Page 265 of Enemies

“Don’t do anything crazy,” I whisper, and his brows lift. “For me or anyone else. Whatever happens today, promise we’ll still be here.”

He presses his lips to my forehead before pulling away, fastening his pants as he heads for the door.

I spring out of bed. “I mean it. I can’t lose you over this.” My heart rate accelerates, and this time it has nothing to do with the nightmare.

Barney sneaks through the crack and accosts me, delighted to find me running and naked. I go back and grab the sheet off the bed, wrapping it around me as I dodge the dog in pursuit of his owner.

“Hey!” I grab Harrison’s arm halfway down the hall.

His face is a mask of tension when he turns back. “I’m not a good man,” he murmurs. “But I will protect the people I love.”

I run my fingers up his face, thumbs brushing the tight lines around his mouth.

I love you. I feel it in every inch of me, a raw, aching truth that’s been part of me for longer than I knew.

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.

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