Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

her eyelids. 'I'm not going to let them make me cry.' But she wanted to cry - not for the flowers or the cut-up doll, or even her stage clothes - although it was her favorite outfit - she wanted to cry because Ilya wasn't there and she was terrified for him.
    The dread that had been building for the last hour, making her heart race and her palms sweat, was only growing stronger, and it had nothing to do with what was happening to her.
    'You're on in five minutes, Joley. What are you going to do?'
    'I'll be going casual tonight.' Her chin went up and her eyes glittered with anger. 'Because - screw them, Tish. No one's going to scare me off performing. If and when I quit, it will be because I want to, not because I let them beat me.
    Whoever this sick Person is, they can just go buy a ticket and watch me, because I'll be giving the performance of my hfe out there tonight.'
    'Good for you, honey,' Tish said. 'Let's do it. Jerry and I will see to this mess, you take care of giving those people who came to see you the show of their lives.'
    Joley had to run to catch the band. She nearly missed the huddle. Brian raised an eyebrow at her casual garb, but it didn't seem to matter at all to their audience when they took the stage. She joked about her elegant attire and showed off her running shoes as she skipped across the stage, flashing her famous smile. Her voice was in good form, and she delivered every note as if she was having the time of her life. Her joy in her music carried the crowd to a new high, and they went through the roof, yelling, clapping and stomping for more. And she gave them more, finishing up with several of the audience's shouted requests before ending with her latest, very popular single.
    Joley waited until after the performance, when they were back in the suite, before she told the band members about the flowers and her clothes. 'Sorry about not dressing up.'
    'It didn't seem to matter,' Denny said. 'We rocked the house tonight.'
    'Yeah, we did,' she agreed. 'We're leaving for Anaheim in the morning, right? We have one more show before we hit northern California and we're almost home, boys.'

    She would be so happy to get home to Sea Haven and her sisters. In the meantime, she wanted to see Ilya, just to make certain he was all right. She'd looked for him when she'd come offstage, but he wasn't there and event security had escorted them from the stage. With a sigh, Joley walked through the parking lot toward her bus, looking around for her bodyguard. She'd be grateful to get inside where she could collapse and close her eyes and concentrate on trying to reach him through their telepathic connection.
    Steve came toward her from the front of the bus. She waved stopping him. 'Hey, Steve. I needed to ask you about something. I got this box, narrow, like for long-stemmed roses, but it had dead flowers in it and a chopped up doll.
    They were in the dressing room along with my clothes, which someone had shredded. Did you happen to see anyone, or have anyone ask you to, deliver the box to my dressing room this afternoon?'
    'What are you accusing me of, Joley?' he snapped. 'You think I brought you dead flowers and cut up your clothes?'
    His aura bothered her, the colors swirling in muddy grays and darker greens and browns. She talked to Steve all the time, but usually they were separated by tinted glass or the partition in the bus. His aura indicated he was agitated, nervous - upset even.
    Joley frowned. T wasn't accusing you of bringing the box into the room, Steve, I was asking if you'd seen anyone, or if they'd asked you to drop it off. You've been with me for years. Why would I think you'd want to bring me some dead flowers? Sheesh, if you had a beef with me, I'd assume you'd tell me.'
    Steve shrugged, visibly calming. 'I don't know, Joley. I guess everything is making us all a little on edge. Where's your bodyguard tonight? I thought he'd be with you. I wasn't happy when Jerry gave me the word he was hiring him, but I haven't exactly been doing that job for a long time. You never ask me to do anything but drive, and I've gotten in the habit of just taking you or the band anywhere you want to go.'
    'I'm comfortable with you, Steve,' Joley said, 'and I sure don't want you to have to fling your body between mine and a bullet. Or a dead flower.' She flashed him a small grin. 'Besides, if you were always hanging with me, how would you ever drive the boys to the parties?'
    'You knew about that?'
    'Sure. I