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“Bruno wants to see you,” she says, a little too sweetly. “Now.”

Uh-oh. What could I possibly be in trouble for? I’m here, on time, ready to rehearse. Why could he be calling for me now?

“Sure, Jas,” I tell my snake of an understudy. “Take over with the band, will you? I don’t want to cut into their rehearsal time.”

“Sure thing, Andi,” she smiles in her Southern twang. She turns away from me like I don't exist and says, “Alright, boys and girls, let’s take it from the top. What are we playing?”

Ugh. How did I not notice that she hated me and wanted my spot? It’s as obvious as a bullet to the head. There’s nothing I can do about it now, though, so I simply go backstage, heading to Bruno’s office.

I’m almost halfway there when Julian intercepts me.

“And where are you going?” he asks.

“My boss wants to see me. You can stay at your table. I’ll be back soon.” I hope.

“And listen to that woman caterwaul? No, thank you. I’ll stay out here and guard you.”

“That’s unnecessary,” I argue. “I’m safe in the theater.”

“Still,” Julian says, “I’ll stay with you. I’m not in the mood for a headache.”

“Did you even hear her sing?” I ask, amused, and walking down the hall. Julian falls into step with me.

“I heard her speaking voice. That was enough to tell me that I don't want to hear her sing.”

I laugh, maybe a little wickedly, at his bluntness. His words are cutting, but now that I know Jasmine is actively rooting for me to leave, I can’t help but take some pleasure in hearing someone criticize her.

We get to Bruno’s office, and I say, “Stay here. You can’t come to the meeting.”

Surprisingly, he doesn’t fight me. “I’ll be at the door if you need anything.”

He leans against the doorjamb, and I knock on the sturdy door.

“Yeah,” comes the usual reply, and I open the door and slide in.

The door shuts behind me, and when Bruno looks up and sees me, I’m surprised to see anger on his face.

“What did you do, Andi?” he demands.

Taken aback, I say, “What do you mean? I was on time today. I—”

“Not that,” he spits out. “Why the fuck is Julian fucking Gautier in my goddamn theater?”

I’m even more shocked. “You know him?”

“Of course, I know him. Every business owner in the city knows him. The question is how the actual ever-loving fuck do you know him?”

Again, I don’t want to throw Jade under the bus. Especially since there’s no way that she would have known that Julian himself would have signed on to be my bodyguard. I still can’t quite wrap my head around that, either.

“You told me to take care of my problem,” I say, a little stubbornly, “so I did.”

“You solved your problem by bringing the biggest crime lord in the city to my doorstep? This is really beyond the pale, Andi. I gave you a chance and you—”

The door behind me suddenly opens, and Julian strides through. He has a presence about him that makes the already cramped office feel tiny, like he’s dwarfing the space. Bruno shrinks in his chair.

“Commandant! I mean, my lord! I didn’t know you were there. I mean—”

“Bruno,” Julian says coolly. “Been a long time. When was it last? 1926, if memory serves. Or was it ‘27?”