Chapter 2

Run, babe, run...as the smoking man comes looking for ya.

Not every show when well, but Vilas had been in this business long enough to keep the mistakes hidden from those in the crowd, even if there weren't any mistakes, and tonight, this show was perfect. She had sung her heart out. She played the lights well, and the crowd jumped to their feet, giving her all the love she ever wanted in her life. It was the actual reason she sang for them. The only reason she walked onto the stage was to feel the love of those people. Sure, they were all strangers, and sure, most of them didn't even know her name, but at the end of the show, they loved her.

They always loved her.

She bowed, smiling from ear to ear before she dashed off stage, and the ringmaster came bounding back on to keep the show going. She raced behind the gate onto the stage to find Thomas waiting for her.

"Dam', honey," he said as she tossed herself into his massive arms. Thomas swallowed her whole in the hug. They had made love a few times over the years; they were close to becoming a thing, but something in Thomas's past kept him from allowing those moments to go beyond the bed. He wanted to love; she was sure of it, but something was keeping her at bay.

The unspoken rule among everyone at the show was that they never spoke of the past. They allowed each other to live quietly in the big tent, not having to worry about such things as the horrors of yesterday.

She wanted to ask, and maybe, one day, when they were both naked in the bed and after the deed was done, she would ask him. Maybe, after he was happy with the lust at bay, he would tell her what he had done all those years ago.

Maybe.

"That was good," Lucille said, running up to them. She had once walked in on them in the middle of getting out of bed from their lovemaking, and Lucille had been stunned to see Thomas, a man, a very large man, fully nude. She was also a bit shocked at how gorgeous Vilas had been out of clothes as she was in them.

Thomas laughed at the shocked look on Lucille's face. Vilas yelled for her to go away, and Lucille later talked to Vilas about how seeing Thomas naked made her feel things. Vilas and Lucille talked about what a woman felt with sexual needs and what a man felt, which, most of the time, were two different things.

"Like really, really, good," Lucille said, smiling in her clown makeup.

"Thanks, clown," Vilas said in her thick Long Island accent while padding Lucille on the head.

"Almost brought a tear to my eye," Thomas said, smiling at the tiny woman. She smiled back at him, touching his chest with the tip of her finger.

"I can sing another song tonight, dear," she said, winking at him.

"Not in front of Lucille."

"Oh, by all means," Lucille said, waving at them, "who doesn't like to hear the flirting?" She put her finger into her mouth, acting as if she was throwing up."

"Yea', yea'," Thomas said, pushing Lucille away.

"You two have fun with the crowds," Vilas said as the show was coming to an end. "I'm going to go get cleaned up and take a long, hot bath."

"Hm," Thomas huffed.

"Are there going to be bubbles?" Lucille asked. "With duckies?"

"Enough, clown," Thomas said, pushing Lucille away while Vilas chuckled, heading out of the big top. Her heels were killing her feet, and she needed to get out of the dress. She stepped out in the dark, glancing up at the stars and hearing the folks inside start to leave, which meant Lucille was going to be making them laugh soon.

For the moment, life felt great. She felt better than the way Thomas made her feel after making love, but then, she hoped it was a trick of her mind; she smelt his tobacco, making her spin around to the shadows.

"You still sound like an angel, Kal," Carter Umbra said, stepping out of the night with a cigarette hanging from his lips, a wicked smile on his face, and murder in his eyes.

She gasped, taking a step back and shaking her head.

"You didn't think I would find you, huh?" He asked, almost laughing to himself. "Come on, doll, you had to know there was no escaping us."

"No, no, no," Vilas said, shaking her head, not sure what to do. She thought about screaming, but she wasn't sure if any of the old crew was with him, and if they were there, then they didn't mind killing anyone in their way. She thought about running, but where to? Carter was faster than her.

"We've been missing you, doll," he said, dashing forward and taking her arm, "so it's time to come home and stop planning around."

"Hiya," a deep voice from the depths of the Bayou in Louisiana shouted, making Carter let go of Vila as Mother Hades came storming up to him. "Ya can' be back here."

"Beat it, old witch," Carter said, staring down at her as Jackson and Sophia Schiele, the Devil Twins, and Charon came out to see what was going on. Carter saw he was outnumbered, turning to face Vilas, but she was already running back to the trailer, planning to pack bags and hit the road. If Carter had found her, then it would have only been a matter of time before the Tounsavall Family sent more people after her. She couldn't face them. They were going to kill her and anyone who stood in their way. She merely prayed Carter had come looking for her without the blessing from the family. Either way, she had to run, and either way, she was stealing someone's car in the parking lot before they could get to her.