to get defensive. Then we won’t find out anything.”
Richard nodded. “Fine. Let’s go. I’ll let you do the talking.”
She drew in a deep breath. “Okay.” She’d already given a great deal of thought as to how she’d handle Tony when she finally confronted him. She’d had plenty of time while she’d been secretly watching him.
At first, she’d been nervous at the thought of facing him again. Now she was petrified, though it helped to know she had Richard by her side.
She closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Okay.”
She stepped forward, but this time he stopped her. “Sharon.”
“What?”
“I’m proud of you,” Richard said. “It’s nice to see some of that spunk return. I was beginning to think all the progress you’d made for yourself had disappeared when the pictures showed up.”
She smiled grimly. “I appreciate you saying that.” Maybe he really loved her for who she was, after all. “I’m just sorry this is touching your life, your campaign. So. Let’s go.” She shrugged his hand off, needing all her composure to face Tony.
He inclined his head and together they approached the couple on the bench. Tony wore faded jeans and a red T-shirt. The woman beside him seemed relaxed and happy.
Sharon wondered if she was about to upset the balance in Tony’s relationship the way he’d upset hers.
Tony knelt down in front of the young boy Sharon had seen the other day.
She leaned against the chain-link fence separating the road from the playground and cleared her throat. “Tony?”
At the sound of his name, the man’s head whipped around fast. She wondered if he recognized her voice, then called herself silly.
He rose to his feet, staring at her as his gaze narrowed in recognition. “Sharon?”
She nodded.
From behind her, she felt Richard slip his hand into hers. She appreciated the silent support.
Warily he approached her. “Watch him?” he said to the woman she assumed was his wife, pointing to the child.
Warily, the other woman nodded. She seated herself on the edge of the sandbox, but her gaze remained firmly on Tony’s back.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you.” He stepped closer.
Although rationally she knew she was safe, she was glad to have the fence between them. “Because my friends were here first.”
“They grilled me.”
“And you lied to them.”
He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and shrugged. “I have a family to protect now.”
“Look, it’s because you have a family that I’m hoping I can appeal to your sense of decency. You’ll notice I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt by assuming you’ve developed one.”
She studied him. He was still handsome, although his features were more hardened than she remembered, his attitude gruffer. She supposed prison could do that to a man, and she shivered.
Richard released her hand and slid his arm around her back.
“Who’s the suit?” Tony gestured to Richard.
Sharon squared her shoulders, meeting his gaze. If he was her blackmailer, he already knew that not only did she plan to marry Richard, but also that he was running for mayor. “My fiance,” she said, still giving him some leeway.
“Well, I’ll tell you what I told your friends. I didn’t keep the photographs. The cops took them all and there’s no way you’re pinning any trouble you have now on me.”
Sharon hated herself for thinking it, but she almost believed him. The arrogant man she remembered was gone. In his place stood a beaten man who appeared content to live his life simply. He looked too scared of being connected to the photographs to have taken the risk again. Then again, he’d been a good liar once before.
“I hope you realize they’re harsher on repeat offenders if you’re lying,” Richard said.
“Hey, don’t make assumptions you can’t prove.”
Sharon glanced over. A muscle throbbed in Richard’s temple, a sure sign he was holding back his anger and disgust at Tony. This time
“Listen, all I want to know is how someone could have gotten ahold of one of the photos,” Richard asked in a controlled voice.
“And I’m telling you the police have them all.”
Sharon gripped the fence harder. “Tony, you have a family you want to protect. I understand that. But if I don’t find out who’s blackmailing me, I won’t ever have a family. Don’t I deserve that chance? Don’t you think you owe me at least that?” she asked, her voice rising.
Tony exhaled hard.
“Honey, don’t you think you should tell her?” The woman from the sandbox walked up beside him, holding the child in her arms.
Tony stiffened.
“Tell me what?”
The brunette put her hand on his shoulder. “A few months ago, Tony got an anonymous phone call.”
“What did they want?” Richard asked before Sharon could.
Tony groaned. “The same thing you do. The person wanted to know if I had copies of the pictures.”
“All the pictures?” Sharon asked. “Of all the women?”
He shook his head. “Just you.”
She winced. “And what did you say?”
He slung an arm over the fence. “Again, I told them what I told the rest of you. I have no damn photos. The cops took everything.”
“Why keep this to yourself?” Richard asked. “Why didn’t you just admit it to us when we asked?”
He rolled his eyes. “For one thing, I didn’t know those friends of yours from Adam, so I wasn’t telling them anything.”
“And me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because…” He leaned closer to them, whispering the rest. “The person who called me was an ex-con I’d met in prison. He was trying to make a buck by getting his hands on those pictures for someone and selling them. I’m not supposed to have contact with anyone I met in the joint. And I don’t intend to violate my parole and screw up my life again.”
Richard nodded slowly, seemingly more satisfied with this answer. “What’s the guy’s name? The one you met in prison?”
Tony kicked at the dirt in front of him. Obviously he didn’t want to get any more involved than he already was.
“Stan. Stan Mancusi,” the woman beside him said softly.
“Calls himself Stan the Man,” Tony muttered. “He’s into petty shit. Anything to make a buck. And he’s local,” he added grudgingly. “You can probably find him in any one of the seedier bars on the docks in Salem.”
“Thank you,” Sharon said.
Tony shrugged. “Felicia’s right. I owe you,” he said without meeting her gaze.
Sharon glanced at the other woman. “I appreciate it.” And she hoped Tony would give Felicia the kind of life she deserved.
Sharon and Richard were silent on the way back to the car.
Once inside, Richard turned to her and asked, “Why did you say you might never have the family you want?”
“Because we obviously have a lot to discuss when this blackmail thing is over. If you have to drop out or if the picture or pictures are published, I’ll be responsible for ruining your career and your dreams. I don’t expect you to forgive me for that.”
He shook his head harshly and turned the key in the ignition. “Damn, you don’t give me enough credit. Or maybe you just judge all men by that dirtbag’s example and I never realized it until now. Do you think that
