Page 11 of Bad Influence
First things first, though. I need a shower.
The apartment looks fully equipped and I wouldn’t put it past Gerry to have someone come in and set everything up for me.
I open the first door on this floor and it’s the guest bath. I step inside and notice that it already has a shampoo and conditioner and a body wash, so I quickly take off my clothes and get in the shower. The hot water feels amazing and I’m so happy to get out of my sticky clothes and clean myself.
I’ll probably need to order some food. We passed a lot of bars around the area, but I’m not in the mood to go bar hopping. Though it’s definitely on my list.
I’ll also have to speak to Beckett eventually. Leaving my ring behind was enough of a message but I don’t want there to be any room for confusion.
Once I’m clean and the shampoo has been rinsed from my hair, I turn off the water and reach for the towels, wrapping one around my hair and the other around my body once I’m dried off.
Feeling refreshed and starving, I step out of the bathroom. My phone is ringing where I left it on the kitchen counter, and I pick it up to see it’s Beckett calling again.
My heart squeezes, my mood dampening. I never loved Beckett, that doesn’t mean this is easy.
“What the fuck?”
Startled, I drop my phone, spinning around to look at the man standing in the entryway. My heart thumps in my chest once as my world shifts.
“Killian,” I breathe.
CHAPTER 5
Killian
I stare at Caroline,my brother’s fiancée,standing in nothing but a towel in my kitchen, and the only thing I can think is that I’ve forgotten there’s a hint of blue in her gray eyes.
No wonder I can’t get them right.
The other thing I register is if she’s here, that means my brother is here and the last thing I ever want to do is deal with my family. I live in New York for a reason and it’s not just the vibes. The farther away I am from them, the better.
I watch as a drop of water travels down her slender neck. She’s been naked in my apartment, probably with my brother. Fuck. I’m not really a psychopath, but something about the idea of Caroline with Beckett always makes me see red.
“Killian,” Caroline breathes.
I drop my keys in the bowl at the entrance table and cross my arms, frowning at Caroline. How the hell did they get in? The super’s grumpier than I am and he’d never have let them in.
Caroline’s phone rings and we both look down, where she dropped it. Beckett’s name and face flash across the screen and I grind my jaw so hard I’m afraid to crack a molar.
Caroline clutches the towel, bending down to pick up herphone. The towel wrapped around her hair falls off, leaving her long dark hair slinging over her shoulder.
I flex my hand as my fingers itch to grab my sketchpad.
I watch with interest as she presses the button on the side of her phone, disconnecting the call and putting her phone face down on the counter.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” She fires back, crossing her arms and matching my stance.
The setting sun behind her has lit the sky with a vibrancy of colors and the golden light spreading through the room makes Caroline’s skin light up like she’s been dipped in gold.
“This is my apartment,” I tell her.
Her mouth parts as shock flickers across her face and then she frowns, her head tilting slightly.
“Gerry gifted me this apartment when I turned twenty-one.” As if to prove it, she holds up the key she’d left on the counter.
Fucking hell. I wouldn’t put anything past my grandmother. I stalk into the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of whisky from the cabinet above the fridge. Grabbing a glass, I pour some of the amber liquid into it and drink it in one gulp.
