The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(72)

The bullet pierced his shoulder and Dustin took a step back, moving farther away from Kate.

“You believed what I wanted you to,” Michael said.

She was so close to him. If her hands weren’t cuffed, she’d reach out and touch him, just to make sure he was real.

“The Feds want me to keep you alive.” He tilted his head and studied Dustin, watching the blood ooze from the open wound. “I don’t know if I can do that.” He trained his weapon back on Dustin, aiming for his head.

“Put the gun down,” shouted a loud voice.

“No,” Michael responded, his eyes laser focused on the bloody figure before him.

Jake entered the room with a few other officers close behind him, dressed in full SWAT combat gear. “Michael, please, we need to interrogate him for information. We need to know his sources. Please.” Jake moved up behind Michael and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Kill me,” Dustin taunted. “You know you want to.”

“Michael, no—it’s what he wants. Death is too easy for someone like him.” Jake was desperate.

Dustin kneeled on the ground in the living room a few feet away, still holding his bleeding hand, the hole in his shoulder gaping and bloody.

“Michael, don’t do it.” Her own words surprised her. She wanted Dustin dead as much as Michael, if not more.

At the sound of Kate’s voice, Michael directed his attention to her. And after a few long moments of staring into her eyes, he lowered his weapon. “Kate,” he muttered as federal agents swarmed the room.

“Michael, I—”

“Are you okay?” He swooped to his knees in front of her and began untying the ropes at her ankles. A nearby officer tossed him a cuff key, and he freed her wrists.

She flung her arms around his neck, holding him as she sobbed. She felt him flinch, and she pulled away. He was hurt—of course, he was hurt. They’d been in a crash. “Are you okay?” She swiped at her tears, trying to focus.

“You’re okay, so yeah—I’m great.” He helped her out of the seat and pulled her close to his body. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get you.”

“How’d you know I was here?”

They held onto each other as they exited the cabin through the front door.

They were greeted by a swarm of flashing red and blue.

“I realized he would take you to the last place I would ever think of.” He walked her toward the waiting ambulance.

“Your own cabin,” she concluded and shook her head in disbelief. “I was at my grandparents’ place. That was where he first took me—I didn’t even realize it until he rushed me out of there.” She sat down on the bed in the ambulance and reached for Michael’s hand once he was next to her.

“I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.” He tipped her face in his direction. “Dustin didn’t . . . um . . . he didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Understanding flashed in her eyes. “No.” Thank God.

“This is all my fault. He used you to get to me. I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice thick with guilt.

“I’m pretty sure it’s my dad’s fault.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE




MICHAEL WALKED THE FEW BLOCKS to Kate’s hotel, his nerves twisting like melted steel with each step. It had been a few days since the showdown with Dustin. He still couldn’t believe everything that had happened.

When he reached Kate’s room, he stood in front of her door, trying to figure out the right words.

His arm felt heavy as he lifted it to knock. The pain from the gunshot wound and the bruises from the accident were still fresh and very much active. But some other weight was dragging him down.

“Hi,” she said in a small voice once opening it.

He studied her as he entered the room. She looked better than yesterday. Her face had its natural glow back, and her eyes looked a little brighter. “How are you?”

She rubbed her hands against her thighs and gave him a slight nod. “As good as can be expected.” She took a seat on the leather sofa. “How’s Julia? You saw her today, right?” She teased her tongue between her teeth before biting her lower lip.

She was nervous. Was she nervous because of him?

“Yeah, I saw her.” He took a seat in the chair across from the sofa.

“Does she know everything?” Her voice quivered a little with each word.

He nodded and looked down at the ground, lacing his fingers together, resting his elbows on his knees. “When are you planning to go back home?” There. He’d said it.

She scooted back on the sofa a little and looked out the glass balcony door. “I’m not going back home. I’m going to rent a place in Boston. I can’t live in the same city as my father right now.”

“What about here?” He wasn’t sure what his own question implied, but he had to ask.

“Michael, I—I don’t know if we should—” She stopped herself. “Dustin forced us to be together for his own game, and now . . .”

“Dustin is not why we were together. He didn’t manufacture my feelings for you.”

“And what feelings might those be?” She lifted her brows and focused her blue-green eyes on him.