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I’d never been the type of woman anyone fought to be around. Even after I got out of the life, guys only wanted me for one thing. Working here had at least given me a safe way to scratch an itch without having to figure out if some dude was going to turn out to be a psycho. I was content with that arrangement. I wanted nothing else.
I should’ve been relieved that Fury had moved on like every other guy. So why did it feel like someone had punched me in the gut?
“Can we get a water break?” JJ’s voice cut through my thoughts and brought me back to what I was supposed to be doing.
“Yeah.” I stood up and stretched my arms over my head, hoping the movement would help clear my mind. “Everyone, take a couple minutes and then we’ll run through it one more time at full volume.”
“Annie’s looking good,” Darcy said as she came up beside me. “Not as good as Venus, but there’s potential there.”
“Have you heard from her?” I asked. “Venus, I mean.”
Darcy shook her head. “We weren’t close or anything, so I didn’t really expect her to reach out to me.” Darby frowned. “I am surprised she hasn’t come back here at all.”
“What do you mean at all?” I asked.
“I overheard Laila saying that Venus still hasn’t come to get her last check.”
“Laila didn’t mail it?”
Darcy shook her head. “I guess there’s something in the file about not mailing it because she didn’t want her roommate taking it.”
Dammit. I rubbed my forehead. While I’d thought of Venus a few times this week, I hadn’t been searching for her as hard as last week. If she’d moved, she should have called to have her check mailed to a new address.
My head hurt.
“Let me know if you hear anything about her,” I told Darcy.
“Will do.” Darcy nodded at me and headed back to her seat.
Deciding water was probably a good idea, I headed to the bar to take a bottle from the fridge as my thoughts turned back to Fury and his absence.
This was the problem. Over and over, I’d concluded about what I should want with Fury and I’d tell myself that I’d accepted it, but then I’d start going over things again, worrying at it like some dog with a bone.
And this time, I actually hoped he hadn’t given up on me. Because what I really wanted, deep down in the darkest corners of my soul, was someone to fight for me. Someone who’d respect my boundaries when I set them but who could see through my smoke and mirrors to know that if they stuck around, proved that I could trust them to be there through thick and thin, something could change. Something electric and raw and real.
The sounds of my dancers returning gave me the distraction I needed to stop thinking about things that would never happen. Taking my water with me, I went back to stand in front of the stage.
“Places,” I called out when everyone had returned.
I signaled for the music to start at full blast, my pulse quickening as the dancers took their positions. The first ninety seconds of the routine unfolded flawlessly, just as I’d choreographed it. But as we approached the climax of the piece, my string of bad luck made a dramatic encore.
With only a few ominous creaks as a warning, the lighting rig came crashing down.
Pandemonium erupted as dancers frantically hurled themselves out of harm’s way, bodies colliding and tumbling across the stage in a desperate scramble for safety. Glass from the shattered lights exploded everywhere, razor-sharp shards raining down. Then, for one heart-stopping moment, an eerie silence fell over the club.
It didn’t last long. Screams of terror and pain pierced the air, jolting me into action.
I bolted for the stage, the crunch of glass under my heels barely registering. Every instinct screamed at me to vault onto the platform, but some last shred of sanity prevailed, reminding me that slicing my palms open wouldn’t help anyone. Taking the stairs two at a time, I surveyed the scene with a mixture of relief and horror.
Thankfully, there weren’t any massive pools of blood, but scattered crimson droplets and many cuts painted a grim picture. I moved from dancer to dancer as other staff members flooded in, their frantic questions adding to the cacophony of chaos.
What the hell happened?
Who’s hurt?
How bad is it?
What the fuck do we do now?
