Page 14 of Killian
I didn’t ask him how he knew where I lived because I didn’t care. I needed to get away from him for a while and piece last night together in my head. Calling my brother was also on my to-do list. Elliot needed to explain how he could let Killian have his way last night.
Killian pulled up to my house, and I didn’t wait for him to put the SUV in park. I hopped out, got to my front door, and picked up a piece of dog poop. Okay, so it wasn’t real dog poop; it was just a hide-a-key that I had stashed in my bushes. So far it worked well. Who wanted to pick up shit? I saw it on Pinterest and thought what the hell.
Grabbing it and unlocking the door, I could feel Killian at my back as I turned around, hand on the door, not inviting him into my house. We’d had enough of this craziness, and I didn’t need any more for the day.
“Bye, Killian,” I said, starting to close the door. His hand came out, stopping it from moving. I waited. I had nothing to say. This little whatever it was, was over. Which meant he and I were over. Not that we’d even started.
“Jeep’s in the garage. Key’s on the counter.” I did not like the fact someone I didn’t know had been in my house. “You go anywhere, you let someone know where you are. Even if it’s just driving to the bar. You call Bri or anyone and tell them.” There was a lot to say about this one. “And let me add, Ellie, this isn’t over,” he said ominously.
He was wrong. The attraction. The time together. It was all over. Even the fact that he kept ordering me around. Yes, that was most certainly over. “First, I’m not a woman who wants to be watched over. Second, there is nothis,Killian. So, yes, it is over. Have a great life.”
His phone started ringing in his back pocket. He closed his eyes with what appeared to be frustration. He opened them and then bore into mine, telling me in no uncertain terms that no, this was not done. Leaning in, he wrapped his hand around my neck, pulled me to him, kissed my forehead and was off. Poof, like a damn magician.
I didn’t get the last word. Nope, Killian was gone, and I was left twisted up inside without the first clue as to what came next.
I closed the door, locked it, pressed my back to it, then slid down the wood, my ass hitting the floor.
What in the hell was that?
* * *
My brother didn’t answerwhen I called the dozens of times, which wasn’t surprising. We had a good relationship, and he could read me. This meant he knew I was pissed about last night and didn’t want to hear it. But he would, even if I had to bang on his door and wake up his neighbors. I just had to attend to my bread and butter first.
When I got to the bar, Corey was there getting things sorted for the day, tablet in hand and punching away at it. Corey was my right hand here, doing schedules, inventory, and managing. Without her I’d be working every day and night non-stop. Everyone needed a break.
She was also a great friend. Hard not to be when we were with each other day in and out. She knew me well, and I trusted her with my business which was huge for me. Corey excelled at managing the bar for me.
Things weren’t overly crowded at this time of day. There were a few regulars, Redd and Hank, who sat next to each other every day, but they didn’t seem to say a single word to one another. They’d talk to me, or the other bartenders and waitresses, just not each other. Even though, day in and out, they bellied up to the bar in the same spots at the same times. Hank always arrived within twenty minutes of opening. He preferred draft beer to bottles, while Redd came in around the second hour of our doors unlocking. He wanted to have an ice-cold longneck bottle as soon as his ass hit the stool. They both changed their food orders regularly, but I could count on feeding each of them at least once and sometimes twice a day. It was strange, but somehow it worked. They were silent friends. A simple nod between them seemed to be a complete conversation.
Others were scattered throughout the place. Some in the booths to the left eating burgers while a few others were up on the landing that held the pool table, darts, and video poker. No matter what time of day it was, those poker machines were always in use.
Me. I worked too hard for my money to give it away. People had to know the house always won. One may get lucky every once in a while, but overall there was no comparison. Those who wanted to gamble, more power to them. It wasn’t my thing.
“What happened?” Corey fell in step with me as we went through the bar to the right where the office was located. My office was completely organized from top to toe. Yep, I was one of those people who liked to have everything in order when it came to the business side of the bar.
Everything was labeled, and the laptop had a ton of spreadsheets to keep everything organized. It helped that Corey was even more compulsively organized, and she handled most of the data entry.
“Sorry. Bri needed me and, well, the night went to hell.” I tossed my purse on top of my desk and set my phone beside it, running my hands through my long dark brown hair. How to explain last night? That was a tough one that some wouldn’t believe.
“And…” Corey prompted, her eyes wide, waiting for me. With the way I blew out of here last night without a word about where I was going, well, these questions weren’t surprising. It was out of character for me, but when your friend called you responded.
I sighed, falling back into the chair that rolled a bit with my movement. “Have you heard anything about Killian Graham?”
Her brow quirked. “Yeah. Who hasn’t heard of Killian is more like it. He’s like a legend around here.”
Legend.
A laugh almost escaped. Mostly for all the wrong reasons. There were so many stories going around about the things he did growing up, they could write a book or make a movie out of it. A lot of it was rumor, but there were a few eye witness accounts.
What could I say? I liked the bad boys. Always got me in trouble.
“Have you heard anything recently?”
Her hand went to her hip as her eyes narrowed. “What’s this about?”
“I’m getting to that. Just answer please.”
She rolled her eyes, but she didn’t mean it. “He’s not exactly on my gossip meter, Ellie, but I’ve heard his job is a mystery. People know kind of what he does, but not really. That’s about it.”
