Chapter Nine
“A descent into madness,” Armand sounded out into the studio. “Cassandra will be a ballet of beautiful chaos … an expression of tragedy … and of fate.”
Alex fought the urge to yawn as he listened to the man talk to his dancers on the other side of the vast studio. He thought Edward would be in to introduce him and his men to the company so they could at least go sit outside, but instead Armand had theatrically gone into his “visionary ballet” speech. Already enduring inquisitive looks from the dancers, he decided to be polite and wait it out. He excused the others, letting them get to work securing the building, with the exception of Lance, who stuck by his side.
“Apollo wanted to seduce Cassandra and gave her the power of prophecy,” Armand continued. “She wouldn’t give Apollo what he wanted—her purity. She had taken a sacred vow of chastity to remain a virgin her entire life.”
“I’d kill myself,” Nora spoke up, making the room rustle with laughter.
Armand threw her a wink. “The Fates—played by Victoria, Lily, and Sonja—want to twist the tides of war, pushing Apollo to curse Cassandra with perceived insanity. Her friends and family wouldn’t ever believe her prophetic visions, leading to the ultimate fall of Troy.”
Scarlet raised a graceful hand into the air. “And after Troy fell, she sought refuge in the temple of Athena and instead, was brutally raped by Ajax,” she said. “Hopefully that part won’t make it into the script.”
“Never refuse a god sex.” Armand pointed to her. “My dear Cassandra.”
Scarlet cheeks flushed as she lowered her hand. “If I don’t, your ballet will suck.”
More low laughter traveled through the room. Scarlet cleared her throat and turned her focus to her pointe shoes. Alex tilted his head at her, his lips stretching into a smile. It was difficult for him to ignore that Scarlet was an intriguing woman. He wanted to know more about her, but the lingering facts kept him distant.
Do not get personal with Mikael Rush’s daughter.
“Opening night will be in December,” Armand said. “Madame Adele and I will meet with each of you individually over the next week to talk parts in depth. Even though this keeps the traditional ballet formula, I still want you all to understand your dance, your motive, and your character. Let’s have fun with it. Workshops start tomorrow, so check your schedules.”
Beside Alex, Lance shifted his weight and sighed. “It won’t be like this every day, will it?”
“You have anything better to do?” Alex said.
“Call of Duty, Black Ops,” Lance retorted. “I mean, I’m not trying be rude, boss, but this is a real change from our usual routine.”
“Ed asked, I said okay.” Alex straightened himself up and kept his focus forward. “And we could use a little change of pace.”
Lance turned his head to his friend and raised an eyebrow. “That it? I mean, situation’s a little odd, don’t deny it.”
Alex threw him a look. “It’s business. Just coincidence. It’s not like Edward planned this.”
Lance leaned closer so no one would hear. “You can’t save ghosts, Alex.”
“Watch it,” Alex hissed, snapping his head to glare at his friend. “You wanted to be here. Just take the schedules, give out the objectives, and do the job. Don’t try to counsel me.”
Lance frowned at his friend, but nodded. “Fine.”
“Everything okay?”
Alex turned his attention to Edward, who had managed to sneak into the studio. “Yes.” He stepped away from Lance.
Edward held out his hand. “Nice to see you, Lance.”
“Been awhile, Master Chief.” Lance smiled and grasped his hand.
Edward rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Good to have you kids around.”
“I’ll never tire of you calling us kids.” Lance smirked.
Edward patted his arm. “I’ll let Alex talk to the dancers, now. Ease some inquiring minds, and whispered rumors.”
Armand was still talking across the room, but stopped when Edward loudly cleared his throat. Armand looked back at him, pursing his lips.
“Okay, my lovelies, before we go full into rehearsal, Edward has a few words for you.” Armand gestured for everyone to get up and follow him. The dancers formed a half-circle around Edward as he stepped up to Armand.
Alex stayed along the back wall, and waited.
“No doubt, it’s been an interesting couple of days,” Edward began. “I’m here to put any rumors to rest, and to let you know that I have your best interests at heart.”
There were a few quiet murmurs as Edward began to walk around the half-circle so he could make eye contact with everyone. He spoke slowly and loudly to ensure that everyone heard correctly.
“It’s true that Scarlet Rush was attacked last night,” he said. “She escaped a kidnapping attempt down near Dogpatch. The men are at large, but the police are working to catch them. So far, there are no leads.”
Edward stopped walking and faced the left side of the circle where Scarlet was standing with her friends. “This was just a cowardly act, orchestrated by people who are intimidated by our company,” he said. “Sadly, such things happen. Scarlet understands the situation and has decided to plunge ahead with the season.”
Jason started an encouraging clap that spread through the group. Scarlet managed a tight smile, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
Alex noted that the sour-faced redhead didn’t clap.
“I don’t want anyone speaking to the press,” Edward continued. “If you do, I’ll find out, and your career with North Pointe will be over. No exceptions.”
More hushed murmurs spread out into the studio.
Edward held his hand back to Alex. “To ensure everyone’s safety, I have brought the most trusted of protection services to North Pointe.” He took a step back. “This is Alex Strong. He’ll explain more.”
Alex tensed up a little as the attention fell on him. He looked up at Scarlet, and their eyes locked. He hesitated as she tilted her head to the side and her lips curved into a slight smile.
Lance cleared his throat, snapping Alex out of it.
“Hi,” he said. “Like Edward said, I’m Alex, and I’m a professional protection agent. That means, I establish a secure environment for my client and resolve any threats to their person. I have a six-man team with me, and together, we’ll be setting up security measures for North Pointe. If you see them patrolling the halls, please be respectful. We’re happy to answer questions, but do your best to stay out of our way.”
