Page 28 of Stripped

"Christ," he said, pulling out onto the road. His low beams barely cut through the heavy mist. "What did Paul say to you at the end?"

"Paul didn't say anything to me. I told him not to worry that Peter was being a cunt. Then I reminded him that he was the star now. This is a big opportunity for him."

"I thought you were the star."

"Nureyev choreographed it with the prince at the heart of the narrative. The black swan is a symbol of his true homosexual desires. I told Paul to think of me as Richard."

"You said star now? Was this not his part from the beginning?" Wraith reduced his speed as they crept over the Kingston Bridge.

"No, when Irina was hurt, her partner Thomas was so upset, he stepped down. Which was fine with me because I hate partnering with him. He dropped me once."

"And who was the lad playing Rothbart?"

"His name's Jerome. Why?"

"I'm just trying to paint a picture of it all," he said. "It's fascinating. Ballet is so beautiful and graceful to watch. It's a whole other world on the inside."

"It's not that bad, and in the end, we all have the same goal," she said a bit defensively.

"And what's that?"

"The stage. When the curtains open, we want to be perfect."

* * *

Pim pulled her foot, pointe shoe and all, out of the tub of hot water and Epsom salts. The water, stained pink from the blood from her shoe, seeped into the towel she set it on, spreading out like a modern art painting, abstract and tangible, offering her a brief emancipation from her mind and the pain. "I think it's soaked long enough." They had an hour before they needed to be at her grandfather's place.

Wraith came from the kitchen and knelt down in front of where she sat on the couch.

"I think I can do it myself," she said.

"It will be easier if I help you." He untied the ribbons around her ankle and slid her heel out of the back. "This will be the worst part," he said as he swiftly removed the shoe from her toe. She grimaced, trying to hold back her tears. She didn't want to cry in front of him. He looked up at her. "You okay?"

She nodded, reaching down toward her tights.

"Let me."

"There's a hole on the bottom; you need to flip it over my toes." Her voice was shaking. "Do it fast."

Wraith found the opening and quickly detached the remaining material from her toe, pulling the foot of the tights to her ankle. The raw and inflamed nail bed began to bleed again. He carefully wrapped it in a gauze.

Pim grabbed her foot, squeezing, her knuckles white from the pain. Spots danced in front of her eyes as she took a deep breath.

Wraith moved so he sat beside her and began to rub her shoulders. "That's it, over." He kissed the side of her head. "That's my girl."

She took a deep, ragged breath as the pain in her foot began to diminish. The afternoon loomed large in front of her and her emotions were already sensitive from rehearsal. The intimacy of Wraith tending her became too much. He would be leaving soon, she reminded herself.

"Who are your main suspects?" she asked, hoping to relieve the tension in the room. "Graham Rankin seems to gain a lot from my grandfather's death."

"It wasn't him."

"How can you be so sure?" She opened the bottle of Anbesol and painted a small amount over her nailbed, sucking in her breath until the stinging sensation subsided and the numbing effect began to take hold.

"Rankin's not a leader. He's hoping to ride the coattails of your grandfather for as long as he can, but men won't follow him."

"You seem so sure."

"I am. He's a formidable strategist, but his abrasive nature rubs people the wrong way. He's nothing more than a sidekick and he knows it. He needed your grandfather more than anyone."

"Do you have any other suspects?" She placed a piece of gauze over the nail bed and tore off a length of medical tape, wrapping it around the bandage.

"It's puzzling. Your grandfather's death, pushing him over the rail, almost seems like a crime of passion. The car chase and stalking your flat were calculated and planned out. They don't match."

"Do you think you'll figure it out?" she asked.

"Yes, but you're not out of danger, princess. I want you to stay close to me and do what I tell you to until we catch this person."

His words cut a direct path to her core, and for the first time, she questioned her decision to get involved with him. Everything he said to her and everything she perceived, was momentary. They were just words; there was no meaning or conviction behind them. Tomorrow, he would be gone.

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