Page 111 of Dangerous Men

My heart pounds in my chest. “I’m going to…what?”

“We know Mrs. Cohen is selling the property.” Katie sighs dramatically after she says it. “Chase called her, okay? And you can’t actually think whoever buys that building will see your store as a good investment, can you? I know that old bat has a soft spot for you, but things will change when someone new buys it.”

I had been thinking something similar, had even put off telling Jade the bad news because of my own fears, but themoment the words come out of someone else’s mouth, I realize how stupid it sounds.

Our storedoesrun a profit. It always has. Even when other shops around us have shut down, we’ve kept standing. And things have been picking up lately.

Hell, we’re doingwellnow. Not barely making ends meet, not fighting to make a profit. We’re doingwell.

And we’ve never once been late on our rent. We’ve never once paid a penny less than we owed.

Any new owner would be lucky to have us as tenants.

“Why wouldn’t they see us as a good investment?” I challenge. And, this time, I believe it.

Chase just shakes his head.

“I warned you when you and Jade started thisventurethat it was risky,” Chase says. “Running a business is a lot of work. And even people who know what they’re doing don’t always succeed.”

The implication behind his words, of course, being that I’m not one of those people. That I don’t know what I’m doing.

I am not an ocean of calm anymore.

I am a goddamnraging storm.

Fuck this.

“My store is fine,” I snap, eyes narrowing at the group in front of me. “And you,” I point at Chase, accusingly, “you knownothingabout it. This is my business. My store. You need to stay the hell out of it.”

Katie exchanges a look with Chase. On the couch, Sarah shifts uncomfortably.

“Woah, calm down, Syd,” she says, holding her hands out defensively. “This isn’t like you.”

“It’s not just the store, either,” Katie says in a tone so clearly meant to be soft and reasonable. “We know that Chase made a mistake when he…had his little indiscretion. But he is so remorseful! He’s just been beside himself, and he came to us to help us talk some sense into you. We all spent so much time together, and we know how much you two love each other. Don’t let one mistake undo so much work. He said he’s tried apologizing, and he’s just here to win you back.”

On the couch, Chase smiles benevolently at me.Aren’t I such a good guy?

“Can’t you see how romantic this is, Sydney?” Katie continues. “He knows losing you was the worst thing he could have ever done. And he’s just trying to fix it. He’s sorry!”

It occurs to me then that Katie is doing more apologizing for Chase than he ever did for himself.

I knew they were all still close, but I never expected they would ambush me like this. This isn’t…this isn’t normal. When I don’t immediately respond, when I just stare at them all dumbfounded, Sarah picks up where Katie left off.

“Chase says you’ve been entertaining a lot of dates lately,” she offers gently.

“Entertaining?” My laugh sounds insane, even to me. “What is that supposed to mean,entertaining? Are we in some kind of eighteenth-century novel? If you want to say I’m whoring myself out, just say it instead of implying it.”

Katie and Sarah both flinch at the crassness of my tone and words. Predictable as fuck.

“They’re thugs!” Chase snaps. He stands from the couch and steps forward to grab my shoulders. And I realize then how it must look to them all. Like he cares. Like he’s worried and wants to protect me. But the whole time he’s gripping me so tight it hurts. “They’re dangerous, babe. One of themattacked me.”

I shake him off, unable to stand him touching me. The laugh that escapes me is sharp and cruel. It doesn’t sound anything like the perfected version of myself these peopleknow. The group must think so, too. Katie takes a step back, while everyone else won’t even meet my eyes from sheer discomfort at the entire orchestrated situation.

“Oh, sure,” I say, throwing my hands up in the air. “Sure, if that’s the way you want to tell it, have at it. Tell me, Chase,babe, tell me more about howtheyare the dangerous ones.”

Chase’s eyes darken, the implication behind my words clear. “I don’t know what you mean,” he says in a low voice.

I grin, wide and angry. “Really? Maybe I shouldexplainexactly what I mean, then. Maybe I should tell them exactly what kind of person you really are.”