Highway Song: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel (34 page)

What fallout would there be, if we braved public opinion and continued our relationship? After all, she wasn
’
t my blood relative. She hadn
’
t even been my stepsister for long, and it had been years since we
’
d seen each other. Could the PR department spin it somehow? But her murder charge would bring to light the whole hideous story. There
’
d be no chance in hell the tabloids wouldn
’
t dig up every circumstance.

Fuck
—
it may even bring her dad out of the woodwork, or mine. For a moment, I wished fervently that I
’
d killed hers when he put my mom in the hospital. But then, who would have cared for Amanda? As my thoughts chased each other down that rabbit hole, I became lost in the what-ifs and must have drifted off to sleep after all.

The jarring noise of my cell phone
’
s ring tone brought me out of sound sleep with a violent jolt. Peering at the time as I brought it to my ear, I discovered it was nearly noon.

“
Dude, where the fuck are you? I
’
ve got that asshole breathing down my neck for a meeting. He says he can
’
t reach you.
”
Axel sounded near panic, but I could hear Cole in the background trying to calm him.

“
Sorry, sorry. Stop talking for a minute, would you? Fuck, you woke me up.
”

“
Well, sorry to ruin your beauty sleep. We need to talk before we meet with the label. Agreed?
”
Although he had every right to be sarcastic, Axel
’
s tone irritated me. He should have known I got to bed later than he and the others.

“
Agreed. But I need to call our lawyer before we meet with them, too. You guys come on to my room, so I can try to reach him now. Any chance you
’
d bring me some coffee?
”

A grudging
‘
sure
’
sounded faintly before he ended the call. I figured I had five to ten minutes, and I needed a shower in the worst way. Thinking it would wake me up, too, I opted to prop the door to the hall open and jumped in for a quick one.

I was still rinsing off when Axel opened the bathroom door and yelled
“
We
’
re here.
”
I jumped a mile and almost slipped in the tub. Wouldn
’
t that be just the last fucking straw? A vision of myself, naked and with a broken leg or something, having to call the band in for help. No fucking way. I grabbed a towel and prepared to face my guys.

As soon as I walked in, everyone started talking at once. I held up my hand for silence and waited until I got it.

“
First, I don
’
t fucking know what
’
s going on with Amy. Yeah, I knew about the cop, but she said someone in that cartel that
’
s after her was the one who killed him. In fact, that
’
s why they
’
re after her. She witnessed it. I
’
ve got her a lawyer, and I hope it gets straightened out soon. I haven
’
t seen her.
”
That wasn
’
t the whole story, or even the worst of it, but it
’
s what they wanted to know about. I paused to let them ask anything else.

“
What does this mean for the tour?
”
Axel asked. The others muttered,
‘
yeah
’
or just nodded their heads.

“
I guess it depends on how fast we can get Amy
’
s situation straightened out. I haven
’
t had time to contact our lawyer about what to say to Perseid, or figure out what happens if we don
’
t get Amy back before the next stop. I
’
m open to ideas.
”

After a few minutes of brainstorming that included getting a temporary or permanent replacement for Amy or going back to our original sound, I stopped the discussion.

“
Okay, I
’
ve heard your input. I
’
m not willing to permanently replace Amy, but I recognize we may have to compromise to keep the label off our backs. I
’
ll discuss all of this with the lawyer. In the meanwhile, we stall the label. Refer any questions to me and I
’
ll handle it. In the meanwhile, don
’
t talk to the media, either.
”

I took a deep breath. The last thing I wanted to do right now was reveal the worst of it, but they deserved to know the truth from me before fucking tabloids told them while sticking microphones in their faces for reaction.

“
Guys, there
’
s something you need to know. This came as a surprise to me, too, and I
’
ll explain why, but the long and short of it is, Amy was once my stepsister.
”
I paused, waiting for the explosion. It took less than half a second. A chorus of
‘
what the fuck
’
and
‘
how the fuck could you not know?
’
ensued. Once again, I held up my hand to get them to shut up.

“
It
’
s a long story, but the short part is I haven
’
t seen her since she was just a kid. My mom was married to her dad for a couple of years. We left when I was still in high school, and Amy was only about ten, so I didn
’
t recognize her. Yeah, I think she knew, but she didn
’
t tell me. I
’
m as stunned as you are.
”

Cole voiced the question I was sure was on everyone
’
s mind.
“
What does this mean for publicity?
”

“
Well, I can
’
t say for sure, but my guess is the tabloids will learn everything now they know her real name, and they
’
ll rip us to shreds when they find out our relationship. And they will. Ike and Kirk are still out there somewhere, as well as Joe, the other driver, and a whole bunch of hotel clerks and cleaning staff. It
’
s going to come out.

