Free Bound in Blue by Annabel Joseph

dock my pay instead.”
    “I sent you because I trust you, not because
I was angry at you. Although...” He snapped the file shut. “I am
somewhat upset. You only brought me half the act.”
    Jason slid into the seat across from
Lemaitre’s desk. “I brought as much of the act as I could.”
    “You brought her, or you smuggled her out?”
he asked in his clipped accent. “I hear she arrived with nothing
but the clothes on her back.”
    How to explain it? Her desperation and his
impatience to get her out of the country? “It was a rushed
acquisition, yes. But clothes are cheap. Things are cheap.”
Lemaitre’s steady gaze dragged the rest out of him. “I didn’t want
to leave her there.”
    His regard sharpened. “Why? What was her
situation? Your note explained nothing. Why didn’t her partner
come?”
    “Her partner wasn’t Cirque material. No
artistry, no imagination. Believe me, you got the better half.”
    Jason fell silent, unsure of Lemaitre’s mood.
After a tense pause, the man leaned back in his chair and flicked
the edge of the file. “Perhaps you have brought us a treasure,” he
said. “I hear she’s already on the practice floor, anxious to
begin. You are well?”
    “I’ll be well if I never have to go back to
Mongolia. How about that?”
    “No sense of adventure.” Lemaitre shook his
head and rose to his full height. “Come. Introduce me to this new
trapezist.”
    The men left the office complex and headed
out into the larger facility, toward the soaring aerial arts space.
While they walked, Jason talked to Lemaitre about Sara, trying not
to betray his feelings for her. He definitely left out the fact
that he’d slept with her—twice. He also shared his impressions of
the Mongolian circus, from the Soviet-era facilities to the lack of
production values. Lemaitre nodded, as if he knew all of it
already. He made it his business to know everything about
everything, especially in the circus world.
    “So, where are you thinking about using her?”
Jason asked. “Which show?”
    “Do I have to decide that now? Brillante perhaps.”
    “Vegas?” Jason choked on the word. He
couldn’t see Sara in Las Vegas. It was too crazy and hectic, and it
would place her so far away. “I didn’t realize Brillante needed a new act.”
    “We always need new acts. People have
children, family emergencies, injuries, and they must leave for
some period of time. You remember Kelsey Martin?”
    “Yes, I remember her.” Jason had trained her
a couple years ago, until a man named Theo Zamora had commandeered
her for an aerial silks piece in the Marseille show, Cirque de
Minuit . “Something happened to Kelsey?”
    “Nothing major. A shoulder injury that needed
surgery and a few weeks’ rest.”
    “So Sara might go to Marseille?”
    Lemaitre waved a hand. “That temporary act is
already in place. As I said, I don’t know yet where I’ll send her.
Or why you’re so wrought up about it,” he added with an assessing
lilt to his voice.
    Jason looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze.
“I scouted her. Why shouldn’t I be concerned about her future?” He
quickly changed the subject. “Do you have someone in mind for her
new partner? If the old guy doesn’t come?”
    “I’m going to get the old guy to come.”
    “You won’t be able to.”
    Lemaitre shrugged. “I have a way of getting
what I want. In the meantime I’ve found her the perfect coach.
Trapeze expert.” Michel pushed open the door. Jason saw Sara first,
sleek and slender in her Cirque du Monde training uniform. Then he
noticed the dark-haired man hanging by his knees above her,
offering French-inflected directions.
    Jason turned to Lemaitre. “Theo?
Seriously?”
    “He knows trapeze better than anyone. He’s
done aerial work all his life.”
    “He’s a performer. He and Kelsey have an
act.”
    “He’ll be a coach for the next couple months,
while Kelsey rests her shoulder. Until the Exhibition, at least.
It’s perfect timing,