Blitz and I wake up Tuesday morning with groans and whimpers.
“I can’t move my arms,” Blitz says with a laugh. “Jenica killed me.”
“My butt will never be the same,” I tell him. “We did too many arabesques for a week, much less a day.”
Blitz turns to me and rolls me onto my belly. “Well, rubbing your butt with my sore hands should help both of us, right?”
I laugh. “Maybe. Wait. Oww!” The pressure is like a bruise being punched. I reach and grab his upper arm and squeeze. “How is that?”
“Hurts so good,” he says, collapsing back down on the bed. “We need a hot tub in our room.”
I lean up on one elbow. Even that sends a howl through my midsection. “Why don’t we have a hot tub in our room? Did you get cheap on me?”
His chest rumbles with a throaty chuckle. “I think there are jets in the bathtub, actually.”
I drop back on the pillow. “Then call somebody to come fill it,” I say.
Blitz drops a kiss on my forehead. “Being spoiled agrees with you,” he says. “How about I go get a steaming, jet-powered bath going for us?”
I drag myself to sitting. “I’ll help,” I say, grimacing at all the places that hurt. “Are we really going back to Jenica’s today?”
“It was fun,” Blitz says. “But it didn’t feel quite right. Did it for you?”
I want to collapse with relief. “No. I missed Betsy something awful.”
“They were killing each other for the sake of doing it,” Blitz says. “I’ve had trainers like that. They think it’s noble to sacrifice your body.” He stretches his arms and winces. “I’m the first to want a hard, solid workout, but being unable to function the next day is no good in my business.”
“Or getting injured,” I say. “That would be the worst.”
“Yeah, we were pushing it,” Blitz says. “So, okay, we’ll figure something else out.”
“Even if that means you never get to see your super fan Weeza again?” I tease.
“I’ll have to live with that.” He drops another kiss on my hair.
“To the bath?” I say.
Blitz nuzzles my neck. “Definitely.”
After an hour’s soak, among other things, we start to feel human again. Blitz calls up a simple breakfast with healthy pressed juice and carbs, and we prepare to head to Dreamcatcher for the wheelchair ballerina class.
“You think BD will be there today?” Blitz asks. “Or did he get enough charge out of his outburst on Friday?”
I slide my Crocs on over my tights. “I honestly don’t know. Danika should have security there by now. And presumably she has a restraining order in place.”
“He still hasn’t seen our gray car,” Blitz says. “I could put a mustache on you.”
I hold up my hands. “No need. I’ll just wear sunglasses.”
“So not fun,” he teases. He calls down to the concierge to have the car brought around.
I shove my dance shoes in my bag. I don’t really know what I will do if Denham is there again. He shouldn’t be, if the order is in place.
“All set,” Blitz says. “Let’s go dance with your daughter!”
The idea of Gabriella being there makes me anxious. Denham has seen the pictures of me as a young girl. They were hanging in the halls. But that was a long time ago. Surely he won’t remember them well enough to recognize Gabriella in them.
Although it’s possible he could recognize something about himself. She has his eyes. Seeing him again confirmed it for me.
We head downstairs, where the gray Mazda waits. Blitz pulls a ball cap low on his face. With his sunglasses, he isn’t recognizable. I wrap my head in a floral scarf and put on my own pair. Now I see why celebrities look like they do.
We drive in silence the short distance to the academy. Blitz approaches it slowly, watching for the green truck.
It doesn’t take long to see it.
“Shit, he’s right there,” Blitz says. He makes an abrupt right on a side street to avoid driving past him.
“You think he saw us?” I ask.
“No,” Blitz says. “He was fiddling with something on the sidewalk.”
“He was out of his truck?”
“Yeah, kneeling on the ground.”
We circle the block and approach Dreamcatcher from the other direction. The green truck is on the opposite side now. Denham is still sitting down low.
“What is he holding?” I ask.
“It’s one of those construction-sized measuring tapes on a reel,” Blitz says. “He’s measuring something.”
We turn into the drive, but I keep my face angled away. “Did he see us?” I ask.
“He glanced up, but he didn’t recognize us in this car,” Blitz says. “He looked right back down again.”
“Did you figure out what he’s doing?”
“The end of his measuring tape was the corner of the parking lot,” Blitz says. He drives around to the back of the building and parks. “I’m guessing he’s making sure he’s outside the zone of the protective order.”
“Is it that small?”
“I talked to Jeff about it when I was in LA. He didn’t think we had enough evidence of a threat to get one, but that was before baby daddy decided to go nuts at a place with children. In Texas, it’s typically two hundred yards.”
“So a couple football fields,” I say.
“Yeah.”
“How could they have served him?” I ask. “He doesn’t have an address.”
“Jeff said he’s on probation,” Blitz says. “Most likely a stipulation of his probation is to maintain contact with an officer. They could serve it.”
“Would getting one violate his probation?” I ask.
“I could call Jeff and ask,” Blitz says.
“That’s okay,” I say. “Danika might know.”
“I doubt we’ll be able to get in the back door today without calling her,” Blitz says.
“Looks like she has somebody back there.” I point to the backstage exit.
Sure enough, a familiar tall man is there. Ted!
