Love's Road Home (11 page)

Sex with Tom.

Beth didn’t think she’d ever wanted physical intimacy with a man as much as she did right now. What was so attractive about him anyway?

Yeah, he was gorgeous. And funny. And sexy.

But he also drove her nuts with his presumptions about her life. She thought they’d gotten past that the first day they’d met, but his chastising words about her childhood proved her wrong.

Maybe he loved the musician life so much that he didn’t want to hear her badmouth any part of it. If she had any real dreams at the moment, she wouldn’t want anyone to bash them into the ground, either.

So okay, she wouldn’t say anything else about her dysfunctional upbringing, and Tom could idealize the lifestyle as much as he wanted. It was fine with her.

It wasn’t as if she’d be around him forever.

And maybe, if pressed, she would be able to remember a few good times on the road with her father. Maybe.

But she doubted it.

A weary sigh escaped Beth, and she rubbed her aching neck. At least while she was on the road this time she was doing something productive. But after years of academics and office work she wasn’t used to manual labor, even the comparatively small amount she was directed to do.

She felt better knowing the rough times of the tour seemed to be past. They’d had no equipment, vehicle, health, or weather problems since arriving in
Baltimore
this morning. Tonight’s performance looked to be another success. And maybe, just maybe, she could convince Tom to sneak away with her after the show. To someplace private.

Beth closed her eyes, her body shivering with anticipation of what hopefully would occur that night.

But then a muted conversation to her far right cut through the pleasant images running through her head.

Beth looked over to see Tom talking to two guys in dark suits. She’d never seen the men before, and curiosity kept her watching the trio.

Tom gestured to Beth with one hand, easily holding two full soda bottles in the other. The men observed his directive and then started toward her with Tom just a step behind.

What now?

Beth should’ve known things couldn’t get better so quickly.

But she hadn’t imagined they’d get horribly worse.

•

Tom felt no qualms in following the two men back to Beth. Although they hadn’t introduced themselves, he knew they must be here in an official capacity. They couldn’t have entered the theatre without showing identification at the entrance.

What did they want with her?

If
Bethany
didn’t want him to know, she could tell him to leave. But until that happened, he was staying close.

Beth stood and stepped into the aisle as they approached. She looked to him and raised an eyebrow. Tom shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in response. He had no idea what they wanted either.

"Ms. Miller?" The older of the two men held out his hand to Beth. "I’m Detective Halsey with the Baltimore PD."

His head glinted in the light where it wasn’t covered with thinning gray hair. Halsey looked like he could’ve retired years ago but had enjoyed the doughnut shops too much to leave.

Beth hesitantly shook the man’s hand, flashing yet another inquisitive look toward Tom, who was just as clueless as she was.

Halsey nodded toward his companion. "This is Detective Chen."

In contrast to his partner, the trim Asian-American officer looked fresh out of the academy. He smiled and offered his hand. "Ms. Miller."

Evidently neither detective felt the need to greet Tom, so he simply deposited the drinks he carried into a vacant seat, moved to Beth’s side, and waited for them to explain their presence.

"Do you guys have identification?" Beth’s tone indicated she didn’t trust the men. But she got the results she wanted since they pulled out their badges for her to study. "What do you want?"

Tom hadn’t seen such a poor attitude from Beth since their first meeting, and the unfamiliar agitation he saw in her triggered his own. Just what the hell was going on here?

"Ms. Miller, we need to speak with you." Detective Halsey shot a look at Tom. "Alone."

Bethany
seemed to steel herself. Against what, he wasn’t sure. "Whatever you need to say to me can be said in front of Tom. Now, what is it you need to tell me?"

Tom slowly let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Maybe now he’d find out what was behind Beth’s hesitancy about their relationship. Sure, she still wanted to get physical, but nothing more.

And, for some reason, that bothered the crap out of him.

Any other guy would jump at the chance to have a purely sexual relationship with a gorgeous, unattached female. But no, not him.

Ever since he’d met her, Tom had wanted to know all he could about this guarded woman. And he was about to discover another piece of the puzzle that was Bethany Miller.

The younger detective spoke up. "It’s about Eric Sharpe."

Beth’s face paled at the name, and Tom quickly put his arms around her, thinking she might faint.

Who was Eric Sharpe? And why did Beth have such an intense reaction to the mention of his name?

An unfamiliar wave of jealousy swept over Tom, accompanied by a touch of hurt when Beth pulled out of his hold.

She cleared her throat with a rough cough. "Um." Another cough. "What—what does that have to do with me anymore? I was cleared of all charges."

What?

