Page 39 of Anathema Codex

Swallowing a sigh of relief, I reach for my bucket of popcorn, when…

Buzz, buzz, buzz…

This can’t be happening,I think unhappily.

“Turn off that fucking phone!” the patron behind me barks.

A round of nervous giggles and some muttered agreements echo throughout the theater.

I quickly reach for some of the napkins on my leg before I shove the rest into the empty cupholder on the other side of me, then get to my feet and walk out of the theater.

I can only hope that there’s some other idiot in there that forgot to turn off their phone too so that I’m not giving myself up.

Once in the lobby, I glance around until I see the signs for the restrooms, then practically run inside.

I walk down the line of stalls until I settle on the one in the middle, step in, then close the door behind me.

Buzz, buzz, buzz…

I pull the phone out of my pocket and shake my head, a rueful smile dancing on my lips.

Persistent little fucker.

I sit down on the toilet seat as I send the call to voicemail. I’m not ready to talk to him just yet but I know he won’t stop until he hears my voice.

But that would ruin the game, wouldn’t it?

I roll my neck from left to right and back again, ready to turn off my phone and go back and catch the rest of the movie. I’m hoping I haven’t missed any important plot points, or I’ll end up having to rent the damn thing on DVD when it comes out.

Getting to my feet, phone still in hand and my finger on the power button, I smile when a message comes through at just the right moment.

Give me the fucking address. The right one. I’m almost there.

I quickly tap the information that’s been so kindly asked of me before I shut the phone off and walk over to the sink to wash my hands.

Hopefully, this was the right thing to do.

TWENTY-SIX

The Road to Hell is Paved with Betrayal

WILLA

The bitch is still in the car when Aftyn and I finally come back. On top of everything else that’s happened today, I was really hoping that the universe would cut me a fucking break and have made her disappear. Either off to be someone else's problem, or off a cliff—I really don't give a shit. I just didn't want to have to deal with her on top of Aftyn.

He killed Dexter.

It was my first instinct, the first thought that showed up in my head when he came back from the bathrooms with that whore on his arm and Dexter nowhere in sight... but I'd hoped. I'd hoped he wouldn't kill him because he knew that Dexter was my friend, that I cared about him. Hell, why else would I have always made sure the kid had food?

But Aftyn doesn't give a shit about any of that.

He never liked Dexter, never liked how much time I spent with him or how I took care of someoneotherthan him. If the world isn't revolving around Aftyn, he'll move heaven and earth to rearrange things so it is. The fucking son of a bitch.

"Get in the car, Wills." Aftyn is holding open the passenger door and it hurts me to even look at him. Every time I look at his fucking face, I just see Dexter.

Refusing to respond, I get in the car and put on the seat belt as he slams the door shut a lot harder than necessary. I can hear Daphne waking up in the backseat, but I don't have the energy to even make a comment about how she didn't disappear when we gave her the chance. Hugging my purse in my lap, I turn toward the window, clenching my jaw hard when Aftyn starts fucking whistling as he gets in the driver's side.

"I need the keys, Wills." He taps my arm and I slap his hand away before digging out the keys and dangling them from my finger toward him. Aftyn doesn't just take the keys though, hegrabs my forearm and yanks me toward him, fingers digging into my skin painfully hard. "Look at me."

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