Dancing with the Devil (The Deception Duet #1)

PROLOGUE

“NEXT!”

NURSE TRISHA called out, and with me being next in line, I stepped forward. Underneath my bare feet, the cold hospital floor sent chills up my body.

Nurse Trisha sat behind a desk, protected by a thick piece of glass with only a small circle at the bottom to allow her to hand us our medication.

She was a short black woman whom you did not want to mess with. But me? I had fun with her.

Although she’d never admit it, I knew she secretly loved me.

“ Trouble ,” she slightly tipped her head, looking at me over her black rimmed glasses.

“My sweet, Trish,” I smiled, sliding both hands into the opening of the glass window. Her dark eyes narrowed in on me, wrinkling at the corners.

“It’s nurse Trisha to you.”

She placed a single pill in my left palm and a small plastic cup in my right. I lifted the pill to my mouth and then tipped my head back as I drank the little water I had been given. I smiled, handing the empty cup back to her, and she raised her sharp, well-done brow at me.

“Open. Now .”

I opened my mouth, sticking my tongue out, and she inspected my mouth. After her little inspection , I turned on my heels but heard her voice once again.

“Lift your tongue.”

I froze, taking a deep breath in. I forced a smile as I turned to her, lifting my tongue. I flicked my tongue back down so she could be sure, and she gave me a nod of approval.

“You know, Trish…” I started off, trailing my fingertip along the edge of the desk. “If you wanted to see what my tongue could do, all you had to do was ask,” I lifted my eyes to her, resting my arms on the desk. I lowered my chin to my arms, making sure to bat my eyelashes at her.

“Get back to your room, Trouble . Now,” she commanded, and I rolled my eyes. Somebody’s in a mood today.

I lifted myself, dragging my feet in annoyance to my room. I immediately halted, seeing one of the orderlies—Archie—walking in my direction. “Hi, Archibald,” I flirtatiously grinned, sending him an innocent finger wave, and he blatantly ignored me.

“Your room, Nirah,” he ordered as he passed me, and I smiled, turning around as I watched him continue down the corridor. I dropped my eyes to his ass, letting out a soft humph.

“Nice ass!” I called out, and he dropped his head—shaking it—as he tried not to laugh. I couldn’t help but giggle at the impact I had on him most days.

I made sure the hallway was empty before entering my bedroom. It was dark. The moonlight that shone through my window barely reached enough to light up the room.

I climbed onto my bed and laid down on my back. It was 9 pm. Bedtime was at 10:30 and shutdown was at 12:00 am. The hospital would be empty, other than the few guards roaming around and night shift nurses.

But all of them slept through most of their shifts anyway.

Tonight was the night. Whether I was ready or not. It had officially been three hundred and sixty-five days since I was admitted into this hell hole. And it would most certainly be the last.

* * *

Quietly, I tip toed down the empty, dark corridor, clutching my black knee-high boots—that my brother Nereus had snuck in for me—to my chest.

The air reeked of antiseptic, bleach, and something sickly sterile, like the place itself was trying to suffocate me.

Goosebumps rose on my arms as I made my way down the cold corridor. All the doors on either side of me were slammed shut. Not a single peep from either.

The only light available shone out of Todd’s office at the end of the hallway. The dull, yellow light flickered every now and then, adding to the eerie feel of this place.

I could feel my pulse thudding in my ears as I got closer to his office. I crept up, hearing him snore. I giggled. I peeped through the door and saw his head thrown back—his mouth hanging open with drool slipping from the corner of his mouth. Ew .

I scanned his desk for the keys, and as soon as I laid my eyes on them, I carefully snatched them, staying as quiet as possible.

I hurried to the backdoor, jumping in excitement every so often as I tried my best not to laugh or make a sound.

I unlocked the door, and an icy breeze blew up against my bare arms and legs. A chill slithered down my spine as I shut the door before slipping my boots on. Oh, right. The pills.

I yanked my left boot off and turned it upside down. The pills—that I hadn’t been taking—collectively fell to the ground, making a noise too loud for my liking. I froze, my heart nearly skipping a beat as I looked around.

The silence alone was deafening.

I let out a breath of relief when no one appeared. I slipped my boot back on and sighed. There. Much better.

The lawn in front of me was huge, the fence ahead even higher. Oh, fuck me in the ass with a taser.

All I was wearing was my hospital gown. Not much protection.

Though, I wore my gown differently. It was already ugly as is, but that didn’t mean I had to wear it in an ugly way too.

With a resigned sigh, I sprinted toward the fence, the cold metal rattling under my grip as I hauled myself up.

My boots scraped uselessly against the slick bars.

I started climbing… and climbing… and geez, it was a lot of climbing.

“Who the hell designs these places? And, what’s with all the fences? Afraid we’ll run off and reek havoc on the city?” I groaned, gripping the top rail. “We’re not crazy , people.”

I gritted my teeth with shaking arms. You got this, Nirah.

A siren blared behind me, the loud sound tearing through the silent night. Yep, there it is. Didn’t take them long at all. It was probably Trish. She couldn’t imagine her life without me.

I glanced over my shoulder, spotting two orderlies charging toward me, their white uniforms glowing under the moonlight like overzealous ghosts. White is so not their color.

“Trouble! Get down!” Trish ordered, shining a flashlight directly at me and I swung my arm over my face in an attempt to protect my eyes. I squinted, feeling a smile spread across my face.

“Now, Nirah!” Archie—or how I like to call him, Archibald—growled.

I sighed dramatically, rolling my eyes. “Ugh, you guys are so clingy. This is why we could never make it work, Archibald.”

“That’s not my name!”

“Well, it is now!” I half chuckled, clinging onto the fence for dear, dear life. I swung my leg over the top just as a strong hand wrapped around my ankle.

