Chapter 1
1
Yasmine
I gripped Kaden’s hand tightly and met his gaze.
He nodded and hefted me up
I spun in the air twice before catching his hand.
He winced.
Not good .
Still, he hung on tight.
As the trapeze swung in the air, I prepared for the next release. His grip of my hand held me safe, which reassured because this next maneuver always?—
The trapeze unexpectedly dropped several feet.
Compensating took focus, and the sheer panic on Kaden’s face offered exactly zero reassurance.
He nodded.
I nodded back.
He tugged me back, and I landed on my ass on the bar at his feet.
Quickly, he sat next to me. We each gripped the rope beside us with one hand and the bar with the other. Whatever had just happened wasn’t supposed to, and now, thirty feet above the floor, we had no confidence in our equipment.
That terrified me. I never worried Kaden might drop me. Eight years as a partner, and that had never happened. Also, in eight years, our equipment had never failed. We didn’t have a net to catch us if we fell.
“What the fuck is going on?” Kaden roared the question, directed toward the ground and anyone who might be there to hear it.
Rehearsals sometimes had hiccups, but we’d never encountered this.
“I’m going to lower you.” A disembodied voice carried from offstage. Near where our rope was tethered.
“That would be a fucking good idea.” Kaden bristled.
“Babe, being angry won’t get us down safely or get us answers about what happened.” I bit my lower lip as I shifted a fraction of an inch on the bar. I wore my leotard, not my costume. I should’ve been comfortable, but sweat dripped down my back at the thought of our near-catastrophe.
Slowly, the crew lowered us to the ground.
As soon as we were close enough, Kaden leapt off the bar and charged toward the area offstage.
I waited until my toes touched the ground before hopping off.
Loud voices carried to me, and I rolled my eyes. Ironically, Kaden wasn’t normally a hothead. Like, not at all.
Except when it came to safety.
And not even his safety.
Just mine.
Eight years we’d been partners. Since we were fourteen.
Four years we’d been lovers. Since we were eighteen.
And in all that time, I’d never felt fear.
Until today.
“Who the fuck are you, anyway? I don’t know you! I know Jacques. Where the fuck is Jacques?” Kaden’s anger continued to ratchet up with each statement. With each question.
“If you would let me explain?—”
“Better do it fast.”
I ducked behind the curtain to discover a crowd of roadies standing well back while Kaden and a man I didn’t recognize stood toe-to-toe.
My breath caught.
Kaden was nearly six feet tall.
I was only a few inches shorter.
The man whose chest Kaden poked was taller than either of us. And while Kaden’s black hair was thick and plentiful, the stranger’s head appeared shaved. Or at least thinning on the top. His scruff almost made a beard—but not quite. His uniqueness caught my notice. Well, that and the fact he wasn’t forcefully removing Kaden’s poking finger.
Kaden’d poked me more than a few times over the year. That little digit could do a lot of damage.
“Jacques’s wife went into premature labor. There’s a chance they’re going to lose the baby. I was here to observe today, but the emergency dictated I step in.”
“He should’ve told us. We would’ve come down.” Kaden’s anger was still incandescent.
“I’m a professional rigger.” The man straightened his posture. “I have more than fifteen years’ experience.”
Even I was impressed. Because I wouldn’t have pegged him as more than thirty or thirty-two.
“Well, bully for you.” Kaden wasn’t backing down. “I nearly dropped Yaz. Do you understand that? We weren’t expecting the trap to move. Do you understand that?” Still, he poked.
The man stood tall. “I understand perfectly. And can say it will never happen again on my watch.”
His words carried such an air of authority that I believed him. Since shit happened, I wasn’t certain how he could make that assertion. But I believed him.
Tully, an assistant rigger, stepped out from behind the shadows with his hand raised.
“Not now.” The new rigger barked that.
Obviously, he didn’t know Tully well, because the guy wasn’t a pushover.
Tully took a deep breath. “The mistake was mine. I lost concentration, and?—”
“I said not now .” The new guy didn’t take his gaze off Kaden.
Kaden lowered his pointing finger. “So you didn’t?—”
“I am in charge. This is on me.” The man’s gaze shifted from Kaden to the entire team. “I should’ve ended the routine and told you about the change. Then we could have restarted. I should never have risked your safety by attempting a changeover midway.”
“Again, if I may….” Tully stepped forward. “This is on me. I was responsible for the ropes, and I mistimed the shift. I accept responsibility?—”
The taller man huffed.
I hid a smile. The amount of testosterone in this space threatened to overwhelm. We’re at a standoff. I stepped forward, right between Kaden and the new guy. My gaze, however, met Tully’s. “Shit happens. No one got hurt. We really do need to go over the routine again. I’m going to stretch, drink some water, and go again.” Finally, I met Kaden’s gaze. “Right?”
He ducked his head for a moment. He never gave deference to anyone except the director, the producer, and me. And even then, he offered it to me with reservations. He liked being in charge. So I let him.
In the bedroom.
As for our partnership on the trap? That was a sixty/forty proposition with me being the top dog. By a fraction.
He met my gaze. “Of course. You’re right.” Then, in a whisper only I could hear. “You’re almost always right.”
I grinned. “And don’t you forget it.”