Page 15 of Untouchable

“No,” Kelly said again. “That’s my final answer.”

“You say that now, but I don’t think it is.”

It took almost an hour before Kelly could get rid of her mother, and she had to drink a bottle of wine before she could dull the pain of the day.

She fell asleep or passed out afterward, waking to the sound of her telephone.

It was Reese. Her friend. Her only real friend, whom she’d known since high school. Wanting to go out for the evening.

Kelly blinked at the clock to discover that it was after nine. She felt like absolute crap, but the empty apartment and the memory of Caleb and her mother and herfatherrose up to meether in the void. Quickly she told Reese she had to shower and get ready but could do something afterward.

They ended up going to a trendy pub in Georgetown since Reese currently had a thing for academic types.

Kelly already had a headache, so she didn’t drink very much, but she flirted with every guy who approached in an attempt to wipe her conflicted thoughts.

It was wrong of her mother to ask something like this of her. It was absolutely wrong.

And the thought of Caleb and his fine body, hard cock, and cold, calculating mind still made her stomach churn in horror and disgust.

Why the hell had she been so stupid as to fuck him in the park? She couldn’t forget how good it had been, and now she’d fallen right into her mother’s trap.

He probably was at least partly responsible for the death of her father, if not the primary guilty party. She completely believed he was capable of it. That afternoon, she’d read through the file her mother had given her. As promised, it wasn’t pretty at all. He’d blackmailed and extorted. He’d ruthlessly bankrupted other companies. He’d ruined people’s lives.

The man was a monster in a five-thousand-dollar suit.

But she would have to hate him from a distance. She couldn’t do anything else.

“What’s the matter with you tonight?” Reese asked, turning away from the law student she’d been chatting with. He was too young for her, but Reese didn’t care about such things. She was pretty and tiny with dark hair and big brown eyes, and she was a serial dater, always desperately in love with whatever man she happened to be with until she decided he wasn’t, in fact, the love of her life.

“Nothing. What do you mean?”

“I thought you were going to launch yourself at that guy just now. I mean, you always come on strong, but not that strong. It’s like you’re possessed.”

“I’m not possessed. Just horny.”

Reese was peering at her. “I don’t think so. Something is eating at you.”

“Nothing is eating at me.” Kelly was closer to Reese than anyone else, but there was no way in hell she would tell her about Caleb or her mother.

“Okay. You don’t have to tell me.”

Kelly sighed at hurting Reese’s feelings. She hated feeling guilty like that, and Reese was the only one who could make her feel that way.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t talk about it now.”

Reese’s expression relaxed. “Well, tell me later then. Did you meet someone?”

Kelly rolled her eyes at the sparkle in Reese’s. “No, I didn’t meet anyone.” It wasn’t exactly true, but meeting Caleb was closer to a nightmare than a potential romantic interest.

Before Reese could reply, Kelly’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out and blinked down at the screen for a long time after she read the words.

Let’s not call it seconds. Just more of the first time. Tomorrow evening?

Kelly’s breathing was loud and ragged as she stared down at the text. It was Caleb, although he hadn’t used his name. Asking to meet up with her again—in his typically clever, arrogant way.

He was a DiMauro.

He’d probably killed her father, and now he was asking her for a date.