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“Do you need anything else?” Killian’s voice asks through the bathroom door. I do a cursory glance before replying, “No, I think I’m fine.”
I hear his footsteps recede as I take a sip of the glass of water he left. The drugs, booze, and aftereffects of a long night are catching up to me, but it’s far from the first time I’ve had to grin and bear it the day after. It is the first time after killing a guy, but hey, same shit different pile.
I should probably be freaking out right now, but somehow, I feel underwhelmed. Hopefully, as I get down the list, it’ll get better.
It takes me almost forty minutes to get the rest of the paint and glitter off me. By the time I’m done, I feel mostly human. I really didn’t want to come to Killian’s house, but I was at least pleasantly surprised by the number of products in his bathroom.
Pulling on the clean t-shirt and sweats left out for me, I make my way through the apartment until I find Killian sitting on the couch scrolling on his phone.
We didn’t talk much more on the drive back, and I’ll admit I’m curious. What does Killian really know about Neil and his idiots? He obviously knows enough to feel he has to warn me, but does he know about the Iron Elite?
“Better?” he asks without looking up.
“Yeah, thanks,” I reply, suddenly feeling more like it’s an awkward morning after.
“There’s some coffee in the kitchen,” he says with a nod of his head, “Why don’t you grab a cup and we can talk?”
I nod and stride over to the kitchen, filling the biggest mug I can find with black coffee. I close my eyes and hold it up to my face, sniffing gratefully. Some of my tastebuds got fucked during the surgeries, so I can only taste very extreme things now. But smell always stuck. And nothing, and I meannothing, is better than the smell of hot, fresh coffee when you feel like morning-after ass.
“Thanks,” I say again, taking a seat before sipping my drink gratefully. He clicks one more thing on his phone before putting it down and looking at me.
I’m used to men leering, checking me out, so the steady assessment I feel from Killian is something I’m not used to.
We sit in silence for several minutes.
“So, those local sports teams, huh?” I finally say. I’m rewarded with a snort from Killian.
“Really?”
I shrug, and he sits back with a small smile on his face. The silence feels less awkward after that, though his earlier words keep turning over in my mind. My body is fading fast, but my brain is going a mile a minute.
“What are you so worried about happening if I go back to Eternity?” I finally ask, in no mood for subtlety. Killian sips his coffee and watches me a moment before shrugging.
“I’ve seen a lot of stuff happen there. And the girls? Well, there are the mainstays like Dee, but they don’t tend to last long. And the ones who party… well, let's say they last even less time. Personally, I’d like you to stick around.”
“A lot of clubs have pretty fierce competition,” I counter. “And what industry that essentially sells sex doesn’t have drugs?”
He shifts a bit and I wonder if it’s the reference to drugs or sex.
“Eternity is different,” is all he says.
“Why do you work for them, then?” I ask, not trying to keep the accusation out of my voice.
The laid back posture tenses and his mouth thins.
“I could ask the same of you,” he replies coldly. “What kind of fucking idiot does drugs with one of her fucking bosses to the point he OD’s?”
Rather than anger, it's coldness that runs through my veins. I’ve about had it with this conversation. Most of my life I’ve been judged for the shit I do, and I’m over it.
“I don’t need your fucking judgement or your fucking protection,” I reply coldly. “Thanks for the clothes and the shower, but I’m going home now.”
I stand and grab my purse before heading for the door.
“Echo?” Killian says as I’m reaching for the knob. I pause at the tone of his voice. “You shouldn’t go back. They’re gonna find out you were with him when he OD’d. I don’t know if you know what these guys are into… but it’s not good.”
I nod my head and give him a small smile. “I know, and I still have to go back.”
I close the door behind me, not before realizing he still thinks Sergio overdosed. He seems to know something about the Iron Elite, but how much, I can’t be sure. There’s a chance he could help me, but it’s not a risk I can take.
