Flawlessly Broken: (Broken Series Book 2) Read Free

That’s me. Ali said you’d have the spare key for me when I got here.”
    He rummaged around on the desk, twice grazing a hand over his phone to check for messages before finally pulling the key marked 7B and handing it over. “Here you go. You can’t take it when you leave but I have it written down that you’re authorized to use it so you don’t have to get Ali to call each time you come to...” he stumbled to remember for a moment before adding, “do whatever you do. She told me it was okay.”
    I accepted the key, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be needing to come back but not sharing that information with Stony. “Thanks, man. I’ll drop it off on the way out.”
    He nodded, turning his attention back to his phone without further comment as I waited for the elevator.
    Yep, I could see why Clay liked him so much.
     

     
    I STEPPED OUT of the elevator on the seventh floor and just stood there for a minute. It was nearing eight o’clock. The relative silence in the hallway was broken by my growling stomach loudly reminding me that I’d skipped lunch, and dinner was long overdue. It would have to wait. Hopefully, I could make quick work of this little mission and grab something on my way back home.
    The door to apartment 7B sounded hollow beneath my knuckles when I knocked.
    It was a disconcerting sound, one that instantly brought forth images of an injured or ill Talia lying just on the other side of the door, unable to obtain help all this time.
    Shit, I was turning into Ali.
    My heart was beating a little faster as I raised my hand to knock again, ears acutely attuned to any hint of sound. If there was no answer after a reasonable amount of time, I would go in uninvited.
    I may have had a key, but I preferred not to use it unless I had to.
    Three more sharp raps followed by silence.
    I was midway through an internal debate about my next move when I heard a rustling on the other side of the door. A few seconds later, it came again. I reached out and tapped the door, calling out to her. “Talia?” No response. “Talia? It’s Spencer. Ali sent me to check on you, and I’m not supposed to leave until I see you. Open the door, okay? I just need to know that you’re all right and then I can go. I promise.”
    The rustling sound came again, this time directly on the other side of the door. Talia didn’t speak, but the door clicked open a moment later. Just an inch. Then the rustling sound began moving away.
    I tentatively reached out and pushed the door open, not sure what to make of her lack of response. Her retreating form moved across the living room, her back to me as she sniffed quietly.
    Shit. She was crying.
    From the looks of the wadded-up Kleenex covering every flat surface, she had been crying for quite a while.
    The floorplan was open, expansive even, with high ceilings and large windows. The living room was directly in front of me, spacious and comfortably furnished. There was a large couch against the wall to the left and a matching loveseat facing the windows. The long coffee table was dotted with wadded Kleenex, as was the small end table next to the love seat.
    The kitchen lay to my far left, with its shiny stainless appliances and overhanging countertop that served as a bar, complete with cushioned chairs. Past the kitchen was a wide archway leading to the hallway and the bedrooms and bathrooms beyond.
    It was a really nice place in a town where square-footage came at a premium. As a homebuilder, I would know.
    I stepped fully into the apartment and closed the door, turning back just as she sank gracelessly into the plush love seat, still facing away from me.
    Graceless was something Talia just didn’t do. Not the few times I had been around her. It was one of the things I remembered most. She was flawless. Absolutely flawless in every movement, like a dancer. Tall and willowy, she seemed to float on air. It was mesmerizing.
    But not tonight.
    Tonight she moved like the weight of the