Highway Song: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel (25 page)

Talk about instant boner.

EIGHTEEN

Amy

W
e met the rest of the band a little later than they expected us, due to the time we spent in the shower. They complained they were starving, but I didn
’
t care. Rex and I were hungry for what happened in the shower, and since it was my money, I figured I
’
d feed my own hunger first. To make up for it, I told them to order whatever they wanted. My money was dwindling fast, but it seemed we
’
d be earning some tonight. Then there was the possibility of great news and some money for an advance if we won the competition. We
’
d know that later today, too.

After a too-large breakfast, neither Rex nor I could sing right away, so we sat out in the audience area of the rehearsal hall and listened to the others play instrumentals until the food had settled a bit. Two hours later we were done, for better or worse.

The competition promoter had invited any of the bands still in the area to gather at a local recording studio
’
s main conference room to hear the announcement of the winner. We arrived a few minutes before the announcement and found a crowd outside the building.

“
What
’
s going on?
”
Rex asked a guy he recognized.

“
There isn
’
t room for all of us. One member from each band. Go on in if that
’
s you,
”
he answered.

Rex gave my hand a squeeze before leaving me with the others and weaving his way through the crowd. We waited anxiously until the time for the announcement passed, stretching to see if we could see anything nearer the doors. From the press of the crowd, I began to hyperventilate, until Cole noticed and guided me away from the center toward the edge.

To pass the time, I tried to get him to talk about himself.

“
What
’
s your story, Cole? Nothing ever seems to ruffle your feathers.
”

He looked down at me and gave me a slow grin.
“
Why bother? Can
’
t do anything about shit that happens, so I just let it roll off my back.
”

It sounded like an excellent philosophy. Maybe if I got the chance to hang around these guys long enough, I could learn to relax, too. Only there were a couple of problems with that, as I reminded myself. One, I couldn
’
t let myself hang around, and two, I
’
d better not relax.

A stir at the part of the crowd closest to the building caught my attention, and I went up on tiptoes to see what I could see. Cole, from his taller vantage point, said,
“
Looks like someone
’
s coming out.
”

Just then, the crackle of a bullhorn split the air. A female voice said,
“
I know you
’
re all waiting for the results of the first annual Battle of the Bands. Please give a hand to
…”

And then she stopped. For thirty long seconds.
“
What
’
s she waiting for?
”
I asked Cole.

“
Dramatic pause,
”
he answered.

“
Rex Beck and Oklahoma Sweet Crude!
”
the bullhorn blared.

For that one moment, every reason I couldn
’
t stay with them fled my mind. I jumped into Cole
’
s arms, and he whirled me around. Setting me down, he grabbed my hand.
“
Come on!
”

We plowed through the crowd, Cole
’
s size and height ramming through like an icebreaker. Somewhere along the way we picked up Axel, Chad and Mark. After what seemed like half an hour but was likely no more than a couple of minutes, we found ourselves next to Rex at the door, with the promoter beside us. She lifted the bullhorn to her mouth and called again.
“
Please give them a hand!
”

I had to give it to them, the crowd was gracious. I
’
m sure every band there was disappointed it wasn
’
t them, but they applauded anyway. It seemed some of them knew Rex
’
s band, because I heard calls of
‘
way to go, Rex
’
and
‘
you deserve it, you bastard
’
before the noise died down. Just as it did, one last cry rang out.

“
Where are Ike and Kirk, and who
’
s the girl?
”

Reality rushed in quickly after that. As the crowd remained quiet for Rex
’
s answer, he glanced at me, a question in his eyes. I shrugged. What were the chances? Besides, he didn
’
t know my real name.

“
Folks, this is Amy Brown, and she
’
s gonna rock this CD, I promise!
”

Oh, no.
That wasn
’
t what I expected. I grabbed his arm and shook my head, before he could dig himself any deeper. To cover, he introduced Chad as the new drummer, and said we were looking for a new rhythm guitarist. In jest, he asked if anyone in the crowd was a rhythm guitarist looking for a band. A roar of laughter went up. Axel wasn
’
t ready to let it go
—
I could tell from the speculative look he turned on me.

