I step into the girl’s space. She’s really very short, now that we’re toe to toe. I’m not terrifically tall but she still has to crane her neck to hold my gaze. And hold it she does.

“Try anything and I’ll scream,” she hisses.

I nod. And then my arm snaps up and presses against her throat, not hard enough to do damage but with just enough pressure to keep her from following through on her threat.

“Do I need to ask again, or do you already know what I’m about to say?”

The girl struggles against my grasp, her cheeks reddening with anger. When my only response is to cock an eyebrow at her, she sags a bit, rolling her eyes. I ease up the pressure, just a bit. Enough for her to speak, but I keep my arm up, just in case.

“I don’t know where your Rosalita is,” she chokes out. “Don’t even know who she is. I just got here yesterday.” I lower my arm fully as the girl shrugs her corset back into place, yanking the neckline up and to the side. “Heard there was an opening at Doña Esmeralda’s and threw my hat into the ring.”

“An opening?”

Kiki and I share a look.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she says.

“Neither do I.” I release my hold on the girl and step back. She rubs her neck—dramatically, at that.

Rosalita’s door is the same as any other on this floor. Sturdy, but not overly so. I step back and draw in a breath. The sounds coming from downstairs are loud but not quite loud enough for what I plan to do.

“Hey, Kiki?”

“Yes?”

“What time is it?”

Frowning slightly, she pulls the watch out of her inner pocket. The gold chain connecting it to her coat glimmers in the light from the sconces on the walls. The girl’s eyes widen a bit when she sees it. Our clothes are fine but this watch is finer. It was a gift from Don Carlos two summers ago, when Kiki had begged and pleaded for one just like his.

Kiki glances at the watch face. “Nearly ten.”

“How nearly?”

“Five, four, three…” She looks up at me, realization dawning on her face. “Two…”

On one, I rear back and bring up my foot as hard as I can, kicking the flat of my boot against the side of the door near the lock just as the bells from the cathedral down the road begin to toll, marking out the hours.

The door splinters open. The sound of the bells is just loud enough to cover the noise, though I am under no illusions it went entirely unheard. I just need time, is all. Time enough to—

I freeze just over the threshold, my blood running cold.

The room is trashed.