Under the Spanish Stars by Alli Sinclair

Author:Alli Sinclair
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Ltd

CHAPTER

16

1944—Katarina

Federico strode into the dressing room, only stopping to kick the door closed behind him. He sat on the chair, picked up the perfume on the table, opened the lid, sniffed it then put it down. ‘Were you told about the change of order in the program?’

‘Yes, thank you.’ Her voice held more confidence than she felt. After receiving the letter from her fictional flamenco teacher in France, she and Raul had studied the codes and planned ways for them to be incorporated into the choreography. The steps were simple and to the unsuspecting eye, they appeared to be moves any flamenco dancer of her calibre would perform, but it was the combination that created the message.

She waited for him to say more, but he sat in silence, watching her apply stage makeup. Katarina didn’t feel unnerved by his presence but it concerned her the way Federico had been so preoccupied recently. Originally she’d put his erratic mood swings down to financial pressures because the elusive Lobo Brothers had lowered the cost of tickets to get people through the door. This must have pained Federico. But now the company performed to a packed house every night, yet he remained cranky and everyone suffered for it. However, there was something else about him that made her uneasy. She wished she could put her finger on it, but reading Federico was like trying to decipher braille. Then again, chances were she was just projecting her own nervousness.

Federico adjusted his position in the chair, leant forward then shifted back. A small notebook fell onto the floor and she picked it up, but he snatched it out of her hands and quickly shoved it back in his jacket pocket.

‘Can’t lose my accounting now, can I?’ His smile seemed forced.

‘No, I guess not.’ She feigned indifference, but wondered why he would constantly carry his accounts around in a small book. Stop being paranoid, no one could possibly know what you’re doing.

‘Right.’ Federico stood and adjusted his tie. ‘You’re on in an hour.’

Katarina nodded and turned to the mirror, using the reflection to watch him leave. No sooner had the door closed than it opened and in walked Raul, sporting the same apprehensive expression he’d worn for the past three days.

She applied lipstick with a shaky hand. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, she asked, ‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m …’ He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground.

She placed the lipstick on the table then turned around and rested her buttocks against the edge. ‘Are you having second thoughts?’

‘What we plan to do is a massive risk.’ He didn’t lift his gaze from the floor. ‘I worry about you. About us.’

‘But we’re doing it for the greater good. Nothing worth doing is without risk.’

‘That’s not true.’ His eyes met hers. ‘Loving you is without risk.’

‘That’s also with risk, Raul. I could be hit by a truck tomorrow or fall and hit my head and not know who you are or—’

He held up his hand, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment.

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