ng down the plush, dimly lit c

hree steps and

a nearby service bar. The decision was a spark, a sma

her expression unreadable

voice low and raspy, but steady. "I

the humiliating dress, grab her things, and disappear into the

She grabbed Jasmine's wrist, her long, manicur

ury and panic. She shoved Jasmine hard against the wall, the impact kn

r eyes, a hint of a person Sasha had never seen before, a person wh

ced by something more insidious. She leaned in close, her voi

frey

a door in Jasmine's mind to

I will call him. I will tell him you disobeyed a direct order. I will tell him yo

rd. Ba

contracted to pinpricks. The plush hallway, th

s back

ear. Geoffrey's voice, calm and reasonable, echoing in the blackness, explaining why this was nec

onstructed walls of her composure crumbled to dust. Her face, already pale beneath the foundation, went c

e had won. She eased her grip slightly, her

his office. Watching every

f you piss off the Buckleys tonight, it's not just you he'll punish. It's me.

n the city, starving and alone. Sasha had given her this job. It wasn't kindness, not really, but it had be

gs were not strong enoug

through the thick makeup on her cheek. She took a ragged breath, forcing the

, the fire was gone. There was

a slow, j

l," she murmured, patting Jasmine's arm in a mockery

woman staring back was a mess. A clown with a tear-streaked fac

d, she smeared another thick, obnoxious layer over her lips, making them look swollen and cartoonis

se. Making herself smaller. Mo

expensive carpet, their movements stiff and awkward, their faces a mixture

y, a wave of nause

up the crystal tray. The cold, hard reality

t of the line gave a sharp,

velvet-carpeted corridor, a prisoner walking her own green mile. The walls were lined with sconces that cast

VIP suite, her heart beat a frantic

ed toes of her heels sink into the plush carpet, one ste