Chapter Ten
REVEL
He’s covering for her.
He has to be.
I didn’t care what Daze said. That beta girl had snuck onto one of the Knotty Sideshow trucks and hitched a ride without anyone knowing. I knew it in my bones, and I’d been so eager to catch her in the lie. I just didn’t expect him to take her side.
Fuming, I shoved my hands in my jean pockets and trudged across the parking lot.
Arina . Even her name annoyed me, prickling my insides any time I thought about it.
I shouldn’t have given her a ride in the first place.
I’d stumbled upon her in a moment of weakness.
Warring with myself about leaving the circus had made me vulnerable, but I should have left her on the side of the fucking highway.
I won’t make the same mistake again.
I’d only be looking out for myself from now on, and everyone else could get fucked. Especially Daze.
“What a bratty little dick,” I grumbled.
But what else did I expect from Daze Rodriguez? He had the entire troupe in the palm of his hand the moment he pranced into the big top, with his annoying-ass rainbow hair and too-friendly attitude. In Hallow’s eyes, the little fucker could do no wrong.
Hell, he’d even weaseled his way into Night’s bed. How? I didn’t fucking know, and I didn't care.
There was no way she was joining the circus. We didn’t need her. The sideshow was flawless as it was, and we didn’t need some newbie screwing up the dynamic.
Not to mention, I'd have to see her face every day and be reminded of the fact that her joining was inherently my fault.
Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe she didn’t want to join the circus.
But I wasn’t taking any chances. It wasn't happening.
I would get ahead of it and warn Hallow before Daze could think twice about it. But if I expected the ringleader to listen to me, I needed someone in my corner. Someone who could sway them.
If there was one person who could get through to them, it was Zero.
And as much as I didn’t want to see his smug fucking face, that’s exactly where I was headed.
Unlike Daze and Night, Zero didn't have his own trailer. He could have, but I was pretty sure he enjoyed terrorizing the other clowns on their tour bus.
The clown bus was long and black, with the Knotty Sideshow logo painted in red down both sides. It was almost identical to the other three buses that housed the majority of our performers when we were on tour, except for the menacing clown face painted across the front.
I knocked on the door before letting myself inside, climbing the familiar set of stairs. There were six bunks on either side, with black privacy curtains. Most of them were currently open, revealing empty beds.
The smell of caramel popcorn was strong, even from where I stood, so I knew Zero was here. Sure enough, he popped out of the bathroom a second later, followed by a plume of steam. He was naked except for a towel slung around his hips, his stark white hair in wet disarray.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Revellious?” he asked when his gaze landed on me.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t call me that.”
“Come on, it’s fitting.” He smirked, his golden eyes glinting, and my fist twitched. One of these days, I’d wipe the smile off his face, but not today.
“I need your help.”
His pale brows lifted as he made his way to his bunk, the top one in the right back corner.
Even without knowing which bed was his, I would have been able to pick it out.
Three throwing knives were currently wedged into the ceiling above his mattress, along with hundreds of blade holes from his never-ending practice.
The blades were his psychotic calling card, and he had irritatingly good aim.
Next to each bunk was a cabinet for storage, and as he pulled the door to his open, I could see perfectly neat stacks of clothes. He might have been a psycho, but he was an organized psycho, I’d give him that.
“My help?” He dropped the towel, his blinding white ass on full display.
I massaged my temples.
Why did I think this was a good idea?
“Unfortunately,” I groaned. He turned to face me, still butt-ass naked, and I narrowed my eyes on him. “Can you fucking hurry up and put your dick away, so I can explain?”
“Distracted?” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Don’t worry, I would be too.”
Rage shattered my thoughts. “I hate you.”
Zero cackled as he pulled on a pair of boxers.
“Apparently not enough to ask someone else for help.” He grabbed a pair of jeans out of the cabinet. “What do you want? I’m running late for a meeting with Hallow.”
My ears perked up. He was already going to talk to Hallow?
This is about to work out beautifully.
“What a coincidence,” I said, moving to lean my back against the next set of cabinets. “I need you to talk to them for me.”
“About?” In a flash he had on a black T-shirt with a demented clown grin stretched across the chest. He shook out his white hair, leaving it where it fell.
“I think Daze is trying to smuggle someone into the sideshow,” I said, not trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. “I need Hallow to turn them away.”
Zero froze, facing me, and when I finally looked over, I found him staring.
“Come again?” he asked.
I huffed. This clown was so goddamn infuriating.
“You heard me. I need Hallow to tell her no.”
“ Her?” He sounded genuinely surprised. “Daze doesn't even like girls. Where the hell have I been?”
“Probably jacking off to contortionist porn.” I shrugged. “Will you talk to them for me? I don't care what you say, what lies you have to come up with. Just convince Hallow that we don't need her.”
He paused to consider it, rubbing his chin. “What do I get out of it?”
Motherfucker. Of course, he’d want something out of it. Greedy bastard.
“What do you want?” I huffed, quickly losing my patience.
“Is anything off the table?” He wagged his eyebrows aggressively.
I glared. “Depends.”
Another pause.
“I want to ride your motorcycle,” he said with finality. “And not your stunt bike. I want to go road humping on the crotch rocket.”
I shook my head firmly. “You’ve lost your goddamn mind. Pick something else.”
“That’s the only thing I want, Revvy.” He took several steps closer, stopping just in front of me. “You’re welcome to ask someone else for favors.”
“You’re demented.”
“And you’re desperate.”
“I am not,” I gritted out, shoving off the cabinet to stand at my full height. We were nearly the same size, eye to eye.
He didn’t even flinch.
“That’s funny, because I could have sworn you said you need Hallow to turn her away.” His voice dropped to a sinister whisper. “Not want. Clearly, this is personal.”
It’s not personal , I thought, but I couldn’t say it out loud.
Was it personal? I barely knew Arina, but I didn’t want her around. I didn’t want her in the circus, and I would do damn near anything to make sure it didn’t happen.
Zero was my best shot.
Could I really let him drive my motorcycle all for the sake of keeping Arina out of the sideshow? I’d only seen him on anything other than a unicycle a couple of times. What if he crashed? What if he tore up the transmission?
But what if Hallow lets Arina in, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life?
“Fine,” I growled, and my eyes narrowed to slits. “But if there’s even a scratch on it afterward, I’ll use your skin to rewrap the leather.”
“Ooh, I like it when you talk dirty to me.” An unhinged grin spread across his face, and my hand twitched again. Rather than punching him in the jaw like I wanted, I turned and stormed toward the door.
I’d barely stepped outside when his maniacal laughter erupted behind me.
Stupid fucking clown.