A Serial Novella
By
Alexia Purdy
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The Fall of Sky
(Part Three)
Copyright © January 2015 Alexia Purdy
All rights reserved
Published by
Lyrical Lit. Publishing
Cover Design by Alexia Purdy
Photography depositphoto.com
www.alexiapurdybooks.com
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
When living the crazy life of a Rock star, no one ever expects to fall from the high.
In the midst of a thriving Rock ‘n Roll career, Liv Westing has pushed the line between love and hate with Jonas Esperanza, the infamous Dos Pistolas Cartel leader with whom she’s entered into an unwanted carnal contract. He has his own game plan by precariously dangling Liv's and his brother Emilio’s hearts in his unforgiving grip of manipulation.
In the meantime, Liv’s sister Audrey has to figure out how to clean up the mess Liv has caused and keep things from falling apart with her boyfriend Saul, a fellow band member. Blood is thicker, even when it’s the one thing keeping the sisters from the life they crave. Audrey and Liv never thought hitting the big time would end up this bittersweet, especially when Jonas’ game turns deadly.
THIS IS A SERIAL NOVELLA SERIES!
THIS IS PART THREE OF FOUR.
The Fall of Sky is dedicated to my readers. Rock on.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter One
Audrey
The rest is history. That’s what it always comes to, right? Sitting forward with my headphones on, I listened to the track currently being hacked apart by our studio sound mixer, Random. I found his name fitted him perfectly; he threw in random notes, beats and all sorts of magic into the songs we sang, mixing them up into some crazy mash. Somehow, he churned out finished songs that actually made sense and rocked the house. How he did that with the mess of our songs was beyond comprehension. It was purely hypnotic chaos to watch him work. I figured if he could make us sound even better, then so be it. But, I’d decided to oversee production, even if the studio execs gave me the devil’s eye for interfering. I didn’t care. I didn’t want our trio to sound artificial, and I definitely didn’t want to produce something we couldn’t play live.
Luckily, Random didn’t seem to care if I was there or not. At first he was somewhat aloof, but after weeks of my presence, he warmed up to me and often began to ask what I thought about his mixes, which made me feel less like a spoiled brat princess standing in the way and more of the songwriter that I was.
Saul would occasionally join me in my vigil to keep our music ours and not some artificial beat. Still, most of the time it was just Random and I tweaking the music.
“Here,” Saul interrupted my thoughts as I listened to the playback of Liz’s voice on one of the single tracks we’d be releasing first. A steaming cup of coffee beckoned me, and I took it graciously.
“You’re my hero.” I gave him a dreamy smile as I inhaled the rich aroma. I’d been here all day, and I swore my ears were starting to ring. It was tough work keeping up with Random. I could swear the guy never slept or left the studio. It was a wonder how he managed to smell decent and not look like a street bum. Maybe he had a hidden apartment right here in the building.
“Another late night, Random?” Saul sat in one of the creaky swivel chairs and rolled over to the panel beside Random. It was filled with buttons, sliders, gauges and more. It all made my head spin into a thousand circles. I’d never figure out what each thing did, but that was Random’s job; to know what to do with this mess.
I yawned, stretching out like a cat. “You bet. Gotta make sure he doesn’t kill the sound with all these gadgets.”
“She’s the slave driver, not me. I was done hours ago.” Random gave us a cheesy fake smile before turning back to the board and fidgeting with even more knobs.
“I bet.” Saul’s grin was more genuine and always sparked an explosion of flutters in my stomach. “I was thinking, why doesn’t Liv do more of these sessions with Random? He could use her insight too.”
Had I caught a smidge of jealousy in his voice? I flicked my eyes away and stared at the hot mug of coffee in my hands. It smelled amazing and fresh, like Saul had just made a new pot in the employee’s lounge. He spent a lot of time in there when not with me in the studio. Could be because there were a couple couches in there and he’d taken up residence on them during the late nights we spent here, listening to the football games on television. Even though he was blind, he was an avid football fan and listened to the broadcasts regularly.
I chewed on my lip for a moment. It made me feel bad to work so much without him, but this was our ticket to the big time. Even Jonas was backing us with his less than desirable connections, and I wasn’t going to waste it. If we could just break out into the public eye, maybe we’d have a chance of escaping his iron hold on us.
“I know, but you know how Liv is. If I ask her to come sit with Random and listen to his stuff, she’d never even come unless it involved rerecording her vocals or a whole new track. Her and E—…” I lowered my voice, but Random had replaced his headphones and was nodding his head to the beat. I’d removed mine when Saul had entered the room. “If Jonas thinks she’s here, he leaves her alone. So then she goes and spends it with Emilio. I have to be here regardless, or he’d notice her absence even more if he happens to drop in.”
