Page 193 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

I reach for the handle, already smiling to myself. My fingers wrap around it, the metal cool against my skin. I push the door open, and everything I thought I knew about my life for the past five months punches me straight in the stomach.

Chapter 71

Michael

The door swings open, and the sound cuts through the room. Every head turns, and there she is. Katie stands in the doorway, frozen in place. Her hand still grips the door, her shoulders drawn tight, her eyes wide and locked on me.

There’s a second where she doesn’t react at all. Then it hits her. The realization settling in behind her eyes. The fear that follows right after it.

I still have the gun pressed to Sal’s head. Marco and Enzo have him pinned to my desk. His face is turned, jaw clenched, and blood at the corner of his mouth. The rest of my men stand on either side of the room, watching, and waiting for my next move, but none of that matters. All I see is her standing there in the doorway as if she doesn’t recognize me.

Adam steps out of line and grabs her by the waist. Katie screams, and just like that, everything shifts. The gun is no longer at Sal’s temple. It’s at Adam’s.

“Put her down,” I say, the barrel of the gun pressed hard against his temple. “Or I put a fucking bullet in your skull.”

Adam lets go quickly, stepping back with both hands up.

“I’m sorry, Boss. I thought she might run. Please, forgive me.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I grind out through my teeth.

But I’m not looking at him anymore. I’m looking at her.

“Katie, Doll,” I say, lowering the gun enough to reach for her.

The second I move, she flinches hard like I’ve already hurt her. She stumbles back a step. Her shoulder hits the wall, and her hand comes up like she might block me if I get any closer. Her eyes are wide, glassy, and filling fast. Her chest is rising too quick and too shallow.

“Don’t fucking touch me.”

My throat goes dry.

“Get out,” I say.

No one moves. I can feel them watching and waiting. They’re trying to read what the hell just happened.

“I said fucking get out. Now.”

My voice cracks through the room. This time they move. The tension breaks all at once as the room clears. Marco and Enzo haul Sal up by the arms, dragging him toward the door while he struggles.

“Take him to the warehouse,” I say, my voice dropping again. It’s controlled and deadly. “Do not leave.”

They nod.

Marco pauses long enough to glance toward Katie, still pressed into the corner by the window. Her entire body is pulled in on itself.

“Do you want one of us to stay, Boss?”

I shake my head once. No. No one stays. No one sees this. The moment the door shuts, I turn to her.

“Who the hell are you?”

“It’s just me, Doll,” I say, lifting one hand and setting the gun on the side table. “I’m just Michael. Your Michael.”

I take a step toward her, already watching her face, waiting for something to give, for something familiar to come back.

She recoils.

“No.”