I had to get my head straight about this in a hurry. As I turned over pros and cons of staying with them, I knew it was time to trust the rest of them with the rest of my story. They deserved an explanation if I abandoned them now. The biggest reason to leave them was the increased publicity they
’
d get. Sooner or later, my face would catch the eye of someone I didn
’
t want finding me.

On the other hand, the biggest reason to stay was I
’
d spent virtually all of my getaway money to get them here from Wyoming as well as feed and house them for the past couple of days. Even a cheap motel ate up money fast, and these were men who ate like teenage boys. I now needed some of the money they
’
d share from the advance on the recording deal. And if I took that, wouldn
’
t it only be fair for me to do the work too?

By now I knew all of them but Chad well enough to tell the truth about who I was running from and why. Chad was an unknown, but I had no reason to distrust him. As soon as we finished celebrating our win, I
’
d ask Rex to call a band meeting so we could settle my status, and at that meeting, I
’
d have to tell them the truth, and the whole truth, as much as they needed to know.

Rex

W
e returned to the motel with a bottle of champagne and a check from the label representative. We were due in LA the following Monday, which gave us a bit of leeway. Almost a week to make an eighteen hour trip. Compared to our fractured race from Omaha to Seattle, it was a piece of cake. And it gave us the opportunity to play a couple of gigs on the way, if Mark could line them up. It was short notice, and we didn
’
t have much flexibility on the route, so it was iffy. But maybe the news of our win and new recording contract would open some doors.

The truth was a check the size of the one the label rep had given me would take some time to clear our bank. We needed the gigs to get where we were going. Tonight
’
s would help, but it wouldn
’
t get us all the way there. So I asked Mark to do what he could, while we had the meeting Amy asked for.

I wasn
’
t sure what she was up to. She didn
’
t want to talk about it until we were all in the same room and presumably away from the ears of others. Axel asked, when Amy went for a restroom break before we got back on the bus for the drive back to the motel, but I had to tell him I didn
’
t know.

Everyone crowded into our room for the pow-wow except Chad. He
’
d gone home to pack so we could leave town right after tonight
’
s thing. He hadn
’
t earned a vote yet, anyway, so it didn
’
t matter. Or I hoped it didn
’
t. When the three of us were arranged to our comfort on the beds, Amy leaned against the built-in credenza and took a deep breath. What she had to say surprised me as much as it did the others.

“
Guys, I can
’
t thank you enough for getting me out of Wyoming. What Rex told you about why I had to leave was the truth. But it wasn
’
t the whole truth. What happened today changes things, and you need to know the rest of it. Rex knows some, but we didn
’
t think it was important if I was leaving you between Wyoming and here. Now it is.
”

Axel sent me a hard look, no doubt for keeping secrets. Cole kept his eyes on Amy.

She went on.
“
Something even Rex doesn
’
t know is Amy Brown isn
’
t my real name.
”
She made a face of regret at me when I sat up straighter.
“
There
’
s a reason for that, and I
’
m going to tell you the reason, but not my name. That person is gone and won
’
t be coming back. But her past may come back to haunt us, and that
’
s what you do need to know.
”

By this time, I was as anxious as Axel to hear what she
’
d say next. It wasn
’
t going at all as I
’
d expected.

“
Axel, you and Rex have both asked me to stay on with the band. My gut reaction is I
’
d love to. But there are people, bad people, looking for me. If I stay with you guys, it may be easier for them to find me. And it may bring danger to you all. I just need you to consider that request with full knowledge of the possible consequences. You guys have come to mean a lot to me.
”

She looked at me with the last thing she said, and I remembered what she
’
d said on Sunday. She really meant it.

“
The people looking for me are members or associates of a drug cartel. Make no mistake, they
’
re very dangerous, and they
’
re almost everywhere. They
’
re particularly thick in southern California. They
’
ve already murdered one man who tried to protect me, and because I witnessed that murder, they now want to kill me. So I ask you. Do you really want to be on a stage with me when they find me?
”

She
’
d neatly sidestepped the reason she
’
d seen the murder, or what her protector had been protecting her from, and cut to the chase. This wasn
’
t just a matter of keeping
her
safe. What if these assholes cut loose with automatic weapons at a concert? What if they burst into wherever we were staying and took out everyone in the place? For the first time, I understood her reserve. Just knowing this was dangerous. And I couldn
’
t decide for the whole band. Even Mark and Chad had a stake in this question.