Page 29 of Wicked Tricks

It was impossible to lie to Bea. She knew me too well, knew my reactions and body language too well. Though it wasn’t just me, Bea could see through almost anyone. It was as if she could read minds, and tell exactly how someone was feeling just by looking at them.

I did not have that talent.

“Are you OK? I know you don’t exactly enjoy this shit,” she asked carefully, only looking at me through the reflection of the mirror.

I smiled, “yeah, I’m OK.”

I did struggle at times.

I could kill a man without second thought, I could steal from someone without hesitation. But, the jobs that required getting close to people felt more dangerous than anything.

It did not come naturally to me.

Though most wouldn’t think I ever had moments of weakness - Bea knew.

We had been together since we were young. We grew up in foster homes on the same street as each other until my foster mother died, and I ran away.

Like most runaways, I ended up homeless.

Bea would come and spend nights with me on the street in my tiny sleeping bag, even though she didn’t have to. When she eventually got sick of her foster father, she joined me full time. We had each other’s back, she was my ride or die best friend - and she knew me better than anyone.

I kept my past a secret from everyone.

I didn’t need the pity, and I certainly didn’t need to show people my weaknesses. The more people know, the more vulnerable you are. I knew, more than anything, how to keep myself safe.

“I’m going to bed,” I faked a yawn and stretched out.

I wanted the conversation to end.

I knew I couldn’t lie to Bea, so I would just avoid the topic all together.

“We have to be up in a few hours,” she reminded me.

I exhaled heavily, and nodded. We were hitting the markets every week now at least. Antoni had been making appearances at Lilith’s more often too, and I did love the rush of seeing him after a hit. He had no idea that we were operating right under his nose, and tomorrow, we would do it all again.

I found my room and collapsed face down on the bed. I was hoping to fall asleep instantly, instead my thoughts ran away with themselves, imagining the what-ifs that tonight could have led to. I felt a pit in my stomach as I repeated the scene in my mind over and over again.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I rolled over - I was not going to let myself wallow about the rejection from a mark.

That was exactly how I needed to treat this.

A mark.

A job.

My job was to get information out of this guy and secure the safety of the operations at Lilith’s. I couldn’t do that by letting him get into my head. I had done this many times before, without issue.

And I would do it again.

* * *

I tossed and turned for a few hours before my alarm went off.

It was time to work, and I couldn’t afford to be distracted.

I got dressed, in the most casual clothes that I owned, and met Bea at the door. She was dressed a little nicer.

She was one of our lookouts, and she had to blend in with the other customers. Even in the early hours of the morning, there were always people at the markets. We did our best not to stand out.

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