AllFreeNovel
Share Us
39
Pen
It’s been almost a week since I spilled my guts to the Breakers.
Almost a week since Xeno lost his shit and told me to leave.
Almost a week since Xeno left town.
He’s gone.
Not a word to the rest of the Breakers. Not a word to Madame Tuillard or D-Neath. He just upped and fucking left. I guess I’m not the only one capable of walking away without an explanation. Perhaps this is karma. Perhaps this is just what I deserved.
Or maybe he’s just a fucking coward.
York, Dax, and Zayn are trying their best to hold everything together, but every day that passes without word is a day too many. They’re worried.I’mworried, but if the rest of the Breakers can carry on regardless, then so can I. Right now I have to put all thoughts of Xeno out of my mind if I’m going to get through my first performance at Tales and secure my sister’s safety. Grim might have agreed to keep Lena safe, but I’m not testing my theory that Lena’s protection would stop the second I didn’t perform. She has a business to run first and foremost. Me not dancing because I’m fucked up by recent events isn’t going to wash. So here I am. In twenty minutes, Dax will be fighting Beast in the cage, and at midnight, I will be performing with the girls. We just need to get through tonight then figure out where to go from here.
“How are you doing, Pen? Nervous?” Grim asks me as she steps into my changing room. She’s wearing her usual uniform of leather trousers and black shirt, and she’s holding onto a bottle of whisky with one hand and two cut glasses with the other. “Need a bit of Dutch courage?” she asks me, dropping the glasses on the vanity unit in front of me and filling them both up with a double shot.
I take the proffered glass, knocking back the liquid in one fiery gulp. “Thanks, I needed that,” I reply, pulling my floor length dressing gown tighter around my waist. Beneath it I’m wearing my outfit for my performance later, but I don’t want anyone to see it until I’m ready to dance.
“I thought you might.” She cocks her head to the side, watching me.
“What?”
“It’s a busy night. The warehouse is packed—”
“That’s good, right?” I ask, not understanding the concern that flits across her face.
“Yes, good for business, sure.”
“But…”
“The Collector is back.”
“Malik Brov is here tonight?”
“Yes. He paid a lot of money to be seated closest to the cage.”
“Fucking great,” I grumble. Couldn’t she at least have barred him entry? I really don’t need another goddamn nutcase on my back. Then again, Grim doesn’t owe me shit. It’s me who owes her, so I guess I’m going to have to just suck it up.
“The Skins are here too, including what’s left of your Breakers.”
I flinch at that. “News travels fast then, I take it…”
She nods tightly. Of course she knows Xeno’s gone. Grim makes it her business to know everything, after all.
“Perfect.” I swallow heavily.
This is the first time I’ve laid eyes on Jeb since that night here three weeks ago. Am I comfortable with the fact that Zayn and York are sitting with him? No, of course not, I hate it, but I’m also aware that getting out of the Skins only happens when you’re dead and I don’t want my Breakers dead. So here we are.
“I’m giving you a heads up because I didn’t want you to be surprised. Don’t worry, my men will have eyes onbothof them all night. You’re safe, Pen,” she says, trying to reassure me.
I laugh. I can’t help it. “Safe? I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe.”
Grim grits her jaw in understanding. “You just go out there and dance. Do your thing and let us worry about the rest, okay?”
I frown. “Us?”
