Read Online FascinatingRhythm by Lynne Connolly - Free Book Online Page A

to her
forehead. “Chick will look after you now, show you to your places. I need to
finish a few things.”
    “And get into the zone.”
    A wry smile curved his lips. “That too.”
    She lifted her face for another swift kiss but then stepped
back. “Go.”
    He went, leaving her with Emmelie and Chick.
    Chick showed them to the public area backstage, already laid
out with tables of refreshments and plates of sandwiches covered with plastic
wrap. “Help yourselves,” he said. He glanced at Emmelie and shrugged. “I’m
sorry, I can’t sign.”
    “That’s okay,” Sabina said.
    “We’re having the press conference here after the concert,”
Chick said. “It won’t take too long, I hope.”
    Emmelie signed.
    “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Chick said.
    Sabina slipped into her accustomed role. “She would like to
say something at the press conference.” That was all Emmelie told her to say,
and she couldn’t go against that wish. Not while she was doing her job. “Some
of her people will arrive soon. They have identification.”
    Sabina could do nothing to stop Emmelie making her
announcement, other than lock her in a room somewhere, and she was seriously
considering doing just that. It would well and truly burn her bridges with
Emmelie though, and however Sabina deplored her methods, Emmelie Ostrander did
a lot of good for a lot of people. Awareness, charities and support all worked
ten times better than they had before she’d made her presence known.
    Sabina accepted a soda and smiled at Chick’s warning not to
accept anything that didn’t come out of a bottle she’d opened or seen opened.
Chick shook his head at her levity when he told her, “Don’t do it. This place
will be heaving with press, staff and hangers-on later. Somebody might think it
funny to drop something in the drinks, especially if somebody closely connected
to the band gets it.”
    Sabina’s laugh froze in her throat.
    Chick checked his watch. “I’ll show you to your seats, and
then I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you to it. After the concert, stay where you
are and somebody from security will come get you.” He handed them plastic
wristbands, one each. Sabina’s stomach turned when she realized they were the
same as the ones put on people in hospital. It turned her mind straight back to
her dilemma, one she’d hoped to forget for a few hours.
    So far she’d done a fuck-poor job of that.
    Once they were in their seats at the front on the first tier
Sabina enjoyed the building excitement of the crowd. A massive crowd. She’d
rarely been in a crowd that large, only at a few sporting events. One of her
siblings enjoyed watching big athletics meets, and Sabina took her turn going
with her.
    Emmelie spent the time signing to her. “You know my son will
leave Sweden without looking back, just as he did before?”
    As if she were some pathetic, get-a-life weakling. “Yes, of
course I know.” Only polite to sign in return. “That’s not what this is about.”
Should she tell her this wasn’t the first time? Better not. While she wasn’t
exactly virgin stock when she’d slept with Hunter before, she’d been under
Emmelie’s protection. Besides, it might be good to save that piece of
information until she really needed to use it. She decided to behave casually.
“He’s a good-looking man, a rock star.” She spread her hands and then signed
again. “What other opportunity will I have to meet a man like that?”
    “Why shouldn’t you?” Emmelie slapped her hands together as
she signed, fury evident in her flashing eyes and tightened lips. “You’re as
good as anybody else.”
    Back to that. “I know.” Sabina broke eye contact to
look around, and then returned to Emmelie. “See all these people? They’ve come
to see Murder City Ravens. Everyone in the audience wants to spend time with
the band. That charisma they all have—you can almost touch it.” She paused.
Might as well carry on. “And how many