Page 102 of Callan

“I told you. I don’t know who Charlie is.”

My voice bears the signature of truth.

It doesn’t sound like a lie because it isn’t a lie. I don’t know a man named Charlie. I know a man named Callan, but I won’t be stupid enough to tell her that. And I still want to know who he’d lied to. Was it her? Or was it me?

I hold her eyes for a little longer before she peels her gaze away, looks around the room, inches closer to the coffee table, and picks up a cookie.

“Let’s do this then,” she says, talking around the crumbling dessert. “You had a male visitor last night.”

I think about it for a second before answering.

“So?”

“Who was he?”

I look at her like she has lost her mind.

“Excuse me? Who gives you the right to ask me all these questions?”

She only stares at me, softly chewing on her cookie, but the man behind me moves, his clothes rustling before a calloused hand wraps around my neck.

“Stop playing dirty games and start talking, little bird. You kissed him in the hallway downstairs.”

The roughness in his voice sends a shiver down my spine.

Out of reflex, my hand shoots to his grip.

He squeezes my neck in response, and I get swiftly dizzy, the room spinning with me.

As if that is not bad enough, he shakes me a little, and I crash my fist into his shoulder.

“Let her breathe,” the woman thunders, having more common sense than him.

Man, this guy is dumb.

He tosses me back, and I barely catch myself and rub my neck, eyeing the vase and envisioning it flying to his head.

Carmen catches that and moves between us before pushing the vase away from me.

“Talk to me, or he’ll get worse,” she says, glowering at me.

Oh. So they’re playing good cop, bad cop.

Wincing and still rubbing my skin, I lift my gaze to her.

“Technically, I wasn’t in the hallway. We were on the first floor. And I kissed a man. So fucking what?”

Her eyes glint with something sulfurous like jealousy and hate.

“His name is not Charlie,” I say.

Grinding her teeth, she straightens and feigns a condescending smile.

“All right. What’s his name then?”

Like I’m stupid to tell her his name.

Regardless of what his real name is, I won’t give her the name he’s given me.

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