Ravensong (25 page)

* * *

Elena wanted to sit next to
Joshua during the morning meeting, but she didn’t dare. It was hard
enough not to make constant eye contact with him, let alone sit
beside him without touching him. She couldn’t remember when she’d
ever been this happy, which terrified her that something was bound
to go wrong.

She took a seat opposite him. He gave
her a lazy look, then started sketching on a napkin as he did so
often during these meetings. Elliot plucked himself down beside
her.

“
Good morning, beautiful,”
he said.

She could see Joshua’s
shoulders tense. “Good morning, Elliot. How are you?”

“
Great. How are
you?”

“
Fine,” she said, forcing a
smile. She felt uncomfortable around him, especially since she and
Joshua had begun their relationship.

Her thoughts wandered to
Joshua’s offer. It had surprised her so completely. She really
hadn’t expected him to ask her something like that. And yet, she
wanted to tell him
yes
. She wanted to forego her reason and plunge entirely into
this relationship. She’d never done that before, but maybe now was
the time. She knew what Kate would say, which is why she hadn’t
called her friend yet.

That instinct alone made
her nervous. She hadn’t kept anything from Kate for years now. At
any other time, Kate would have been the first one she called, even
if she didn’t agree with her. Kate had made her dislike of John
very clear. Still, it hadn’t bothered Elena. Why was she so
reluctant to hear anything negative about this?

“
All right, people,” said
Julian, moving to the head of the table. Elena felt her muscles
tighten whenever he entered the room. “We need to make some
decisions about this European tour today. We need to get some plans
laid out, so we can begin booking stadiums.”

“
When is this tour going to
happen?” asked Robert.

“
Right after this
one.”

A groan went around the
table.

“
What? What’s the
problem?”

“
We’ll have been away from
home for six months already. You want us to just launch another
tour again that quick. Will we have anytime at home?” asked
Elliot.

“
Of course. About four
months, I should think. I mean, there ain’t much happening in
Europe right now, so they’re chomping at the bit for some
entertainment, but we need to get everything in motion, get all the
legalities taken care of, etc. I think four months is about the
amount of time I’ll need to get things finalized.”

“
Well, that should give our
families just about enough time to get sick of us,” remarked Ralph
wryly. “God knows we wouldn’t want to stay around too long. We
might get stale.”

“
Exactly,” said Julian.
“Four months is more than enough time for me to see the old lady.”
His eyes cut to Elena. “No offense.” He reached for a map and laid
it out on the table. “I’ve marked the cities where I think we
should perform.” He pointed at Paris and glanced at Elena again.
“Great place to hold a wedding. We’ll be there about two nights, I
think.”

Elena opened her mouth to speak, but
he was already reading off the names of other large European
cities.

“
Wait a minute,” came
Joshua’s smoky voice.

Julian’s attention snapped
to him like a cat after a bird. “What?” he said, making no attempt
to hide his annoyance.

“
You’ve just made a huge
assumption here.”

“
Which is?”

“
That we’ve already agreed
to a European tour this year.”

Julian straightened. “I
think that’s already been decided,” he responded, looking around at
the other band members.

“
I don’t remember voting on
it,” pressed Joshua.

Michael ducked his head in obvious
discomfort. Both Ralph and Elliot looked alarmed.

Julian leaned forward
again, resting his hands flat on the table. “Well, if there had
been a vote, rest assured you wouldn’t have been part of it. You’re
not a voting member of the band.”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed. “So
there was a vote?”

Julian gave a nervous
laugh. “I didn’t say that there was or wasn’t one.”

“
Was there?” Joshua’s gaze
made a circuit of the band members.

“
No,” said Robert. “There
wasn’t a vote.”

Julian’s jaw clenched. “It
doesn’t matter. When I brought it up before, no one was in
opposition. In fact, everyone viewed it favorably.”

“
I don’t remember that. I
remember everyone feeling stunned by your announcement. I don’t
remember any of the band members voicing an opinion either way. I
can promise you I wasn’t in favor at all.”

Julian gave a sarcastic
bark of laughter. “And I can promise you that no one cares what you
feel. You don’t have a say.”

Joshua’s chin rose.
“Really?”

“
Yes, really,” mocked
Julian.

Joshua rose to his feet.
“Then I will remove myself from any further talk of this tour.
Since I don’t have a say, I won’t be going. My contract ends at the
completion of the domestic part of this venture.”

Alarmed looks flashed
around the table as Joshua headed for the door. He opened it and
walked through, followed closely by Dominic. Once the door shut,
the room exploded in protest and concern. Elena lifted her eyes to
Julian’s face. He was glaring at the door with such rage that she
wondered if he thought it might burst into flames.

* * *

Joshua compressed a chord
on the piano, then he stretched out his fingers and played the
melody of the tune he was working out in his head. He hadn’t begun
to write it down yet, but it was nagging at his consciousness. He
could feel the tension in his shoulders slowly abating as he
played, lulling him into that delicious feeling of creative calm.
Closing his eyes, he let the melody wash over him, his fingers
gliding over the keys.

He wasn’t sure how many
minutes passed, but gradually he became aware of another presence.
He opened his eyes and saw Michael leaning against the
piano.

Joshua’s fingers grew still
on the keys and the hum of the notes drifted into
silence.

“
I like it,” said Michael.
“I can already hear the drum part.”

Joshua smiled at him. He
especially enjoyed collaborating with Michael. He never wanted to
overpower Joshua’s melodies and he always got the mood Joshua was
trying to convey.

“
Thanks. I’m just trying to
get it out of my head right now.”

Michael nodded. “Can I talk
to you?”

