Page 69 of Stolen Voices

“Bend, drop. Hit one, two. Up. Hips.” At first, none of Jenna’s words made sense, but after a hundred times, they do and now I move my body accordingly. “Perfect, Callie. Again, hit. Pop, pop. Yes.”

Jenna is a brilliant teacher. She’s kind and motivating. Her moves are fresh and flow with the melody, a mix between pop and lyrical. I was never big on dancing but learned some doing the ensemble routines for the teen movies I starred in when I first started my career. Those were much simpler days and, in a lot of ways, I miss them.

I listen as Jenna instructs the backup dancers to circle me like they will during the concert. With butterfly wings, they will hide me from the crowd as two dancers clip a harness onto my hips before I get lifted into the air.

The bridge hits, and the ring descends.

My heart rails against my ribs, trying to escape. My palms sweat. Dread hits me in the stomach. I really don’t want to do this.

My eyes catch Eli where he’s standing in the front row. His gaze hasn’t left me all morning. Not since I left him speechless and drooling over my ass as I strutted away from him. Instead of the lust that burned before, they now glow with a warm, calming heat that makes me feel safe and secure.

My nerves dissipate as our eyes lock. I concentrate on the brown spot on his left, and a wave of assurance falls over me as I grip the bar and ascend toward the lights. Once in the air, a wave of confidence slides over me. As I practiced, I spread my legs and contort my core, executing the spin perfectly.

The wires attached to the ring screech like nails on a chalkboard as I come to a stop. My skin breaks out in goosebumps and a shiver rolls down my spine at the sickening sound.

Unexpectedly, one of the wires attached to the ring in my hands snaps. Fear spreads through me when I take a quick plunge as the other cables catch my weight with a taut jerk. The bucking motion makes my shoulders burn as I hold on.

I scream, fear slicing through me.

Fuck. Please, cord, don’t snap and let me plummet to my death,my brain pleads with the universe.

Another wire snaps, and the sound is so deafening it muffles the shouts below me as the ring drops me another foot down with a jerk. My body whips around, and the force of it is too much for the carabiner on my right hip. It snaps and my right hand slips. I’m left gripping the circular bar with only my left hand as I spin out of control.

My body sways back and forth, and I can’t help but look down.

Nope. Bad idea.

My head spins from the vertigo. The floor looks miles away from up here. I squeeze my eyes shut and tighten my grip. Pure terror grips my insides as blood pounds in my ears.

I’m going to die.

“Callie! Listen to me, dammit.” Eli’s shouts cut through my fog of fear.

Without looking down, I shout his name.

“I’m right here. I need you to slow your momentum.”

“I can’t,” I cry out, focusing on the one hand gripping the bar.

“You can do it. Please, try again. You got this.” I can hear the edge of panic and fear laced in his firm voice.

I can do this.

Taking a deep breath, I bring my ankles together and tuck my knees to my chest, decreasing the pendulum my body is creating fifteen feet off the ground. More creaking above has me scrambling to reach for the ring with my right hand in panic. My fingertips miss the bar by a hair, and my left shoulder screams in pain.

Chancing a look down, I watch Eli shout at the engineer, who says something about the mechanism being stuck. Panic sets in as the ring creaks and I dip again with a yelp.

“Bring those pads over here now,” Eli bellows.

I feel like I’m wading through water, and time slows down as I watch him bark orders and everyone scrambles in a flurry of motion. I keep my eyes on Eli. He looks so strong and sexy from up here as he tries to get me down.

Regret hits me in the gut, making me feel sick. I should have sung him my song and kissed his pouty lips when I had the chance.

My mom’s dark-brown eyes flash in my head, and tears cloud my vision. I’m about to die, and the only person who knows about her is Silla. Anguish pulls me closer to the ground. I should have told Eli the truth sooner. He would have taken care of Mom if something happened to me.

Gears whine, and the smell of smoke hits my nose, making me gag. I drop another foot, and my body rocks side to side again. I have no idea what the hell to do. My palm is sweaty, and I’m losing my grip.

“Eli,” I shout as the second cable on the ring snaps, and my body is sent flailing, gravity doing its best to pull me down. I close my eyes and accept my fate.