Saul frowned, his lips formed tight with discontent. “She’s asking for trouble, and I don’t like Emilio. Jonas is worse, but his brother is not much better.”
“Shh…” I hushed him and bobbed my head toward Random. “We can’t talk here.”
“Where can we talk? You’re always here.” Saul stood up and downed the last sip from his mug of coffee before he slammed it on a side table. I could see the gears straining in his head as his frustration leaked. I hadn’t spent as much time with him outside the studio. It wasn’t fair to him, I knew that, but this project was the only thing I could focus on right now.
“I’m sorry, Saul. You know this has to be done. Look…” I stood up and grabbed my bag, waving to Random as I motioned that I was leaving. “Let’s go get some dinner. I’m famished and living on caffeine, and Random’s second hand smoke is making me jittery. We can talk then.”
Saul’s face loosened, and he gave me a tiny nod as he let me pass him to the door of the studio and out into the quiet hall. I wondered what time it was; the staff was already long gone.
“Nine-Thirty P.M.,” the robotic voice from Saul’s time piece echoed across the emptiness ahead, the offices vacant even though all the rooms were opened so the cleaning personnel could do their nightly janitorial duties.
“Thanks,” I sai
d. I trotted ahead of Saul and made my way out of the building into the darkened parking lot. Dinner would be good for me. It would definitely kill my sour mood and revive my head. I needed to think more, about the songs we were finalizing for our first album, about Liz and Emilio treading on dangerous territory while Jonas watched us closely, and about Saul.
Saul.
I loved him, but life was getting in the way.
Chapter Two
Liv
“Yeah, this is Emilio.”
The dark silhouette of my love covered the glaring light from the bathroom my room connected to. I loved that I had my own ensuite; it made it easier for Emilio to stay the night without going out into the house to attend to his needs. We’d spend so many hours here—watching movies, listening to each other’s stories about our lives, eating all sorts of stuff we could get our hands on, delivered or made at home. It was like our own private apartment.
The sound of a voice on the other end made me wonder who’d be calling him at this hour. It was already eleven at night, and the streetlamps shined through the sheer curtains on one of the windows facing the east side of the house. My room was on the second floor, and the nearest neighbor’s house was a one story, so there was no risk of anyone peering into our abode.
“Is that really necessary?”
Emilio’s tone was calm, laced with a bit of contempt. It had to be Jonas on the other end. He was the only one that called Emilio more than anyone else besides me, and the only one who could change his vibrant mood from a moment ago to the subtle angry one I heard now. “Marcus can handle him. He’s dealt with that family before. Send him.”
The voice on the other end spoke calmly, but did amplify in sound as they repeated their request. What did Jonas want? I wanted to ask Emilio about it immediately, but couldn’t risk Jonas hearing me talking to Emilio, for he’d surely question who his brother was with.
“Marcus left for Juarez last night? I wasn’t informed.” Moments ticked by. “Very well, I’ll get right on that. No, you don’t have to send anyone. I have my team ready in case anything like this happens…yes, I already know.”
With that, he hung up and let out a long tired breath.
“I have to go.” He jumped from the bed and grabbed his clothes, throwing them on before heading toward the bathroom to check his hair.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Damn it, Jonas. He was interrupting us more and more. Even when he was out of town, he always piled on more errands for Emilio than ever before. Some were petty, some missions pulled him away for days. I hated his control over my love and wanted to make him stop it already. But there was nothing either of us could do. Our hands were tied if we were to keep Jonas in the dark.
Still…
“I can’t tell you.” Emilio stuffed his shirt into his pants, straightening out the lines so they were on par with the ones in his slacks. Just like that, he transformed from a wild lover in bed to a slick and sophisticated businessman.
“Why not? You can tell me anything. You know I won’t breathe a word to anyone.”
The water ran in the bathroom where he splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth.
“I can’t tell you anything about this. It’s a private family affair. It’s been a long going problem, and I’ve been waiting for the word from Jonas to do this mark. Sorry, but it’s better if you don’t know anything at all.”
I pressed my lips together, hoping I wouldn’t spew out some crazy jargon that I’d regret later.
“Alright.” I hugged my knees, still wrapped in bed sheets. “Do you think he knows?”
Emilio came back into the room, fixing a button on his shirt. “Knows what?”
“About us?” I drew my knees up tighter to my chest, feeling my heart flutter under it like a manic beast. If he knew, he’d be doing this to us on purpose…to spite us. But, on the other hand, if he did know, wouldn’t we already be dead?
“No. He doesn’t have a clue.”
Why did I doubt that so much? The look of hatred he threw at Emilio at the last concert we did at Echo Park made me cringe and shiver under the covers from imagining what Jonas could do to us, if pushed too far. Like kill us. Would he? Would he off his own brother? I prayed he didn’t, but even if he couldn’t, he would definitely off his unfaithful lover…me. Betrayal in the Cartel was extremely frowned upon. I sighed.
