Playing Against Type: Soulgirls, Book 4 (2 page)

“Just call me Aurora.” She giggled to herself. Her vertebrae popped one at a time as she sat up and completed her stretch. Her routine never varied. Limbering up after hours of utter stillness may not be physically necessary, but it satisfied her. Muscles warmed, she reclaimed her hair brush from the dresser and started the one hundred strokes to loosen any possible tangles she picked up between drowsing and waking.

Little rituals that may not make sense to others were the foundation of her daily routine. The knock on her door, however, was not. The quick staccato knock preceded the door opening and she caught sight of Heidi. Her stomach plummeted. She’d done nothing to elicit the personal attention of the stage manager. Summoning a smile, she slid her foot against the crystal shoes Kiki gave her upon her departure from the Royale and shoved them further under the bed. The last three women to wear those shoes had all left the show and the theatre for good.
 

“Good evening, Heidi.”

“Hey there, Peppermint.” The flat smile and tight lines around the stage manager’s eyes didn’t bode well. “I need to chat with you in my office before you go on stage tonight.”

“Did I do something wrong?” The last dancer summoned to her office was Kiki. The dancer had earned a notorious reputation during her tenure in the theatre—breaking the rules, pulling pranks and challenging the stage manager at every turn—she’d done a
lot
wrong. Fortunately, it had worked out for her, but Peppermint didn’t make waves or bend any rules or flout authority. She did her part, showed up on time, and performed to the best of her ability in the back row.

The sinking feeling in her stomach turned into a whirlpool.

“No, of course not. But I have a favor to ask and I’d rather do it in private. So just come see me, okay?” Heidi’s attempt at a comforting smile didn’t help settle Peppermint’s anxiety.

Favor?
Cold chills raced over her arms. “Of course. Let me just shower and do my hair and I’ll be right there.” She never delayed taking care of her hair. The thickness of it took forever to dry, so better to do it early and make sure she was never late.

“Sounds good.” Heidi patted the door and left, closing it behind her.

Pepper exhaled a hard breath and grabbed the edge of the dresser to stay on her feet. She didn’t want to be in trouble—but a favor? That was somehow worse. What on earth could the stage manager want from her? Her heart lodged in her throat.

The shoes sparkled from beneath the bed. The last three women to wear those shoes also took lead on the stage.

Oh dear God, no.

Ninety minutes later, as put together as she could make herself, Peppermint made her way toward Heidi’s office. The other dancers were equally split between their cells, with more already wandering toward the dressing room to prepare for the evening show. They all had their rituals.
 

She’d barely made it a few feet down the hall when Peppermint encountered her first obstacle. Wearing only a towel, Britta, the sylph, skidded to a halt and gave her a quick hug. “You’re not getting ready for the show?”

“I have to talk to Heidi.” Peppermint kept her voice low, but Dayna stuck her head out and Cerveau paused to stare at her. The other dancers didn’t even pretend to give them privacy and the rush to head to the dressing room slowed.
 

“Are you in trouble?” Dayna leaned against the doorjamb to her room.

“I hope not.” Peppermint tried to give her self-confidence a boost with a smile she didn’t feel.
 

Dayna and Britta shared a worried look. It hadn’t escaped the notice of any of the dancers just how much things had changed in the last few months—Kiki’s recent exit, Pandora’s exodus, even Roseâtre’s change of circumstances. All lead dancers, all freed. And though Roseâtre still appeared in the lounge show, she didn’t live with them anymore.
 

“It’s probably about the show,” Britta suggested, but her doubtful tone belied the hope in her expression.

“Or maybe we have a new dancer that needs to be trained,” Dayna offered, but even Cerveau frowned. Little ever seemed to ruffle the Amazon, but it had been a long time since they’d had a new dancer join the theatre.

A very long time.

Disturbed by the troubled expressions around her, Peppermint quashed her unease. Her friends needed a pick me up. She gave Dayna a quick hug and squeezed Britta’s hand. “It’s going to be fine, just wait and see.”
 

