Page 25 of Killer Notes
“That’s enough, Saint,” Tobias orders, and the dog promptly quiets down.
“So… where are we going?” I ask, giving one more glance in the back seat.
“Somewhere no one will look for you,” Tobias says ominously.
I wait, hoping he’ll give me more details but… nothing. “Vague much?”
Tobias turns his head, those intense amber-green eyes lasering onto me. Their intensity burns through me like a hot branding iron. “It’s all you need to know for now.”
“It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone.” I roll my eyes, while trying to quell my racing heart. I don’t want Tobias to know I’m scared, even though I’m practically pissing myself.
Tobias shifts his attention to backing out of the parking spot and then heads out of San Francisco.
He remains mute, which makes me crazy. I hate being ignored, or not knowing where I’m going. So I begin rambling about my music, the inspiration for some of the songs and how I met my friends.
Tobias continues his silence, as though I’m not sitting next to him. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, fine. I’ll ignore him and not talk to him anymore, either.
He blends smoothly into the traffic on US 101, which I only know because I see the sign on the side of the road. And Tobias still isn’t talking to me.
I glance back at Saint. He, too, is just as quiet as he lays in the seat.
I’m inwardly fuming from the silence. I snag my earbuds from my pocket and shove them into my ears. Then I put them in noise canceling mode. I run through my playlist, and turn up the volume and lose myself in the music of Social Sinners and Maiden Voyage. These two powerhouse bands gave me and my friends the inspiration to put our music out into the world.
The music lulls me into sleep, where I dream of a stage, men around me and a shadow hovering over me.
Right as the shadow reaches me, Tobias shakes me awake.
“Danny, wake up. We’re here.”
I hear my name, but the fog of sleep pulls me back under, until a strong but warm hand on my chest jostles me.
“What?” I finally straighten in my seat and blurrily look around. It’s dark out, which surprises me. It doesn’t feel like I slept that long. “What time is it?”
“It’s ten thirty,” Tobias says as he retracts his hand from my chest, and I’m suddenly feeling cold without his touch.
I climb out of the car, and Saint lopes past me, sniffing about and marking his territory. I see nothing else but shadows. Then I tilt my head up and the black sky is filled with millions of tiny pinpricks of lights. I’m in awe.
Back home in Chicago, the guys and I used to go camping up north near the Wisconsin border. We loved sleeping outside and watching the night shine with an abundance of stars. But that doesn’t compare to what I’m seeing right now. There’s so much brilliance above, I feel a song materializing in my brain.
“Where are we?” I finally ask.
“My Pops’ place,” Tobias rumbles out as he starts unpacking the car. “Here’s the keys. Head inside.” He tosses them to me, and I catch them with one hand.
Just as I reach the stoop, I hear… splashing? I follow the sound to the back of the house to investigate.
With the crescent moon hanging high, the shadows of the night aren’t so ominous. The outline of tall trees is nestled back, adjacent to a round lake. The soft splash catches my attention again, then quiets. There’s an eerie peace that has me holding my breath.
“What are you doing?” Tobias’s voice has me jumping around and clutching at my chest.
“Don’t scare me like that.”
“I asked you to go in the house.” His voice is filled with annoyance as he steps next to me. “What are you doing?”
“This place… it’s so magical.”
“Wait until you see it in the day time. Come on, it’s late. I want you inside, so I can do a perimeter check of the area,” Tobias says.
“Fine.” I look over toward the bodyguard, but he’s already out of my sight.