Chapter 35: 24| Chase

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Chase ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 24: Chase (Amara's POV) The longer we stayed on the road and the longer the SUV continued chasing us, the more panicked and uneasy I grew. I couldn't recognize the car, nor the man behind the wheel. As I stole another look over my shoulder, desperately trying to recognize the men, my grip subconsciously tightened around Tristan while my heart pounded beneath my chest, threatening to burst. Each time I held on tighter, I felt him stiffen beneath my touch even if it was just for a second. Tristan was speeding way beyond any limit and the wind blew right past us, my hair flying over my shoulders. Without slowing down even once or losing his focus, Tristan tilted his head back and sideways, just enough to get a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye. "I won't let anything happen to you," he said and I could have sworn he had mumbled my name at the end. Not Ms. Milano, not Malyshka but my name. Amara. For the first time in years, I thought I heard him call me by my name. The last time I heard it was the night before I left New York without telling him. It was the night I ran away from him and never bothered to give him the explanation he truly deserved. But I knew he would never understand that I did what I did for his own good and for my own safety. Tipping my head to the side, I watched him wordlessly, stealing glances through the side mirror. "Why are you helping me?" I asked, unsure about whether I truly wanted to hear the answer. He glanced at me briefly before facing ahead again. "Because I can't stand the thought of someone else getting the pleasure to kill you, Ms. Milano." A soft sigh of frustration and defeat escaped me. "Tristan," I mumbled. His gaze sharply met mine through the side mirror yet again. Seconds later, he blinked and diverted his attention onto the road. "We can't lead them to your apartment," he announced, "you can't go back home tonight." I paused in confusion as he took a sharp right, slowly increasing the distance between the SUV and us, finally losing them. "Where are we going?" I asked. Looking over his shoulder as he slowed down onto a different street but didn't respond. The nearer we got to the destination, I realized I was no stranger to this street or the place he was taking me because Tristan was taking me home. Not to my house but to his own. A few minutes later, he drove past the main gates and into the parking lot, stopping right beside his own car and then waiting for me to climb off. Unhooking my arms from around his waist, I lifted them up to his shoulders and pulled myself off, taking my helmet off and running a hand through my hair. "I can go to my father's house from here," I exhaled, my gaze following him as he climbed down and took the helmet off, raking his fingers through his hair as he turned to face me. "Would you like to lead them there too? We barely lost them." Nodding towards the entrance, he let out a breath. "Just stay here. At least for a while." Stepping forward, he came closer without breaking my gaze. "Until it's safe to leave," he said before walking past me and heading inside, his arm brushing against my shoulder. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply and bit back a groan before setting my helmet away and taking my keys, following him inside. I couldn't be bothered to continue my argument with him, not when the idea of someone else coming after me left me so unsettled. It left me far more scared and uneasy than knowing that Tristan wanted me dead. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that I still trusted Tristan to a certain extent and that he truly was a man of his word. Since he agreed to wait, he would. But whoever was now coming after me was certainly not that way. It wasn't a risk I could take, so I followed Tristan inside. Once we stepped into the elevator, I crossed my arms and leaned against the back wall. I couldn't help the way my eyes shifted to Tristan, watching his every move, simply watching him. "Does it help you figure me out if you stare that intensely?" he asked without turning to look at me. I don't even know how he knows it when my eyes are on him… I suppose the same way I always know when he's watching me. "Do you have eyes in the back of your head too?" I asked dryly, shifting my gaze to the elevator countdown. "I have eyes wherever you go, Ms. Milano," he replied, glancing at me briefly as he stepped back and stood beside me, grabbing the railing behind us. As both of us stared at each other and neither one of us agreed to look away, we eventually reached the penthouse and I trailed out behind him. He unlocked the door, swiftly typing in the four-digit code, and then held the door open. "An hour at least," he said, his eyes following me as I walked past him and into the apartment. "Stay an hour," he added. The further into the apartment I reached, my gaze scanned the place. It had been three years since I last came here and not a single thing about it had changed. Every piece of furniture, every little thing; every goddamn thing about his apartment was the same as I remembered, the same place I had in my memories. "Last I checked," he began, closing the front door, "you quite enjoyed the chase on your bike." Undoing his cufflinks, he slipped