Page 21 of Wicked Prince

"Yeah, I can see that," I say with a grimace. "I guess he got cold feet?"

"Nah, he wanted to keep it going," Anthony says with a shrug. "I ghosted. I'm nobody's dirty little secret."

"I get that," I murmur. "More than you think."

Anthony's gaze slides down to the red envelope. "Aren't you gonna open that?"

I look down at the paper I've been turning around in my hands. The truth is, I'm not sure if I want to know. "It's probably nothing good."

"Allow me," Anthony says, snatching it from my hand before I can protest. I decide to let him open it anyway, since I really don't want to be the one to read it first.

He tears open the envelope and his eyes dart over the contents of the letter within, betraying nothing.

"Well?" I ask impatiently.

He gives me a half smile and holds the card out, pulling it back when I reach for it with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Looks like someone made quite the impression."

I snatch it back from him with a half-hearted glare and look down at the letter. It's written in surprisingly nice handwriting, even if it does have impatient flourishes at the end of each word.

Meet me tonight, 10pm.

231 North Shore Boulevard.

L

Well, that's… cryptic.

"What the hell? What is this address?"

"That would be Lorenzo's private love shack," Anthony says, his eyes positively glimmering now. At least one of us is enjoying this. "It's an apartment he keeps off-campus for the sole purpose of… Well, you can imagine."

"Unfortunately, I can," I say, tempted to ball the letter up and toss it in the trash.

"Don't look so glum. You made the VIP cut," Anthony quips. "Every girl on campus would kill for that scarlet ticket. Lorenzo only takes his favorite conquests there."

"You already knew what was in the envelope," I accuse.

He just smiles a little wider and doesn't bother to deny it. "We live in the same house, even if he's only there half the time. I've picked up on his methods. Too bad being a fuckboy isn't related to organized crime, because the guy's a mastermind."

"Yeah, well, I'm not interested in being one of his 'conquests,'" I say firmly.

"So, you're not going to go?"

I hesitate, considering my answer. No is the obvious choice. Probably the smart one, but as skeevy as the whole red envelope thing is, it is kind of a relief that it wasn't another veiled threat. I really don't need more enemies, especially after what happened today in the bathroom.

"I'm going," I answer. "So I can tell him to his face I'm not interested. I obviously didn't make that clear enough last night."

"Hmm."

"What?" I ask, feeling a twinge of irritation at his noncommittal response.

"Nothing," Anthony says, swirling his drink around innocently. "Just be careful."

"What, you think he's dangerous?" I ask warily.

"Oh, undoubtedly," Anthony answers without hesitation. "But not physically. Not to a woman. I'm just saying, you can be smart and stupid at the same time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

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