Tudor Redemption (Tudor Dynasty Book 4) by Jamie Salisbury Page A

me on.
    “Did
you know about this?” I whispered.
    “No.
I swear he told me nothing.”
    Reluctantly,
I followed Red to the stage. No longer was the stage the comfort zone it once
had been. It took every fiber in my being to get through one song. Was I
scared? Hell yeah, I was. It was a miracle I could even walk out. But I would
do it tonight, for Ethan.
    He
told me what song he had in mind. One of my old Rypp Tyde pieces. What he said
next earned him my respect. The boy might act like an obnoxious, arrogant prick
on stage, but that was just a persona.
    “I’m
not going to mention you’re my dad. This is not the venue for that. We’ll save
it for another time.”
    “Deal,”
I replied as one of his stage crew handed me a guitar.
    Nodding
my head that I was ready, Ethan launched into ‘The Stranger Within’. Not one of
our bigger hits, but a personal favorite of mine. Especially some years later.
    The
entire seven minutes passed too quickly. The crowd went crazy, wanting more. It
was his night, his show, and I wasn’t going to take that away. Instead, I
handed the instrument back to his guy, waved at the crowd, standing next to
Ethan as I did, and left the stage.
    I
stood in the wings with Red, catching my breath and my emotions.
    “Can
you get me back to the table without us getting mobbed?” I asked.
    He
nodded. “Piece of cake.”
    I
followed him through the back halls of the club. It brought back memories of
being Ethan’s age. “You were smokin’ out there, Dame. So was that boy of yours.”
    Stopping
in my tracks, I stared at him. “How?”
    “No
one told me. All I had to do is get a good look at him. Reminded me of you at
that age.”
    “Pretty
scary, isn’t it?”
    “Yeah.”
He chuckled. “A whole new generation of Tudor boys is scary as hell.”
    Afterwards,
we waited for Red to give us the all clear. When he came, he explained we were
splitting into two vehicles. Everyone nodded, as it was nothing unusual. I kept
Beth close to me as we walked. Though she handled the crowd like a trooper, I
didn’t let her far from me. As we approached the cars, Red instructed the girls
and Angus get in one. Beth and me in the other.
    I
was quite pleased with the arrangement. I would finally have her to myself.
Except for when we’d had lunch earlier in the week, we’d never been alone.
Something I was going to change.
    We
sat there, waiting. For Red, I assumed. Instead, a few moments later, the door
opened and in popped Ethan.
    “Hi
guys. I hope you don’t mind me joining you for a while. Security says the hotel
is crawling with the media and fans. Your guy Red said he’d get me over there
in an hour or so.”
    “Not
a problem. If Red doesn’t think it’s safe, he won’t let you go,” I replied. I
didn’t dare look over at Beth, because I heard her giggle.
    “They
really liked the song we did together, didn’t they?”
    Ah
yes, the adrenaline rush after a performance. Wide open, ready to go. Can
conquer the world.
    “They
did,” Beth agreed. “Make you want to go back on the road, Dame?”
    “Not
particularly. It’s fun once in a while, but at this point, I’m happier going
into the studio. That’s my rush.”
    We
reached my building quickly. The club was not far off. Red pulled the SUV under
the building, pulling up to the door. The three of us got out. I leaned in and
invited Red up to the condo. He knew where to park, but said he’d rather keep
an eye on things downstairs. Just in case.
    Nodding
my head, I shut the door and led Ethan and Beth to the elevators.
    “So,
this was your brother Amadeus’s place first?” Beth asked.
    “Yeah.
They had another unit then decided a larger one was needed. This was before the
kids.”
    “Pretty
centrally located,” Ethan remarked.
    “It
is if you like being in the downtown area.”
    The
elevator stopped on my floor. Beth and I stepped out, followed by Ethan. I wasn’t
sure if the girls were here yet or not.
    Unlocking
the door, we were