Page 15 of Dancing for the Devil

“Shit.” I leaned down to peer at the locking mechanism, to see if I might be able to pick it. The lock was opened biometrically which meant I would need Alexei’s fingerprint.

“Fuck!” I hissed, clenching my fists to stop from banging on the door. I looked down the corridor, keeping an eye out for anyone coming, while I tried to think of a way to get into the room. I cursed myself for not being prepared for this. Last night, while we were drinking together, I could have swiped a sample of his fingerprint from his tumbler. But I didn’t think.

“Goddamnit.”

“What’s with all the swearing?” I jumped at least a foot in the air as the door opened and Alexei peered out. Then my heart was racing, and my hands were shaking, and I just knew I was dead meat.

I tried to school my features into the picture of innocence, but his eyes were already narrowed suspiciously. “Nora. This is a surprise.”

I lifted my hand to run my fingers through my hair, forgetting I had a beanie on. It fell to the floor as I opened my mouth. “Yeah I—”

I stopped speaking, looking speechlessly down at my headgear, teetering between fear and embarrassment.

Alexei laughed at me. “Nervous?” he asked.

I cleared my throat, bending quickly to pick up my beanie. “Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“What are you doing here?”

I blinked a few times, trying to come up with a reason. I was stupid as fuck to have thought I could get away with this. “I, uh …” I swallowed. “I lost something in your office, and I was hoping to retrieve it without anyone being any the wiser.”

He quirked an eyebrow at me. “Oh? What exactly did you lose?” He leaned into the doorframe, waiting for my response as my brain manically scrambled to find an answer.

“A p-pendant. M-my sister gave it to me. One of the last things she gave me, actually. I would hate to lose it. It must have unclasped when I was dancing for you.”

He frowned. “I haven’t seen any pendants.”

“Would you mind if I just… looked?” Ihadto sell it now.

He stepped aside and gestured extravagantly around the room, before wincing and clutching at his arm. I frowned, walking past him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. Find your pendant and go.” He shut the door, shuffled over to the long, cushioned bench next to the wall, and flopped down on it.

I paused, staring at him, noting the blood on his shirt sleeve. “Seriously, what happened to you? Another fight?”

He chuckled bitterly even while shaking his head. “No. I’m fine.”

I hesitated. I could shuffle around on my hands and knees, pretending to look for a nonexistent pendant, or I could use this chance to get closer to Alexei.

“Where’s your first aid kit?”

He looked at me, irritated. “What?”

“Your first aid kit. Surely you have one?”

I walked behind his desk and pulled open a drawer, peering into it.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Looking for your first—”

He sighed with irritation, rolling his eyes. “My first aid kit, got it. It’s in the bathroom.” He gestured with his chin to his left.

I saw the slightly open door and headed for it.

He had a really pretty bathroom, all dark green, gold-lined tile, and gold faucets decking the shower, toilet, and sink. There was a mirror cabinet on top of the sink. I opened it and found the kit. There wasn’t much else in there except some floss, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. It was a bit disappointing to be honest. I expected to find at least one gun with a fancy handle nestled between the dental floss and the soap.

Taking the first aid kit, I hurried back, not wanting him to think I was snooping. There was a small pair of scissors in the kit that I used to cut off his sleeve.

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