Free Leena’s Dream by Marissa Dobson Page A

won’t change the past,” he reminded her.
    “She has to know how I feel. Maybe it’s more about me getting it off my chest. Either way, it has to come out. She was there while I grieved for my first love. She comforted me, baked me chocolate chip cookies, and all the while she was responsible.”
    “It’s the past.”
    “Our past, our lives, and she had no right to interfere.” She leaned back into his embrace and tried to get past what her mother had done even as it continued to eat at her. “I can give her a little room. She had just lost her daughter, but there’s not much to give there. I lost my sister and you at the same time, and the second one was her fault.”
    “We found each other again. That’s what matters.” He brushed a kiss along her temple. “I’m not planning on letting you go this time.”

10
    Chapter Ten
    T he concert had been a success , leaving Leena both exhausted and restless. There had been no incidents during the performance which was a relief not only to her, but to everyone involved. Turner didn’t have to worry about the hospital being liable and Mason didn’t have to explain anything to the Chief of Police. In some ways, it was a weight off her shoulders and in other ways it only added to the stress. He’d have to make his move soon.
    “The band is packing up and will head out in about an hour,” Trina announced as she climbed aboard the bus.
    “Very well.” She knew what the band was doing but she wasn’t quite sure what her assistant was going to do. Would she do her job, or would she leave? Instead of inquiring, she pulled her boots off. “I’m going to rest for an hour or so before going to the hospital. Then I have dinner plans, so take the night off and we’ll start fresh tomorrow.”
    “Okay.” Trina turned toward the door and strolled out without another word.
    “The attitude is getting tiresome,” she mumbled to the quiet bus before heading to the bedroom suite to change. She tugged the glistening silver material of her shirt over her head, and as the material lifted past her eyes, she spotted movement in her peripheral vision.
    “I’ve waited so long for this moment.” His voice was deep and rich, with something familiar about it, but she couldn’t place it.
    Her body froze and her legs turned to mush while her feet refused to move. She wanted to scream, to call for Kendrick. Instead she forced herself to breathe and face the man who had terrorized her for months. “How did you get in here?”
    “It wasn’t hard.” He lifted his hand and moved it out of the shadows so she could see the key he dangled from his fingers. “The key gave me easy access, and while I know you have your hounds outside, they won’t be any problem either. I’m going to drive this bus away before they even have a chance to react.”
    Uneasy about wearing only her bra, she pulled the shirt back over her head. “What do you want?”
    “That’s obvious, isn’t it? I still want you even if you’re a whore who allows yourself to be taken by that bastard who isn’t good enough for you. He’s the one who kept us apart, isn’t he?” He stepped out of the shadows, a gun in his hand and pointed directly at her, but it was his identity that startled her. The realization hit her between the eyes and her stomach churned.
    His tanned skin came from his Greek heritage, not hours in the sun, and his green eyes held barely contained rage. His spiky black hair was the same as it had been a year before when she fired him. “Gene.” He’d been one of the security guards while she was on tour, mostly handling crowd control to make sure no one snuck backstage, but when he got a little too friendly she had let him go.
    “It’s about time you remembered me.” He closed the distance between them and took hold of her arm. “Go ahead and scream. We both know you had extra sound proofing installed so that you could rest without being disturbed. I could torture and kill you and they