Page 76 of Killer Notes
I hope he’s okay. I made a promise that I’d be there before he gets on that stage, but knowing the time, I won’t make it beforehand.
“Here,” Dean calls out, throwing a clean shirt and my security lanyard at me. “Get in.”
I jump into the SUV and my boss takes off. “How’s Danny?” I ask, as I slide the clean shirt on and then buckle my seatbelt.
“He’s holding his own.”
I grunt, not sure what to say.
“Mark called. He says everything is cleared up, especially with all the evidence we had put together. I don’t know if the sheriff told you, but SFPD found further damning evidence in Laney’s apartment. Photographs of Danny and the band, but mainly him. You and Danny at your granddad’s lake house.”
I swivel my head toward Dean. “Are you fucking kidding me?” That news has my mind spinning. “All those times, when I thought we were being watched…” I grind my teeth.
“It’s over. But there’s one other thing.”
“What?”
“Laney isn’t her real name. It’s Macy Clark. And she has a record a mile long of misdemeanors, like break ins, harassments, a few assaults, and resisting arrest.”
“Jail time?”
“In twenty fifteen. She was supposed to serve two years but she was let out six months later for good behavior. And a year and a half for assaulting an officer back in twenty seventeen, when she remained inside for the entirety of her sentence.”
“Any connection to Siles?”
“No. Not yet. But we will find it,” Dean says with absolute assurance. “But you don’t worry about that. Leave that up to John. You focus on Danny.”
I glance at my boss, and nod. “I will.”
It’s nearing five forty-five p.m., and we still have over an hour’s drive before we make it to Black Rock. As soon as we get off of I-80, and onto NV-447 North, Dean has the accelerator nearly down to the floor.
He books it past the gates, until we can’t go any farther. I jump out, and haul ass to the stage. The entire time, my ears are trained on Danny’s voice. As I reach the entrance to the back and side stages, Warrior Black finishes a song.
I climb up the steps, hitting the main stage, and I lock eyes with Danny, who’s standing there frozen, watching me. A huge smile slowly appears on his beautiful face. He then turns and says something to Raef, who then slides a stool over to Danny and hands him his Gibson.
Danny takes the guitar, sits on the stool, and adjusts the mike to his level. “I was hoping to end our time with a song you all know and fucking love,” he shouts, and the crowd goes wild. He raises a hand to quiet the fans and they comply. “But I want to share with you exclusively a song I wrote earlier today.”
He then looks over to me with so much love that my heart feels like it’s going to burst.
“Through our journey coming here, I fell in love.” The screams and shrill whistles of the audience is nearly ear-piercing, and once again Danny raises his hands. “So since we’re both here, I want to sing this song for him, and for all of you.Here’s ‘Without You’.”
A quiet rush runs over the fans as Danny begins playing on the guitar.
As Danny’s sweet melodic voice croons the lyrics, I recognize my own words out of his mouth. My heart erupts with so much love for the singer sitting center stage. It takes all my restraint to keep from running onto the stage and taking Danny into my arms.
Without you, I have nothing.
Life’s adrift in an empty heart,
Without you, anchoring me in passion.
There’s no purpose in me to love.
Without you in my space,
I have no happiness or reason.
And without your love,