Page 82 of Dance With A Devil

I laugh, harder than I meant to. It startles me, the sound. I haven’t laughed like that in… days? Weeks?

“Okay, Mr. Celibate. When was your last indulgence?”

He goes quiet. The smile fades. “She died. Years ago. My girlfriend.”

The mood shifts, like the temperature dropped ten degrees.

“Crew…” My voice softens. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“You couldn’t have.” He shrugs, but it’s too tight. “Haven’t really looked at another woman the same way since.”

For a moment, the air between us sharpens. I don’t know if I want to comfort him or crawl back into the hole I’ve been living in.

He tears off a piece of sandwich. “Let’s talk about you.”

“Oh, God no. My life is a circus. Except all the animals have rabies and the ringmaster’s a corpse.”

He chuckles, but before I can say more, we both hear it, voices echoing down the hallway.

Laughter. Footsteps.

Crew shoots up, all business now. “Time to go.”

He’s moving fast, stuffing napkins, plates, and leftovers into a black duffel I swear wasn’t there two minutes ago.

“You liar,” I hiss. “You don’tknowanyone in the kitchen, do you?”

His guilty expression says it all.

“I should report you.”

“Sure,” he smirks, grabbing my wrist. “After we make our escape.”

We bolt out the side door like a couple of kids breaking out of detention. I’m breathless. Giggling. It’s wrong. It’sreckless. And I can’t remember the last time I felt something other than hollow.

Adrenaline dances through my veins like static.

“I’ve never been caught like that,” I admit, heart hammering. “It was… thrilling.”

“You’re welcome?” he offers, unsure.

I nod. “Thank you. Really.”

He checks his watch like he’s memorized my schedule. “Your break’s almost over.”

Damn. “Yeah.”

His face dips low, almost sheepish as he kicks at a loose piece of gravel. “Maybe we do this again sometime?”

I hesitate, then nod. “Sure. I might even bring a friend next time. She’d like you.”

His brows lift, but the glimmer in his eyes dies almost as fast as it appears. “A friend, huh? Sounds harmless enough.”

“Trust me… she’s not.”

Crew gives me a lopsided grin. “Then I look forward to it.”

He turns and walks away, that black duffel swinging at his side like a body bag.