Page 127 of Callan

But what would that do to me?

Would it get my necklace back?

No.

Would it make me fall into my enemy's trap?

Probably.

Is there a point in killing a bunch of people for nothing?

No.

Whatever the person behind this wants from me, I won’t ruin my reputation by creating headlines with some random bloody killings.

I’ve worked hard to have a legitimate business that bears my family’s name, is respected, and is not constantly under investigation.

Everything else that happens underground has been run without interference, and any loose ends have been nicely tied up.

I won’t be doing things differently now.

So I let the phone beep. And beep… And beep.

The other thing I feel in my pants––besides my phone––is my raging hard-on.

This woman… Fuck me. It’s been a while since I got so worked up because of a woman. Talking to her about sex?

That nearly undid me.

Frankly, I’ve never gotten so intimately close to a woman. There was no time. I didn’t ask questions. They didn’t ask questions.

Wehadsex.

We didn’ttalkabout sex.

Not one woman wanted to take their time and get to know me. They knew enough to let me slide between their legs.

And it worked all right.

We round a corner, and the lit sign of the club glows not far from us when she abruptly stops.

“Wait…” she says, looking at me with sparkling eyes. “I’m not dressed for a night at the club.”

Instinctively, my eyes go down, roving over her clothes.

“What’s wrong with what you wear?”

She gestures at me.

“Look at you. I only tossed some clothes on to sneak out of my apartment. I'd look weird in a club.”

“You look perfectly fine,” I say, my eyes lingering on the swell of her chest, my hands itching to cup her breasts.

I should stop thinking about herin that wayas my erection stirs and the tension becomes too much.

“Look, we can do this,” I say, reaching for my tie knot. “I’ll take this off,” I continue, doing just that–untying my tie and shoving it into my coat pocket.

“What about now?” I ask, undoing a few buttons at my neckline and trying to look less put together. “The place is not that fancy,” I say as her eyes stall on me, her lips quiet.

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