Atlanta during the summer was a humid version of Hell. And here gathered the damned souls—those who traveled business class at any rate—as they milled about and mingled with the city’s elite.

The reason for parties like this was ass-counting. Dani knew it and it disgusted her, but there was a certain fascination to watching the intricate dance. Each man in a black suit and white shirt was there to count how many asses he had to kiss and, more importantly, figure out how many were ready to kiss his.

The women were doing much the same thing, but ‘kissing’ wasn’t part of the plan for them.

Wives of middle-management dressed in clothes they couldn’t afford. Did they care that they were simply part of the sacrifice? Little men throwing their dates into the bargain for the right deal. While the women execs dressed a touch more conservatively, Dani had the distinct impression that anyone there would sell a large chunk of their soul, what little was left of it anyway, to get one step closer to the light.

She took a sip from her glass and studied the calculated looks of those in attendance. Each one fighting to get to that next step. And there at the top of those steps that swept down to the overpriced marble ballroom, doling out acknowledgements like a pope giving out dispensations, stood her father, the great Edwin Rineheart himself.

Daddy Dearest was hovering there now, high enough on the stairs so that his feet drew even with the heads and shoulders of those below, seeing to it that everyone there remembered that his ass was at the end of a very long line, and that his lips touched no one else’s. His bully boys stood on the sidelines in immaculate suits, little curly-cue listening devices creeping up through each collar to nest comfortably in one ear.

As if anyone was fooled into thinking that particular entourage was anything other than what they were. They were easy to spot; they had no reason to pretend to be enjoying themselves. Dour sentinels, they blended with the background only because they were beneath notice. Dani spent a moment on them, evaluating. Most of them were, frankly, useless. Hired retainers, a year or two of training, but mostly frat boys in suits. A few, like Marcus who was in charge of her father’s security, were competent, but the rest…

She shook her head, setting the empty glass on a passing tray, signaling that she’d like another of the same.

The sun was setting, sending golden streaks through the ballroom windows. That should have been her brother’s cue, but so far no sign of David. For a moment, her heart dared hope he’d run off and left them all behind. What did he need with the dance of the damned? But she knew better. David was still blindly loyal to their father. She said a little prayer for him at the thought.

“Dani?” a voice called from outside her reverie. “Dani, is…is that you?”

A young girl, maybe David’s age, maybe older, maybe younger, was looking at her with an anticipatory grin on her freckled face. She threw her arms out and cocked her hip, losing much of the assumed age Dani had ascribed to her.

“Hi,” Dani said carefully, hoping her face wasn’t as blank as her mind at the moment. She should know this girl. Not being able to place her drove her crazy.

The girl laughed; it was an easy laugh, musical and child-like. “It’s me, Katie… David and I were…”

“Unbeatable Katie?” Dani grinned, rearranging the strawberry-blonde curls into two tightly braided pigtails in her imagination and coming up with a face she could finally recognize. “From tennis camp with David… right?”

“Yes!” Katie bounced once, her carefully coiffed hair and expensive blue dress with matching heels suddenly becoming slightly askew, the way a child would wear them. “Yes! From tennis camp!” This time the arms opened and Dani found herself in a tight hug.

“Wow, it’s been…”

“Seven years!” Katie filled in.

“Wow. Seven years. You were all knees and braces back then, but look at you now! No wonder I didn’t recognize you.”

“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t sure about you, but you’re dressed…” Katie clamped her mouth on the rest, but an irrepressible smile played on the girl’s lips. Dani looked down at the silky top she wore, loose, not binding, comfortable, and to show her respect for her brother, really expensive.

“It’s a good shirt!” she said, maybe a little defensively, crossing her arms over the soft fabric.

“Goes well with the jeans,” Katie teased. Now it was Dani’s turn to smile.

“Well, at least I wore heels,” she said, holding out one foot for inspection. “They even have some kind of designer name attached to them. Besides, I’m here for David. He doesn’t care what I wear. It’s my father who gets bound up with fancy dress.”

“I don’t know,” Katie said, striking a pose, “I kinda like playing dress-up once in a while.” She twirled so her gauzy skirts flared out, showing a lot of leg, to the admiration of the men in the vicinity. “So, I hear that you’re traveling a lot. That must be exciting!”

Dani shrugged. “It gets old. I’ve been about everywhere, mostly on foot. Just seeing what all is out there. People are people pretty much anywhere, you know?” A waiter appeared with a fresh drink, presenting it with enough ceremony that Katie giggled. Given the way the young man looked at Katie, the performance wasn’t necessarily for her own benefit. “What have you been doing since tennis camp?”

