I bent down to help Scarlette, pausing as I glanced down at a piece of notebook paper that had floated to the ground near my foot. My heart pumped furiously in my chest asI read the words scrawled across it.
I know what you did.
If you want it to stay between us, meet me in the little theater after rehearsal.
My stomach lurched.
This had to be a mistake. Someone must have slid this into her folder as a joke. It couldn’t possibly be Scarlette.
My fingers shook as I pulled my gaze from the paper, prepared to ask Scarlette what the hell was going on.
There was a flash of metal, and I jerked back as I stared directly into the barrel of a gun.
Unfortunate
Ipulledthegunfrom my bag with a heavy sigh.
This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. All of my carefully laid out plans had gone up in smoke. I’d been so close.
But now?
She knew. She knew it was me. And I couldn’t let her leave.
It was unfortunate, the way things had so quickly gotten out of hand. I didn’t revel in blood being spilled.
At least not much.
I only ever did what had to be done.My future came first. I couldn’t allow everything I’d worked for to go up in flames.
My hands shook as the click of me cocking the gun rang out.
Nobody would take this away from me. I wouldn’t let them.
Her wild eyes went to the barrel of my gun and my shoulders relaxed, as that feeling of power and invincibility once again wound through me.
It felt nice to have someone at my mercy. Calming almost. And all those voices that had been tormenting me for weeks were blissfully silent.
The Final Curtain
Eve
“Scarlette?Whatareyoudoing?” My voice trembled, and I fisted my hands into the material of my backpack to prevent them from shaking.
It was obvious she’d never been taught how to hold a gun. Her grasp was too tight and her fingers interwoven, thumb wrapping around the back. If the gun fired, it was gonna hurt like a bitch.
Hopefully, we wouldn’t get to the point of her shooting that thing.
Her hands shook and her finger hovered over the trigger as she sighed.
“I’m sorry, Eve,” she said, her voice monotone. “You were always nice to me, but I can’t let you leave now that you’ve seen that little note Nick left me.”
This couldn’t be happening.Of all the Broadway auditions I’d done in the last year, the one I finally nailed justhadto have a homicidal maniac on the cast.
Adrenaline pumped through me, giving me clarity and focus. I decided my best bet was to distract her. Maybe I could convince her to let me go.
She didn’t realize Ben was in the atrium waiting for me, didn’t know that my absence wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.
Suddenly, I was terrified for Ben. Of what he might walk into. Of what she might do to him if he did.
