Page 62 of Bloom in Darkness

"He took something. I didn't hand it to him."

I step closer. "If I find out you had anything to do with why he locked himself in a closet—"

Her eyes narrow. "I didn't make him take anything."

"And that's not what I fucking said, and you know it." I step closer until she has to tilt her head slightly to keep looking at me. "You saw him."

"He came offstage impaired," she says.

"You saw an Omega who was visibly impaired, slicking hard enough that I could smell the change in him halfway down the hall, and you told him two Valla who have been pressuring him were asking for him."

Her arms pull tighter across her chest. "They requested him. He refused. I told him the request existed."

"While he could barely stand?" I ask. Her eyes narrow.

“Astra is an adult.”

“Yes.” I step closer. “Which means when he says no, the conversation ends. It does not become a reminder about his debt.”

Bryn comes around the corner with Astra in his arms. Astra is barefoot and crying, makeup smeared beneath both eyes and blond hair damp against his forehead. His arms are locked around Bryn's neck, and slick has soaked through the back of his costume and run down one thigh. His face and throat are flushed bright red. Bryn keeps checking the hallway behind us while one hand supports Astra’s thighs and the other stays spread over his back.

I go straight to them and close my hand around Astra's bare ankle. "Sweetheart."

Astra reaches one hand toward me without letting go of Bryn, and I catch it and kiss his knuckles. His fingers are trembling. "Nobody touched me," he says quickly. "I promise."

"Okay." I squeeze his hand once. "We’re going home."

Bryn looks at me over Astra's head. "Car," I tell him. "I've got everything else."

Astra shivers against him. Bryn turns for the exit, and I wait until they are gone before looking back at her. "He's done tonight."

Sabine looks toward the hallway Bryn disappeared down. "Obviously."

"He left because he was sick. Whatever you usually do when somebody refuses a booking, do not use tonight to punish him for getting out."

Sabine lifts her chin. "You don't control my books."

"No. But I know enough about the way you use that balance against him to start asking questions." I tuck Bryn's phone back into my pocket. "We can have the rest of this conversation tomorrow."

Sabine does not answer. I turn away.

Lio appears near the dressing-room door with Astra's bag in one hand and the discarded heels in the other. His face is pale beneath the glitter. "Take these."

I accept the bag. "Did he take anything besides the cream?"

"Not that I saw. I told him to call you before the set. He said after."

Lio grips the heels tighter. "You did what you could," I tell him.

His attention flicks toward Sabine. "Don’t let him come back tomorrow."

"We'll talk to him when he's clear." I take Astra's bag from Lio and sling it over my shoulder.

Bryn is already in the back seat with Astra across his lap when I get outside. Astra has his face buried against Bryn's throat while Bryn rubs his jaw slowly over his temple. He still smells too sweet, but the sour fear in his scent is not as strong as it was in the hallway.

I put the bag in the front and twist around before starting the engine. "Astra, look at me for a second."

He lifts his head. His pupils are wide, but he focuses.