Page 101 of Callan

“Is this her?” the man accompanying her barks at the woman, swiftly confirming she’s set me up.

Suddenly calm and displaying no concern for anything, Carmen walks ahead of him and enters my place while I’m stuck with the stranger.

“It can only be her,” Carmen says, curiously looking around my place. “Who else?” she tosses at him over her shoulder before shifting around to face us and clasping her hips.

So no more talking about Charlie…?

“What are you two talking about?” I toss at them, finding my mojo.

Carmen tilts her chin toward the door.

“Close the fucking door,” she says, and I wedge my foot between the door and the frame.

“No fucking way I let you two in my apartment. Get the fuck out,” I say, showing them to the door.

They both look at me like I’m crazy before laughing derisively.

“Isn’t she funny?” Carmen says, feigning amusement.

Her expression instantly changes when she steps toward me, grabs me by the elbow, and drags me in.

The man shuts the door without further instructions from the woman.

His tattoos look like ivy across his neck.

Metal rings adorn his lower lip and earlobes while solid rings flash across his fingers. He wears a raggedy-looking jacket, baggy pants, and expensive boots.

The contrast is striking but not as raw as the mix of roughness and barely suppressed curiosity on his face.

I shift my focus to her.

“What do you want, Carmen?” I say icily cold.

A smile tugs at her lips.

“Carmen?” she murmurs, entertained. “How do you know my name? Did you two talk about me?” she drones on, taking a step back and leaning into the kitchen counter, her arms crossed over her chest.

The thug’s back hits the door, and this is the first time I hate that my space is so small.

There is nowhere to run.

“Don’t flatter yourself. No one’s talked about you. The super dropped your name in one of our conversations. And Charlie? I have no idea who the fuck is Charlie. Maybe you should start by telling me why the fuck you and your boy toy here are bothering me now. I don’t remember being introduced to you.”

Carmen looks at the man behind me, and I move my eyes to him as well.

“She’s so fucking cute, isn’t she?” Carmen says, pushing off the kitchen counter and moving toward me.

I keep my feet pinned on the floor when she stops in front of me and doesn’t even blink as she examines me.

“What if we’re doing this? You’re telling me everything you know about Charlie, and you don’t have to spend time alone with him.”

She flicks her chin toward the man in the room, and horror grows in my chest.

“There is no need for threats,” I say, barely keeping my face straight.

She looks at me with a conniving smile on her face.

“Then tell me,” she murmurs, studying my face.

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