Page 2 of Wicked Tricks

I felt hands on me, restraining my arms and pulling me back. Gwen quickly stepped out of the way, the men held me tightly as I thrashed against them.

“Hey!” Bea yelled as she noticed the commotion from the stage.

The lights and the music cut instantly - and it turned from a dusty nightclub to an almost clinical setting as the fluorescent lights revealed all that was hidden in the shadows at Lilith’s.

The crowd shaded their eyes to the sudden bright contrast, looking around to see the cause of the disturbance.

Many of the men decided to leave once we could properly see their faces. Even more left when they recognised the people who were involved in the fight. The Family was the most powerful influence and enforcer of our entire city’s underground world.

And as much as I hated it, they were unavoidable.

“Let her go!” Diana boomed, appearing from her office.

The men released me, and tidied themselves quickly - resuming their proper and respectable act.

“Diana,” Robert cleared his throat, straightening his suit jacket.

“Robert, what is the problem this time?” Diana folded her arms across herself. Her sharp jaw clenched, only accentuated by her sharp, chin length silver hair. She tapped her perfectly manicured fingers against her arm as she watched for his reaction, her many golden rings clinking against each other.

“You need to keep your people in line, Diana,” Robert laughed casually, “how can we work together if we’re going to be met with this issue-” he motioned toward me, “every single night.”

“Maybe, Robert,” Diana said, walking towards him slowly, “you should try to stop upsetting my girls.”

There was silence as he studied her face. I could see the frustration plainly in his expression, and could almost hear his mind ticking over as he rummaged through the last of his brain cells for an excuse.

“Well,” he shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets, “we might just have to revisit the agreement we have between The Family and Lilith’s.”

“Maybe we should,” Diana said, standing tall, “maybe I will discuss it with the Donmyself.”

He gave Diana a forced sarcastic smile, and after realising that he had lost, he pushed his glass from the round table to the floor, causing it to smash.

“Oops,” he said, touching his hands to his mouth, “I guess we’ll just be going then.”

“That would be best,” Diana said calmly, not paying a shred of attention to the broken glass. It was amusing, watching her treat him like the child he was. Diana didn’t drop her composed expression even for a second, she didn’t flinch once.

“Bye, Rome,” Robert whispered to me, rubbing my shoulder with a smirk on his face.

Grabbing his hand from my shoulder, I twisted his whole arm around and forced it against his back while sending a kick to the back of his knees, causing him to crumple to the ground. I put a black boot on the centre of his back, pulling his arm as he groaned and grunted on the dirty floor.

Robert was a part of the world where they fought with power, money, and guns. None of these people were actually tough when it came to a real fight. They hid behind their weapons, and their family name.

“Rome!” Diana chastised.

I paused for a second before letting him go, strongly considering snapping his arm just for good measure. As I released my grip, he scrambled to his feet, trying to remain cool in front of his buddies. Some were around his age, sniggering and giggling, but some of the older, more experienced soldiers of The Family looked embarrassed and unimpressed - even tired.

He straightened his jacket, and thought it better than to comment again. This time, using the working part of his brain, he left in silence. One of the older men shot us a sympathetic look, and one exchanged a few words with Diana before he left.

I’m sure those guys wanted to give him hell for embarrassing them so publicly, but the Santino’s were all about appearances. These types of issues were dealt with in basements, alleyways - not amongst the general public.

The Family.

The Santino’s were Melbourne’s oldest and largest crime family.

They were the centre of the underworld, it seemed like nothing happened without their involvement. For a long time, The Family and Diana had a deal - protection for Lilith’s and the girls in exchange for silence, co-operation, and providing the club as a hideout and base for The Family to use as they pleased.

I wasn’t naive enough to believe the story they fed Diana.

It was extortion.

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