“Ask her yourself.” Evie stands and moves to the head of my bed.
He enters and kneels at my bedside. His hand goes where Evie’s had been around mine. “I could kill those apes… But I’m glad to see you’re awake. Moving around some?”
“As little as possible,” I say. “I’m really sore.”
He sits on the side of my bed. “I’ll never get the image of you falling out of my head. Jesus!”
I look at his hand holding mine.
“We’re investigating what happened,” he continues. “Darby insists they checked the mechanics and made sure it was working.” He pauses, and I watch his jaw clench. “He’s trying to imply someone might have tampered with it.”
My heart beats a little faster. “Tampered—like someone wanted to… hurt me?” I can’t even say the word kill.
Black eyes meet mine. “If he’s right, I’ll find out who and handle it.”
Closing my eyes, I remember the blood on Mark’s hands. “I’m so glad Mark was there.”
“The girls are all calling him a hero,” Evie says quickly. “They’re taking dibs on who’s going to help him change those bandages.”
“The girls are idiots,” Roland says. “They should save their tricks for men with money.”
“He was brave,” she insists. “He reached right out and grabbed that rope. It was flying by, and he just grabbed it. Shredded his hands, but he caught you.”
I shudder at the memory. “I need to thank him.”
“You need to take it easy,” Roland says. “Gavin expects you back in the saddle by Sunday, so you only have a few days to recover.”
“He’s going to make me do it again?” I try to sit up, but a sharp pain in my torso halts me. “I can’t go back up there. Not if someone’s trying to hurt me!”
Roland catches my shoulders. “Easy.”
“No one’s trying to hurt you,” Evie’s voice is soothing. “Mark said he’ll be at the top of the ladder every night you go on. Sounds like he’s committed.”
Commitment… I remember his words.
Still, my worried eyes find Roland’s, and he shrugs. “We’ll make it work.” He stands and then leans down to kiss my head. “Sleep.”
Evie follows him to the door and he stops. He speaks to her in a low voice, but I can only hear part of what he says.
“Will that work for you?” he asks. I watch Evie nod and look down.
“They’ll pay you extra for your silence,” he says.
She doesn’t look up at him. “If Gavin says it’s okay.”
Roland gently pats her cheek. “Gavin only cares about the money, not where you get it.”
Fear tightens my chest. Is it possible Roland is working with Gavin to pimp out Evie? Why would he do that? I thought he was on our side…
She shuts the door and walks back to where I lie. “Just you and me tonight,” she says, sitting and picking up her book. “Want me to read to you? This one’s a panty-melter!”
I try to smile, but my throat is tight.
“I think I’ll try and sleep if I’m actually being ordered to.” Then a flash of panic hits me. “Where’s Molly?”
“In the wings watching. Vanessa’s taking your place as the dark angel, and Molly’s convinced she’ll suck at it. I’m actually a little curious myself.”
I think about what Roland said, about Vanessa taking my place. “You don’t think…” But I shake my head. It’s a huge leap from disliking someone to trying to kill them.
Her green eyes flicker to mine. “Don’t think what?”
“I just…” I look down at my lap. “I think being cooped up in this theater makes people start imagining all kinds of sinister things.”
“The girls are bitchy,” she says, seeming to read my mind. “But I don’t think any of them are smart enough to sabotage Darby’s equipment. They’re certainly not strong enough.”
“You’re right.” I nod, sliding down into the blankets. “I’m glad you’re back. You left without saying goodbye, and I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
“I wasn’t given much time to say anything to anyone.” Her voice trails off and her eyes look past me at some memory.
I’m quiet a moment, but I have to know. “So you’re not dancing at all now?”
“No need for that.” She tries to laugh. “And Fiona’s glad to have me gone, I’m sure.”
I nod and study my hands. I’ve known Evie so long, I don’t want to make her feel ashamed, but I remember how proud she’d been to be a dancer. I wonder if she’ll leave now that her fate has changed. Now that she’s selling herself for money.
Our eyes meet, and she sees the question in mine. “He was an older man. He wasn’t very attractive, but his rooms were in the penthouse suite of the W… and he was gentle.”
“Oh, Evie.” I swallow the knot in my throat.
She stands and walks over to my makeup mirror, lifting the brushes and arranging the tubes of lipstick and eyeliners. “Don’t get all big eyed and scared. We all know what happens here. I could have found another job. I could have left this place.”
“You wanted to be a dancer.”
“But I wasn’t good enough to be legit.” She studies her reflection, lifting her chin. “Admit it. We’re attracted to the darkness, the tease and the thrill of what might happen. It’s why we stay.”
It’s not why I stay. I stay because I’m holding onto a promise. “I’m so sorry.”
She gives me a wink. “Well, don’t you worry about me. Roland’s found something that could be very enjoyable… and lucrative.”
I’m afraid to ask what, still, I know curiosity is in my eyes. She crosses the room to sit at the foot of my bed.
“He has these friends. They’re young, hot, and very wealthy, and they want to see me together.”
I realize even though I live in a strip club, I’m still the girl who grew up surrounded by nuns. “I don’t know what that means.”
Her cheeks flush, and she chews her lip. “I’m pretty new to the whole thing myself. I’m really not much more than a beard, but I know a good thing when I hear it.”
I realize I’m leaning forward and stop. “A beard? Wait… They’re gay? I don’t understand. Why do gay guys want you?”
“Well, for the most part, Roland says I’ll be Phillip’s date to major events. Phillip’s father is the leader of some mega-church, and he’s heavily involved in politics. Phillip doesn’t want to embarrass the man. Can you imagine?”
My head shakes slowly no. “So you won’t actually have sex with them?”
I’m holding onto the hope that Roland hasn’t betrayed us.
“I guess I’ll find out… But a girl can hope, right?”
I manage a smile as I slide down into the bed. I know some girls like to watch gay guys having sex. Looks like my friend Evie is one of them. “Then I guess this is a good thing?”
“Damn straight,” she laughs. “They’re rich, gay, and paying me to hang out with them. I win!”
Is this a win? I can’t help wondering for how long, and why? Why doesn’t she just go back to Podunk, Tennessee, and start over…
Okay, I know.
I understand the drive to be in this city, the hope that a break might come. Even when all around us is darkness and night, it’s the tiniest flicker of a promise, the smallest hope that it might happen.
The dream might come true.