“
I don
’
t know if the PR department can spin it in our favor or not. It may depend on what happens with Amy
’
s charges. I just don
’
t know. But you can avoid throwing gasoline on the fire if you
’
ll refuse to talk to them. That
’
s all I ask.
”

“
Man, that
’
s all I need,
”
Chad remarked.
“
To go home with my tail between my legs because you and your fucking girlfriend did something to blow up my career.
”

I looked at him with hard, cold rage.
“
No one did anything to blow up your career on purpose, asshole. Can the attitude or get the fuck out.
”
I stared around at the rest of them, including my two oldest friends.
“
That goes for the rest of you, too. I happen to love her, and if it comes to a choice between you, I choose her.
”

Silence reigned as they absorbed my words. Then Cole spoke, this time only for himself.
“
Well, all right then. I
’
m with you, brother.
”

I could have kissed him right then. Wouldn
’
t have been good for my image, but I could have. However, Axel chimed in with his support as well. If we had to pick up another drummer and rhythm guitarist, so be it. The core was still tight.

TWENTY-FOUR

Amy

M
y lawyer, Blake, explained everything while I listened with a growing lump in my gut. I knew giving my real name and social security number was a bad idea. They were flagged, and as soon as reported income for our first month with the record label hit the IRS database, the FBI was notified.

I
’
d left the state so fast after I got away from the men Octavio turned me over to that I hadn
’
t discovered I was wanted in Frank
’
s murder. I didn
’
t know what I would have done if I
’
d known at the time, but now, four years later, I was considered a flight risk as well as a murderer. There was no chance I
’
d get bail. Mr. Castle explained I
’
d most likely be extradited to Texas to face trial in Dallas.

It was the worst news he could have given me. Texas juries don
’
t like cop killers, and Texas has executed more inmates than any other state since the federal Supreme Court decision reinstating the legality of the death penalty. It was a stroke of luck I hadn
’
t eaten breakfast, or I
’
d have lost it right then.

“
What am I going to do?
”
I wailed.
“
I didn
’
t kill him
—
Octavio did!
”

“
Ms. Bruno, are you telling me you know who murdered the victim? Why did you never come forward with this information?
”

Once more, I faced having to tell the awful story of my life.
“
How much time do we have?
”
I asked instead.

“
I
’
ll try to make them give us as much as you need, but be as brief as you can,
”
he answered.

I thought for a minute, and then told it bare-bones. His expression was neutral as I began. A flicker of sympathy and anger crossed it when I told him the circumstances under which I
’
d met Octavio. Disgust followed as I mentioned my drug addiction, but sympathy won out again when I told him how I
’
d been forced to lure Frank out, and how I
’
d run for my life after escaping the men who intended to kill me.

When I fell silent, he nodded.
“
That
’
s quite a story, young lady. Can you prove any of it?
”

The same damn question, and I had the same fucking answer.
“
No, of course not. I
’
ve been on the run for four years, from the cartel, not the cops. I didn
’
t even know they were looking for me. I thought it was the state
’
s job to prove I did do it, not mine to prove I didn
’
t.
”
Even as I said it, I was thinking frantically, trying to find a loophole that would keep me off death row.

“
It is. Unfortunately, it doesn
’
t always work as neatly as the Constitution foresaw. Your, ah, former career reduces your chances of being seen as a sympathetic witness, even though you were forced into it. You have a long, rough road ahead of you, I must warn you. Who do you have that will help from the outside? Any family?
”

I dropped my head into my hands.
“
No one. Except maybe Rex, but he probably hates me now.
”

“
Would that be Rex Beck? He
’
s the one who contacted me. Why would he hate you?
”

Mr. Castle couldn
’
t keep his incredulous stare off me as I recounted the facts of my relationship with Rex. He shook his head when I finished.
“
Young lady, you have a unique knack for attracting trouble. But given the fact your Rex was burning up the phone lines in the middle of the night, I
’
d say you have a chance. He
’
ll be in touch as soon as he is allowed to visit you. I suggest you get the air cleared with him right away, or you may find yourself represented by a public defender. I
’
m not licensed in Texas, so you
’
ll have to find another defense attorney. I
’
ll do my best for you here, and find a good attorney for you there. For the record, I believe your story.
”