Chapter 15: 11| Hunt-1

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Hunt ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ : Hunt (Amara's POV) The day seemed to pass at a ridiculously slow pace since all I could think about were my father's warnings. I understood his concerns and I shared the same fears as him. I knew damn well that forcing this door open again, the door that Dad locked shut years ago for my own sake… Opening it now could wreck everything. I was intentionally putting myself in harm's way by reinvestigating it but this wasn't as simple as a choice I had to make. If I walked away from this now, I would never be able to forgive myself. After I spent the majority of my day contemplating my father's words as I promised him I would, Lana came in and told me that the lovely Mr. Harper paid us a visit. Knowing that he was able to come all the way up to my office without anyone so much as batting an eye or having the courage to stop him left me extremely unsettled. Something was different with Tristan, something had changed in his demeanor. He knew something that he didn't earlier and whatever it was, it left him infuriated with me. But no matter how much I wracked my brain for an answer, I couldn't think of anything I did to piss Tristan Harper off to the point of no return. We were rivals. Even if his patience had reached its limit, I did nothing to provoke him so why on earth was he coming after me with such vengeance? It couldn't simply be because of the Ambrose deal… could it? There's no fucking way Tristan Harper is that petty… It's far too low, even for him. "Ms. Milano?" Tipping my head back against the cushion of my chair, I spun it around and faced the door. "Yes, Lana?" "I'm heading out now… I think you should too. It's getting late." Glancing at my watch, I rose to my feet and grabbed my purse. "I seriously hope you stayed back because you truly had work pending and… not for other reasons." I shot her a pointed look, knowing that she would often stay behind simply because I would. She offered me a sheepish smile. "Then I won't tell you why I stayed behind," she chuckled, "I'll see you on Monday. Bye." "Bye," I called out after her. Taking one last look around and shutting everything off, I left my office, locking it behind me, and made my way downstairs. I was definitely more on edge while walking to my car than I usually would be thanks to Tristan's little stunt, but I made it inside without any unpleasant surprises and drove myself home. By the time I arrived, the day's exhaustion hit me in full force and all I craved was a long night's sleep. If I had it my way, I would sleep the entire weekend away, but I had too much work pending. Not only did I have to catch up on the Ambrose case but I also had to start from scratch on the case I'd be reinvestigating. After all, twenty years had passed and my memories were far too hazy to give me any crucial details. The digital passcode lock beeped as I unlocked my door and walked into the darkness of my apartment. Once inside, I blindly reached for the switch and flicked the lights on, closing my eyes as I tipped my head down and squeezed the back of my neck along with my shoulders. Groaning softly, I headed for the dimly lit living room but as I lifted my head and opened my eyes, I went completely rigid and froze. Every muscle in my body grew aware of the unknown presence in my home and it took me several seconds to gather myself and move past my racing heart. I could feel eyes on me. Fight or flight kicked in the minute I realized someone else was here. The adrenaline coursed through my veins the moment I laid my eyes on the dark silhouette sitting in the very corner of the room, taking up the beige plush lounge chair. It was undoubtedly a man but I couldn't decide if I would be lucky or unlucky if it was Tristan. Because if it's someone else… I took the smallest step backward to retreat, maybe even make a run for it even if I'd be running out of my own apartment. But the standing lamp beside the chair flicked on, the chain dangling as he let go of it. "Do you always work so late, Malyshka?" I couldn't help the small sigh of relief that escaped me. I was definitely lucky that the person who broke into my apartment was Tristan and not someone else because that someone else could possibly be the very suspect I was about to chase down. Moving forward, I threw my purse onto the couch and reached for the light switch above it, turning all the lights on, ignoring Tristan's annoyance. "Do you always break into people's apartments, Mr. Harper?" I mocked. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you even get inside? However the fuck it was, I don't care. Get out." Lifting a brow at me, he rose to his feet and let out a faint breath. My eyes ran over his attire, taking in the black button-up he wore, his usual tie nowhere to be seen with the first few buttons left undone, and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, leaving his forearms on display. His hair was still as ridiculously perfect as it could be but the strand falling over his eyes told me he'd been running his hands through it, quite possibly out of frustration. It told me he'd been waiting here, inside of my apartment long enough to grow more frustrated the longer I took to return home. "I don't think you're in any position to be making demands, Ms. Milano," he retorted, continuing to stalk forward. The look in his eyes sent shivers down my spine and I hated it. No matter how much I denied it, I couldn't change the fact that somewhere, a part of me did fear Tristan Harper for the very reasons the rest of this world did. He liked to hunt. Especially when it was me he was hunting. But a bigger part of me liked the sight of him chasing after me with such desperation. I'd kill anyone who stood in my way of solving that case without hesitating. If he wanted me gone, for whatever fucking reason, he could wait till I caught that bastard who ruined me. That case was more important to me than anything else, so if Tristan had now decided he wanted to get rid of yet another enemy, he would simply have to wait until I was ready to surrender. But knowing myself, I knew that the chances of me surrendering to someone as despicable as Tristan were slim. Close to none. "You welcomed yourself into my apartment. As a matter of fact, you've broken in. Yet I'm in no position to be making demands?" I questioned, folding my arms across my chest. My gaze drifted to his bandaged hand, the white gauze wrapped around his self-inflicted wound as he pulled that hand out of his pocket, a small dagger glimmering in his grip. The same dagger I dropped that night in the parking lot.