Black Phoenix 1 After M

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the thought of playing again did to her.
Now he not only had the grave misfortune of knowing, but being unable to shake
the image loose. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her, pale and shaken. She d
stood in the control room, refusing to look at him, at any one of them, as she listened
to the song. At the song s completion, she turned to Pete and informed him that they
didn t need her. What they needed was to record the song with a few strings backing
them. Once the suggestion was made, he had to admit that she was right. But as Pete
was quick to point out, they only had a few days left in which to finish the demo.
At Pete s comment, she d finally looked at him. The pain in her eyes cut him to the
bone.
For the rest of the day, he held on to the hope that she would come to his hotel
room as planned. She didn t. He didn t begin to worry until on his way to the studio
this morning, he d swung by the bar and found it locked up tight. The way it remained
until Clint s arrival late in the afternoon. When all his calls to her went unanswered,
his worry increased.
Isabeau was angry with him, Noah understood that, but the longer she went
without contact with anyone, even Clint, the more afraid for her he became. And so
he d staked out her place, hanging out with Clint long after closing time. Which was
why he was still here as Thomas came through the door, pain and anxiety evident in
the lines on his face.
Desperate fear seized Noah s heart, easing only slightly at the creak of the
floorboards as someone moved in the apartment above them.
Before the thought to go check on her was even complete, Thomas settled his hand
on Noah s forearm, effectively keeping him in his seat. Scotch please, Clint, three
fingers. Then leave the bottle and make yourself scarce.
Clint s mouth settled into unhappy lines but he did as Thomas ordered; placing the
Scotch atop the bar before slipping out the door.
Noah waited, muscles tight, body prepared for a blow. He felt it in the air, in the
very essence of the room. Thomas was here to offer the missing piece in the puzzle
that was Isabeau. Or, at the very least, some insight into where that piece lay hidden.
He could only hope he was prepared to hear it. Is she okay?
Thomas released Noah s arm, lifted the glass to his lips and sipped. If you mean is
she hurt, then the answer s no. But she s hurting.
Hurting because of him, and what he d asked her to do. Has she been with you all
day today?
Only since early evening.
That left nearly twenty-four hours unaccounted for. Where the hell had she been?
Thomas kept his gaze focused on a point in the distance while his fingers turned
the glass clockwise. Have you heard Izzy play?
Once, Noah admitted, but only briefly.
I haven t heard her play in thirteen years. For all I knew, she couldn t. Not after
the accident.
The emotion in Thomas s voice had acid swirling in Noah s stomach.
I always hoped& she seemed to be able to use her hand normally, but the
dexterity? I didn t know if it was there. All I knew was she never touched the piano
again, not after her mother died. Even so, I ve kept hers tuned for all these years,
with the hope that one day&
Letting his words trail off, Thomas drained the glass, refilled it and offered the
bottle to Noah.
Noah shook his head. No, I don t drink hard liquor anymore.
It s not something I often do myself.
That bit of information only increased the amount of acid churning in Noah s gut.
He shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden stool.
She used to play all the time, day and night. Some days, I thought it would never
end. Then she would go on tour with Nicole, and I d miss it. The glass continued to
turn as his gaze focused on something only Thomas could see.
I was finishing up with a customer. It was about five& that s when it began. The
opening bars were strong, unmistakable. From her last tour, her final performance. I
heard her practice for that tour enough times, I d know her music anywhere, Thomas
admitted, then lifted the glass to his lips and drained it a second time. One song bled
into another with little or no pause. She played the entire set the whole show
played for over an hour while I sat in that tattoo parlor and cried like a child. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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