Chapter 11: 8| Thief-2

"No, I'm on my way out right now, Dad," she said, stopping at the driver's side. A small agitated groan escaped her as she continued digging through her purse. "I'm fine, just can't find my keys. I'll call you back later, okay? Bye." As she tucked her phone away, I pushed myself off of where I was leaning against her car and moved toward her. Sensing my presence, I couldn't help but notice as her movements slowed in anticipation, possibly even in fear until her hand tightened around something inside of her purse. Stepping closer, I stopped right behind her until my chest brushed against her back and I peered over her shoulder, taking a look at what she held. "Always prepared, aren't you, Malyshka?" I whispered beside her ear. Her gasp and movements both were sharp as she spun around, her purse clattering to the phone while she lifted her hand, the blade of her knife held to my neck, the cold metal icy hot against my skin. Bringing her other arm up, she pinned it down against my chest and spun us around in the blink of an eye, pressing me into the side of her car. Every muscle in her body was taut, every nerve in her body was pulsing, and her heart was racing. She was prepared. Her breathing was rapid and uneven as she kept me pinned in place with every inch of her own body. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she demanded. Tipping my head against her car, I tilted it slightly to the side. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" One blink of confusion was enough for me to catch her off-guard as I caught her wrist and twisted it back, making her wince in pain. Her hold on the blade loosened and I swiped it out of her hand, locking an arm around her waist and turning us around, pressing the sharp edge of the blade against her throat, pinning her down to the car with a hard push, certainly hard enough to knock the air out of her for a moment. I let out a sigh and stared back at her as she watched me in confusion for a second but that second was all it took for her to realize. "You found out," she concluded. Bringing her hands up to my chest, she tried to push me off but I dug the blade deeper into her skin in a warning and she went utterly still, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt. "Tristan," she warned. "You didn't think I'd let it slide, did you?" I asked, keeping my voice down as I leaned in closer to her. "I always knew you were a dirty little thief but this was far too low, Ms. Milano, even for you." Her eyes lit up with an indescribable fire within them. She tried pushing against me harder but the blade nearly cut through her skin as she went completely still, her pulse fluttering beneath the knife. "Don't think for a second that I won't cut deeper," I told her, pure rage coursing through my veins. "You want to play dirty, Amara darling?" She scoffed lightly, glancing at my arm that held the blade. "You think I play dirty?" she asked, "then you should know I'm not the one who approached Mr. Ambrose. He came to me for a second opinion after he heard about you losing the Banks and Patterson trial. I'd be a fool to let ten million dollars walk away, don't you think?" She closed her eyes as her jaw ticked in agitation. "I have no interest in stealing your clients, Mr. Harper," she added, her voice strained before opening her eyes. "But it's good to know you're afraid to lose to me. I may be a lot of things but I'm not a fucking thief. Go ask him yourself if you don't believe me." I watched her for a minute but nothing in her eyes told me that she was lying so I eased up on her and pulled the dagger away, loosening my hold on her. A shaky breath escaped her as she touched her neck where an indent was now. She glared at me before running her eyes over my body once. "You came to kill me unarmed? Really? Underestimating me that much?" My eyes dropped to her legs as she shifted her stance and moved forward, grabbing my shoulders. I moved at the last second before she could knee me and took the blow on my thigh but before I could get another chance to put the blade to her side, she twisted my wrist just as I did to her earlier and snatched it back, grunting loudly as she used all her force to keep my pinned against the car, bringing the knife to my throat once again. The look in her eyes told me she might have slit my throat open anyway. "Don't ever fucking think even for a second that I'm scared of you, Mr. Harper," she warned me breathlessly. "Don't ever think I'm not capable of killing you, Ms. Milano," I retorted, slipping my hand between the small gap left between her blade and my skin. Her gaze dropped to the knife. "Don't be stupid," she mumbled, pressing harder against me. Rationality left me the moment she crossed me tonight. Taking the blade in my bare hand, I took a hold of it and forced her hand down, ignoring the way it cut right down my palm. Her eyes widened as she tried to move away from me but my arm around her waist kept her in place. "Have you lost your mind? You're bleeding!" A single trail of blood ran down my hand and forearm, parting into another trail that trickled down Amara's arm too. "Tristan!" I let go of the blade only once she did and the knife clattered at our feet as I let her go. "Take this as my final warning to you, Ms. Milano," I told her, "stop getting in my way. You're better off avoiding me." It took her a second to compose herself and she couldn't stop staring at my blood on her hand. Then she finally met my gaze. "Then I'm afraid you'll have to get used to me this time. I'm done hiding from you, Mr. Harper. I'm not afraid of you." "You should be," I replied, moving forward as my body brushed against hers. "You should run and hide. I have far too many reasons to come after you and want you dead, Malyshka. Give me one more and I won't hold back. Give me one more reason to hate you and the next time you see me will be the day I kill you." Her jaw ticked but she remained silent. "Remember that," I told her, "stay out of my way, Amara. I'm warning you." . . . . . Chapter 8