They still looked skeptical, but returned her attempted cheer. “Well, hurry back. We have to get ready.”

Britta rolled her eyes. “It’s not like she has to get dressed. We spend most of the show naked.”

Laughter erupted down the hall and music began to play in the dressing room. “I’ll be right there,” Peppermint promised, and crossed mental fingers for it to be true. “Save my spot!”

Dayna and Britta moved on, but Cerveau paused before following them. She studied Peppermint with a quiet expression and gave a simple, “Good luck,” that was more unsettling than the rest of the conversation.
 

By the time she knocked on the door to Heidi’s office, all of Peppermint’s faux confidence fled. The muffled “come in” invited her inside and she tried to quell the shaking in her limbs. She’d been in the office just twice before—the day she struck her deal with the stage manager and the first week after she joined the review.

Both happened more than thirty years ago.

Amazingly, nothing in the office seemed to have changed. The dark wood still looked forbidding and the low lamps cast a wild profusion of shadows across the artwork—paintings Peppermint refused to stare at too closely lest she notice the people moving inside of them.

Heidi waved her in and motioned to the chairs, her pen never ceasing its motion as she wrote in a folder. Perching on the edge of the seat, Peppermint crossed one leg over the other and then uncrossed them. Her hands opened and closed, clenching into fists and releasing. She resisted the urge to start tapping them against her lap. Minion wasn’t in evidence. The little imp could never keep quiet when she was around, so the silence confirmed she must be playing elsewhere.

Closing the file, Heidi set the pen to the side and leaned back to study her. “Thank you for coming. You look lovely, by the way.”

“Thank you.” She refused to touch her hair, certain she must have ripped out several strands in her frenzied brushing. She hadn’t been able to think about anything but this meeting and the
favor
Heidi wanted to ask.

“How are you doing? I know we’ve had a lot of changes in the revue this year, shifting leads, new styles—”

“Heidi, please forgive me, but if you don’t get to what the favor is you wanted to ask, I may just pass out.” Peppermint hated interrupting her, but her jitters had jitters at this point.

“Fair enough. It’s not a favor I would ask you personally, and I will stress that I resisted the request at first. You deserve to know that. However the casino has an issue and the Overseers have requested your assistance.”

Spots danced before Peppermint’s eyes. Bands wound around her chest and threatened to cut off her oxygen supply. The room swam and Heidi went from being behind the desk to next to her between one blink and the next. The stage manager pressed a hand to the back of her neck and urged her head down.

“Breathe.” The soothing command in the voice eased the nerves stretching taut through her.

“The Overseers never request anything.”

“Of course they do.” Heidi chuckled. “But only when they are certain of the outcome.” She rubbed Peppermint’s back in slow, easy circles. “Now breathe, it’s not as bad as all that.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong and I do my best to follow every rule, I promise.”

“I know you have and you’re not in trouble.” Heidi settled into the chair next to her and took her hands. “Seriously, Pepper. Look at me. You are
not
in trouble.”

Lifting her head, Peppermint met Heidi’s gaze and a blanket of calm draped over her frazzled nerves. “Really?”

“Absolutely. In fact, it’s your sunny disposition and genuine caring for others that the Overseers are relying on—that and your loyalty to the Arcana Royale.” Although her expression never wavered, the stage manager added a curious amount of weight to the final part of her statement.

“I love this place—the theatre, the casino, all of you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do.” How could she not be willing to do anything for them? When she arrived here in 1981, her heart and lungs verged on collapse. Bone cancer devastated her body, the disease metastasized so broadly that no physician would treat her. Chemotherapy and radiation wouldn’t work, so they advised her to spend time with her loved ones.

Instead, Pepper Kirk hit the road, determined to see all the wondrous sights her country had to offer before her life ended prematurely. She had no idea when she walked into the Arcana Royale she would find a new lease on life, but the curse that turned her into a porcelain doll by day froze the disease in its tracks. Thirty years of life later—yeah, there was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect her home.