“
Of course. Did you want to
go somewhere else?”

“
No, here is fine. I just
wasn’t sure you wanted to be disturbed when you were
composing.”

“
You’re not disturbing me.
Is the meeting over?”

“
About ten minutes
ago.”

Joshua draped his leg over
the piano bench. “So what’s on your mind?”

Michael rubbed a calloused
finger across the edge of the piano. “I wish you’d reconsider this
European tour.”

“
I see.”

Michael’s eyes actually met
Joshua’s. “I don’t want to go any more than you do, but it’s a once
in a lifetime opportunity.”

“
How do you figure that,
Mike? Why can’t it happen next year? Give us a six month break at
least.”

Michael grabbed the stool
behind him and pulled it close to the piano, straddling it. “What
if there isn’t a next year?”

Joshua frowned. “You’re the
second person to go all Armageddon on me. What’s this all about?
Why are you all so convinced we don’t have a bit longer
shelf-life?”

“
Because who can know that?
Who knows what exciting new band might come along tomorrow with
younger musicians?”

“
I can. I’ve been in this
business for the last decade, Michael. I’m not saying we’ll stay on
this ride forever. God knows I don’t even want that, but we’ve got
a few good years left. We haven’t even reached saturation
yet.”

“
I agree,” said Michael,
“as long as you’re with us. If we tour Europe without you, the
audience won’t respond in the same way. You’re the one who draws
them to us.”

Joshua sighed. “Michael, I
really wish you wouldn’t keep saying that.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because it puts a hell of
a lot of pressure on me. Besides that, it isn’t entirely true.
Sure, you traded on my name, you traded on my past, but if you
hadn’t had a solid band and people backing you, we’d have never
done anything. A name only goes so far.”

“
But you aren’t just a
name. You’re our composer and lead singer.”

Joshua gave him a wry look.
“Lead singer? You can pick those up in any town. Composer? There
are classically trained people all over the country who can pen
what I do in an afternoon.” He leaned closer to Michael. “I’m the
fad, Mike. I’m the one who will eventually be over, not you. You
and the other guys are real musicians. What do you think happens
when my looks are gone?”

Michael frowned. “You’re
making this crap up.”

Joshua rose to his feet.
“I’m not, so let’s stop dancing around the real issue. You want me
to make this tour because you know my appeal is going to last only
so long. Now that I’m not making movies, my name isn’t as exposed
as it was, and people forget. They forget quickly. So, here’s the
thing. This European tour is your chance to make something without
me, make something lasting and real.”

“
Do you want
out?”

Joshua ran a hand through
his hair. “I don’t think I want out, but I don’t want to go to
Europe. I don’t have any time with my daughter as it is and she’s
growing up so fast. I can’t afford another six months away from
her.”

“
Hold on a minute.”
Michael held up his hand. “I’m hearing something very different in
your tone. You don’t
think
you want out, but some part of you does, doesn’t
it?”

Joshua sighed. “Some part
of me wants to get off this ride and be a regular person – a father
and a...” Joshua caught himself.

“
A what?”

“
Just a father,” he added
with a non-convincing shrug.

“
Are you going to quit on
us?”

“
No.” He laughed. “Calm
down, Michael. I’ve never seen you this forceful before. I don’t
intend to quit. I’m just saying that if you all want this European
tour, do it? Don’t let me hold you back.”

“
You won’t even consider
it? Give it a little bit of thought?”

“
I don’t think so,
Mike.”

Michael shook his head.
“Just give it a little thought, all right? Don’t dismiss it out of
hand. Call Terry and see if she’s interested in going to Europe for
a few months. Maybe she’d agree to take Tiffany.”

Joshua met the drummer’s
desperate look. He couldn’t deny that Michael’s insistence on
having him part of the band felt good, but he didn’t want to
continue the tour. He wanted to go home. He wanted to be with his
daughter in the City and he wanted Elena to move in with him. He
wanted to live a normal, uncomplicated life at least for a little
while. Still, he couldn’t deny the urgency in Michael’s
plea.

“
I’ll give it some
thought,” he offered, then added, “but please don’t get your hopes
up.”

Michael clamped a hand on
his shoulder. “That’s all that I ask,” he said with a
smile.

CHAPTER 11

The doorman pulled open the door of
the hotel. Joshua strolled through beside Robert, Dominic trailing
behind them. They came up short. The entire band and most of the
crew were assembled in the lobby, surrounding a rapidly talking
Elliot.

Joshua exchanged a concerned look with
Robert as they approached.

“
What’s wrong?” asked the
keyboardist.

Elliot whipped around.
“Elena’s missing.”

Robert’s gaze snapped to
Joshua’s face. Joshua felt his heart sink. He should have told
Elliot weeks ago, but now nothing would sound right, no matter how
he explained it.

“
What do you mean she’s
missing?” asked Robert.

“
I went to ask her to
breakfast, but got no response when I knocked. I figured she was in
the shower.”

Robert nodded.

“
No,” said Elliot, true
concern showing in his eyes. “I called the room, then I called her
cell phone. When I got no answer on either one, I persuaded a maid
to let me in. There’s no sign that she ever came back to the room
last night. Nothing.”

A murmur went through the group.
Joshua chanced a look at Julian. The assistant manager was
scowling.

“
How did you get a maid to
let you in?” he asked.

“
It doesn’t matter. Look,
she’s been gone all night. For all we know, she didn’t even make it
to her room last night. We’ve got to call her family. See if she
contacted them, then call John. If she didn’t call any of them,
we’ve got to go to the police. Get me her emergency information,
Julian. I need the numbers now.”