Page 62 of Smoke and Mirrors

Taking the moving steps two at a time, my heart feels as though it’s going to explode out of my chest.

Someone grabs my arm when I reach the top, and I jump backward. An old lady holds her hands up in surprise. “Honey, are you okay? Do you need help?”

My eyes flick around me, there’s no commotion, no one running up the staircase after me.

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine,” I tell her. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”

She lifts her hand slowly. “Just down there past the kids’ ride-on airplane.”

I’m already moving before she’s finished explaining. “Thanks!”

My feet move quickly, but my body is aching and protesting. I spot the women’s sign and push the door, looking around behind me before slipping inside. Sweat drips from my brow, and I take the moment to stick my head under the tap over the basin and suck as much water into my body as I can possibly consume.

I look up into the mirror, a woman eyes me warily as she steps out of the toilet stall and rushes to wash her hands. I look like a wreck. I don’t really blame her for being nervous. She turns her head to me for a second, her mouth falling open like she wants to say something but thinking better of it and shaking her head. She grips her handbag to her side and rushes out of the room.

I take a deep breath, bracing my hand on the basin and allowing my head to hang between my arms.

Should I hide in a toilet stall?

What do I do?

Do I need to go looking for Kace?

I decide that hiding inside one of the small toilet stalls is a good plan. Standing here in the open is making me nervous. I spin to pick a hiding space and jump back.

“It’s usually the first-floor bathroom, but I figured he might change it up this time,” Luca says, his eyes watching me in amusement. “Is this as much fun for you as it is for me, Lily?”

I sneer at him. “Yeah, I fucking love being shot at.”

He smirks, moving his body so it’s positioned between me and the exit.

“I meant more along the lines of you getting your kicks out of making Kace fight his own team, his damn friends.” His face switches instantly into one of annoyance. “Happy with yourself that you’ve come between us? You think it feels good to be hunting down my best friend?” The tone of his voice is slowly becoming louder, angrier.

“I’m not the enemy here, Luca,” I say, trying to keep my head together.

“That’s not what the file says,” he counters. “The file says—”

“I know what the file says, Luca,” I snap. “But it’s not true!”

He steps forward, but I refuse to retreat. “I liked you, Lily. This ain’t personal.”

“Fuck you,” I snap. “I take someone trying to kill me very personal.”

He clenches his fist. “It’s orders. Orders that Kace should have followed in the first place.”

“And yet he didn’t, did he? And here we are…” I point my finger at him. I know Luca has the power and skill to kill me within a second, but I feel this need inside me to protect Kace, to defend him. “Kace is your best friend, and yet you’re hunting him down like an animal. You ever stop to ask why he chose to keep me alive? Why he’s fighting so hard for me? Or are you just some emotionless robot who does whatever bidding is asked of you, no matter who you hurt?”

He slams his fist into the mirror, it shatters upon impact, his face heating and his eyes burning holes in me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growls before finding his composure again.

“He ever set you wrong yet, Luca? He ever done anything but fight for you and the team? Maybe you should wake up and trust him, just like you’ve done every single day before now.”

I can practically see his mind working through my words, sifting through them, taking them in one by one. The door to the bathroom slams open, Luca spins around, but he’s too slow. Kace’s already bloody fist connects with its target sending Luca sprawling into the basin.

I move backward, pressing myself back against the wall.

Luca picks himself up and throws his body at Kace, his head low, plowing into him with his shoulder and pushing him until his back hits the wall with a thump. Kace’s eyes meet mine for a second before he raises his knee. Luca blocks the blow and throws his fist in return. Kace smacks it away, leaning back and throwing his head forward, connecting with Luca’s. I gasp as they both stumble, stunned from the blow.

Luca clenches his fist for another round, but Kace simply raises the handgun in his hand and presses it against his friend’s forehead. I see Luca pull his jacket back to reveal an empty holster at his side.

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