Ravensong (22 page)

“
He’s fine. He said so
himself.”

“
This is bull shit!”
snarled Ralph.

Julian glanced at all of
them, then fixed his gaze on Joshua. “Get up, Ravensong. You’ve got
a concert to finish. A lot of people are counting on
you.”

“
No!” cried
Elena.

“
Get up or you’re fired!”
shouted Julian in return. “This is our big night and I’m not about
to refund any tickets. Get out there and do your job!”

Joshua forced open his
eyes. He reached up, pushing Elena’s hand away. Elena thought his
eyes seemed out of focus.

“
No, Joshua,” she said in
misery.

“
I’m fine,” he answered,
bracing a hand on the arm of the couch and pushing himself forward.
“Help me up!”

Dominic and Elena both reached for
him. They got him to his feet, but once there, he swayed against
them. Elena moved in quickly to his side, but his eyes rolled back
in his head and he dropped, dragging her down with him.

“
Call an ambulance!” she
screamed, inciting a flurry of motion all around them.

* * *

Elena stared at the tile on the floor.
She could imagine pictures in the swirls of black. The plastic
chair was unforgiving beneath her, but she only vaguely noticed
it.

“
Here,” came Elliot’s voice
above her and a styrofoam cup appeared in her line of sight. She
reached for the tea and held it close. He sat down beside her,
cradling his own cup of coffee. “This isn’t your fault.”

She met his gaze. “If I had
just warned someone...”

“
You did. I heard your
message. I just wish I’d checked it before we went on
stage.”

She gave him a grim smile.
“Have you ever seen anything like that before?”

He leaned back in his chair
and sipped his drink. “Not before Joshua, but since him, yeah, it’s
gotten out of control a few times. I should never have given him
that guitar.”

“
Maybe we both should stop
blaming ourselves.” Her eyes drifted to Julian. “It’s easier to
blame him.”

“
Don’t get me
started.”

Elena set the tea on the
table beside her. “What’s taking so long?”

“
I’m sure they’re doing
some type of scan or something.” He leaned forward and touched her
knee. “Why don’t you go back to the hotel and I’ll call you as soon
as we hear something?”

“
No, I wouldn’t be able to
rest anyway.” She fell silent, contemplating the floor again, then
she leaned closer to Elliot. “Explain something to me, please.
Julian is aware that Joshua changed the band, right? I mean he
understands that Joshua gave you a level of exposure you wouldn’t
have had without his name.”

“
Yeah, he knows
that.”

“
But yet he hates him,
doesn’t he?”

Elliot nodded.

“
Why?”

Elliot’s eyes drifted to
Julian where he sat, typing into his blackberry. “I’m not sure I
can explain it, but with Joshua, I think you feel one of two
things. You either think the world of him, or you hate him. You
either marvel at his talent, or you despise it. You either
acknowledge his looks or you envy them. I don’t think there’s a
middle ground with a man like Joshua.”

Oddly enough, Elena thought
of the roadie, Alec, and his obviously jealousy where Joshua was
concerned. “Does Julian really have the authority to fire
him?”

Elliot gave a snort of
disgust. “He can try, but he knows the rest of us would quit. He’s
always trying to goad us into going on without him. I think he
believes we’ve got a big enough name now without Joshua, but we all
know we’d go back to being a garage band again. The public loves
our music because Joshua writes it. Oh, we might collaborate once
in awhile, but you’ve never seen him when he’s composing. We add a
few suggestions, a riff here or there, but it’s Joshua who pulls it
all together.”

“
Why did Joshua think he
had to go back on stage?”

Elliot sighed. “Don’t think
for a moment that Julian doesn’t know Joshua’s weakness. All he had
to tell him is that the fans expected a concert and Joshua owed it
to them. Joshua’s never forgotten who put him in the lifestyle he’s
living now. And he’s aware he stays there by the grace of those
same fans.”

Elena leaned back in her chair,
closing her eyes. Weariness pressed down on her. She had just
started to drift asleep when she heard people scramble to their
feet. Her eyes snapped open and glanced to the entrance of the
waiting room. The doctor had appeared in the doorway.

“
He’s going to be all
right,” he said and a collective sigh went around the
room.

Elena rose to her feet and approached
the group.

“
He has a moderately severe
concussion, but he wants me to release him. He’s going to need at
least two full days of complete bed rest, no activities of any
kind.”

“
Impossible,” said Julian.
“We have a concert tomorrow night.”

The doctor’s eyes whipped
to Julian’s face. “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I said he has a
concussion.”

“
I also heard you say he
was going to be fine. Look, we’re running a business
here.”

“
You son of a bitch...”
began Elliot.

The doctor crossed his
arms. “Let me put this a little more clearly. If I don’t have a
guarantee that he isn’t going to do anything but sleep for the next
two days, I won’t release him. Is that clear?”

Julian was still watching
Elliot.

Elena spoke before she
realized what she was doing. “We’ll cancel the concert tomorrow
night, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything for the next three
or four days. After tomorrow night’s concert, we have a three day
break and then a day of travel.”

Julian started to open his
mouth, but Elena glared at him. The doctor’s eyes passed between
them, then he nodded. “I’ll release him to your care,” he told
Elena. With another look at Julian, he left the room.

“
You had no right!” said
Julian, rounding on her.

Elena faced him. “Do you
want to tell that to a lawyer? I warned you that the stage was too
low, but you didn’t listen. I’m sure the event planner at the
stadium would be happy to corroborate my position so he can avoid a
lawsuit himself. How far do you really want to take this? A
negligence lawsuit filed by one of your own employees has got to be
negative publicity, wouldn’t you think?”

