11 The crowd went wild. Trihn’s mouth dropped open. She was standing on the stage at Slipper in front of more than a hundred people and her boyfriend. Cassidy was speaking, but Trihn felt as if she were in a vacuum. She couldn’t hear a word of it. All she could do was stand there in shock and wonder what the hell was going on. Cassidy and some of the other members of Slipper had worked with Trihn backstage and at clubs, teaching her the ropes. She knew enough about pole dancing to perform, but she had never in a million years thought she would actually do it. It was a skill set she’d closely guarded…and had never intended on showing Preston, let alone a roomful of strangers. Then, Cassidy took a step back with her hand out. Trihn met her wicked gaze and mouthed, I’m going to kill you.