Tom’s jaw dropped, and he snapped his head to stare at Beth. She refused to meet his gaze, keeping hers trained on Chen.

The two detectives exchanged a look, and Halsey took over again.

"Ms. Miller. Beth, if I may. We aren’t here to question you. We’re here to warn you."

"About what?" Tom could keep silent no longer. "What the hell is going on?"

"Tom..." Beth laid a cool hand on his arm. It was strange that she was now trying to comfort him when a minute ago he was trying to protect her. From what, he still didn’t know.

"Detective, please. Just spit it out." Beth’s weariness came through loud and clear. "What do you need to warn me about? It can’t have anything to do with Eric. He’s in jail."

The detectives’ silence spoke volumes.

Beth stood straighter, spoke louder. "Isn’t he?"

Her posture demonstrated assertion, but her voice wavered. Damn, he wished he knew what was going on here!

"Beth, I hate to tell you this, but Eric Sharpe is not in jail at this time." Halsey’s voice gentled even as he delivered the worst news of all.

"He escaped custody en route from the county jail to the state prison. And based upon the threats he shouted in the courtroom, we think he’s coming after you."

Chapter Seven

Beth still couldn’t believe what the police detectives had told her.

They’d left thirty minutes ago, and she remained in a state of semi-shock. Eric was free and may be after her? She doubted it.

Detective Chen had explained how the San Francisco PD had tracked her down through her father and the record company. When officials contacted Freestone Records, they were informed of the tour schedule. The Baltimore PD was then put in charge of finding Beth and warning her of possible danger.

"Feeling any better?" Tom’s soothing southern drawl washed over her, warming Beth from the outside in. He hadn’t left her side from the moment the detectives had arrived.

They sat in the same seats they’d occupied earlier, yet everything had changed. There was no going back to the relatively carefree banter they’d had before.

Tom hadn’t said a word about what had transpired, but Beth knew she owed him an explanation. She just didn’t know how to begin.

"I’m doing okay," she finally answered. "Thanks." The words weren’t exactly true, but, for some reason, she wanted to reassure Tom. He was so concerned about her that she worried about him!

But no matter how much she cared for Tom, she couldn’t force him to return the feeling. And he wouldn’t. After Beth told him the truth about Eric and what happened in
San Francisco
, any tender thoughts he harbored for her at the moment would definitely disappear. No sane man would want anything to do with her after knowing all that.

And Tom was definitely sane.

A little annoying at times, but definitely sane.

With his career on the rise, he wouldn’t want even a short fling with her. Her bad history was not a selling point.

But he deserved to know it, regardless of the consequences. And no matter how irritated Tom had made her feel earlier, there was now a heaviness in her heart.

Convinced their relationship was over before it had really begun, Beth turned to face him.

•

Tom waited patiently for Beth to speak. Finally she said, "I suppose you want me to explain all of that to you."

Inside, Tom shouted Hell, yes!

But realistically he knew Beth needed to divulge things at her own pace. So he restrained himself and spoke calmly.

"You don’t have to explain anything to me. But if you need to talk about it, I’ll listen."

And, slowly, she began to tell her story.

"I think I already told you I was on the road with my dad until I turned eighteen. That year I was accepted to Stanford. I worked my butt off and earned my MBA in five years instead of six."

"My years in college—and before that, on the road—weren’t very conducive to forming lasting relationships. Of any kind." She glanced up at him, obviously trying to determine if he got her message.

Yeah, he understood. No boyfriends or lovers until after college.

Got it.

"So …" She cleared her throat. "I had an internship at a really prestigious accounting firm, and they liked me so much they offered me a job right out of school."

Beth looked him in the eye, unblinking. "Eric worked at that firm."

All right. Now they were getting down to the nitty-gritty.

Maybe.

Tom prodded carefully when silence lengthened and it appeared Beth’s resolution was fading. "What happened with this Eric guy?"

She took a deep breath, let it out slowly.

"You know that saying about office romances never working out?" The rhetorical question needed no reply, so Beth continued on. "Well, I learned it the hard way."

She settled more comfortably in the padded seat, seemingly preparing to tell a long, heart-wrenching tale.

"I was hired as a junior accountant. Eric was my immediate supervisor, a senior accountant. He was handsome, charming, and hardworking."

Tom didn’t like him based on that statement alone.

"Eric had been at the company for almost fifteen years, and he wanted badly to make partner."

Beth gave him an embarrassed look. "Yeah, he was a lot older. And I admit I was bowled over by all the attention he gave me. At first I thought he was just being nice. Trying to show me the ropes since I was new to the firm and the industry in general. But then things changed."