Page 58 of Dance with the Devil

Only one problem: I’m not sure there’ll be another performance.

What happened in Hamilton… it broke me. Cross walking away with no reason, no remorse, and no closure?

I don’t know if I’ll ever heal.

But God bless Savannah, I guess, who is definitely Damien’s mouthpiece these days. My brother is the one who put me through dance lessons, ramping them up when I told him I was serious about it at ten. He’s gone to every performance, helped bandage every injury, and if there’s anyone who knows how much dance means to me, it’s my brother.

My studio stays dark. I don’t put music on.

He’s gotta be shitting himself in worry.

Closure, I think again. One way or another, I need closure…

“Did you see that Riverside plans on doingThe Nutcrackerfor November?” Savannah asks as I turn away from the mirror, moving to sit on the edge of my bed.

I give Orion a stroke. The big orange-and-white cat quirks open one big green eye, starts to rumble like a motorcycle engine, and goes right back to sleep. “They do every year.”

I should know. When I was nineteen, I got the part of Clara. They usually get a younger girl to play her since the character is around twelve or so, but I was small enough that it worked. They wanted our Clara on pointe so the casting team wanted someone with more impressive skills, and it was one of my first big credits after I left Madame Durand’s studio.

But I’ve always wanted to dance as the Sugar Plum Fairy. It never fell into place for me, and depending on how my July audition went, I was hoping that this would be my year forThe Nutcracker.

Not anymore. I haven’t done so much as a grand jete since I came home again. I just… I can’t do it. I thought my love of dance was strong enough to get me through anything, but as it turns out, loving another person—and having them reject you like you’re nothing—is enough to steal my former passion and joy.

So when Savannah starts mentioning the upcoming schedule for auditions at the end of the month, I cut her off. “Any update on Winter?”

Savannah pauses for a moment. She runs her gaze over me, and I see the moment she realizes that I’m not ready to talk about ballet just yet. Of course I’m still fixated on Winter and my captivity. She has to know that I can’t stop thinking about Cross, either, but it’s much safer to talk about the bastard who put all of this into motion.

Damien would find a way to change the subject. That’s why I like Savannah because she takes a look at me, gauges what she thinks I can handle, and says, “No update yet. Once he realized I wasn’t Camille, he withdrew his people from Falco’s territory since he didn’t have anything to use about him. He’s gotta know it would be a death wish to come after Springfield. But Tanner thinks he might be targeting Harmony Heights.”

“What’s Harmony Heights?” I ask.

I can’t help myself. Not only do I want to be involved when it comes to taking out Winter, but I’ve always been fascinated by the various local mafias and criminal organizations. You think that would’ve changed after everything I’ve been through, but not quite.

Only I’ve never heard of Harmony Heights before.

“It’s this small hamlet in the southern part of the state,” Savannah explains.

“Weird name,” I note.

“Weird town,” agrees Savannah. “You think Springfield’s bad? This place is run by criminals, but that’s better than that one.”

“I don’t get what you mean.”

“They’ve got this not-so-secret society who runs the show there. Everything from the businesses in town to who gets to marry who, this order is in charge. They’ve got money, too, and a lot of pull. I guess, from what Damien told me, Winter thought he could take over that order by taking one of the member’s daughters. Haven something. I forget. It didn’t end well for that part of his operation.”

Haven. “I don’t know if it ended well for her, either,” I mutter.

Savannah cocks her head, curious.

“Remember? How there was another girl being held in that place with us? Her name was Haven. One of the guards made fun of the fact that he sexually assaulted her so bad, she went mute.”

My pretty sister-in-law’s face turns murderous, and in that moment, I remember just how formidable of an enforcer she’s become. “What a monster! Is that the one who lost part of his cock? ‘Cause to do that… I really hope they couldn’t reattach that fucker.”

“Me, too. I never even knew it was possible to do that, but when Cross did?—”

I stop short.

Savannah goes still.

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