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God, if I lose him today…
I shift up on my toes and press my forehead to his. “Let’s get out of here,” I whisper. “Fuck all of this, Harrison. I don’t need La Mer. Let’s just leave.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. There’s no bloodlust in them now. Only commitment. Responsibility. Devotion.
“There’s a woman—a queen—and her stage is waiting.”
He gently pushes my hands away, and when he starts down the stairs, I feel like the ground has split wide and I’m falling again.
* * *
My costume was intended to be daring.
A black silk tuxedo jacket, custom made for me by a designer in Barcelona. One side has gold threads woven through it. Underneath, I have black silk pants that hug my hips, gather around my ankles. The white vest, once it’s fastened, dips low between my breasts.
At the moment, it’s lower than intended. A button came off, and if I wear it like this, Harrison will start a riot.
I’m straddling a dining room chair and sewing the button back on, a needle in my teeth, when the tiny camera with a battery pack on the table catches my eye. Harrison suggested I stick it to my phone and set that somewhere on the desk in front of me when I mix.
But I can do better.
Five minutes later, I pull the last thread tight. The button is secured once more, the lens on the outside of my vest and the tiny battery secured with thread against the lining.
My phone rings.
Annie.
“Are you excited for your show?” she demands. My friend is a dark shadow, the sun at her back.
I take the needle from my mouth. “Excited doesn’t begin to describe it,” I admit.
There’s a knock at the front door, and Natalia bustles toward it. She shoots me a frown on the way—she doesn’t understand why I wouldn’t let her fix the costume. To be honest, I needed to keep busy.
“We’re about to find out.”
I barely hear Annie’s words over the phone because there’s a squeal from the doorway and my phone at once.
“Fuck.” I drop the vest, the button, and the phone.
“We came to see your show!” Annie cheers.
“Who’s ‘we’?”
Tyler’s behind her with the baby. Plus Beck and Elle.
My shock and joy are overshadowed by dismay. Tonight, something thrilling is going down, but if we do our jobs, something dangerous will follow. “You guys can’t be here.”
“I get it, the club is sold out. I can get us in,” Beck says, smirking.
“As usual, Hollywood misses the point.”
I turn to see Ash jog down the stairs.
“Ash! Tell them they can’t be here.”
He cocks his head at me. “Well, they are.” He cuts a look at my friends. “Quiz: What would stop you from seeing Raegan’s show tonight? Warning from a mysterious oracle?”
Annie shakes her head, Elle snorts, Tyler frowns, and Beck lifts a brow.
“How about plague of locusts? Pestilence? Nothing?” Ash grins, grabbing my shoulder before I shove him off. “Sounds like they’re staying.”
