Chapter Two

"Why is this girl on the ground?"

Luca's voice lowered into something dark and lethal.  He didn't raise his voice, and somehow that made it worse.

"Just like you, she's a buzz kill." The blonde-haired man was drunk.  Even from the ground, I could smell the alcohol oozing off his skin. 

"So you did this to her?" Luca questioned quietly.

The man didn't respond, but instead took two steps forward towards Luca like he had forgotten who he was dealing with.

Lucas snapped his fingers once.

The room exploded into motion.

Two officers entered the room.

The blonde man was tackled to the ground next to me.

I scurried backwards to not get tangled in the scuffle.

The blonde man was handcuffed and taken from the room.

Luca calmly adjusted the sleeves on his jacket.

"Gentlemen, another suite has been prepared for you on floor 57."

The rest of the guys in the room quickly moved out and towards the elevator.  I started to lift myself off the ground when I noticed a hand was extended to me.

The same hand that dropped a pill in a bourbon glass an hour ago.

Luca Moretti was trying to help me up.

My blood ran cold as I placed my hand in his.  Lucky for me, I know how to perform.

"Thank you." I kept my voice even, even though I was panicking.

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

He made me want to believe him.  He cradled my hand once I was on my feet.  His gaze locked into mine - soft, focused, and intense.  My heart fluttered so hard I couldn't tell if I wanted to kiss him or run.

"It comes with the job sometimes.  Private penthouse shows are always an adventure, so I'm told."

Every instinct I had told me to pull away. I didn't.  His expensive cologne smelled like sandalwood, smoke, and luxury.

"So you've been told?  Was this your first event?"

"Yes, sir, it was."

"Now, I find that hard to believe."

He lifted the hand he still held onto and pulled it to his lips for a kiss.

Was it the soft and sensual kiss I wished it could be, or did he know what I had seen and was marking me for death?  My chest tightened with a rush I didn't know how to control.

"Do you work here, at The Cashmere Crown?" 

I felt his grip on my hand release.  I took it back, savoring the warmth my skin still felt.

"I do, with the Moonlight Review Dancers. I'm Sienna."

"Sienna.  That's a lovely name." 

Every glance he made was like striking a match next to gasoline.

Did he see me peeking through the door?

Did he hear the rattle of my jewels as I ran away?

My survival instinct was screaming at me to leave.  I slowly made my way through the door and back into the hall. The police were taping off the doorway to the Velvet suit.  I didn't want to leave.  I wanted to keep talking to him.

But I knew if I stayed, I risked being discovered.

I knew what Luca was capable of.  I didn't want him to discover what I knew.

"Moonlight Review.  Are you on tomorrow night?"

Lie. Lie. Sienna, you need to lie to him.  Say no.  Say you're going to quit after tonight.  Put distance between the two of you so you don't end up poisoned.  He killed a mafia lord; he's not afraid to kill you, too.

"Yes, both shows."

Luca put a hand to his ear and activated a small Bluetooth that was connected.

"Can someone make sure my box is open in the theater tomorrow night?"

He froze while getting a response from someone on the other side of the Bluetooth.  He then turned to me and flashed a smile that could have melted the polar ice caps.

"Looks like I'll see you tomorrow."

And then an idea hit me.  A clever and dangerous idea.  He never introduced himself. Never told me his name.  Sure, I knew who he was.  But Luca Moretti didn't know that.

The elevator doors slid open behind me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, mystery man."

I stepped onto the elevator, and he looked at me as if I were the most interesting woman in Las Vegas. The doors shut before he could say anything, sealing me alone in the elevator with nothing but my racing thoughts.

I watched the number gradually tick downward, and my heart rate picked up as I got closer to the ground.  Luca Moretti.  Killed a man earlier tonight.  Then casually made plans to watch a bunch of showgirls high kick to Rat Pack songs tomorrow night. 

Did he know what I had seen?

I needed an escape plan, and fast.  

I could quit before the show tomorrow and move back home to Erie, Pennsylvania.  My mom would be thrilled to have me home again.  Nobody would think to look for me there.

The dressing rooms on basement level four were silent and empty.  It still smelled like sweat and rose water from our performance earlier in the night.  I quickly hung my costume up and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top.  

If I were going to disappear, I needed to clear my station. Tonight.

I found an abandoned paper bag and started throwing my belongings inside it.  A picture of my parents.  The award I won in middle school for best drama performance of the year.  My journal I had filled with every dream that brought me from Pennsylvania to Las Vegas

My dreams on paper.

I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror.  I haven't clawed my way across the country to give up now. I brushed my blonde hair out of my face and stared back at my reflection.

I hadn't come this far to back down now.  I needed a new plan, one that put my future back in my own hands.

And not with some dangerously handsome billionaire with murder on his hands.

Mystery Man. 

I began pulling my belongings out of the bag slowly when another idea slipped into my head.

Blackmail.