Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

drugs.
    Nothing about Dylan had singled him out as someone who would have a mob affiliation, but he was clearly trying to overhear what Joley was saying, and the look he'd shot her earlier had alarmed Ilya. Fear could make people do things they ordinarily wouldn't consider. And the Russian mob ruled with fear.
    The sound engineer called out to the band. 'Let's get the instruments. Yours, Brian. Let's hear sound.'
    The band was already loosely assembled. Joley started over to them, Ilya keeping close pace, his body between hers and Dylan's at all times. He glanced out over the amphitheater. 'The audience would change everything,' he observed.
    'Don't they absorb some frequencies, and the sound would echo on the walls and ceilings of most buildings. In this case, the rocks.'
    She nodded. 'That's why I have a genius for a sound engineer. The first two songs during the actual performance generally give him an immediate idea of what's going to happen, and he compensates for it. Are you staying for the check? You might find it interesting. Sometimes we get a few people who sneak in to listen so they can get an idea of what we're doing in the show. When I want to introduce new material into the show, or Brian or Rick has something they've worked on, we rehearse it several times during sound check before adding it in.'
    She picked up the microphone and turned toward her sound engineer. He lifted a hand and Denny counted off with a drumbeat. The band instantly swung into a familiar song, one that had been a number one hit for weeks on end and was always in demand. Ilya listened, but his gaze was moving over the crew members, yet always keeping Nikitin's security guards in his vision as well. He wanted to know if they even went close to Dylan. The crew member appeared to be concentrating on his job, crouched down back behind the sound engineer. The last notes of the song died away.
    'Everyone okay with levels? Okay with guitar, Brian?'
    Brian nodded. 'Good here. Joley, let's try the new number.'
    She lifted the microphone to her mouth and smiled at Ilya. His heart nearly stopped beating. She was hazardous to herself as well as to everyone around him. Any woman who could make him forget he was surrounded by danger, by cameras, by the damned Russian mob, was truly dangerous. 'I hope you like this one. I wrote it.'
    She glanced at Denny, who immediately went into action, his drumsticks twirling and then pounding down in a dynamic burst of powerful rhythm. The guitar came in, the music aggressive, and then Joley's voice broke over them, passionate and intense and drowning in a sultry melody of notes. When she stopped, there was a small silence.
    'Is everyone okay with everything? Are we good?' Joley turned to survey the band.
    Ilya let out his breath. They were used to her, but her voice still got to all them - he could tell by the short pause.
    'A little more bass,' the sound engineer finally said. 'Can you give me a little more, Rick?'
    Denny picked up a glass and swallowed the contents. 'I'm having a little trouble hearing.'
    Each instrument performed a long solo until it received a thumbs-up from the sound engineer. He then nodded to Joley. She swung into the next number, one, Ilya noted, that they sang often. They moved back and forth between the well-known numbers they were familiar with and the newer numbers, to ensure that everything was perfect for their audience.
    The natural acoustics of the place were incredible. He watched Joley perform. Her love of music showed in the way she poured herself into every song. Joy was on her face, in her eyes, in the color of her aura. She had a loving relationship, more like siblings, with the band, and an easy, familiar relationship with her sound crew. The others she might not know so well, but those traveling with her obviously cared about her in the same way she cared for them.
    'That's it,' she said, coming up to him. 'We run through our song list once and hopefully nothing goes wrong tonight.
    What did you think?'
    He thought she was the most beautiful, vibrant woman alive, but he merely nodded his head and escorted her back to the bus.
    Chapter Nine
    Joley glanced around the small all-night diner where the buses had stopped. Her band and the crew were traveling together to Dallas in a caravan, and they'd all been hungry. They'd broken down the stage in record time and gotten on the road, still anxious over Dean's death in spite of the fact that the show had been good - not great