Read The Song Bird (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) for Free Online Page A

her, his face a careful blank as he folded his arms. There was something unsettling about him as he stared at her.
    Homer stopped playing, giving her the cue to begin.
    Closing her eyes, she found the melody in her head then opened her mouth and sang. She sang for herself. She sang for Amelia. She sang for the joy of singing. She let the stares fade away, let all the confusion fall aside. In song, she could let everything melt away and simply fly. And for the first time in her life, the restlessness that had constantly shifted under her skin calmed.
    She had decided to change the song. Instead of singing La traviata , she tapped into something deeper. This time she sang Donna Elvira’s song “Ah! Chi mi dice mai” from Don Giovanni . She thought it appropriate to sing about abandoned love.
    At the end, silence engulfed the room. Avilon opened her eyes. People stared at her, some with their mouths open, and some with drinks halfway to their mouths. Clapping came from the back of the room, and she raised her eyes to meet Ellis’s, the lone applauder. But seconds later, the room erupted as everyone surged to their feet, applauding long and loudly.
    Avilon beamed widely as she absorbed the accolades from her first singing performance. Homer’s piano started up, and the crowd settled down quickly. This song was different, though, not opera. Instead it was a dirty little song involving a girl teasing the highest bid from two customers fighting over her. It was raunchy, and she played up the flirtation, even going so far as to flip her skirts so her stocking-clad ankle was visible. For the next half an hour, Avilon sang, and when she finished, the round of applause was astounding. She bowed and exited backstage.
    For a moment, she just absorbed the amazing feeling, feeling as if she could fly to heaven. But a knock sounded at the door, bringing her back down to earth. She figured Jason was ready to escort her around the club, as per Eli’s orders, so she opened the door without a second thought. But instead of Jason’s handsome face, Ellis stood there with another man behind him.
    “Miss Avilon,” Ellis greeted, “may I introduce Mr. Eugene Behr, president of the United Bank of San Francisco.”
    She nodded her head. “Mr. Behr.”
    He stepped forward, bending his head as he crossed the threshold, forcing her to take a step backward. “Miss Avilon, you sing quite divinely. I haven’t heard Don Giovanni since my days in New York.”
    “You’re a fan of opera?”
    “Heaven here on earth,” he assured.
    Mr. Behr would have been considered handsome to most women, but his pleasant face held a cold stillness that unnerved her.
    “I’m sorry, Mr. Behr, but I have to freshen up for my walk through the club,” she murmured, trying to maneuver him back to the other side of the door, but the man either wasn’t listening or didn’t care. He remained rooted firmly in her doorway. She shot Ellis an exasperated look, but he just stared back at her benignly.
    “What is your charming accent? It reminds me of my travels through the South.”
    “I’m from New Orleans. Have you been there?”
    “I have, actually. I was an acquaintance with a woman named Odell Dubois. We were friends through our love of opera.”
    “Odell was my cousin,” she replied, surprise heavy in her tone. “How odd we have an acquaintance in common.”
    A strange look came over his face, and for a brief moment, she saw rage flash in his dark eyes. An instant later, he lowered his gaze, and when he looked at her again, that brief surge of anger she had seen was gone, or else carefully concealed.
    “When I first saw you on the stage, Miss Avilon, I knew you were a rare gem indeed,” he murmured, though his admiration seemed at bit too practiced and smooth. It made the hairs at the back of her neck stand up.
    “Thank you, Mr. Behr. Now, if you don’t mind—”
    “I am a very powerful man in San Francisco, perhaps even more so than Henry Naglee and