes into the phone, but not quite getting anything out.
* * *
An hour later, showered and dressed, they met with Chad and Zach in the kitchen and looked at all the information they had gathered to that point.
“So far, your blackmailer hasn’t done anything that required him or her to leave the tour, other than possibly tampering with Jimmy Mondo’s car or somehow setting Jimmy’s accident in motion. And in reality, we still don’t know for sure that’s what happened. Jimmy’s death could have been an accident,” Chad said.
Zach cut in. “We’ve got a few friends on the police force in Los Angeles where the accident took place. We’re waiting to hear if the car had been tampered with, and to get a tox screen back on Jimmy to see what was in his system.”
Chad nodded. “So far, everything your guy’s been doing has been from behind the scenes, hiding behind texts and messenger services. It’s highly likely that this person’s absence from your team would be noticed at any exact moment, and it would be easy to connect that absence with any attack on you here.”
Chad pulled his cell phone out and read from the notes app on the screen. “Unfortunately, your entire team hasn’t been together since you arrived here. Your tour bus was sent ahead to your next tour stop in Denver and the driver has been waiting at the Towers there. Your team and band met them there yesterday, but between then and now, Debra has gone back to her office, and Ellis and Lydia took two days off. Ellis said he was driving across the country, stopping at civil war monuments on the way. He met up with Lydia at the Towers in Denver late yesterday afternoon.”
“So, it’s possible he could have gone out to LA and tampered with Jimmy Mondo’s car before meeting up with Lydia?” Gabe asked.
Chad nodded. “Exactly. But, the others are equally unaccounted for. Lydia supposedly stayed at the Towers in New York for two days before she went to Denver. But, since checkout is automated and there’s no record of her using room service or anything, we’ll need to get someone on the ground there to see if any of the staff remember seeing her. Gabe, can you take care of that for us?”
“Yep. I’m on it,” Gabe said, sending a quick text to the general manager of the Towers New York asking him to send security footage from the hotel lobby and all other public areas for the day Jimmy was killed, and to see if any of the staff remembered seeing Lydia that day.
“There’s also the band. They split up and went their separate ways. The driver of the tour bus continued on to Denver, and the various members of the band each went to stay with friends. We’re working on getting in touch with the friends they saw, trying to confirm they were with them for the days we need to track,” Zach said.
“So you think the reason this person hasn’t actually come after me yet is because they can’t slip away from the group unnoticed?” PJ asked.
Chad nodded. “I think so. They clearly know where you are. They know a lot about you, and about Gabe, it seems. Enough to know he owns this house—that not many people know about—and what courier Gabe’s assistant uses to send things to him here. This person must be someone who moves around the Towers properties easily and unnoticed.”
“Lydia and Ellis are often in the Towers offices talking to my staff about arrangements for PJ,” Gabe said. “We let her security move around the hotel so they can check on things for her. I don’t think the band would move around easily in the back areas.”
Chad nodded, making notes before looking at PJ. “Who did you tell about your plan to stay with Gabe?”
“Only Debra and my parents should know where I am right now. I didn’t tell the rest of the team, and I asked Debra not to share it with them,” PJ answered.
“I think whoever this is wanted to scare you with Jimmy’s death, but now, unless they can somehow arrange for everyone to split up again, it would be obvious who it was the minute someone comes after you. All we would need to do is look to see who’s missing, and we’d know who to go after,” Chad said.
PJ was quiet for a minute, and Gabe felt his gut clench. He knew what she was thinking before she voiced it a split second later. “I need to go back.”
“No, Pru,” he said quietly, but not at all softly. Her gaze cut to him quickly, but she looked away. She looked back to Chad and Zach, squaring her shoulders.
“No!” Gabe said, not even going for quiet this time.
“Let’s head back,” PJ said, completely ignoring him. Chad and Zach were silent, their eyes watching PJ and Gabe as Gabe came up behind her and turned her to face him.
“Are you crazy? You’re just going to walk back there and let this guy do whatever he wants to you? Is this some kind of twisted punishment you feel the need to take on because you gave Matthew up? Because Matthew’s forgiven you. He’s happy and safe. He has everything you ever wanted for him. You don’t need to do this.”
PJ’s eyes flashed, and she put her hands on her hips and squared off with him. “What would you have me do, Gabe? Hide out here with you forever? Give up my career? Leave my life because some sick, twisted asshole has it out for me?”
“It’s a start,” Gabe said, hearing how insane he sounded, hearing how idiotic that plan was. Of course she couldn’t hide out forever. But, he wouldn't watch her walk back in and hand herself over to this guy.
He saw Chad and Zach slip out of the kitchen and knew they’d probably station themselves in the front of the house, or one in the back and one out front. Either way, they were giving him and PJ space—and he appreciated it.
He needed to find a way to talk some sense into her. To hell with talking. He didn’t want to talk. He wanted to drag her off to his room and lock her in. And never let her out.
Realistic?Probably not, based on the way she was looking at him…like she’d draw and quarter him if he tried.
“Pru, please,” he started. “Let’s just find a better way to deal with this than sticking you out there as bait for this lunatic. Whoever he is, he’s angry and resentful, and he didn’t hesitate to kill Jimmy. If he gets to you––”
