With a sigh, I rolled off the top bunk and padded over to the wide window overlooking the parking lot. The blinds were open, letting in slivers of pale light from the posts nearby.
Night was on the sofa a few feet away with his bare feet propped up on the cushions, not paying me any attention. He was focused intently on sewing his teal performance jacket that he refused to replace, no matter how tattered it became.
He might not have ever said it out loud, or anything else for that matter, but I knew it was sentimental to him.
Why? I wasn't sure, and I didn't pry. He’d tell me—or text it to me, rather—when he was ready. If ever.
I stared through the glass, my mind stuck somewhere between reliving our last show and hoping to outdo it next time. My skin suddenly felt too tight, and I fought the urge to scratch my bare chest.
What I wouldn't give to be on the trapeze right now.
A flash of neon green caught my attention, chasing off the rest of my thoughts, and my eyes locked on it. It was Revel on his obnoxious crotch rocket, but instead of loading it back up into his trailer, he was parked beneath the gas station awning. Not even near a pump.
Weird.
And there was someone on the back of the bike.
Weirder.
Revel doesn’t let anyone near that thing.
“What the hell is he doing?” I murmured, tossing a look back over my shoulder at Night. He’d removed his metal mask for the evening, and his scarred lips were fixed in a hard line. His dark hair hung over his eyes while he worked.
The man could be performing for a thousand people or nodding off in a corner, and he’d still be sexy as hell.
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back out the trailer window. After being gone for hours, Revel had finally shown back up…with a girl.
He’d been known to entertain fans after the show, doing tricks in the parking lot or showing them around the ring. Fucking them and then never seeing them again.
Butthis—picking up a stranger and bringing her back to the caravan—was different.
Was she an old fling? A stranger?
Did he find us a new troupe member?My heartbeat stuttered.
We’d had the same troupe for ages—years.We were a well-oiled machine. Sure, we fought. What coworkers didn’t? But I knew at the end of the day we were all there for one another.
Except Zero. Zero was only there for himself. He was there for Hallow, too, but that was only out of necessity. I was pretty sure Zero wanted to inherit the circus if Hallow ever stepped down as ringleader.
I scoffed. Hallow would sooner see the circus rot.
Blinking, I focused on Revel and the girl again. She dismounted the bike without any help from him and stumbled a bit before catching her balance. Definitely not the most graceful.
She'd be awful at the tightrope.
Revel’s mouth was moving, but I was too far away to attempt reading his lips. She wasn’t running away, and he wasn’t dragging her off to his trailer. That had to count for something, right?
Is he really bringing someone to join our little fucked-up family?
I shook my head.
It was better not to get my hopes up.
Being hopelessly optimistic was a character flaw of mine, and it led to me being let down… a lot. Constantly. But I couldn’t help it. Once the little voice in my head decided there was a possibility for something, my heart latched on with iron-clad strength.
“Probably just some hookup,” I muttered aloud as though Night was listening, but my eyes stayed locked on the girl.
Brown hair spilled down her back as she pulled off Revel’s helmet. I was too far away to make out the details of her face, even though she was illuminated by the gas station lights, but I squinted anyway. The way she was dressed, in a hoodie, leggings, and black boots, didn’t tell me much, but the backpack she carried had me cocking an eyebrow.
