nce. Her ankle throbbed with every step. She kept her eyes fixed on the concrete, on the

r door

han Alyssa's annual rent. She positioned herself directly in Alyssa's p

g me off for my private party. He has a few calls to make before he joins me inside. I

e in the back seat. Broad shoulders. A profile cut from marble. The same man who

sa's voice was flat. "Less

Some of us have places to be. People to see." She turned back toward the car, her hee

e Maybach pulled away from the curb and disappear

n the stairs into the subway, into the fluorescent-lit tunnels that smelled like urin

tment she shared with Paige Sutton, counting the cracks in the c

ith an elastic bandage she'd bought at a dollar store and started her barre exercises. Her cheek was hidden beneath a

n. The room went silent. The artistic director never visited

raight to Al

My offi

iped her face with her towel and f

a sheet of paper from his desk and threw it at her. It was next month's casting sheet. Her nam

ian said. "Effect

hands sho

ttered. Gregg Ashley's family has donated three hundred thousand dollars to this company annually for the past de

do anyth

ility. Unless..." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "Unless you're willing to make

ed. "I'm a ballet dan

d feelings." He pulled another document from his drawer. "Of course, if you refuse, I should mention that the Elena Voss Medical Fund is currentl

e letterhead. She recognized the signature of

k. The address was embossed in gold. The Ap

e. And Alyssa? Wear something that shows yo

In the bathroom, she splashed water on her face until her skin went num

vomit. Private club. Members only. Discretion guaranteed. The kind of place wher

be there. She knew it w

again, or the possibility that the man from

s. High neck. Long sleeves. The most conservative thing she owned. She was pulli

ng dressed like a

't turn around. "Gala. Bo

e room and grabbed Alyssa's arm, forcing her to

cident. I

re ly

ed her bag and her coat. "I'

to Midtown took forty minutes. She spent them staring a

canvas bag, at her face. They didn't want to let her in. Then she produced the invitation, and their exp

mirrors. The music grew louder. Bass vibrations traveled through the

ber liquid, women in dresses that left nothing to the imagination draped across their laps. And in the c

. The swan

ed the space, looking for exits, looking for allies, finding neither. Then her

er his knee, a crystal glass balanced on his thigh. He was wat

into a smile tha

voice carried over the music like he owne