Julian’s eyes widened, then
circled around the group. Elena didn’t think he found much sympathy
there. With a mumbled curse, he turned on his heel and stormed from
the room.

* * *

Elliot closed the inner
door to Joshua’s suite. “He’s resting peacefully now. The doctor
gave him something to ease the pain.”

Elena exhaled.

“
Go get some sleep. I’ll
take the couch here in case he needs something.”

Elena eyed the
uncomfortable sofa. “Why don’t I take the couch tonight? You get
some rest and then you’re welcome to it tomorrow night.”

Elliot was also eyeing the
length of it. “I’ll take you up on that. I’ll be by in the morning
to give you a break.”

“
Sounds good,” said Elena,
walking him to the door.

He held up his cell phone.
“Call if you need anything. I have it turned on now.” He gave her a
sheepish grin.

She returned it. “Don’t
worry. Everything will be fine.”

He nodded, then stepped into the
hallway. Elena shut and bolted the door.

Striding to the inner room, she
slipped inside and shut the door behind her. Joshua lay in the bed
on his back, one arm pressed over his eyes. Without stopping to
think of the choice she was making, Elena slipped off her clothes,
then climbed under the covers next to him.

He gave a grunt and moved
his arm as she pressed her body the length of his. “Pity I have
such a headache or I’d show you how happy I am to see you,” he
murmured.

Elena placed her head on
his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. “Shh,” she whispered
in his ear, “enjoy it while it lasts. Tomorrow night you get
Elliot.”

“
Mmm,” he grumbled, “that
won’t be nearly as much fun.”

* * *

Elliot opened the door to
Elena. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was rubbing his
neck. He gave her a critical stare. “You look as bad as I feel,” he
said with a grimace.

“
Thanks,” she answered,
moving into the suite. “You try canceling a concert with Julian
breathing over your shoulder. By the way, you’re performing here
again at the end of the tour.”

“
Before or after we tour
Europe?”

“
Before. Europe is on hold
until we see how Joshua recovers.”

Elliot’s brows rose. “How
did you get Julian to agree to that?”

“
I didn’t. I just told him
that was how it was going to be.” Her eyes drifted to the inner
door. “How is he today?”

“
He slept through the
night. Can’t get him to eat much, but I guess I wouldn’t be hungry
if my head was pounding like a drum.”

“
How did you
sleep?”

Elliot rubbed the back of
his neck again. “You’re right. That couch isn’t made for a
full-grown man.”

Elena smiled. “Well, I
think he’ll be all right by himself tonight, don’t you?”

Elliot shrugged. “If
nothing’s gone wrong by now, I think he’s probably out of danger.
Besides, he can call one of us if he needs us.”

“
Why don’t you get some
rest? I’ll see if I can get him to eat something.”

“
You got it.” He gave Elena
a mischievous smile. “If you hide out in here, Julian will probably
leave you alone. I think this is the last room Julian would come to
if he wanted to find you.”

Elena laughed. “You’re
probably right.”

After Elliot left, Elena went to the
inner door and knocked.

“
Come in.”

Elena pushed open the door
and waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. She could
make out Joshua’s silhouette sitting on the edge of the bed. She
crossed to his side. “What are you doing?”

“
I’m going to get a
shower,” he said, squinting up at her. “Once the room stops
spinning.”

“
Don’t you think that’s
pushing it.”

“
I need a shower, Elena,”
he answered in annoyance.

“
Okay, don’t get
angry.”

He braced his head with his
hand. “I’m sorry. My damn head just hurts so much.”

“
Have you taken the
medication the doctor gave you?”

“
I’m trying not to,” he
answered.

Elena left it alone. She
guessed she understood why he would avoid it. “Let me help
you.”

He allowed her to steady him as he
climbed to his feet, then they carefully made their way to the
bathroom. He sank down on the toilet, while she adjusted the water
temperature and laid out a towel for him.

“
Are you sure about this?”
she asked.

He nodded.

“
I’ll be just outside if
you need me.”

“
Thanks.”

She slipped from the room and left the
door ajar. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, she picked up the
newspaper that lay on the table. Flipping to the entertainment
section, she searched for any articles about the band. There on the
second page was a photograph of Ravensong, microphone in hand,
standing on stage with the audience all around him. Elena settled
into the chair and read the brief article. The reporter had
interviewed Alec of all people. Alec had stated that he was more
than willing to step in for Ravensong should he be unable to
continue. Elena chuckled. Poor Alec, always orbiting in someone
else’s star.

The only other interview
was Julian, himself. Elena’s jaw clenched. The way Julian played up
Joshua’s injury, the public would have to wonder if he’d have
permanent brain damage. Slamming the paper down on the table, Elena
looked away in disgust. That crocodile was willing to use anything
to his advantage.

When Joshua emerged from the bathroom,
he looked pale and his forehead was furrowed. Elena climbed out of
the chair and helped him to the bed, where he lay back, his damp
hair spreading across the pillow.

“
Are you all
right?”

“
Fine,” he
murmured.

She started to pull away,
but he caught her hand, drawing her down toward him. “Don’t go.”
His hand slid up to her face and buried in her hair. “Why don’t you
make me forget how badly my head hurts?”

She smiled and crossed her
hands on his chest. “I don’t think you’re up for that
yet.”

“
If you do all the
work...”

She laughed. “I thought we
agreed to avoid this very thing.”

He gave her a severe look.
“How successful have we been?”