I picked her up at exactly 7:57 p.m.
Black McLaren growling outside her little Brooklyn walk-up.
I killed the engine and walked up the steps myself instead of texting.
She opened the door and my brain stopped working.
Katie stood there in a simple black dress that hugged every curve like it was painted on.
Thin straps.
Low neck.
Hem stopping mid-thigh.
White sneakers still, because of course.
Hair wild and curly, half pinned up, half falling everywhere.
Gold hoops.
Red lips.
She smirked.
"Close your mouth, pretty boy. You're drooling."
I wasn't, but I felt like I was.
"You trying to kill me before dinner?"
She laughed and stepped out, locking the door.
"Thought I'd dress up a little. You said fancy place."
I opened the car door for her.
"You look illegal."
She slid in, thighs flashing.
"Good. Jail me then."
I almost said yes please.
We drove into Manhattan with the windows down, city lights streaking across her face.
She had her feet on the dash, singing off-key to some rap song I didn't know.
I didn't even care that her sneakers were on Italian leather.
Obsidian restaurant, 87th floor.
The host saw me and damn near bowed.
"Mr. Voss, your usual table."
Katie's eyes went wide.
"Usual table? How many girls you bringing here, Sam?"
"Zero. Tonight makes one."
She bit her lip and followed me.
Every head turned.
Men jealous.
Women pissed.
We sat at the private corner booth, whole city glittering behind us like diamonds on black velvet.
Katie opened the menu and choked.
"Two hundred dollars for steak? Do they massage the cow first?"
I laughed.
"Order anything."
"I want a burger. Extra cheese. Extra bacon. Fries. Chocolate shake. And mozzarella sticks."
The waiter looked terrified.
I stared at him until he ran.
Ten minutes later they brought everything she asked for on real silver plates.
Chef probably cried in the back.
Katie took a huge bite and moaned loud enough half the room looked.
"God, this is heaven."
She held the burger to my mouth.
I took a bite.
Our eyes locked.
She wiped grease from my lip with her thumb, then licked it slow.
My d×ck twitched so hard I had to shift in the seat.
We talked for hours.
She told me about growing up with just her grandma.
About painting on rooftops at sunrise.
About the mural she's working on now, huge angel wings on an abandoned factory wall.
I told her things I never told anyone.
That I hate silence because silence means someone's about to die.
That I still sleep with a knife under my pillow.
That sometimes I wake up reaching for a gun that isn't there.
She listened like every word mattered.
When dessert came, some chocolate lava cake that cost more than her weekly tips, she fed me a bite.
I fed her one.
Our fingers brushed.
Sparks.
She licked chocolate off her lip and whispered,
"You keep looking at me like that and we're not making it to the car."
I paid the $4,800 bill without blinking.
Outside, the night was warm.
I didn't want it to end.
So I took her to the private rooftop garden above the restaurant.
No one else allowed up here.
Just us, the stars, and the whole damn city at our feet.
She kicked off her sneakers, walked barefoot on the grass.
"This is insane. I feel like a princess in a movie."
I stood behind her at the glass railing.
"You're better than any princess. You're real."
She turned in my arms.
Wind in her hair.
City lights in her eyes.
"Sam… what are we doing?"
I cupped her face.
"Falling."
She smiled soft.
"Scary, huh?"
"Terrifying."
Then I kissed her.
Not soft.
Not gentle.
Hard.
Hungry.
Like I'd been starving for her my whole life.
She kissed me back just as hard.
Hands under my shirt.
Nails down my back.
I pressed her against the glass wall, seventeen floors above the streets.
Her dress rode up.
My hands on her thighs.
She moaned into my mouth.
I was two seconds from taking her right there when my phone buzzed.
I ignored it.
It buzzed again.
And again.
I pulled it out ready to smash it.
Unknown number.
I answered, voice rough.
"What?"
Silence.
Then a voice I didn't know.
"Invincible.
We know who has the wallet.
We know where you sleep.
We know about the girl."
My blood froze.
Katie felt me go stiff.
She pulled back.
"Sam?"
I hung up.
Forced a smile.
"Wrong number."
She didn't believe me.
But she didn't push.
I drove her home slow.
Windows down.
Her hand in mine the whole way.
When we parked outside her building, she didn't move.
"Tonight was perfect," she said quiet.
I nodded.
She leaned over, kissed my cheek soft.
"Text me when you get home, okay?"
"I will."
She got out.
Walked to her door.
Looked back once.
Blew me a kiss.
I waited until her light came on.
Then I punched the dashboard so hard it cracked.
My phone buzzed again.
This time a photo.
Katie walking into her building tonight.
Message under it:
Pretty girl.
Be a shame if something happened to her.
I stared at the screen until it went black.
Then I started the car.
Drove straight to the warehouse I bought last week.
Opened the safe.
Guns.
Knives.
Bulletproof vests.
I loaded everything.
Richard's ring on my finger felt heavier than ever.
They wanted war?
Fine.
But they just made the biggest mistake of their lives.
They threatened Katie.
Now I wasn't just rich.
I was unstoppable.
I texted her before I left.
Sam:
Home safe.
Dream of me.
Katie 🍑:
Already am ❤️
I smiled like a devil.
Then I disappeared into the night.
Tomorrow the bodies would start dropping.
But tonight?
Tonight I let myself feel something I hadn't felt since I was eight.
Hope.
Love.
Whatever you want to call it.
Katie just became the reason I breathe.
And I was gonna make sure I keep breathing.
Even if I have to paint the whole city red to do it.