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Screams erupt. Squeals and shouts of “Yes!” and “La Mer!”
“When?” another person hollers when the initial noise dies down.
“I can’t talk about it,” I say apologetically.
After finishing the show and taking a few selfies with fans, I change in the venue’s bathroom before I head out the back door.
A long, black car pulls up in front of the alley.
Rude.
I go to move around the back of the car, but it reverses so I can’t.
The front window buzzes down to reveal the driver, a severe-looking man in a suit. “Get in.”
Russian accent. My spine stiffens.
“Who the hell are you?” Even though I already know.
He holds out a phone showing La Mer’s social media page, where everyone is asking when I’m playing. My heart thuds, hiding the first hint of satisfaction in days.
“You tell me where I’m going and I’ll get my own ride,” I say.
“You want to work for him, you’ll get in.”
“Once I work for him, maybe I will. Now what’s the address?”
* * *
I pull up outside La Mer and shift out. For a moment, I wish Harrison was here. But he wouldn’t let me come, and I can handle this myself.
A huge security guard meets me at the door, and I start to go through it. He blocks my way and holds out his arms, motioning for me to do the same.
“You’re joking.”
A brusque headshake.
The impulse to run is still there, but it’s the middle of the day in an outdoor venue.
His venue.
I follow instructions, and the man pats me down before jerking his head toward the hallway. I follow him down it, realizing halfway through that I’m holding my breath.
Excitement starts to outweigh the nerves as we emerge into the main area.
It feels like a circus ring.
Or maybe a coliseum.
Bars line the perimeter. The stage is at the center, an altar for revelers to worship at.
The lights are rigged into the sides, a sophisticated network of technology.
“Don’t fuck with me.”
The cold voice has me whipping around to see Mischa emerge from another corridor. I haven’t seen him since the day I went to see him.
“I don’t wait around for things to happen. I thought you didn’t either,” I comment.