“We know you do, but what I am about to ask you may make you uncomfortable. I want you to be honest with me about it and I will do everything I can to make this easier for you.” Heidi gave Peppermint’s hands a light squeeze.

“Anything, Heidi. I mean it, just ask. If I can do it, I will and if I can’t, I’ll find a way.”

“Good.” Heidi retrieved a folder and flipped it open, revealing a photograph of a man in an elevator. Handsome and trim, his tanned face said he spent a lot of time in the sun, but the humor gentling his mouth also suggested a kindness. “This is Finn Mikelson, a Special Agent with the FBI.”

“Okay.” Nibbling her lower lip, she glanced from the photograph to Heidi and back again.

“He checked into the Arcana Royale this morning. He’s here of his own volition, extremely human, and on a mission to uncover the casino’s secrets.” The lightness of her tone belied the gravity of her words. “Since his arrival, he’s made periodic sweeps of the main levels and planted several listening and observational devices. Those will be dealt with, but—”

“He’s spying on us?” Peppermint blinked.

“Yes.”

“Why?” And he seemed to have such a nice face too. Why would he do something so reprehensible?

“He believes the Arcana Royale is a front for organized crime.”

Gaping, Pepper could barely control the laughter that bubbled out. Organized crime in the casino? It was absurd. Maybe everywhere else in Vegas, but the Arcana Royale catered to creatures who could, literally, eat the mob for lunch.

“Yes, it seems ridiculous—and normally we wouldn’t mind. We’d let the agent spin his wheels, discover little to nothing, and send him on his way.”

“But?” Because clearly, a
but
was in the offing.

“He is immune to most of the natural enchantments preventing humans from truly experiencing the Arcana Royale. Most of the main levels are tame at the moment. The Overseers have ordered the more distinctive creatures out of sight and we have a romance convention here this week, but if this agent continues to push…”

“He’ll see what’s really here and he could alert human authorities.” Fear fisted in her stomach and replaced the nervousness. Heidi didn’t have to continue her explanation. Pepper’s own humanity had been an issue when she discovered the secrets housed in the casino, but she would never take away from the splendor of their haven—not when it had become her own. “What do you need me to do?”

Heidi’s expression relaxed into a genuine smile. “Distract him, mostly. We may need you to replace his data if he uncovers anything…too untoward. We’ll be monitoring the comings and goings of most of our clientele and we’ll keep the difficult to explain away from the public areas. We want you to charm him, spend time with him, get to know him, and keep him from snooping too deeply.”

“Okay.” Her lack of hesitation seemed to surprise the stage manager. “This is my home, Heidi.” She needed to say the words out loud, explain it so they both understood. “I will do what I can to protect my home.”

“Good.” The older woman slipped the photograph away and rose. “You have all the time off from the show that you need. You may perform or not as you see fit. The girls and Anthony can handle the entertainment for now.” Roseâtre’s return soon after Kiki’s exit saved them from having to go dark. Though the Amazon had earned her freedom, she chose to perform at the Midnight Mystery Lounge with her mate, Anthony, and his cats. The couple was scheduled to depart at the end of the year, one way or the other. The lounge would need a new show and a new lead soon.

“Heidi, I won’t hurt him.” Surprised by her own sudden conviction, Peppermint rolled with it nonetheless. “He’s just doing his job.”

“Of course he is and I would never ask you to.” The manager walked behind the desk and took a key out of a drawer. “You can stay in the hotel proper if you think that will help, and we will suspend the daylight curse for the duration.”

Ice flooded her veins. “But if you do that—”

“Yes, for a few days only. I promise you, not long enough to allow your cancer to take you from us, and if we suspect the ravages are too much we will reinstate it immediately.” That didn’t make her feel better. If anything it increased her sense of desperation.