Page 50 of Twisted Little Thing

"Fuck," I hiss.

My eyes are locked on the entrance of the hotel. There’s a horde of people gathered in front of the glassy entrance door.

Photographers. Paparazzi.

My heart almost stops when they see us and instantly raise their cameras to start snapping pictures.

"Are they waiting for you?" Nicky gasps behind me. "How come you haven't told me–?"

"I had no idea," I say truthfully. What the hell are those motherfuckers doing here? How did anyone know I was here? Why didn’t Roy tell me about this? I expected a crowd like this at the charity event, but not fucking here at the hotel.

"Just go to your car as quickly as possible. Don't look at them and don't talk to them. Your car is the one on the right over there – just get inside as quickly as possible."

"Um, okay, but–"

"And you might want to cover your neck with your hair as much as you can," I add. I distance myself from her, but still hold my arm in front of her, as if I was trying to protect her from the wild horde outside. I wish I could.

Nicky brushes most of her hair to the front and desperately tries to cover her neck, but her efforts are futile.

"I'll go first," I say. "You follow and then rush to your car. Don't linger, don't look back."

I take a step forward and notice that she is not following. I turn around and look at her as she raises her eyebrows. "Isn't this a little –"

"Go!" I say, rushing forward.

I hear her sigh, but this time she follows behind me.

As soon as we step out the door, the group of photographers – a much larger group than I realized before – closes in on me.

Nicky freezes next to me for a split second before the frenzy of camera flashes starts and chases her away.

I glance over in her direction just to make sure that she makes it to the car all right and without being stopped by the intrusive crowd. As soon as she jumps into the back seat of her waiting car, I hurry over to mine without paying any consideration to the flashes around me.

I’m dialing Roy’s number as soon as I’m inside the car.

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