Alex pointed at his friend. “This is Lance Attebury. He handles a lot of the tech side of our operations. I realize he looks a little like Kevin Hart, but trust me—he’s nowhere near as funny.”
Nervous laughter rustled through the room as Lance rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.
“In all seriousness,” Alex said, turning back to the group, “we are all highly skilled and trained agents who are dedicated to keeping our clients safe. We look forward to working at North Pointe, and will ensure that the threats dissipate quickly.”
Alex stepped back and let Edward speak again.
“If anyone feels unsafe,” Edward said, “please see me in my office. My door is open to you.”
Another round of murmurs broke the silence and Victoria scoffed rudely. “Mr. North. I feel unsafe. If this happened to Scarlet, surely it can happen to others. I mean, no one even knew who she was two days ago. If there are roving bands of men snatching women up off the street, I’d like to know I have the same protection as anyone else.”
Edward’s eyes flashed in anger as he stared the woman up and down. Clearly, Victoria knew that Scarlet was the only one with a personal bodyguard.
“Ms. St. Claire, if you feel unsafe, I suggest getting a dog. Stow your attitude.”
Soft laughter traveled around the room, as Victoria’s face turned red with embarrassment. She closed her mouth and flared her nostrils.
“Everything operates as usual.” Edward’s voice was soft, but firm. “There will be guards posted around the building, and if anyone notices anything out of the ordinary, you are to report it immediately. Let’s work together on this. Walk in groups, and never alone at night. If you need an escort, we’ll arrange it. Is that clear?”
A chorus of “yes, Mr. North” sounded into the studio like children in a classroom. He nodded to Armand. “Good. I’ll leave you to your dancing. The gala is next Saturday. If you’re one of the dancers set to perform, make sure you finalize your costumes with Mrs. Clark by Tuesday. Otherwise, I expect my principals to be ready to socialize.”
Alex noticed that none of the dancers seemed particularly thrilled about the gala. Scarlet’s shoulders drooped a little at the mention.
As the dancers dispersed, Edward turned to Alex. “Mind if I have a word with you? They’ll be dancing for about an hour before lunch break.”
Alex nodded and followed Edward out of the studio. The man led him to a set of glass doors that opened up onto a spacious deck overlooking the city. The wind had a chill to it, and despite wearing a jacket, Alex shivered.
“Fall’s coming early,” Edward commented, looking up to the sky.
Silence filled the deck as Alex waited for Edward to talk.
“I owe you an apology.” Edward looked over at him.
Alex wasn’t expecting that. “For what?”
“I never imagined I’d need to call you to protect my dancers—let alone Mikael Rush’s daughter.”
Alex’s body stiffened and he clenched his jaw a couple of times.
“I guess it’s just cruel irony,” Alex responded.
“I just want you to know I could never forget about what happened to you in Istanbul.” .
“Was years ago.” Alex looked at the city, focusing on the various tall buildings rising high above his head. “I don’t expect you to think about it. You had a situation, you called me.”
“Doesn’t mean it was right to goosestep around it,” Edward said. “Scarlet is very private. She doesn’t see her family often, so I figured it was just an easy job. I thought, maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal, then I overheard Lance talking to you.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he said.
“It is a big deal,” Edward said. “It worries me that you don’t address it.”
Alex swallowed back an angry reply and felt the familiar sting in his abdomen whenever someone brought up Istanbul. He knew it was all in his head, but that just angered him more. He turned to confront Edward.
“I had a mission that didn’t go well. Her dad was involved. Of course I’ve thought about it—it’s a strange coincidence, but doesn’t mean I’m not here to do my job.”
Edward held up his hand in surrender. “I’m not saying you aren’t. I’m just saying I’ll understand if you want to assign another one of your men to Scarlet. I shouldn’t have insisted you do it. I wasn’t thinking rationally.”
“It’s fine,” Alex said. “My past isn’t her business. She doesn’t need to know anything about me. I don’t need to converse with her on any sort of social level. This is about keeping her safe.”
Edward tilted his head at Alex. “I know you believe that. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Alex let out a pained laugh. “Right, you would care. You’re good at that, right? Giving a shit.”
The moment he said the words, he regretted them. The sadness that crossed Edward’s face was like a slap across Alex’s face.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I don’t know why I said that.”
“It’s fine, Alex.” Edward closed the space between them. “I know I hurt you and your mother very much when I left. I know those wounds will never heal completely.”
Edward wasn’t the problem. Sure, it was a sore spot—but it was back when Alex was still fresh out of his SQT training. It was a lifetime ago for Alex, and for Edward.
Alex clenched his jaw again until his teeth hurt. “You know, I’m glad you’re happy. I’m glad that you’ve settled into this dream of yours.” He let out a long breath. “As my therapist would say, I’m deflecting so I don’t have to deal with my emotional trauma. You’re not the problem, Ed. I’m my own problem. I’m thirty-two years old, and I can’t deal with people on a personal level, so I’m a bodyguard. It’s easier. It’s what I’m good at. People just want you to stand there like some reinforced wall.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” Edward said. “And you’ve accomplished a lot since. Just know that I’m here for you. I’ve always been here for you.”
Suddenly, Alex wanted to tell the man everything. All of his thoughts, all of the worry and doubt he experienced since laying eyes on Scarlet. He wanted to tell him how Scarlet made him feel. Edward would understand, that much he knew. Still, he remained silent.
Edward reached out and patted the man on the shoulder as the door behind them flew open and a woman let out a flustered breath. Alex recognized her as one of the admissions staff.
“Mr. North,” she said. “They’ve arrested someone for Scarlet’s kidnapping!”