Page 80 of Duty Unbound

“It’s dead. With Nova’s rainbow wig!” I was sobbing now, the words tumbling out. “Someone delivered it, and now I’m trapped in here with it and it smells so bad and?—”

“I’m on my way,” he cut in, his voice steady. “Stay away from whatever it is. Don’t touch anything. I’ll be there in two minutes.”

The line went quiet. I sank onto the makeup chair, as farfrom the door—and the raccoon—as the small room allowed. My whole body trembled, tears blurring my vision.

True to his word, I heard Ethan’s voice outside the door less than two minutes later.

“Mel? I’m here. Can you unlock the door?”

“I can’t,” I called back, voice breaking. “It’s stuck or locked from your side.”

“Stand back,” he ordered. “I’m going to try something.”

I heard him rattling the handle, then his muffled voice speaking to someone else. Then more rattling, harder this time.

“The lock is damaged,” he called through the door. “Someone’s tampered with it. We’re going to have to force it open. Move away from the door.”

I pressed myself against the far wall. A moment later, the door shuddered under a heavy impact. Again. And again.

With a splintering crack, it finally gave way. Ethan burst in, gun drawn, eyes sweeping the room before landing on me. Behind him, Ty and Jace stood ready, their own weapons out.

“Are you hurt?” Ethan demanded, crossing to me in three long strides.

I shook my head, unable to speak. He holstered his weapon, eyes searching mine, then pulled me into his arms. I clung to him, face pressed against his chest, breathing in his clean scent—anything to block out the smell of death permeating the room.

“Fucking hell,” Ty muttered from the doorway.

Ethan turned, keeping me tucked against his side. His body went rigid as he finally saw what had terrified me so badly. The raccoon lay just where it had fallen, the rainbow wig a garish crown on its head. The cooler had cracked when it hit the floor, leaking melted ice and blood onto the carpet.

“Get her out of here,” Jace said, already pulling on gloves from his pocket. “We’ve got this.”

Ethan guided me toward the door. “Can you walk?”

I nodded, even as my knees threatened to buckle.

“Wait,” Ty called, still examining the scene. “There’s something else.”

He carefully lifted a piece of paper with his gloved hand. A note, written in blocky letters similar to those on the package.

“Take the show off the road, or you will end up dead,” he read aloud.

My stomach twisted again. “There’s more,” I managed, pointing with a shaking hand. “In the box.”

Jace peered into the Styrofoam container, then lifted out a small teddy bear. A second note was pinned to its chest with a safety pin. One word: “Soon.”

“That’s Nova’s wig,” I whispered, still leaning heavily against Ethan. “The one that went missing tonight. It was there for yesterday’s performance. I saw it myself.”

Ethan’s expression darkened. “That means whoever did this has been moving with us. Had access backstage.”

“Clark,” I said suddenly. “The dancer who disappeared. Could he…?”

“We’ll find him,” Ethan promised. He draped his jacket around my shoulders, then tightened his arm around my waist. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

He led me down the hallway, past curious stagehands and security personnel drawn by the commotion. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, grateful for his solid presence beside me.

“Who would do something like this?” I whispered as Ethan led me to the elevator. “It’s so sick.”

“Someone who wants to scare Nova,” he said, his voice grim. “And they’re escalating.”

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