Once he entered the comforting shadows behind the curtains, Jett felt a knot of tension in his chest ease. The smell of sawdust and mixing colognes was a balm for his nerves, and his face broke into a small smile as he remembered he was nearing his curtain call. His first few shows had opened with Jett’s stomach a bundle of nerves and jitters. Yet with each increasingly successful show, Jett had found he had stopped fearing the performances. As each show formed another brick in the foundation of his fame and success, Jett had come to fall in love with those moments where he would walk out onto the stage, under the lights, before all the people in the audience.

As was his habit, Jett paced up and down the row of objects he would be using for his various tricks. Some of his acts were simple redirection and sleight of hand, while others required a few more props. He checked over the few doves he would be using for the show, made sure the mirrors were in alignment, and then moved on to the conveyer belt.

He might have gradually come to love the moments of anticipation before he stepped out onto the stage, but he had always loved the time where he spent checking every little detail. Even between shows, he would walk among the various devices, fiddling with them, and doing maintenance on them himself. There was a peace in the manual labor, and he always joked that it was the closest he was ever going to get to something resembling mediation.

“You know, not every magician feels the urge to go over every nut and bolt before a show,” Riley’s voice said from somewhere behind him.

Jett snorted, not looking up as he checked over the belt’s integrity. “And not every magician has a part in their act where they’re thrown into a blade-and-fire-filled deathtrap.”

Riley came into view, standing on the other side of the belt. “You know, I might think you don’t trust us back here.”

Jett grinned up at her. “Now, now, there’s no need to get hurt feelings. I fully believe everyone around here knows what they’re doing and they’re not going to be lazy enough to skip over something important. But it helps to center me before the show. We’ve had this conversation.”

“You’re the only person I know who goes all Zen about a bit of elbow grease,” Riley teased.

Jett shrugged, “It makes me feel better. Plus, there’s still plenty left over for everyone to be busy. Speaking of…”

Riley rolled her eyes. “You get to stay back here and tinker with the machines, and you leave me to cope with the people. Somehow, I get the feeling you’re coming out on the better end of the deal.”

Jett grinned. “Well you know me, I don’t like people unless I’m standing safely on a stage and they’re stuck in their seats.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know every other detail has been taken care of. I yelled at the people taking longer breaks than they needed to, made sure all the seats were assigned correctly, reminded everyone about the changes you forwarded to me at the last second. I promise you, everything will go off without a hitch tonight,” Riley assured him.

Jett stood, shifting down the belt to check the blade mechanism. “You sure do know how to make a guy feel better about things. What would I ever do without you, Riley?”

“Die,” Riley said with a smirk.

“Boy, when I see you up on stage, looking pretty and flashing that smile of yours, it’s easy to forget just how charming you really are in person,” Jett said with a laugh, touching a few points on the sawblade.

Riley snorted. “Only for you, Jett.”

Jett looked up. “You came looking for me for a reason, and I’m sure it wasn’t just to give me hell about being finicky.”

Riley grinned. “See, we know each other so well. I wanted to be nosy and ask how your investigation is going.”

“My investigation?” Jett asked with a raised brow.

Riley scowled at him. “Fine, the investigation you were helping the hunky-but-boring detective with.”

Jett shook his head, bending down to check the incinerator compartment. “Well, I did my best, but the hunky, not-so-boring detective has decided I’m still on his suspect list. I have to say, it’s pretty ungrateful of him. I put my time in to help him and he still has the audacity to point a finger in my direction.”

Riley leaned over the belt to watch him. “Can you blame him?”

Jett looked up sharply. “Excuse me?”

Riley grimaced with apology. “Well, think about it, Jett. You were pissed about the show Oliver was doing, especially when he started poking around your stuff and trying to get interviews with our tech people.”

Jett snorted, turning his attention back to the fire mechanism. “Yeah, so? Since when does being pissed at someone about their nosiness mean you’re willing to shoot them? If that were the case, I wouldn’t have many fans left.”

Riley laughed softly. “I just mean it makes you look like you have a motive.”

“Anyone who had to talk to the pompous asshole would have had motive enough in a cop’s eyes,” Jett told her with a snort.

“The man was making a living. You just didn’t like the way he did it.”

Jett looked up again, sensing the judgment in her voice. “Hit a sore spot?”

Riley tossed her hair away from her face with a snort. “No, but I know when it comes to your work, you’re going to be biased. Speaking of which, are you going to sit there and pretend it doesn’t make you look more suspicious than before? You’re the best in the business right now and the things I’ve been hearing? Someone with a skill for trickery would had to have had a hand in the murder.”

Jett cocked his head, hearing the soft murmur of the crowd beginning to filter into the theater. “There are more than enough magicians around to have pulled it off. I’m not the only skilled magician in town. It’s Vegas, for God’s sake.”

Riley nodded. “True, but if you ask me, if you wanted to do it, you could get away with it. And if you were to do it, this would be the exact way you would do it too. Leave everyone confused and spinning in circles while you watch everything happen from a distance, laughing at them.”

Jett stared at her, daring to finally ask the question. “Do you think I did it?”

Riley watched his face, frowning. “No, Jett, how could you ask me something like that? You would never do anything like this. Plus, you can’t outright lie to save your life.”

Relief flooded him. “You don’t have to be so blunt about it.”

Riley laughed. “If I’m not blunt, no one will be.”

Jett found himself wishing Rico had so readily accepted Jett’s innocence. He knew it was stupid to keep shuffling over the regrets he was having over Rico, but he couldn’t help it. Sure, they had only slept together twice, and had barely gotten to know each other, but it had started to feel like something more was beginning to grow between them. Jett couldn’t say exactly what made him think it, but there was always the feeling like there was more waiting behind Rico’s stoic gaze.

Riley cocked her head, looking at him quizzically. “You okay?”

Jett moved over to the heavy curtain, peering out onto the audience covertly as he spoke. “Do you ever feel like there was an opportunity hanging right there in front of you, and you just missed it? Not because you failed, but because it didn’t work out like you know it was supposed to?”

“Are we, uh, talking about fate now? Because if so, I’m going to have to ask who you are and what you did with Jett Richards,” Riley said from behind him.

Jett snorted. “I’m still me, don’t worry your pretty little head over it. Looks like it’s starting to get full in there, so we should make sure everything is ready to go.”

Riley turned away with a roll of her eyes. “Yes, master.”

Jett watched her go, glancing back out to the crowd. A part of him wished Rico was out in the crowd to witness the show. Jett had never had the chance to show the man just what kind of magic he could work on the stage. He wondered if the glimpses of the real Rico he had seen behind the reserved mask would have liked the show, or if he might have been bored. Jett thought it was a shame, not knowing, but as he watched the crowd filter in, he shoved the thoughts away.

Shaking himself, he adjusted his clothes and made for the side of the stage. Personal issues were nothing new and could always be dealt with later, after a few too many post-show drinks. Jett Richards was expected on stage, and Jett Richards was going to give his paying audience the show they had come looking for, hell or high water.