Page 140 of Dance of Ruin

The door at the far end of it is swinging shut by the time I slam into it. I tumble out of the back of the strip club and into an alley just in time to see Vaughn dodging traffic as he crosses a busy street, then jump behind the wheel of a black pickup and roar off.

I come a skidding stop at the curb, panting as I watch the truck’s taillights fade.

I don’t know what the hell I just saw. But fuck it.

I know where I need to go next.

29

NICO

I don’t go home right away.I can’t face what I know I have to do there, not yet.

Besides, right now, all I want to see is her.

The auditorium is dim, the house lights down as I slip in through a side door and keep to the shadows. The stage glows in gold and lavender, warm light illuminating the dancers as they rehearse with slow, controlled grace.

When I see her, my heart both soars and breaks.

Naomi’s front and center on stage, Odette in her sorrow following her betrayal by the Prince. Her spine arches, her arms tremble, every movement carved from emotion so deep it wouldn’t even need music.

My chest cracks open. She has no idea what I’ve just learned.

But I push that aside and just watch the sheer beauty and talent of her on that stage. The precise movements. The delicate grace.

The seemingly effortless way she turns into this…ethereal beingon stage, an utterly captivating, magical creature that dances only for me in this moment.

The music switches, and another figure springs onto the stage with equally elegant, masterful steps.

It'sVaughn.

He enters from stage left with a dramatic leap, dressed in plain rehearsal blacks, moving with feline ease.

I blink, my brow furrowing.

What thefuck?

I just saw him fifteen minutes ago inQueens.I had to break about a dozen traffic law to get here, and yet he’s up there dancing?

I stare at him, pulse starting to escalate. But when the music shifts again, and Naomi slips back to center stage, I shake it off and just watch her.

I could watch her forever.

After a while, though, I know I have to go.

Time to face my own music.

* * *

When I get homeI walk straight to the desk in my office, yank open the drawer, and pull out the thumb drive.

I’ve avoided it like poison for weeks. I’ve tried not even to think about it, because the idea of this woman with anyone else drives me into a jealous, vicious rage unlike any I’ve ever known.

Leverage,I called it.

Collateral.

I shoved it in her face and told myself that whatever was on it didn’t matter. That she’d made her choices, and now those choices were a weapon for me to use against her.

---