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from far away, and a composite of all the individual shots to make up a band portrait.

“You certainly have talent,” she said like she hated to admit it.

“Thank you?”

Her blue eyes, so similar to her brother’s, narrowed. “Don’t get smart with me.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, stopping at the knot at the back that kept my patch in

place then dropped my hand. The caffeine and sugar finally kicked in enough for me to ask.

“How did you find where I live?”

Yana relaxed into a confident smirk on her dual-toned lips. “You’re just asking me that

now?”

“Just woke up, remember? I needed a minute to catch up with current events.”

“And a shower.” She wrinkled her button nose at me. “Anyway, no one is hard to find when

you know the right people. I even know based on your recent browser history that you’ve

been researching the band.”

Now
that
scared the shit out of me. My gut twisted in knots. For a second I doubted if using Vicious as my subject was a good idea. “You know about that?”

“I even know that you downloaded their songs for the first time last night. I wouldn’t be

here if you didn’t take steps to get to know Vicious.” Yana waved like the information she just dropped on me didn’t matter. “Plus there’s nothing on the Net that we didn’t put there.”

I mouthed “wow” before bringing my cup back to my lips, letting the bitter sweet coffee

wake me up even more. I got the feeling I needed all cylinders firing when dealing with Yana.

“So,” she pointed at Luka’s picture. I was particularly proud of that one. The blast of light

made him look like the avenging angel I’d imagined but instead of a sword he wielded a

kickass bass. “You want to take pictures of Luka for your final project.”

“Actually,” I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. I pointed at each of the band

members. “I want to take pictures of the band as a whole. That’s why I sent you pictures of all of them.”

Yana’s eyes flitted from photo to photo, considering each like she was looking at them for

the first time. I felt the shrewdness in her from across the table. She calculated all the

possibilities before committing to anything. Seeing her work in person, I couldn’t doubt

anymore what was written about her in the countless articles I’d read after getting home.

“Tell me about your final project.”

In my element, I said with confidence, “It’s a ten piece introspective. To graduate, I must

capture the essence of my subject. Since Vicious is what I want to work with, I want to look at the band as a whole and dissect its different parts.”

Yana nodded the whole time I spoke. “How did you put these pictures together?” She ran

her hand over the six sitting side by side on the table.

“I use computer software to clean up the photos. My forte is in photo manipulation.” I

pointed at the sixth photo.

“The competition you won your sophomore year. You seamlessly combined ten

photographs to make one portrait.”

I shouldn’t be impressed since nothing could top finding my address and knowing about

my browser history, but still. Some might feel uncomfortable about having their privacy

invaded this way. I wasn’t one of them. Remember giving my kidney? If this was it then I

wasn’t letting a little background check bother me.

“That’s what I was thinking for Vicious,” I said after I nodded. “I want to pick out nine

pictures from the series I plan to take of them and meld them all together to create the tenth photograph, which will tell the band’s story from start to finish.”

A long pause followed. I watched the gears in Yana’s head working. She said there was

nothing on the internet that they didn’t put there. If that was true—and I really didn’t have

any evidence to the contrary—she would have to put a large amount of trust in me to get the

job done tastefully. She, of all people, should know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my

career before it even gets off the ground. And if she did conduct a background check on me,

she would know I didn’t do anything sensational. I wouldn’t sell the photos to the tabloids or websites. My reputation as a photographer hung in the balance. If she said no then I’d have to find something else for the introspective. No hard feelings.

Her eyes kept stopping at Luka’s photo.

Finally she picked it up and the knot on her brow eased and she smiled fondly at it. “I’ve

never seen him this way. Luka’s always been a curious creature. He does everything on his

own terms or doesn’t do it at all. After you left the club, he made sure I take your proposal

seriously.”

My heart leapt at her admission. Luka vouched for me? But why? He didn’t even know me.

“I don’t understand it either,” she said as if in response to my silent question. “He hasn’t

seen these pictures. No one but you and I have.” She returned the photo to the table and

opened the manila envelope again. From it she took out a stack of papers stapled at the top

corner. She slid it to me. “This is a non-disclosure contract.”

Not picking up the paper, I asked, “What for?”

“If you want to work with the band, you need access to them, correct?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t take my gaze away from the contract. I licked my lips. “I was thinking a

couple sessions.”

At the corner of my eye, I saw Yana shake her head. “If you want to expose the bonds that

tie the band together, you will need unlimited access to each member. For you to do that, you

will need to be where they are at all times. Everyone around Vicious for an extended period

signs one of these. We cannot have you spilling our secrets.”

I swallowed. Hard. Still tasting the black bitterness of the coffee beneath the sweetness. If

I understood Yana correctly, she wanted me to stay with the band. Essentially, live with them.

That certainly made my life a whole lot easier. But Silvia’s words from a couple hours ago

rang in my ears. Did I want to be like Alice and jump into the rabbit hole? Did I really want to meet the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter?

Here, in my tiny apartment, the white rabbit disguised as a Gothic Lolita girl offered me a

chance of a lifetime. Many of the people on the message boards would kill for this

opportunity. If I signed the contract, I would get an all-access pass.

“Think about it.” Yana’s words snapped my head up. I met her intense stare just as she

stood up to leave. “Have your lawyer look over the contract. If you have terms that you would

like added, set a meeting with me and we can talk it over.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“But,” she raised a finger, “I caution you.”

The pit of my stomach churned.

“If you sign that contract, you are all in. There will be nothing in the world of Vicious you

cannot unsee. Many can’t handle the pressure. Many break. I don’t want you to be one of

those people.”

With a final considering glance, Yana left me on the couch speechless…and maybe just a

little nervous.

