CHAPTER 10THE NIGHT SHE STOPPED RUNNING
1255 Words
“I won’t stop next time.”
The words stayed inside the car long after Anik said them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Impossible to ignore.
Rain hammered against the windows while the city blurred past outside in streaks of silver and red light, but inside the vehicle, the atmosphere felt suffocatingly intimate.
Elara couldn’t stop staring at him.
Maybe because she finally understood something terrifying.
Anik Varren wasn’t dangerous because he lacked emotions.
He was dangerous because of how deeply he felt them.
And tonight—
She had become one of them.
That realization wrapped around her chest like fire.
Anik sat beside her in silence, his posture still tense, blood staining part of his dark shirt near the shoulder wound he kept pretending didn’t exist.
Every few seconds his eyes shifted toward the mirrors.
Checking.
Watching.
Calculating.
Always alert.
Always ready.
“You really think they’re still following us?” Elara asked quietly.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
Just certainty.
That should have frightened her more than it did.
Instead, she found herself watching the sharp line of his jaw again.
The exhaustion hiding beneath his composure.
The restraint.
God.
Even after everything tonight, she still wanted to touch him.
Something was seriously wrong with her.
Anik suddenly caught her staring.
The second their eyes locked, tension tightened instantly between them.
There it was again.
That unbearable pull.
Like every glance between them carried too much meaning now.
“You should stop looking at me like that,” he muttered quietly.
Elara swallowed slowly.
“I don’t even know how I’m looking at you.”
“Yes, you do.”
His voice lowered slightly near the end.
Rougher.
More dangerous.
The car slowed near an empty intersection before turning down a darker road lined with old industrial buildings.
Elara frowned.
“Where are we going?”
“A safe house.”
The answer should have comforted her.
Instead it only raised more questions.
Because normal people didn’t have safe houses.
Normal people didn’t have armed men waiting downstairs.
Normal people didn’t move through violence like breathing came naturally.
And yet somehow—
She still trusted him.
That realization scared her more than anything else tonight.
The car finally stopped in front of an abandoned-looking warehouse near the harbor.
Rain crashed violently around them now.
One of the men in front stepped out first, scanning the area carefully before opening Anik’s door.
“Clear,” he said immediately.
Anik nodded once before looking at Elara.
“Stay close to me.”
Something about the way he said it made her heartbeat quicken.
Not because it sounded commanding.
Because it sounded instinctive.
Like protecting her had become automatic.
Elara stepped out beside him into the freezing rain.
The warehouse looked empty from outside.
Dark.
Silent.
But the second they entered—
Lights flickered on automatically.
Her breath caught.
The inside was nothing like she expected.
Modern.
Luxurious.
Hidden beneath the abandoned exterior like a secret world.
Anik walked ahead of her, speaking quietly into another phone while one of the guards disappeared upstairs.
Elara stood near the center of the room trying to process everything.
Then she noticed something strange.
Photographs.
Maps.
Security screens.
Weapons.
Cold realization slid through her chest.
This wasn’t just a safe house.
This was a command center.
Anik ended the call before turning toward her again.
“You’ll stay here for now.”
“For now?” she repeated carefully.
“Yes.”
“How long?”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“As long as necessary.”
Frustration flared immediately.
“You still won’t tell me what’s actually happening.”
“Elara—”
“No.”
She stepped toward him.
“People are trying to kill us. They broke into my apartment. They attacked your penthouse. Someone ended up dead tonight.”
Her voice shook slightly near the end.
Not from weakness.
From pressure.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
“And I still don’t even know who you really are.”
Silence followed instantly.
Anik stared at her for several long seconds.
Then slowly—
Something inside his expression shifted.
Not coldness.
Resignation.
Like he knew this moment was inevitable.
“You really want the truth?”
Elara held his gaze.
“Yes.”
Big mistake.
Because the look in his eyes darkened immediately.
“The truth ruins things.”
“Maybe I’m tired of being protected from it.”
Another dangerous silence filled the room.
Then Anik walked toward her slowly.
One step.
Then another.
Until once again there was barely any space left between them.
The air changed immediately.
Warmer.
Heavier.
Every nerve in Elara’s body reacted instantly.
“You should stop asking questions you aren’t ready to hear answers to.”
His voice came low.
Almost intimate.
Elara’s pulse stumbled.
“And if I am ready?”
God.
Wrong thing to say.
Because suddenly his attention shifted completely.
No more distractions.
No more distance.
Just her.
Anik lifted one hand slowly.
This time he actually touched her face.
Softly.
Barely.
But the second his fingers brushed her skin—
Elara stopped breathing properly.
The tension between them exploded instantly.
His thumb moved lightly near her jaw while his eyes searched hers carefully.
Like he was trying to decide something dangerous.
“You need to understand something about me,” he said quietly.
Her heartbeat thundered inside her chest.
“What?”
The look in his eyes turned darker.
“When I want something…”
His voice lowered further.
“…I stop thinking rationally.”
Heat rushed through her immediately.
Because she knew exactly what he meant.
Knew exactly who he was talking about.
Anik’s hand remained against her face.
Warm.
Possessive.
Gentle in a way that somehow made him even more dangerous.
Elara whispered before she could stop herself:
“And what is it that you want?”
Big mistake.
A very big mistake.
Because the control in his eyes finally cracked completely.
His breathing changed instantly.
Slower.
Heavier.
And suddenly the atmosphere between them stopped feeling restrained.
Now it felt inevitable.
Anik leaned closer.
Close enough for her to feel his breath against her lips.
“Elara.”
Her name sounded wrecked coming from him now.
Like wanting her was physically destroying him.
Neither moved.
Neither looked away.
The world outside disappeared completely.
No rain.
No danger.
No blood.
Only this.
Only him.
Only the impossible tension pulling them together.
Anik’s fingers tightened slightly against her jaw.
Giving her one final chance to stop this.
She didn’t take it.
And judging by the dark look in his eyes—
That destroyed the last piece of restraint he had left.
Slowly—
Painfully slowly—
He lowered his mouth toward hers.
One inch away.
Then half.
Elara’s pulse exploded violently.
This was really happening.
After every warning.
Every fight.
Every attempt to stay away from each other—
They were finally crossing the line.
Anik’s lips barely brushed hers—
Then suddenly alarms exploded throughout the warehouse.
Both of them jerked apart instantly.
Red warning lights flashed across the walls.
One of the guards ran downstairs shouting urgently.
“Sir!”
Anik turned immediately, fury flashing across his face at the interruption.
“What?”
The guard looked pale.
“We found the leak.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Cold.
Deadly.
Anik’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Who?”
The guard swallowed hard before answering.
Then everything inside the room went silent.
Because the name he said next—
Was someone Elara recognized.
«“Your brother, Miss Voss.”»
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