Page 10 of Surrender
Why wasn’t anyone intervening?
Why weren’t they doing something?
Everywhere I turned, people continued their conversations. They laughed, they toasted, they looked the other way. And itwasn’t as if they hadn’t noticed the commotion. I could see it in the subtle glances, the way they turned their backs, but they all did the same thing.
They ignored it.
And soon, Mr. Granger’s voice was swallowed up by chatter and the hum of music, which had undoubtfully gotten louder.
Parker exhaled, turning to me and running his fingers through his hair. “I’m so sorry about that,” he apologized, stretching his neck from one side to the other. “They’re dealing with a lot, ya know? Grief can really make people act out.”
Grief?
So, we’re ignoring the rest.
The suspicious accusations.
The unexplained disappearance.
The dark warning.
Don’t trust him.
I swallowed hard, trying to find the words, though my throat was dry. “Who is—”
“Come on,” Parker interrupted, his hand finding the small of my back and pressing firmly. “We need to get you backstage to get ready for your performance.”
There was no fighting him. He was insistent and commanding, guiding me back through the crowd we’d navigated earlier and through the back room to the rear of the small ballroom stage. My skin prickled at his touch. All night, there’d been a weight on my chest, but I’d ignored it. Trying not to dwell on the anxious feeling churning in my stomach.
In that moment, though, there was no ignoring it.
No looking the other way.
“Parker, stop!” I hissed when we were finally out of sight of the crowd. I slapped his hand away, spinning around to face him. “What the hell is going on?”
He jerked to a stop, frowning in confusion. “What do you—”
“You just hustled me out of there like I was the President of the United States and someone was trying to assassinate me.”
He chuckled, waving his hand around. “Oh, stop. I just wanted to get you away from them so you could focus on dancing. I don’t want you worrying, and I don’t want it affecting your performance.” The wide grin on his face sent a chill through me. I couldn’t tell if it was fake or forced, or maybe both—but it made me uneasy.
The whole situation, the outfit, the way he spoke…
It all made me feel uncomfortable.
But I’d just been too nervous to admit it until now.
“Parker, I don’t know if—”
“Whoa!” he cut in, a chuckle slipping out. “Darc, this is important. We talked about it.”
He rubbed his hands up and down my arms, the gesture meant to soothe, but there was something off about it. It was too firm, too tight.
I shifted away, rolling my shoulders and breathing deeply to try to keep calm. “Iknowit’s important. Which is why I agreed to do it even though I’m not at my physical best, and I’m probably going to fall on my ass.”
I could guarantee it.
The oversizedpointeshoes that Margot’s assistant hadeeny, meeny, miny, moedfor me were already a problem. I’d stuffed the toes with extra padding to make them fit, but that meant I’d lost my connection to the floor. And while my balance was already going to be shaky, now my nerves were too.