We walk up to him. “Fancy seeing you again,” Blitz says. “I was just too good-looking to pass up.”
Ted snorts. “They called and asked for me, since I already knew the place. I rotate with another guy, front entrance and back.”
“Is this door locked?” Blitz asks. “Because lover boy is out front measuring how close he can get.”
“We’re aware,” Ted says. “The funny thing is, we don’t even have an order yet. They’re still working on proving the threat. He’s just being careful.”
“Really?” I say. “Even after he went crazy last week?”
“Yeah, the owner wasn’t able to convince them,” Ted says. “I think they are getting some big-gun lawyer to file it now. Some dude named Claremont.”
“Bennett,” I say, and Blitz nods. Bennett built Dreamcatcher Academy for Danika. He has lawyers on top of lawyers.
Ted turns to unlock the backstage door. “Buzz me if anything happens in there.”
“Will do,” Blitz says with a mock salute.
We hurry to Studio 3, where Janel is already working with Daisy and Marissa.
“Good morning,” Janel says as we come in. “Small group so far this morning. Everybody’s late or skipping.”
I set down my bag. “Did anyone call to say why?”
“No,” Janel says, adjusting Daisy’s arms. “I didn’t hear anything.”
By the time we’ve changed into dance shoes, two more girls have arrived. But no Gabriella.
Halfway through class, Blitz comes up and says, “Did anything seem off with her on Thursday?”
I shake my head no.
“Why don’t you go ask Danika about her?”
I nod. The girls are busily working on how to hold formation during a turn, so I head out into the hall and walk toward the front foyer.
Another security guard stands between the two entrances, looking out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that make up the front of the academy. I realize how vulnerable we are, so open and easy to see in.
“Everything okay?” I ask him. “I’m Livia, the girl he’s stalking.”
The man nods in acknowledgment. “He just got served the order,” he says. “The officer is still there, making sure he complies.”
I glance out. I can’t see Denham’s truck, as it’s too far down the street, but Denham himself is picking up his measuring tape. A squad car is parked directly in front of the academy.
I back away before he can look this direction. It’s a good distance across the parking lot, and he shouldn’t be able to see me clearly, but I don’t want to take that chance.
Suze is at the front desk, and I wave as I pass. Then I stop and turn back to her. “Did Gwen call about Gabriella?” I ask. “She’s not in class.”
Suze sifts through her notes. “I didn’t talk to her, but she left a message for Danika to call her. Maybe she’s sick.”
“Thanks,” I say. “Is Danika back there?”
“I think so,” Suze says.
I push through the doors to the recital hall. Danika’s office is just inside. She sits at her desk, tapping on her keyboard.
I poke my head in. “Hey,” I say.
“Hello, Livia,” she says. “I take it you came in the back way? Your friend is out front.”
“Yeah.” I sit on the chair opposite her. “I hear you got the protective order.”
“Finally. The officer who came didn’t write up enough to get it through. We had to push it with Bennett’s lawyer. But they got it done.”
“Did he have a probation officer to notify him?”
“Yes, but we didn’t want to wait on that. He was standing right out there. We got it rush-served. Anything for a price,” she says.
“How far away does he have to stay?”
“We got three hundred yards, which is the maximum. But that’s just for our property. He can still follow you.”
“I know,” I say. “Blitz doesn’t want an order in the public record with my name on it.”
“That makes sense. You practically have to give up your firstborn child to get one done.”
I freeze, my breath catching.
Danika quickly says, “I’m sorry. That was a horrible thing to say.”
“That’s okay,” I say. “It’s just an expression.”
She reaches across the desk to grasp my hands. “I think of you as a daughter, Livia. Please know that if you need anything, you can talk to me.”
I’m not sure I can think of Danika as a mother, but I nod. “I came to ask about Gabriella,” then quickly I add, “and Valerie. They aren’t in class today.”
“I’m not sure about Valerie,” she says. “But Gwen heard about the altercation Friday and has put a hold on Gabriella’s enrollment until it blows over.”
“What?” My heart accelerates. “He didn’t even come here on her day!”
“Gwen has some concerns,” Danika says. “She isn’t the only parent who has pulled her child out over that incident. I’ve lost about ten students.”
I can’t believe it. Just like that, Gabriella is out of my life.
Because of Denham!
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I shouldn’t have come back here once he found me.”
“I’m really not sure it would have helped. He comes here whether it’s your day or not. He sat out there yesterday while we tried to get the order done.”
“You think Gabriella won’t even do the private lessons?” I ask.
Danika lets go of me and sits back in her chair. “It’s interesting, Livia, that you and Blitz have taken such an interest in her. What motivated you to do that?”
My face flushes hot. I fumble with my answer. “Blitz saw a lot of potential in her when they did the video. She’s really expressive.”
Danika nods. “Well, that is true.” She slides a few of her papers around. “I’ll let you know if she decides to come back. I would assume her private lessons are also canceled for now. But I can check if you would like.”
“Okay, thank you,” I say. But I already know the answer. If Gwen doesn’t want Gabriella to come to class, she won’t want her to come to the academy at all.
Denham is costing me my daughter.
I have to do something.