Chapter 36: 25| Haunt

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Haunt ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 25: Haunt (Tristan's POV) By the time I got out of the shower, dressed, and returned downstairs, I half-expected her to have run out and I was almost prepared to chase her across the entire goddamn city if I had to. But I was surprised to find her in the kitchen, sitting at the counter silently with a glass of water between her hands. Strolling past her and poking at her ribs as I did, I rounded the counter and asked, "Have you eaten?" A sharp gasp escaped her as she jumped at my touch. Her gaze slid up to mine and she stayed quiet for a beat. I prompted her to answer, lifting a brow at her. "Answering or not answering that question won't get you out of here any faster. Since you're here, I would suggest you eat." "I already ate dinner at the office," she answered reluctantly. "Take-out doesn't count," I retorted. "I said I already ate," she huffed, "I'm not hungry." Exhaling slowly, I stepped away from the counter. "All right. You're more than welcome to cook something up for yourself when you finally decide you are hungry." Her gaze narrowed sharply. "It's very kind of you to act like such a good host, Mr. Harper. But if you'd let me leave, you simply wouldn't have to." "It's almost midnight. The guest room is upstairs, to the right, as you know. Consider it yours for tonight." Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I moved toward the staircase. It was dangerous territory for Amara and me to be alone and in close proximity, in my apartment. I'd been there before and I didn't like the ending. I wasn't going to be fooled twice. The loose thread that my patience was previously hanging from would snap the longer I stayed with her and I would either end up killing her or doing something else entirely. Something about Amara was just… so very tempting. But there was no room for that kind of temptation in my life anymore, especially with Amara because she was a threat to my very being and sanity; the one person who got into my head and left my thoughts scrambled, the one person who had that power over me. Forcing myself to shut down all those thoughts, I entered my room and flicked the lights off before getting in bed. As I lay there, shifting from one position to another, staring at one thing or another, minutes bled into hours but no matter how hard I tried to fall asleep, a sense of unease began growing within me and gnawing at me. The thought that someone outside could be trying to break in to hurt Amara, the thought that someone could get to her before I could stop them; it haunted me. Eventually, I lost track of time and stayed awake in bed with all my senses heightened and completely on edge, almost waiting for the slightest creak or noise, the smallest excuse to get out of bed and rush to her. A soft groan escaped me as I threw the covers off and sat upright against the headboard, folding a knee in and resting my elbow on it. Throwing my head back, I closed my eyes and let out heavy breaths, trying to keep my composure despite the storm brewing within me. I didn't know, didn't understand what I was feeling or why I was feeling that way. Uneasy, just so fucking uneasy and restless. Every bone in my body was telling me to stay by her side and I hated it. I hated myself for reacting the way I was, for allowing her to ignite such emotions within me that nobody else ever could, for giving her such power over me. Never in my life had I felt such a sense of possessiveness for someone. Nobody could haunt me the way she did. And I couldn't decide who I hated more for it, her or myself. Suddenly, I went completely still as a small noise reached my ears and I knew within a moment that it was the sound of a door opening and then softly closing with a light click. While I couldn't make out the sound of any footsteps, I knew that someone was walking outside and then I heard another door open but this one never closed. Getting out of bed, I instinctively reached for the gun in my nightstand and kept it ready in one hand as I walked out and silently shut the door behind me. As I stepped forward, I noticed that the guest room door at the other end of the hall was closed but the balcony door right in between both rooms was left open just an inch. Pulling the curtain away, I looked through the glass door and saw Amara standing there with her hands braced on the railing as she stared ahead at the city skyline. She almost gave me a fucking heart attack. I couldn't help the small sigh of relief that escaped me and I stepped back, tucking my gun into my waistband. Lingering in the hallway for a few minutes, I contemplated going outside or leaving her in her personal space. But she was in my apartment, on my balcony goddamn it. And the risk and dread that pooled within my stomach at the idea of leaving her alone came back in full force, just as quickly as it subsided. As quietly as I could, I opened the door and stepped out, taking the spot beside her and bracing my hands on the railing as she did. An almost exhausted sigh escaped her as she noticed me out of the corner of her eye. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" she asked softly. I turned to look at her and swallowed. Because the thought of it terrified me. How do I tell her that? "You woke me up," I lied, "you were awfully loud." She scoffed lightly in disbelief and shook her head. "Your senses are simply heightened," she stated, "you don't want to leave me alone. At least admit it." "Admit what?" "You're afraid." "I'm not afraid." She glanced at me but didn't argue back. The longer I stared at her, the more evident the tear stains on her cheeks grew. Her gaze dropped to the ground as she inhaled shakily, avoiding my gaze to hide the tear that slipped down her cheek. Pausing, I turned and inclined my body towards her, tugging at her arm and forcing her to do the same. I reached up to wipe the tears away but she shot my arm down with an annoyed click of her tongue. Catching her hand in my own, I shot her a pointed look until she caved in and let me wipe those tears. Lightly wiping them away with the pad of my thumb as I held her cheek, I couldn't help but whisper, "Let me keep these." Running a frustrated hand through her hair, she turned to face the view again. "Are you scared?" I asked, my tone void of any taunts or threats. My question was genuine and I hoped her answer would be too. "I'm exhausted," she replied. "Every time I want to work on this case, things start to go wrong and I have to stop. I can't stop this time, no matter what. I have to finish it." I couldn't understand how a mere case could be more important than her own life. "Is it worth risking your life?" I questioned. "It is," she answered without any hesitation. "I owe it to someone." "To try?" "To win," she retorted. "But you make it all the more difficult, Mr. Harper," she exhaled, turning to face me again. "Why do you want to kill me? Don't you think I at least deserve to know why? It can't be something as small as the Ambrose case and I refuse to believe you lost your patience and decided you didn't want competition anymore. It's something else and you won't tell me." "Wouldn't I be the fool if I told you my motives? Isn't it enough for you that I'm waiting like you asked me to? In fact, I shouldn't wait for you at all," I scoffed lightly, facing ahead and grabbing the railing once again. "Haven't I already made that mistake once?" I mumbled, mostly to myself. I didn't intend for her to hear it or not to hear it, I simply said what crossed my mind. "Tristan…" she said. "Not talking about it won't change what happened, Amara," I told her, "we can pretend otherwise if you want." "You don't know what happened," she reasoned. "And whose fault is that?" I met her eyes. She inhaled deeply and shook her head again. "It's not something for you to know." "Then my motives are not for you to know either," I responded. "What you should know," I paused, turning toward her again, "is that as long as someone else in this world is coming after you, I will not kill you. If there is anyone who tries to kill you, I will only rescue you. I can give you my word for it. I will save you." "Why?" she asked, genuinely seeming confused. "Because the only game, the only life I'm willing to live and accept is one where you stand across from me, as my competitor, as my equal. It is always going to be us against each other but if there is ever an enemy that you have to face, I will make sure you don't have to do it alone." She stared at me silently, trying to get a read on me but the look on her face told me that she couldn't. My words only left her puzzled. "The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, Malyshka," I explained, "your enemies are mine to kill. Because I refuse to allow someone else the pleasure of killing you." "Why? Why are you so adamant about that, Tristan?" she sighed. "Because nobody haunts me like you do," I told her, holding her gaze. "And if I'm the one you haunt, I'm the one who gets to take my revenge on you." She lifted her brows lightly. "You call this revenge? You say you'll kill me but all you've done is save me." "Don't take it for granted. One day my gun will be pointed at you and that day, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger." We both fell quiet simply watching each other for several moments until I broke that silence. "You don't realize that only you have the right to kill me, Amara. Nobody else. I would never allow it, never accept defeat if you weren't the one at the other end of it. So, this works both ways, Malyshka. Only I have the right to kill you. Your life is mine as mine is yours." "And you will take it? My life?" "I have every intention to," I confirmed, taking a small step away from her. "Go back to bed. You only have a few hours left here." . . . . . Chapter 25