“I hope you’re right.”
Emilio leaned down and pushed my messy waves back away from my face. I studied his light brown eyes in the deep twilight of the night. I didn’t want him to go. My insides screamed to tell him to stay with me and never leave, so we could run away to where no one could ever bother or find us again.
“Don’t worry, you look much better when you smile, Preciosa.”
His lips met mine, the kiss deepening, awakening the very spots inside that now craved his scent, his presence alongside me at all times. He was my drug, and I was his willing victim.
“Call me when you can.”
He got up and headed toward the door, but turned back and gave me a sexy wink while giving me a mouthful of brilliant white teeth against his light brown skin as he smiled.
“I’ll be back faster than you know.”
With that, he was gone, but his words were not of comfort. Why did this dread within tell me that he wouldn’t be back one day, and it would all go spiraling down the drain like dirty water in the shower. How could I make these morbid thoughts go away? My body shook, and as I listened for the main door of the house to click shut followed by the deadbolt since he had a key to my house, I let the tears slip out.
It wasn’t going to be okay. I knew this. It was just a matter of time until it would break down and the sky would fall.
Chapter Three
Audrey
Jonas twirled his fingers around a worn pencil. It looked like he’d erased a thousand words with the rubbed off eraser dull and the short lead, sharpened it until only a third remained of the stick. I gulped as I waited for him to speak since he’d called me away from Random’s cave in the studio. I hadn’t expected him to visit the studios—he never did. Why now? Why was he here? Luckily, Liv was here with me, so if he questioned her presence when I was here in the studio, he could plainly see that she was here with me now. Why wouldn’t she have been here all along on all sessions prior to this one?
The pensive look on his face as he looked through some paperwork sprawled across the desk made me cringe. I hated being kept waiting on bad news. Maybe it wasn’t bad news; maybe it could be good news. No news ever was taken well when one had to wait for it. And he was a master at delaying the inevitable.
“Random told me that your single Crave is going to be the first one out, is that right?” His eyes flicked up from the paperwork to meet mine. They were the darkest obsidian right now, probably just a deep brown, but in the harsh fluorescent light in this office, they looked like beads of slick oil, ready to choke me in their embrace.
“Yes. We thought it’d attract the most audiences.” My voice cracked, making me clear my throat afterwards.
“Does Liv agree?”
I nodded, furrowing my brows and curious to why he’d have only me here yet ask me what I think Liv thinks. Strange.
“Yes.”
“Tell me, Audrey.” Jonas leaned back in the chair, his Armani suit perfectly pressed with subtle elegant details to it as his hands landed onto his thighs. He crossed one leg over the other as he scrutinized me from across the desk, looking somewhat tired, like he’d not slept the night well. A five o’clock shadow caused his face to look even thinner than usual. Though well kept—his hair neatly in its place, his suit ironed with stark crease—there was a certain discontent about him that radiated into the air like a buzzing bee ready to strike. I swallowed down the sudden fear it raised in me, and I had to look away from those dark sharpened eyes that dug into me like claws of a vulture in its prey. He scared me more than I’d ever admit.
“Does Liz tell you everything?”
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I shook my head. “No. Sisters never tell everything to their own flesh and blood.”
He smiled, erasing some of the rigid lines from his features. I struggled through a slow, calming breath before meeting his eyes again.
“Very true. Everyone has their secrets.” He gave me a smile, a wicked knowing one that dug at my conscience. It took all my strength to keep breathing and appear unaffected.
I clenched my fists, relieved he couldn’t see them on my lap from behind the desk.
“Has Liz mentioned anyone else she could possibly be seeing?” He remained still as he scrutinized any action and every move I made.
“You mean in a romantic way…besides you?” I prayed my face wouldn’t betray the fury that was bubbling inside my chest, prepping me to jump across the desk and scratch Jonas’ eyes out. I shrugged. “You know…we’re really busy. Who has time to see anyone? I barely see much of Saul. We’re so busy with the album, it’s pretty much sucked our social lives away.” Tighter and tighter my fists held. Was that a sheen of sweat forming on my forehead? I hoped not.
Jonas watched me pensively, the fire in his eyes dying away as he pondered my words. Moments passed and he began to stare off into the distance. I never wondered what someone was thinking as much as I did at that moment.
“‘Crave’ is perfect. I want you guys to choose the lineup for three singles to release almost back to back. Choose wisely. Random will keep me updated on your choices for final approval. I hope you guys are within the timeline for a release date of July.”
I nodded, my fists unclenching as I finally choked a breath in. “Yes. We’ll work on the list, and we’re definitely within that deadline.”
He gave me a curt nod, looking distracted before he suddenly leaned forward, snatching hold of my arm which I’d used to lean on the desk. Damn.