Page 188 of Dance of Devils
He’ll get none from me.
I shoot his hands first, for daring to touch her. Lou squeals and sobs and squirms. I just look at him with disgust for a few long moments before I level the gun at his head and put a final bullet through his skull.
I kick his limp body into the waiting trunk of a junk car, then turn to nod at Isaak, waiting in the control cab of the giant metallic arm. The steel spikes of the claw bite into the old Buick, lifting it up and dropping it into the compactor.
I smile grimly as I push the button and then watch as both the car and Lou’s mangled body are crushed to dust.
That dance is done.
I grin as I walk to my car.
And a new one is just beginning.
Apparently today’srehearsal is taking place out on stage, rather than in the studio. The full company is scattered across it, some stretching on the floor, but the majority of them going through their movements as Magda claps her hands sharply to keep the rehearsal pianist in time.
My pulse thunders in my ears as I storm down the aisle toward the stage.
“Madame Kuzmina!” I say loudly.
Magda stops clapping, turning to me with a frown.
“Mr. Nikolayev?”
“Madame, I apologize for intruding on your rehearsal, but I need to speak with Ms. Ellis.Right now.”
A titter of giggles and gasps ripples through the crowd as I march to the stage and deftly vault up onto it.
Brooklyn’s face is heated as she slips out from behind Val Bancroft and Dove Marchetti. Her teeth drag over her bottom lip as she smiles curiously at me.
“I saidnow,Ms. Ellis,” I growl, smirking a little as I beckon with two fingers.
She walks over to me before she comes to a stop, arching a brow in confusion. She blushes wildly as she looks up at me. “Kir…”
“You turned down Moscow.”
Her throat works as she tries to decipher the expression on my face.
“Yeah,” she finally says quietly. “I did. You’re more important.”
My jaw clenches. “Babygirl, I’m not?—”
“Besides, I don’t need to run. I don’t—” She frowns, her eyes dropping to my chest. “There’s blood on your shirt.”
“It’s not mine.”
When her eyes snap to mine, I just nod.
“Lou,” I mouth quietly.
A grin cracks across her lips, spreading in that way that makes my heart soar.
“I bowed out of Moscow because I don’t need to run anymore.” She looks up into my eyes as my hands take hers. “You killed all my monsters.”
“And I’ll keep doing so,” I murmur.
She swallows. “I’mobviouslystill going to dance?—”
“You'd better.”
