Chapter 42: 30| Eyes-1

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Eyes ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ : Eyes (Tristan's POV) Amara fucking Milano. From the moment I left that restaurant, trailing behind her, I knew that the rest of my night and the rest of my days would be restless. She had become a constant in my mind, in my thoughts, in every breath I took; something I couldn't do without. I watched myself like an outsider as I helplessly grew more addicted to her with each passing day and there was absolutely fucking nothing I could do to stop myself. Inadvertently and unwantedly, I decided that things would change. I decided that I fucking wanted Amara in ways that I never allowed myself to. I craved her in ways that I never knew a person could be desired, in ways that overpowered and overwhelmed what I felt the first time, years ago. At some point, I started unraveling and the control began slipping from my grasp. When I watched her walk into that room full of men tonight, ready to gamble on her life, something within me was set ablaze and I couldn't fucking stand it. Still, I suppressed it and focused on bringing her out of there to a safer place. But as she sat across from me in that restaurant, I was aware of every inch of her as it brushed against me, aware of every charged second that passed between us. When I looked into her eyes, I couldn't help it. If she was hurt, even I didn't know how far I would go, the lengths I would cross to put an end to anyone who touched her. I would remove anyone who stood in her way, no matter what. Why does it have to be her? Everything stood in my way and all the odds were betting against us. I had every reason to give her up and do what I vouched to do instead. But I fucking want her. I bit down a sigh as I parked the car in front of her apartment building and turned it off, both of us sitting still in silence. After a beat, she unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed the door open. "Come upstairs," she said quietly, "we need to talk." Not wanting to give her a reason or enough time to change her mind, I took the keys and climbed out, following her in. She let out a breath, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes for a moment when all of a sudden, headlights flashed our way and a deafening horn blared at us. My hand shot out and grabbed her just in time as a car sped out of the lot, missing her by a few inches. A sharp gasp escaped her as she stumbled ahead, her body crashing into mine while she caught herself, gripping my arms. My gaze followed the car until it left the building and I felt my jaw tick, my body stiffen as annoyance and anger washed over me. Sighs escaped both of us as our eyes met before she withdrew from me, letting go but never stepping away. She held my gaze with doubt and questions swirling in them with a hint of inhibition. "No more games, Tristan," she said. "There are always games between us but not tonight." I watched her, trying to read her mind from the look in her eyes. I wanted that to stop between us. The mind reading, the unspoken words. I wanted to hear her voice. I wanted her to trust me, to talk to me. "No more games, Amara," I agreed, "not tonight." Nodding lightly, she headed up to her apartment and I followed along until she opened the front door and I shut it behind us. In the dimly lit apartment, she led the way upstairs, slowing down when she noticed I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "My office, Tristan," she called out without halting. I picked up the pace and trailed behind her, closing the door as she tossed her purse on the table and leaned back against it. "It's an arson case," she said after a minute, "three people were murdered. Not a single witness and no evidence against the list of official suspects, hence, the investigation led to a dead-end and the case went cold." I paused before asking the first question that came to mind. "Who were the victims?" "Leo and Julia Ricci along with their child. The name is undisclosed." "A son?" She shook her head. "A daughter. No older than five." I nodded in understanding as I stepped forward. "And what are you looking for, Malyshka?" "The killer," she answered. "Suspects?" "One too many," she huffed softly. "Progress?" "Barely." "Plan of action?" She hesitated for a moment but let up eventually. "I'm tailing a suspect tomorrow, hoping to find out more about him. Maybe find something that can link him to the case." She stood upright, running a hand through her hair. "Pick me up at nine tomorrow morning. We'll go together. For now, show yourself out." I lost my breath and my chest grew constricted, tighter with each step she took closer to me. At first, her arm brushed against mine when she passed me and I was now aware of every single inch keeping us apart. Then her fingers brushed against mine, twitching and reaching for my hand the way my hand naturally reached out to take hers. Suddenly, I knew I couldn't let her walk away tonight. While I still had the courage to admit what I felt, I had to tell her but I was never too good with words. Or perhaps words weren't enough to describe all the things she did to me. No words could suffice. I locked a single finger with hers just before she went out of reach and tugged her back as I spun around to face her, sighing her name, "Amara." I hated the effect she had on me and wanted nothing more than for it to stop. I wanted her out of my system, to lose the hold she had on me… or maybe I simply wanted her and couldn't admit it. "Tristan," she said, her voice soft as she stared up at me. "Make it stop," I told her, "whatever this is that you're doing to me." "I'm not doing anything," she said in confusion.