“Having recently met your mother, I understand you better now.”
“Rude.” She turns and walks out.
Chapter one hundred thirty-four
Christianna
As I enter rehearsal for the new songs, Liu approaches me. She has my violin in her hands.
“I replaced the strings and tuned it. You should be good to go.”
I smile in appreciation. “Thank you again for saving me the other night. And now this. How can I repay you? What is your favorite beverage?”
She shakes her head. “No. You owe me nothing.” She glances around before leaning in. “The interview… it was everything.”
Her eyes are filled with pained memories. I squeeze her hand. Words are not necessary. We both know.
The door bangs open behind us. We turn as James files in with a few people trailing him.
“Places, people,” he calls out.
I move to my seat and wait. The room is oddly silent. The back of my neck itches with the uncomfortable feeling of eyes on me.
We did both interviews yesterday, the second airing last night. We were emotionally exhausted and tumbled into bed.
Real life does not stop for drama.
The door opens again. I glance up as Ruiz and another man I have never seen before enter. The other man is older, mid-forties, and based on the way he scans the room, he is security as well.
A knot forms in my stomach.
James taps his baton for our attention.
As he does, a dark envelope ripples down from the ceiling.
Startled, he snatches it.
Low whispers begin to hum. We have not heard from her for months.
“It appears we have a note,” his voice is distracted.
“What does it say?” a tentative voice from the back asks as he rips open the envelope and scans the card.
His gaze lifts and sweeps over us.
Don’t mistake my silence for absence.
—Dark Angel
People begin to fidget. A loud scrape echoes from above, then disturbed dust drifts down.
“We’ve done nothing to anger her, have we?” comes from behind me. “Why is she appearing now?”
“Remember what happened to that oboist not very long ago?”
“She at least lived. The man they found swinging from those rafters…”
“Silence!” James’ voice is sharp. “Speculation is pointless. The only reminder I see in this is to be supportive of each other. I’ve received word there is quite a bit of press outside. We haveextra security. They’re not allowed on the property. We have no comment on anything they ask.”
