I fall in love with a bad guy

Chapter 4: The night changed everything

I didn’t sleep after that kiss.

My lips kept tingling. My mind kept replaying the way he looked at me, like he wanted to ruin me and protect me at the same time. I hated how much power he had over me. I hated how easy it was for him to get under my skin.

But most of all…

I hated that a part of me liked it.

The next evening, I sat on my bed, staring at my phone, waiting for a message I knew I shouldn’t want.

Nothing.

Not a single word from him.

My stomach twisted. Maybe the kiss meant nothing to him. Maybe I was just another girl he could play with and forget.

Then—

Bzzzz.

My screen lit up.

Ace: Come outside.

Three words.

Simple.

Dangerous.

I actually felt my heartbeat jump.

I grabbed my jacket and slipped out before my mom could ask questions. I knew she’d lose her mind if she knew where I was going. She always said, “A man like that can break your whole life, baby.”

And maybe she was right.

But I still went.

Ace was leaning against his black car, hoodie up, cigarette in hand. The smoke curled around him like he owned the night. His eyes found me immediately.

“Get in,” he said.

Just like that. No hello. No nothing.

But I got in.

The engine growled as he drove off. He didn’t explain where we were going. He didn’t talk much. He just kept glancing at me, jaw tight like something was bothering him.

“Why did you text me?” I finally asked.

He smirked a little. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

My stomach flipped.

“But we need to make one thing clear,” he added. “I don’t do love. I don’t do relationships. I don’t do promises. You get that?”

My heart stung.

I nodded anyway.

“Good,” he said. “Because what I feel when I look at you…” He shook his head like he was trying to control himself. “It’s dangerous.”

We drove into an empty warehouse district. The night was cold and quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes your nerves wake up.

“Ace… what are we doing here?”

He shut off the engine.

His eyes darkened.

“Stay close to me. And whatever happens, you don’t run unless I tell you.”

My blood went cold.

Then headlights appeared behind us. A black van rolled in, slow and silent. Two men stepped out.

Ace stepped in front of me instantly.

His voice dropped. “Behind me.”

My hands shook as I moved closer.

The men approached with cocky smiles.

“Well, well,” one of them sneered. “Ace brought a girl. Thought you didn’t get attached.”

“Say what you want,” Ace said. “Just hand over what you owe me.”

One of the men pulled out a gun.

Ace didn’t even flinch.

Everything happened fast.

The man raised the gun—

Ace shoved me behind the car—

BANG!

The shot echoed across the empty space.

I screamed.

Ace didn’t. He moved like lightning, pulling his own gun from his waistband.

Another BANG!

This time from Ace.

One man dropped.

The second ran for the van.

Ace fired again—

BANG!

The van door slammed shut as the man sped off.

Silence. Just heavy breathing and the smell of smoke.

Ace turned to me. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, frozen.

He walked toward me, grabbed my face in both hands, and looked straight into my eyes.

“I told you I was dangerous,” he said softly. “Now you know.”

My whole body trembled, not just from fear but from the intensity in his eyes.

“Ace,” I whispered, “I shouldn't be here.”

He leaned closer, his breath warm against my lips.

“But you came,” he whispered. “You came for me.”

And then he kissed me—

Not soft, not gentle.

A desperate, hungry kiss like he needed me to breathe.

I kissed him back, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

His hands stayed on my waist, pulling me closer, like he wanted to feel every part of me. The heat of his body, the danger in him, the softness he tried to hide—everything mixed together and made my head spin.

When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested on mine.

“This is what I mean,” he murmured. “You make me lose control.”

My heart was racing so fast it hurt.

I knew this was wrong.

I knew he was trouble.

I knew he lived in a world full of guns and enemies.

But as he held me under the dim warehouse lights, breathing hard, eyes dark with something he didn’t want to admit…

I knew I wasn’t walking away.

Not now.

Maybe not ever.