Okay, maybe
a lot
nervous.

What was I getting myself into?

Chapter Five

Decision

Yana’s non-disclosure contract couldn’t have come at a more stressful time. I spent my

final exam week in a daze. I barely remembered reviewing for any of my tests and I was pretty

sure I flunked two of them. Did this bother me? Not as much as the contract sitting on my

coffee table. I kept passing it by pretending it wasn’t there. I wanted the opportunity, don’t get me wrong. But the finality of the contract intimidated the hell out of me.

Come Friday, I finally got the courage to pick the stapled pieces of paper up and take it to

the closest thing I had for a lawyer. I needed to approve the photos going into the final issue of the Daily Gossip anyway, so I thought now was as good a time as any to face the editor-in-chief.

Camera slung over my neck like a medal, I took the communications building steps two at

a time. The Daily Gossip office was found on the top floor. Someone’s idea of a joke for sure.

I treated it as my cardio for the day. Thank God I only had to make the trek once a month. My

assignments were usually given via text message. The writers had to be at the office at least

once a day. No wonder Silvia kept a toned body. All that bar hopping and club floor booty

shaking alone couldn’t keep her in shape. I still hadn’t seen her final draft of the Sacrifice feature turned Vicious cover story. I had at least five pictures coming out in the latest issue, so it didn’t hurt to check on Silvia too and maybe update her on the turn of events concerning my final project.

I could feel the contract burning a hole in my messenger bag like I was making a deal with

the devil somehow. I hadn’t even read the thing, so scared one paper cut would mean sealing

the deal. I figured I’d leave the heavy lifting to Larry, said law student editor-in-chief. He’d know what to do.

As soon as I turned the knob into the Daily Gossip, a flurry of activity greeted me.

Proofreaders and layout artists hopped from one desk to the next, securing approvals. I froze

at the door, my gaze darting from one writer to another. Some were pulling their hair out,

staring into their computer screens like zombies. The sports writer was sobbing at his corner

desk. Silvia had her glasses on and a wrinkled forehead. I’d seen warzones on the news look

better than the Daily Gossip office come the final issue.

“Can’t anyone bring me something
not
crap?” bellowed Larry from his lair.

I flinched at the same time Silvia’s head snapped up and mouthed “save yourself” to me.

Taking the hint, I slowly took a step back.

“Collins! Get in here!” came the bark followed by my almost comical wince. Silvia rolled

her eyes then shook her pretty little head at me. For a second I weighed the merits of staying alive versus not graduating. Was getting Vicious as my subject worth facing Larry the

Dragon?

“Collins!”

This time I distinctly felt the floor vibrate beneath my boots. Movement in the office

stopped as all eyes turned on me. Losing all escape options, my shoulders sagged as I trudged

to Larry’s section of the office amidst the sympathetic looks of my colleagues. Some of them

even gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder. As if that would help. But last I’d checked I hadn’t done anything to catch the Dragon’s ire. Then I reminded myself of the Daily Gossip

last issue OCD Larry got around this time of year. Everything had to be perfect.

Rolling my shoulders back and straightening to my full height, I plastered a smile on my

face and opened the door to his lair. Sticking my head in, I said, “What’s up?”

The Dragon stood behind his desk staring intently at two photographs resting atop sheets

upon sheets of corrected articles. My blood froze. In all my years at the Daily Gossip, never

once did I get chewed out for my photos. I actually thought my coming in for final approval

was more a formality.

Larry ran his hand through his tousled hair. His tie was already gone and his top two

buttons opened. It was that kind of day. I think the only reason the women forgave his

temper was because Laurel Hardy—yes, that was his name—was so god damn good looking.

The guys forgave his temper because he’d earned their respect as a guy’s guy. Okay, we might

have dated
once
. But it didn’t work out. I was too free-spirited and Larry liked control. The perfect recipe for monumental arguments. It might also be because I wasn’t the clingy

girlfriend type and Larry liked swooping in for the rescue. Sometimes I suspected he thought

he was Bruce Wayne. He sure came from
that
kind of family.

“Well, get in here.” He waved me in without taking his eyes away from the pictures.

Hesitating for a second, I slipped in and closed the door behind me. The finality of the

click made my heart stutter. Taking a deep breath, I forced my feet to bring me closer to his

desk.

“Take a look at these, will you?” Larry’s tone lost some of its gruffness.

Swallowing, I scuttled to his side and dropped my gaze on two of the photos I’d submitted

from the last football game. Wexler’s team just got into the championship. I gave Larry two

options. One of the quarterback alone and one of the team holding up the division trophy.

Our shoulders touched for the briefest moment before I leaned forward.

“What am I looking at?” I couldn’t hide the nervousness in my voice. Normally, I would be

much calmer. But since Yana’s visit to my apartment, I hadn’t been myself. Thinking of

staying with Vicious twenty-four seven put me on edge. A part of me was excited, but another

part was scared of what I might find in the bowels of the beast. If everything worked out, I

would receive more than an opportunity of a lifetime. The acid in my stomach churned just

thinking about it.

I think what disturbed me the most was the way Yana looked at me before she left. I

couldn’t get her expression out of my head to the point where I almost sketched it on one of

my exam booklets.

Larry sighed, finally bringing me out of my own thoughts. “You have to stop sending in

really good pictures. It makes my job of approving them more difficult.”

The wave of my relief crushed me. Damn him for making me think I did something wrong.

I pushed away from his desk to crash into his swivel chair.

“Jesus, Larry, don’t ever do that to me again.” I massaged my temples, hoping to relieve

the beginnings of a tension headache. “Why can’t you use them both?”