They were closing. Still closing in.
Alexander darted his eyes from one mirror to another before jerking the steering wheel.
Boom!
CHAPTER 24
Anastasia
A story of passion, symbolizing love’s triumph over evil and fate.
How appropriate at this point in my life.
Was fate playing a horrible joke on me?
My partner spun around me, taking a few seconds to grab a sip of water. We’d been in rehearsal for a couple of hours, mostly warming our muscles and driving away the kinks.
I remained a nervous wreck.
Concentrate. You’re a professional.
As one of my favorite points of the music moved to a crescendo, I took a deep breath and moved in time to the chorus, beat after beat. Step after step.
Grand jeté.
Pirouette.
Assemblé.
Plié.
I needed continuous practice because my mind was everywhere but where it should be.
On the ballet.
Sleeping Beauty, which suddenly seemed an oppressive dance. I was terrified I’d never wake up. And the clock was ticking.
Something was off. I could feel it in my blood.
“Relax,” my partner told me. He offered a smile, which was a rarity amongst the dancers in the group. I’d yet to make friends. How could I when I’d spent all my free time with one… sexy man? An image of his face popped into my mind and I shuddered to my core.
“I’m trying.” I grabbed a towel, wiping my face and shifted my thoughts to Jaxon and his promise of being here.
I was excited, more so than I’d thought I’d be. While we still didn’t know each other, at least not really, I felt closer to him than I had to anyone in my life.
Protected.
That’s the way all good mafia princesses were supposed to feel. Right? As if no one could ever hurt me. I should have innate knowledge that anyone who dared try would never see the light of day again.
Mafia soldiers were not known for being reflective of their crimes. They had no guilt, no concept of remorse. That’s what made them such excellent assassins. I had no doubt the two hugemen assigned to keep me from harm’s way would do whatever was necessary to keep a bullet from entering my brain.
That didn’t provide me with any comfort.
I wrung my hands as I paced the stage, the lights from above preventing me from seeing the empty theater, but I sensed people watching.
Just like the night of the performance in New York.
Bad people.
