Page 49 of Mafioso's Muse
‘It’s Vaughn. I need you to come to the apartment and treat Tony.’
Antonio rolled his head in Vaughn’s direction. ‘I don’t need a doctor.’
Vaughn silenced him with a heated glare.
‘I’ll be there in thirty minutes,’ Andrew said, knowing better than to ask questions over the phone.
Ending the call, Vaughn ran his thumb over the dried blood covering his phone screen, catching his reflection through the mess. Turning it over, he looked out the window once again.
16
April 2024
True to his word, Vaughn stayed away from Willow. It was a good thing, something she had asked for, and yet that didn’t stop her from looking for him everywhere she went. How was it possible to miss a person who had never been hers to miss? She was grieving theideaof them, and it wasn’t lost on her how tragic that was.
Matilda recovered from her torn tendon and returned as planned in week two, and Willow went back to the chorus. Harrison’s ego seemed to have recovered from his confrontation with Vaughn at Titian, and life quickly returned to normal—even if normal felt a little different. Hopefully the ‘different’ part would pass with time.
Her efforts at expelling Vaughn from her mind were going reasonably well until the lift door opened on the first floor at Vic Ballet one day and she came face to face with a bruised and battered Antonio. A cold sensation crawled up her spine as she took in the colourful marks on his face and neck.
‘Oh…’ she breathed. ‘What happened to you?’
He looked her straight in the eye and said, ‘On-site accident.’
She knew it was a lie because he was overseeing the project and wasn’t on the tools.
The door began to close with her still inside. Antonio stuck his arm out to stop it.
‘You getting out?’ he asked.
Willow exited and stopped beside him. ‘Was anyone else hurt in this… workplace incident?’
Something flashed on his face, but it was gone before she could recognise it.
He stepped into the lift. ‘I’m needed downstairs. You have a good day.’
‘You too.’
The doors closed between them, and an uneasy feeling sat in her belly. She hadn’t seen or spoken to Vaughn since the night he dropped her home, and now she was worried there might be reasons for that other than the one she thought.
‘There you are,’ Lili called from the doorway of a nearby studio. ‘You coming in?’
The lift doors pinged open again as Willow looked back at Lili. ‘I need to duck out for a bit. Can you let Harrison know something came up and I’ll be back as soon as I can?’
Lili frowned. ‘What came up? Where are you going?’
Willow dashed into the lift and pressed the button. As the door slid shut, she called, ‘I won’t be long.’
‘Willow—’
The doors closed.
When she stepped out into the foyer, she spotted Antonio speaking with one of the contractors. He stopped talking when he saw her, eyeing her all the way to the exit. Willow stepped out into the blinding sun and headed straight to the taxi rank.
‘Where to, love?’ the driver asked when she climbed into the back seat.
‘Titian on Chapel Street, please.’ It was her best chance at finding Vaughn.
The driver nodded and pulled away from the kerb.