Page 67 of Wicked Tricks

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Chapter 16

Rome

Ihad slept right through the day, but it was some of the most restful sleep that I ever had. When I woke, Antoni was gone - there was no trace of him or any evidence that he was even here. I questioned myself, that maybe I dreamt it all.

But I knew that I couldn’t have.

I sat up in bed and hugged my knees.

Was it so bad to admit that I wanted him here?

That I was disappointed that he was gone?

I checked my phone, and I only had one notification, for a missed call from Louis. I decided I would call him back later. We had another job planned for tomorrow morning, and he probably had the load plans ready to go.

It was late afternoon by the time I hauled myself out of the comfort of my bed. The sun was setting and casting an orange glow over the city. With a sigh, I eventually decided that I should go into work.

After everything that had happened yesterday, I didn’t want to stand in that dressing room again. I didn’t want to face the questions that were going to be asked.

So I got dressed slowly, procrasti-cleaned my room, and stood in front of the fridge and nibbled on some leftovers before I decided to suck it up and go.

I shrugged on my jacket over my simple crop top and jeans and left the apartment.

Leaning against the elevator wall as it descended to the ground floor, I thought about the past few weeks and everything that had happened.

For so long, my life had been the same.

And in such a short time, I could feel everything changing around me - and within me.

I was deeply confused with how I felt, and I felt uncomfortable in all the uncertainty that surrounded my current situation. But still, I couldn’t fight off the stupid smirk that forced itself on my face whenever I thought of Antoni.

And I hated myself for it.

It was against everything that I stood for, against everything that I preached to my best friends. I walked slowly through the streets, allowing my mind to wander, hoping to come to some sort of answer before I saw anyone and the noise started.

There was enough noise inside my mind, and that of Diana’s and the girls only made it harder to sort through it all.

I looked at the entrance of Lilith’s from across the road and cocked my head.

The door was wide open.

I put my hand out to the oncoming traffic as I sprinted across the street, the cars squealed to a halt and they honked their horns as I weaved through them. The front door was never left open like that, certainly not at this time of day, and certainly not without a bouncer on duty.

I climbed the stairs two at a time.

The stairwell was still dark and my heartbeat was racing as a thousand different scenarios crossed my mind. The whole place was brightly lit, every light was on and my eyes scanned each corner of the club. Two men I recognised were standing in front of Diana’s office door and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I stalked over to the door, and tried to push my way past the men and into the office. They stopped me easily, blocking the doorway with their wide framed bodies and pushing me back.

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped.

“You can’t go in there,” he said.

I gritted my teeth, “move, Hulk.”

He scoffed and crossed his arms with a smug smile on his face.

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