**Part 3**
The security guards flank me, one reaching out to grab my arm to escort me out the back door, just as the heavy brass doors of the ballroom begin to swing open.
“Ma’am, we’re going to have to ask you to come with us,” the taller guard said, his hand closing firmly around my bicep.
I didn’t struggle, but I didn’t move. I looked past him, toward the ballroom entrance. “Take your hand off me,” I said, my voice steady, though my heart hammered against my ribs.
“Mr. Hart’s orders. You’re causing a disturbance.”
“I am a guest at this wedding,” I replied coldly. “And I am going back to my seat.”
He tightened his grip, pulling me slightly off balance. “Let’s not make this difficult—”
“He said, take your hand off her.”
The voice didn’t shout, but it carried a weight that froze the air in the corridor.
The heavy oak doors of the ballroom had opened fully. Standing there, silhouetted against the bright lights and swirling music, was Daniel.
He wore a dark navy suit, unbuttoned at the collar. He looked exactly as he always did when he was focused—calm, lethal, and entirely uninterested in playing by anyone else’s rules. He didn’t look at the guards. His eyes were locked on me, taking in the damp edges of my hair, the black dress, the tight line of my jaw.