Katie stood a little straighter. Proud. “I’m still in school,” she said with a contented smile. “Psychotherapy.”

“Really?” Dani said, her drink sloshing around, the ice clinking against the glass as she indicated the throngs forming and reforming before them. “You’ll have a grand time analyzing this lot.”

“I grew up with this lot, Dani, same as you. It’s a lot harder to analyze what you perceive as normal.”

“Believe me.” Dani said, raising her glass. “This is anything but normal.”

“Is that why you stayed away?” Katie studied her carefully, the intent look adding back the years in an instant. Suddenly Dani wasn’t talking to Katie-the-tennis-star so much as Katherine-the-therapist. Blue eyes studied her intently, with sympathy. “David was heartbroken when you left.”

“I stayed away because my father sent me off to boarding school.” Dani sniffed, not wanting to go there. Katherine-the-therapist made her uneasy. “It’s an old argument.”

“David was sent off to school, too.” Katie said quietly. “Right after you left.”

“But that wasn’t boarding school,” Dani corrected her, surprised at the sharpness in her own tone. “It was military school. He hated it.”

“What happened?” Katie asked, glancing uneasily at those around them, leaning in close to speak. “I thought that David… well, I thought that he and I were…”

“Yeah,” Dani said, dropping her own voice. “I thought so, too. But I got sent off and then it was just him and our father.” Dani shrugged. “David acted out, flushed an M80 down the toilet at his school. It tore the pipes out of the walls and destroyed the admin office.”

“That hardly seems worth military school.”

“Tell me about it. By the time I’d heard what happened the deed was done. Daddy had dealt with the embarrassment, and brother dear was adjusting to a new haircut and learning how to say ‘yes, sir!’ It was…” She wanted to say ‘bullshit’ but thought better of it. She simply just let the sentence remain unfinished.

There seemed to be nothing to say after that. Dani sighed and stared at her glass. How many here toed the same lines? How many had danced to her father’s bidding? She lifted her head and studied the crowd. She hated how they all fit into little niches. Nice and neat. Just like her father wanted.

Except one.

Interest piqued, Dani stood a little straighter to see better.

One man in the requisite black suit didn’t stand on the sidelines, trying to look impressive. He probably should have. Somehow, he didn’t fit in well with the bankers and middle managers and up-and-comings who formed little communities around the dessert trays. He moved like he was able to take care of himself, certainly better than the frat-boy wannabes. Another office drone?

Not quite. Something seemed off…

“Dani?”

Dani blinked. Realized that Katie was still there. “Sorry. I was distracted.”

“Too much to drink?”

Dani held up the glass. “It’s sparkling water. Nothing more. I’m not about to lose my wits tonight.”

“That’s my big sister,” a new voice said from behind her. “Always on her toes. Makes it easier to kick people.”

“DAVID!” Dani whirled and flew into her brother’s arms, all but flattening him in the process. Only swift action on Katie’s part kept the crystal goblet in Dani’s hand from hitting the floor.

As she stepped back, Dani became aware of a minimal shift in the hired men around him. It took a moment to realize that these weren’t his friends, but instead a younger version of the entourage that had drifted around her father like so many well-armed satellites her entire life.

Thankfully, they’d apparently been briefed on her exuberant greetings.

“Hello, Dani!” David cried, breathless, but grinning as he set her away from him. “How’s my favorite big sister?”

“Just happy to see my second-favorite little brother.” Dani slapped his chest lightly. “Keep in mind that you’re coming in second in a race of one,” she said playfully, still a little disconcerted by the armed escort.

Not that David seemed to notice. His eyes were all on Katie, his gaze raking the poor girl from head to toe in a way that left Dani feeling like a voyeur for noticing. “And who do we have here?” David said, taking the petite girl’s hand and bending low over it in a kiss that came straight out of the old black and white movies.

Dani shook her head, thinking she never should have exposed her brother to the likes of Clark Gable at such an impressionable age.

Interestingly enough, Katie wasn’t falling all over herself in a swoon like so many of the young women Dani had seen wander in and out of her brother’s life. If anything, Katie could have been facing a firing squad for all the image she presented, the stoic soldier awaiting her fate.

Interesting…that must have been some summer at camp.

