I’d go to rehearsal, as expected. Smile. Play it cool. Then afterward, I’d call The Sacrifice and quit. No warning, no explanation. Just done.
They wouldn’t like me bailing on them, but at this point, I had no choice.
Then I’d vanish.
Lucky for me, I’d already found the perfect hiding spot. During the last rehearsal, I’d gotten lost in Playwrights and ended up going through a utility door into the building behind it. Midtown Performance and Rehearsal Studios was a complex with dozens of rooms, stages, and dark corners that actors, dancers, musicians, and artists could rent for practice and lessons. The place never shut down. It was perfect.
No one would think of looking for me there.
I could crash under a stage, sneak showers in the dressing rooms, and keep to the shadows until everything blew over. And there was an exit right next to a twenty-four-hour bodega. If I timed it right, I could slip in and out without anyone knowing I hadn’t left town.
I would even tell Carmine I’d gone back to Tennessee. I was sure Trina would be more than happy to inform anyone who asked that I was long gone. Hopefully, if no one could find me for a few days, they’d stop looking.
The hardest part would be skipping out on Jae and Nat.
I’d leave a note, telling them I had to run for my life, that I would explain everything later. It was shitty not to tell them in person, but I needed to make myself scarce before they found out. The less they knew, the safer they were. No one could get any information from someone who had none.
I took a deep breath, set the rag down, and looked around the apartment. My little sanctuary. My fresh start in the Big Apple.
I wasn’t ready to give it up.
But I sure as hell wasn’t ready to die for it either.
Time to vanish.
And pray that neither of those monsters came looking for me.
I moved fast.
There wasn’t time to second-guess this or let my nerves take over. I took the quickest shower of my life, wrapped my hair in atowel, and yanked open the drawers of my dresser. I didn’t own much, but I grabbed what mattered.
Into my backpack I shoved some leggings, dance clothes, socks, panties, bras, a couple of pairs of jeans, my favorite hoodie, a little tin of bobby pins, my makeup bag, a toothbrush, and toiletries.
That was all that would fit. Sadly, I’d have to leave behind my books, more than half my clothes, and all the things I’d bought to decorate my room.
So I layered a few other clothes over the ones I had on. I looked a little ridiculous, but I wanted to take as much as I could. It was cold out anyway, and my new coat would help hide the bulk.
I tried not to think about the man who’d given it to me—about that kiss or the way my body had leaned into his with traitorous hunger. He’d kissed me breathless and then tossed me aside like it meant nothing. Decent men didn’t do that. On the other hand, he had protected me when I was in danger and given me this coat.
It messed with my head.
Everything about this week messed with my head.
I zipped up the backpack and headed into the kitchen. I ate an apple and a microwave meal while I worked on writing a note to Nat and Jae.
I’m sorry, I had to leave in a hurry. Something bad happened. I’ll explain later if I can. I’m going home to Tennessee. I love you both. Stay safe.
I left the note folded on the counter and then headed out the door.
My heart pounded the entire walk to the theater. I sensed unfriendly eyes tracking me. It was late afternoon, cold and gray, and the snow that had looked so pretty this morning was now black slush, soaking into the hem of my leggings.
I ducked my head and kept moving.
This had to work.
I had to make it work.
I slipped through the glass doors of the theater and wandered through the building, finding my way down a maintenance hallway with creaking pipes overhead. I took a couple of wrong turns, but I finally found the connecting door into the Midtown Rehearsal building.
