When the door opens, I turn and feel relief course through me as Ruiz and Cade step in.
Ruiz’s expression is tense, but when he sees me watching him, he smooths it to one of neutrality.
“Is there anything wrong?” I ask.
“No. We had to track down the missing dancer. It’s been handled. You’re safe,” he reassures.
My eyes narrow as I consider his response. For now, I go along with it.
“Grab some sandwiches and chips. We’re going to be here another two or three hours.”
I keep my tone bland.
Two and a half hours later, we’re finished with ensemble auditions.
“Can we go home? Do this there? Or do you want to pick it up tomorrow?” I ask.
Meg is tapping away at her phone. “I vote home, but I need to swing by the office. My replacement has questions.”
“Is she working out?” I ask as we head for the elevator.
“She is. It was a good match,” Meg answers. “If you crossed Mama with Mrs. Doubtfire, only she texts.” She flashes me a wicked smile. “And she has Erik on the run, so automatic plus.”
“Poor Erik.” I bite my lip, trying not to smile. “He spent his whole life king of his world, and in the last few months he’s had to learn to share it.”
When we get upstairs, I’m surprised to see Coulson there, along with another man in an FBI windbreaker.
I shoot Ruiz a suspicious glance.
He shrugs. “You had to get through rehearsals, and the problem was handled. You didn’t need the distraction.”
As we approach they turn towards us. “Jace Ford, this is Christianna.”
I quickly shake the extended hand as Coulson continues. “Jace is a good friend, and we have cooperated on threats together in the past.”
“Threats? I thought it was kind of over now. We know who it is. The news showed their house was put up for sale this morning.”
The FBI agent is an attractive man somewhere in his thirties. He gestures me to the couch in Remy’s office.
“Where are Remy and Erik?” I ask looking around. I’m in here by myself. Meg and David went to track down her assistant.
"We're going to take you to them. We wanted to lay everything out first." Coulson is speaking, but I'm not sure I hear anything past take you to them.
"What do you mean take me to them?" My tone is demanding.
I whip around to Ruiz.
“Tell me.”
“They received a note from the Dark Angel. It said the Opera House was infiltrated.”
“The missing dancer?” I interrupt.
He nods.
Coulson takes over. “We arrived when we realized Ubaldo hadn’t shown up at the airport. His mom and sister had taken a jet to Italy.”
“Additionally,” Jace adds, “he’d made some concerning purchases recently.”
