Page 66 of Forbidden Bond

“Oh, calm down. You’re the don’s kid brother you think I’d kill ya? Your big brother told me to leave you alone. Although he threatened me with a few more colorful words. You can put the gun down now.”

I arch an eyebrow.

“I’m sure he did,” I say flatly.

She reaches forward and places a hand on my jaw, stroking it gently. “Tell your friend not to make promises he can’t keep, okay? We’re not fond of people who break promises.”

“I’ll make sure he understands that.”

“Alright. You can go. Until we meet again, littlest D’Angelo.”

Jameson walks over and Katherine immediately wraps her arm around his, helping him stand on his feet. They walk out of the room and I follow, pausing to hide my gun under my shirt again. I help Katherine get Jameson to the elevator. She seems too shaken by what happened to have another panic attack, which I’m grateful for.

It isn’t until we’re out of the building that I take my first full breath. Then I’m looking into Jameson’s green eyes.

“I would punch you if you weren’t already a mess,” I tell him with a glare.

He nods, his expression sober. “I deserve that. I’m sorry. I just didn’t have anyone else to call.”

“What would have happened if I hadn’t come? What did you think she would have done?”

“I’m sorry,” he says, hanging his head guiltily.

Katherine places her hand on my arm. “It’s fine. I’m okay. We’re okay.”

I look away, staring into the distance. I can’t stop thinking about what happened a few moments before. My heart went into overdrive the moment she was in danger, and it’s still pounding in my chest.

“We should get Jameson to the hospital,” Katie murmurs.

He shakes his head. “No, please just drop me off at home. I’ll be fine.”

“But you need to get checked out,” she argues.

“I’ll be fine, Katie. You wouldn’t mind staying at his house tonight, right? I’m sorry, but I really can’t look at you right now without feeling like a total piece of shit.”

“I’m not going to leave you alone,” Katherine says stubbornly.

“I’ll call Tessa.”

She’s a little appeased by that. “You can’t tell her about Topher or what happened.”

“I’m not stupid, Katie.”

She nods, helping him into the backseat of the car before turning to face me.

“If I wasn’t with you, what would you have done?” I ask. The thought of her going up there alone literally causes my heart to hurt.

She shrugs. “Anything to save him.”

My eyes roam across her face. “That’s what I thought. Let’s go.”

After dropping Jameson off, I take us both to my house. Katherine curls up on the couch as soon as we’re inside. I watch her for several minutes, unmoving. I can feel the slight shift in the air. The shock of what happened starts to dissipate, leaving only the weight of what went down today.

“I half-expected you to go to your parents’ house,” I say, breaking the silence.

She looks up at me sharply. “Why would I do that when I can stay here with you?”

That gives me pause. I lean against the wall and stare at her. “Katherine,” I say, then stop because I really don’t know where to start. Our kiss earlier, what happened when we rescued Jameson—so much has happened in so little time.

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