Unable to resist giving a little shove to see what would happen, Dani cleared her throat. “I’ll give you a hint,” Dani said, eying her brother. “Tennis.”

The expressions that passed over her brother’s face were rapid and extreme. Dani forced a smile down by sheer will. “Katie?” he finally asked, his eyes wide. “Unbeatable Katie?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Katie said, pulling her hand away, obviously reluctant to extend the physical contact.

“Damn, you grew up hot!” David was practically drooling.

OK, fun’s fun, but this is getting creepy. There’s some serious history here. Dani smacked his arm.

“What was that for?”

“Show a little class, will ya?”

“We could use a little more class around here,” another voice interrupted. Dani froze and clenched her jaw. Damn the man for sneaking up on her. Despite the vow she’d made, she felt chilled to the bone just being in his presence. The bastard.

“Hi, Dad!” David greeted his father—their father—casually. Katie took the opportunity to flee, Dani noted, and wondered if she would be better off doing the same.

No. She’d wait him out. See how long it took.

Dani crossed her arms. She didn’t have to wait long.

“I see you still hold a unique fashion sense,” her father said, casting her a look that spoke volumes of what he thought of her, his hand gesturing at her jeans as if she’d shown up dressed as the local garbage man. “How fitting for a formal. Someone asked me if you worked here. I told him no, assuming he meant as a blue- collar worker, and not as an… escort.”

Dani gritted her teeth. Counted to ten. In Sanskrit. “Escorts dress to fit in with the rest, Daddy, you should know that by now.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised you do.” He looked her up and down in a way that let her know he’d found plenty more flaws where that came from. “At least your attire appears to be clean. That’s an important step in the right direction.”

“There are too many people sniffing around to take that chance.”

“Ok, you two,” David said uncertainly. The note of desperation in his voice was heartbreaking. “Please, not tonight.”

Dani would have given anything to have her glass back. Something. Anything to keep her hands busy so she didn’t do something she’s regret later. Like strangle the man.

Instead, she swallowed hard and turned toward her brother, letting her back speak volumes to the man who’d been responsible for her coming into this world. She lifted her chin and stuck out her hand for her brother to shake. “Congratulations, David. I’m very happy for you.”

“I’m making an announcement soon,” her father said, sidestepping her, coming back around to stand next to his son. Letting her know which child he cared about, as if she hadn’t already figured it out years ago. He nodded and smiled at passing guests. Just a happy little family taking time out for each other in the middle of a crowded affair. “You’re going to want to stay for that.” It was not a request.

“I’m sure I can read about it in the papers,” Dani said icily, but made no move to leave. Even she wasn’t that stupid.

“You scared her off,” David said, seeming to realize for the first time that the strawberry-blonde was missing. But his words were quiet and Dani couldn’t be sure if he was addressing her father or her.

“You don’t need to be in view,” her father was saying as he nodded to another guest. “In fact, I would prefer you weren’t. But you do need to be here for the announcement.”

Dani’s head jerked around. She studied her father uncertainly. “I do?”

“You do,” her father echoed, in no uncertain terms. “Look at it this way: it directly affects you. That is your priority, is it not? You, then David, and the rest of the world be damned? Well, this is about you both. Stick around and keep out of the way.”

Definitely not a request. Dani swallowed hard and nodded. Despising him. Despising that he could still make her feel this way after all these years, after everything she’d been through, after everything she’d done…

Marcus came up behind him and whispered in her father’s ear. Dani watched his expression change from frustration to one of surprise. For a moment her father looked at David, and then glared at her. Surprise turned to anger, and he nodded at Marcus.

“Come with me!” Her father grabbed David’s arm and pulled him from the ballroom into a hallway. Just like that, gone. Like she was nothing to him after all.

I should’ve expected that.

The hell with this.

Dani looked around for the man she’d noticed earlier, wanting an escape. A flirtation. Something. Anything to take the bad taste out of her mouth. But he was gone. Like Katie, he’d simply…disappeared.

Dandy. The only interesting people in the place and her father had scared them away.

She strode behind the bar, ignoring the protestations of the bartender, and grabbed an unopened bottle of scotch and stormed out. Behind her from the stage, she heard Marcus calling out, “LADIES AND GENTELMEN!”

Fucking announcement. Who gave a damn? She escaped into the hallway. Looked for a doorway, some way out.

A conference room. Perfect.

She stormed into the room, slamming the door shut behind her hard enough to cause the chandelier overhead to start swaying.

It was a long moment before she realized the music had stopped playing.