“Oh, no you don’t!”

I looked down at Archibald holding my boot and grinned. “Aw, you can’t let me go?” I jutted out my bottom lip, teasing him. “I’m sorry Archibald, it’s you. Not—me.” With a sharp twist, I kicked my free foot into his face, sending him tumbling backward.

“Fuck!” he groaned, landing with a thud and I smiled.

I threw both my legs over the fence but my grip slipped, and for a second, I thought, well, this is how I die.

But luck— adrenaline —was on my side. I crashed to the ground, my boots skidding on the grass. Pain shot up my legs, but I was too high on the thrill to care.

I could hear Trisha’s footsteps as well as more orderlies as they stomped toward the gate, all of them yelling and shining their flashlights at me.

I got up with shaky legs and dusted myself off, turning my head back.

“Bye Trish,” I grinned, sending her a finger wave before sprinting in the opposite direction.

“Trouble!”

More shouts erupted behind me, but I was already gone, disappearing into the night, leaving only the faint sound of laughter and the echo of my boots clicking against the sidewalk.

You fucking did it, Nirah Joy.

* * *

Don’t ask me how… but I awoke, laying on something hard on the sidewalk with the morning sun barely keeping me warm.

A car honked, and I groaned, rolling over.

Thud —

I dropped onto the hard concrete, groaning in pain as I curled into fetal position. That hurt.

I lifted my head to see that I had fallen asleep on a random bench, in the middle of—well, wherever the hell this was. I was still out of it and mostly confused.

I got up and plopped down on the bench, thankful to still be wearing my boots. I glanced around and noticed how active this area was. Cars driving up and down, people walking and chatting.

To the rest of the population, it was a normal day. But to me, it was something different. Something special.

I looked down at myself, realizing I was still wearing my hospital gown. I need to change. The people passing by me probably thought I was some crazy chick who escaped a mental hospital or something.

I looked behind me, but all there was, was an empty alley and some dumpsters.

I groaned in annoyance, hearing a masculine voice.

To my right, a tall man was approaching me with his cellphone pressed to his ear.

He was wrapped in an expensive looking suit and walked with a coffee cup in his hand.

He seemed completely occupied, and naturally, a grin found its way to my lips.

I jumped up, hiding in the alley. I fixed my hair as best as I could and tightened the belt around my waist.

As his voice drew closer, I walked out, accidentally bumping into him. He spilled his coffee everywhere.

He smelled… rich . And clean.

“Fuck—I’m sorry,” he groaned, stepping back, and I gasped, looking at the mess between us. “No, no, no, I’m going to be late for work,” he irritably said, looking down at his suit jacket.

He ended his phone call and slipped his cell phone into his back pocket. He tossed the coffee cup into a dumpster across from us and shrugged off his suit jacket.

He tossed it towards the dumpster, too, but missed and looked up at me with irritation that soon morphed into confusion. He pushed up the sleeves of his white dress shirt.

“Sorry, I uh—”

“You might want to lose the belt too,” I suggested. “It doesn’t go with the rest of your outfit,” I advised, waving my hand in front of his body.

“Wha—I—”

“The belt,” I encouragingly nodded my head.

He looked perplexed but took his belt off nonetheless. I took it from him, tossing it over my head, and it landed on his suit jacket.

“Much better,” I smiled. “Handsome.”

“Jordan.”

“ Jordan ?” I asked, my voice laced with confusion.

“My—uh, my name is Jordan,” he stammered, scratching the back of his neck, and I slowly nodded my head.

“You’re going to be late for work, Jordan .”

“Right, right,” he nodded his head, stepping past me, and I lowered my head, trying to contain my laughter.

Eventually, I looked back to see him hurriedly, making his way down the road. I smiled to myself—feeling very pleased—and patted myself on the back. Someone hasn’t lost her touch.

I grabbed his suit jacket, slipping it on. I tied the belt around my waist—snatching it up to give me some shape in this huge suit jacket.

I ran my fingers through my hair, taming it for the most part. Reluctantly, I grabbed his coffee cup, looking for the name of the coffee place, but there was none. I made my way down the road before stumbling across two women who I had asked for directions to the nearest coffee shop.

I finally reached the cafe, and thankfully, it was packed. I could slip in and out unnoticed. With a deep breath in I rushed inside, making my way to the counter.

“Hi, excuse me,” I smiled and the barista looked up at me as she took another payment. “I was late to work and accidentally spilled coffee on myself, do you mind giving me a quick refill?”

“Of course, but I’ll just need your receipt please.” Shit .

I dug into the pockets, but instead, there were receipts for everything but the damn coffee. Dammit Jordan.

“If you don’t have the receipt you’ll have to pay again, I’m sorry,” she apologetically said.

“No, I have it,” I lied, rummaging some more before a hand touched my arm. “I’ll pay.”

My head snapped up and a woman I had never seen before, handed her card to the barista. She ordered coffee for both of us—paid—and I smiled, thanking her as we left with our drinks.

“I don’t have money to pay you back right now—”

“I know,” she grinned, hooking her arm with mine—taking me by complete surprise—and dragged me in the direction she was going. “You can pay me back by visiting this club with me.”

She turned her head to look at me and I paused in thought before hesitantly nodding my head. “But, why?”

She seemed to disappear in her thoughts for a second before speaking. “I, too, accidentally spilled some coffee on myself once upon a time.” Ah… I see.

“Well, I haven’t seduced a man into buying me a drink in a long time anyway,” I shrugged my shoulders, leaning more into her grip as I sipped my coffee.

“We’re so going to be best friends,” she laughed, throwing her head back. Her silky long black hair, effortlessly trailed down her back. “I love you already.”

“Nirah,” I smiled.

“Silvia,” she returned the smile and it reached her beautiful hazel eyes. This was going to be interesting…