How to Keep a Secret

His chest began to burn for oxygen.

There was a delay.

Jacob tried to abate his panic with a reminder that the audience loved the tension. The ballet he danced with death sold tickets to his shows over and over again.

His lungs heaved, desperate for a breath. He was seconds away from his body overruling his brain and slurping water in a futile attempt to relieve the pressure in his chest.

Then he heard the click and watched the first padlock spring open. Relief stilled his bound, shaking hands. A chain reaction sprang to life popping open lock after lock and loosening the chains that kept him weighted under the water.

One lock remained before he could swim for the surface.

He stared at the shackle around his ankle that remained securely bolted to the floor. His vision was interrupted and distorted by inky blots. For a brief moment, he wondered if this was how she felt.

He jerked and pulled against the shackle, panic overwhelming his senses.

The lock sprang free and he bolted for the surface, his lungs screaming for air.

The crowd shrieked with delight when he broke the surface of the pool. The tense atmosphere dissipated with their elation and appraisal. He soaked in their applause while a faceless assistant draped him in a robe and handed him a towel.

He flashed a veneered smile before thanking their cheers with a swooping bow as the curtain fell.

Jacob dropped his showman demeanor and stormed off the stage.

An overzealous stage hand rushed to follow his soggy steps. "There is a full room for autographs tonight..."

He whirled around on the stage hand, teeth bared like a predator. "Does it look like I'm going to sign anything right now?" He swiped the towel across his face and rubbed his hair before tossing it at the stunned hand.

"But...but you have to," was all he could manage.

Jacob narrowed his eyes and snorted. "No. No, I really don't." As he headed towards the private elevator that would take him to his floor, he heard the frantic stage hand narrating their encounter to another equally frantic handler somewhere in the building.

His fury didn't calm during the ride up or while he crossed the posh private lobby to his front door that he flung open.

He inhaled slowly several times, needing to calm himself or he would never know if tonight was just a miscalculation.

"Penny?" he called out into the darkness. The edge had left his voice, but his hands remained clenched holding his anger in balled fists willing to be wielded as weapons.

Jacob didn't bother with turning on a light. The gaudy neon of the strip kept his penthouse room illuminated. He once thought it was fascinating the way the room glowed purple from the constant pulse of life outside the windows.

Now it reminded him of cheap liquor and stale smoke and defeated dreams that died in seedy bars.

"Penny? Where are you hiding?" He wanted to ask why she was hiding, but he wasn't sure he was ready for that answer.

The sparkle of red sequins flickered against the false light.

"Darling, come over here so I can see your face."

Penny stepped out of the shadows. She was striking as always. Her curves were just enough to make a red sequined dress classy when it could have read as cheap. Her large blue eyes lacked their normal vibrancy and her lips were set in a stern line.

Jacob assessed his assistant carefully before choosing his words. "Tonight was interesting."

She raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

Jacob chuckled and helped himself to a healthy dose of scotch before his next question. "An illusionist is only as good as his assistant, and I've got the greatest damn assistant in the world." He raised his glass in salute to Penny and finished the last slug. "So explain something to me, greatest assistant in the world."

His eyes hardened and his knuckles turned white from his grip on the glass. "Why did the fucking locks take so long to open tonight?" His voice remained level, disturbingly calm.

Slowly, a smile snaked across Penny's perfectly shaped mouth. "Accidents happen."

She didn't bother flinching as the scotch glass sailed past her head and shattered on the wall behind her. She knew he couldn't really hurt her. Not anymore.

Jacob left Penny and the shards of glass to themselves while he changed into dry clothes. She was still standing in the same location when he made his way for the front door.

As he reached for the handle, the tumblers in the locks fell into place.

"Open the damn door, Penny," he commanded through clenched teeth.

"How did it feel?"

"How did what feel?" His hand remained on the door handle. He refused to meet her eyes that had transcended into something cold and menacing.

"Knowing you were on the brink of death?" She was taunting him. "Fighting for just a few more seconds of life, your lungs on fire and screaming for a breath? Your vision blacking out? Trying to ignore the panic that your hands are bound too tight to signal for help. The terror that clawed at your insides knowing you were about to die?"

He heard the accusations in her tone, but she didn't know anything. It was just an accident.

"I wasn't afraid," Jacob lied.

"Why is that?"

"I knew I could count on you. You would never let anything happen to me," he lied again.

Penny let out a small laugh. "I used to believe the same."

The lock clicked open and Jacob pulled the door open before she could change her mind.

His manager had just stepped out of the elevator into the lobby. Jacob sighed. He should have known the blubbering stage hand would call in Tom.

"Great show again! I swear, I take back everything I ever said about you not doing Penny's trick. I've seen it a hundred times now and I still can't figure out how you pull it off. She would be so proud!" He patted Jacob on the back and led him to the elevator.

He pressed the button to lead him back to the stage and the awaiting fans wanting autographs and pictures with the famous illusionist.

"So, are you ever going to let me know the secret to that trick?" Tom asked, flashing his manager smile.

Jacob smirked at his reflection in the brass doors of the elevator. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."