them into his pocket. "The chase is only fun when you're not running for your life, Mr. Harper," I retorted, "not to mention, you weren't the one chasing me tonight, so it wasn't nearly half as fun." His brow quipped up in amusement as he bit down a chuckle. "I thought you didn't like me hunting you down, Malyshka. Have you changed your mind?" "Don't get ahead of yourself," I shut him down. I moved toward the living room while Tristan headed for the kitchen. Just as I settled down on the couch, I heard the faintest little noise and felt my heart stop. I wasn't sure if it was due to the sheer surprise of what or rather who I saw or if I was truly startled at the sudden appearance. But out of all the things I never expected from Tristan, this was probably the biggest and it was a little cat. Staying still, I watched as the small black ball of fluff climbed up the armrest of the couch and along the top of it, walking across my shoulders and then jumping down to my side. Gently and timidly, I lifted a hand and slowly lowered it to the top of its head, giving a good scratch above the head and then under the chin. "Hi," I whispered softly, cautiously picking him up and placing him in my lap. Steady purring filled the space as I faced ahead when Tristan walked over. "So you do like something in this world after all," I said, "and it's cats." "He's the exception," Tristan replied, setting a bottle of water on the table before me. I couldn't help the small chuckle and smile that took over me as I watched the kitten in my lap, slowly dozing off. "Does he have a name?" I asked. Tristan cleared his throat lightly. "Paris." My gaze lifted up to Tristan's. "Did you name him that?" I had to force myself to keep from laughing. The sudden ring of Tristan's phone stole his attention and he stepped away for a moment to take the call. By the time he came back, Paris had dozed off with his head in my lap. "I'm afraid you might have to stay here for tonight, Ms. Milano," Tristan announced, strolling back into the room. "What?" "I just got a call from building security. A black SUV has been circling the building for the past three minutes. One man got off and tried to enter the building a minute ago but security managed to stop him." I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but when I tried, no words came out. I didn't know how to respond or what to think. I didn't know what to do. I can't stay here. Not with him. Slowly, I began shaking my head. "I can't stay here. You have to drop me at my father's house." He closed his eyes as a soft sigh left him. "Ms. Milano," he said sternly, "you can't-" "What I can't do is stay here," I said sharply. "So get me out of here." "Listen to me-" "I don't want to-" "Amara," he exhaled roughly, pocketing his hands before he could fist them at his side. "You don't have a lot of options," he explained calmly, "but at this moment, I'm your best bet. Trust me." I couldn't help but scoff. "Trust you? The man who wants me dead?" He rolled his eyes. "Yes," he nodded once, "trust me." "And pray tell, why on earth should I be enough of a fool to do that?" Easing Paris off my lap, I rose to my feet and stepped forward, tilting my chin up to meet his blazing eyes. Inching closer, he ate up the distance between us with his chest now brushing against mine. "Because I would rather die than let someone else lay a fucking finger on you. And while you're under my roof, under my care, I'd be damned if I let someone touch a single hair on your head. So trust me," he paused, leaning in ever so slightly. "Trust me when I say I won't let anything happen to you and trust me when I tell you I will keep you safe." Holding his gaze as neither one of us wavered, I shook my head lightly. "I can't trust you. You're keeping me safe so you can kill me yourself." "Have I killed you yet?" He arched a brow at me. I resisted a groan. "No, but you-" "Then you will stay here," he decided, "that is if you want to live another night." Turning around, he headed upstairs but I wouldn't let him take more than a step in the direction that led him to avoid this conversation. "You don't tell me what to do, Mr. Harper." Spinning around swiftly, he marched right back to me, even closer than he was before. "Tonight, I do. And you will do exactly as I say when I'm the one keeping you alive, Amara." Snickering softly, he shook his head to himself. "God, you're unbelievable." "I'm unbelievable?" I asked in disbelief. "You're trying to kill me yet you want me to entrust you with my life and I'm the unbelievable one? Do you hear yourself, Tristan?" "Have I ever touched you?" he asked, stepping forward. I instinctively shifted back. "Have I ever hurt you? Have I ever so much as inflicted any injury upon you?" he pressed. "You have every intention to," I replied. "And yet I haven't," he said. "No matter how much you've tempted me, I haven't. You're truly testing your luck here, Ms. Milano. Instead of giving me more reasons to kill you, you should be giving me reasons to let you live." "You'll never believe them," I retorted. "You've never even fucking tried," he said quietly before taking a step back and forcing out a breath. "Stay here, Amara." Before I could utter another word, he was moving away and upstairs. "I dare you to leave this house tonight." . . . . . Chapter 24 the daily updates are gonna make a comeback soon, hopefully, <3