Page 45 of Broken

“Okay, yeah.” She trots along beside me, letting me take the bike.

The rain is so hard it is dancing up off the floor where it’s landing. Cars have slowed because of the reduced visibility, headlights going on at two in the afternoon. We reach the edge of the park. Both of us stare at the bike. She can’t get a cab with this.

“I only live two blocks from here.”

Without thinking, I nod and follow her lead. She runs across the street and hugs the buildings as she hurries along the sidewalk. We could dip into a coffee shop or store, but we are so wet, I doubt the store owners would let us in.

Calli doesn’t remember I’m aware of where she lives. Not wanting to bring that memory back, I pretend I don’t know where I’m going. By the time we arrive, my boots are squelching, my jeans feel like concrete around my legs, and my hair is plastered to my face.

Calli’s dress is catching between her thighs and her shoes slap the ground as she runs up to her door. She gets it open and steps in, turning to hold it for me so I can wheel her bike inside.

“Holy shit, I can’t believe that. It was gorgeous and then…” she peers through the glass door.

“I should get going,” I step around her.

Her hand lands on my arm. When I turn back, her eyes are wide. “You can’t go back out in that. Look at you?” She points to my chest and then lower.

“What am I supposed to do?” I ask.

“I can’t let you go back out in this rain. Look, I have a dryer upstairs and it’ll only take a while to dry the clothes off. By then it might have stopped.”

My expression never changes, but my mind is racing. She is inviting me up to her apartment to get naked… Relax asshole, she only wants to dry my clothes. I shouldn’t go up there. As I shift, my jeans rub against my skin, and I grimace.

“Garrett,” Calli looks at the door again, then back at me. “You can’t seriously prefer to go out in that than come upstairs.”

“If you’re good with it,” I say.

“I wouldn’t have asked,” she says back with attitude.

I shouldn’t like that. But I do. Calli asks me to bring the bike upstairs instead of storing it with the others down the hallway. We get into the elevator with the bike between us. The water is dripping off us and pooling on the floor. Calli is really shivering now.

As we walk down to the apartment, she is busy searching in her satchel for the key. Down the hall, a door opens, and a man steps out. He looks at Calli with a smile forming, then he sees me and it drops.

My pulse picks up. He doesn’t know me. He never saw me once when I was tailing him or going into his apartment to set up cameras.

“Hi Calli,” he says, side-eying me, then focusing on her.

Whatever reason Nero had for wanting him tailed, I have no clue, but it can’t be good. His talking to Calli pisses me off. I takea step closer to her. Calli looks up from her search, first at me, then at him.

“Oh hi,” she says. To me, it sounds dismissive.

“You got caught in the rain?” he says, not taking the hint.

“What gave it away?” I mutter. He glares.

“Nice to see you,” Calli says, getting the door open and pushing inside without looking back.

The look I give him must make him realize he better walk away, because he does. As I guide the bike through the door, I glance down the hallway. He is standing by the elevator, staring at me. The temptation to give him the finger almost wins out.

“You coming?” Calli’s voice drags my attention back. I give the asshole a smug smile before entering her apartment.

“Did you just have a pissing contest with my neighbor?”

I could deny it, but what would be the point? Instead, I shrug. “I won.”

Calli rolls her eyes, then takes the bike. I’m dripping water all over the wooden floor as she disappears down another hall. It’s a nice place. Compact, but she’s made it homey.

There are architectural drawings framed on the wall. They’re not buildings I recognize, but I see a familiarity in the lines. Calli drew these. Bending, I undo my laces and step out of my boots and socks. My pants are so wet, they feel two sizes smaller, the denim tight around my thighs.

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