“What are you talking about?” Her eyes narrow like she thinks she can play dumb. But I’ll shout it out in front of everyone if that’s what she wants.
I’ll rip her to shreds with an audience.
“You know what.”
She glances to the side, checking where Sinclair is.
“She’ll know what you did soon. The minute you give it back, you’re going to walk out of here and get into the cop car that’s waiting outside for you, where they’re going to charge you with vandalism, malicious communications, and theft.”
“You can’t prove anything,” she snaps. She looks me up and down, pretending she’s unaffected, but her bottom lip is trembling as she blinks fast. “Don’t tell me… you’re another person who’s in love with her?” She snorts. “Why does everyone think Sin’s so special?”
“Because sheisspecial,” I grit. “And that’s why roaches like you want to crawl all over her, spreading their poison. But Theodora”—I lean close so my lips are at her ear—“you didn’tcount on me. I know exactly what kind of girl you are. And soon everyone else will too. You’ll never work in fashion again.”
She shudders before snapping her chin up to glare at me.
“You’re just some paid henchman for the Beauforts. How’s it feel knowing they could ditch you at any moment and you’d be on the outside? Then you’d be like the rest of us, living in their shadow,” she spits. “Her father owns half the fucking city. What chance does anyone else have?”
“Sinclair is where she is because she works hard. And because she doesn’t shit on other people to get to where she is. She’s liked. She’s respected. She isn’ttrash.”
“You’re an idiot if you think she won’t turn on you once she’s fed up. I get it, the whole protective bodyguard vibe is hot. But you’re a plaything to her. Everyone in their world is disposable. Rumor has it her father killed her mother because he’s always preferred younger women. Just look at who he’s marrying now. She’s twenty years younger than him.”
The venom in Theodora’s voice is ripped from her throat as she lets out a garbled gasp.
“What did you just say?”
She looks back at Sinclair and grabs her wrist, which is embedded in Theodora’s scalp, pinning her in place by her hair. I catch Sinclair’s eye and the look she gives me is a warning. But she doesn’t need to worry. She can have her minute with Theodora before the cops take her away. I’m not going to interfere.
I take a step back, cracking my neck as Sinclair yanks Theodora’s hair.
“Denver? Did she take it?”
She heard every word. She came closer the moment I had Theodora’s full attention on me. She knew something was wrong. The same way I knew I didn’t trust Theodora the first time I met her.
Instinct.
“She did.”
Sinclair’s eyes go wide as she looks back at Theodora, who’s flailing about pathetically, at the mercy of Sinclair’s iron grip on her.
“Where is it?” Sinclair asks her. “Where is it?!” she shouts when Theodora says nothing.
The entire backstage area has gone deathly silent. All eyes are on Sinclair as she marches Theodora over to her bag and thrusts her toward it, not loosening her grip on her hair.
“I’m not letting go until you give it back. So I hope for your sake it’s in that ugly thing.”
Theodora struggles some more. “You’re a bitch!”
“Yeah? Takes one to know one,” Sinclair replies calmly, shoving her toward her bag again. “Now give it back.”
Theodora scrabbles to open her bag. She shoves her hand inside and then screeches as she flings something out of it.
The necklace hits the floor and skids across it, stopping near my feet. Sinclair gasps and lets go of Theodora as if she’s about to race after it.
“Sinclair?”
Her glassy eyes lift to meet mine and the unshed tears in them gut me. But my girl’s a fighter. And she’s going to win this one.
“I don’t think that’s the way to hand someone something precious, do you?” I tip my head toward Theodora who’s rubbing at the matted tuft of hair on the back of her hair.
