Constantine pulled me up, our bodies bumping together. His free hand cupped my ass, pulling me against him, and my eyes widened, staring up at him. He'd put his face to my cunt the night before, sniffed me there after fucking me, and somehow I still managed to be surprised by the tiniest lean in my direction. Then he stepped away, releasing me with both hands.
Strange and curious and just tempting enough to make me nervous.
I braced myself as Constantine turned and opened the door, my eyes widening as I found the hallway more crowded than usual, no one sneaking into their rooms, just hovering in place together. A pair of dark horns bobbed up at the top of the crowd, and Ronan wove determinedly through the bodies.
"Thought you might need this," he said, passing me his shirt from earlier, joining me at the doorway so I was pressed between him and Constantine.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Reddy told us all to meet down here," Ronan said, a grave hint in his voice in my ear.
The entire cast and crew of the theater was together so rarely, it was suddenly overwhelming to have us all crushed together like this.
"Shouldn't we go up to the stage?" I asked.
"The audience is still milling their way out," Leon said. The vampire's dressing room was across from the guest act's, and he had Alexa tucked against his chest, her teeth nibbling in worry on her bottom lip. "And this is theater business."
They mean Margaret.
I found Ronan's hand brushing against mine and I tangled our fingers together, his grip tight and reassuring on mine. Nireas appeared from the stairs, searching the mass of bodies with a disgruntled frown—he'd never liked crowds—before finding me. He slid against the wall, and we all jostled just a fraction closer together.
At last, Mr. Reddy and Myra appeared, remaining on the first two steps and leaning forward. The murmur of anxious conversation heightened briefly before one after another, we hushed each other and fell into quiet.
"Word came in the first act," Mr. Reddy said, abrupt and firm, his lips carving down his face as he stared out at us. "Margaret was found floating south on the Thames—"
I sucked in a deep breath, turning into Ronan, hiding the blank, washed-out fall of my face towards the wall, his arms circling my back as cries and gasps filled the narrow hall.
Mr. Reddy had been on the stage once, as he liked to remind us, and he let the noise of shock and sorrow rise and fall again before trying to speak.
"I'm not sure what the police have found, but our own sources say…" The words went quiet and the hall did as well, waiting and breathless for the rest.
I set my cheek on Ronan's shoulder, thought of Margaret on the stage with Goliath, giddy and demanding, every bit a girl of the Company of Fiends. So young still.
Mr. Reddy let out a heavy sigh. "Our sources say that it's possible it was the same killer."
"Fuck," Ronan hissed in my ear, squeezing me tight.
And what if the theater has something to do with why she was killed?DS Piper's voice echoed in my head.
They,I corrected. Why they were killed.
And now it looked as though the theater may have had everything to do with it.
I pulled free of Ronan's grip and slid through the figures in the hall, the girls falling into the stoic chests of men and monsters, weeping or shivering. Questions snapped at Mr. Reddy, who stood still on the stairs, Myra at his side with red eyes and her head bowed. She would take this hard, our protector.
I fought my way through the crowd like it was a tide, felt a large hand circle my wrist, and pulled myself free, pressing to the wall and lowering my head. I passed a large, hairy figure, white coat dense and soft as he shook and sniffled. Goliath. An eager flirt, but a sweetheart too.
I slid into my dressing room, my eyes shutting before the curtain slid closed on my back. The charm muffled the sounds from the hall, left me alone with my own thoughts.
But those were terrible too. I let out a soft moan of pain for Beth and Margaret, wordless and frightened, my hands covering my ribs as if I could hold myself together.
On a deep breath came a faint taste of summer.
"Little one, why didn't you take the carriage?"