When the cheers, whistles, and shouts ofClimb! Climb! Climb!nearly drowned out the music, Aiden finally shimmied up the pole. He paused several times during his ascent to spin and flirt with the audience. Then, when he was near the top, he went all out. High above the stage, he rolled through a complicated series of flips and spins. As he whirled around the pole, hair flaring behind him like a glittering black cape, Aiden thought of the situation with Mike. He was fearless right now, when a single slip could lead to serious injury. He was also fearless when he had his sai in hand, facing down villains. It was time for him to let go of his fears when it came to one strong and sweet superhero.
Now that he finally understood what he needed to do, Aiden smiled, happiness warming his chest. The second his performance was over, he’d find Mike and tell him how he felt.
∞ ∞ ∞
The entire team had rallied behind Aiden to help guard the Playground during their Halloween festival. They couldn’t all be here at once, since there were other places that needed their attention as well. Mike had made it clear he wanted to be assigned to the group working the event and Strong had granted his request. Now, the festivities were underway, and Mike took up a position that allowed him to keep his eye on the main stage where Aiden would be performing.
So far, everyone was having a good time. There were a few incidents, arguments and scuffles, but they were due to alcohol and overexcitement, not the Purity Alliance. Throughout the evening, multiple acts entertained the crowd—a bawdy juggling trio, a contortionist, and of course, the exotic dancers. According to the program, Aiden was next.
There was a short break while the stage hands set up a heart-stoppingly tall dance pole. Once it was in place, the lights went down except for the spotlights shining directly on the pole. Music started to play and Aiden appeared, strutting as if he owned the stage, and knew every eye was on him. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he started to dance. When he climbed the pole, they went wild with cheers and applause.
Mike smiled as he watched his beautiful dancer effortlessly spin and flip at the top of the pole, his sensuous movements capturing the attention of the screaming crowd below him. It was plain to see that he loved performing, loved dancing. Mike almost wanted to hit the pretentious fools who’d rejected Aiden with a light tap of his blast, except their decision to oust him from the classical ballet world had ultimately led to Mike meeting him. They hadn’t had a chance to talk after their emotional time in the Fox’s champagne room, but Mike hoped that they would soon, so that he could get back to worshipping his pretty dom.
Near the end of the performance, something drew Mike’s attention away from Aiden. He’d caught sight of a purple light from the corner of his eye. It was the Playground, so everything was lit in a multitude of neon colors. And lots of festival attendees had glow sticks in various colors—including purple—waving them about as they celebrated. But something about this particular purple light had Mike on edge. He remembered what Aiden had said before. Purple meant Pruitt A.I. Police.
Mike turned away from the stage to get a better look at the purple glow that had him unsettled. The light was still and unblinking. And its location gave it a direct line of sight to the stage.
An icy chill of apprehension shivered down Mike’s spine. His instincts warned him something was off about that light. Activating his comm link with a quick touch to the ear piece, he started to alert the team about his concern.
“Team, I’ve got a suspicious light behind the —.”
Before he could finish reporting the intel, a bright purple beam shot over the crowd, aiming for the man high above the stage. Mike watched, horrified, as the beam hit Aiden in the vicinity of his heart, the light punching out the back of his shoulder before dissipating into nothing.
For one endless moment, Aiden was frozen in place, his face twisted in shock and pain before his body went slack. His legs dropped, and both hands fell loose from the pole. He started to fall, moving in seeming slow motion at first, then gaining speed until he crashed to the stage floor with a sickening thud.
