CHAPTER 9. DON'T RUN
601 Words
Elena thought she was done with him for the night.
She was wrong.
The street outside the venue was quiet.
Too quiet.
She walked fast, heels hitting the pavement like she could outrun the feeling building in her chest.
Anger.
Frustration.
Something worse she refused to name.
Then—
A car slowed beside her.
No headlights flashing. No warning.
Just him.
Alessandro.
Rolling down the window like he hadn’t just turned her entire night into chaos.
“Get in,” he said.
Elena didn’t stop walking. “No.”
The car kept pace.
“Don’t start,” he warned.
“I said no.”
A beat.
Then he muttered, “You’re really going to make me do this?”
That made her stop.
Finally.
She turned slowly. “Do what?”
He opened the door and stepped out.
No suit jacket now. Shirt half open. Hair slightly messy.
Dangerous.
“Argue with you in the middle of the street,” he said. “Or drag you into the car myself.”
Elena stared at him. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re stubborn as hell.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Too bad.”
He walked closer.
She didn’t move back—but her breath hitched slightly.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
“You walked out like I said something wrong,” he said.
“You did.”
A pause.
Then quieter, rougher:
“Yeah,” he admitted. “I know.”
That threw her off.
Just for a second.
“You didn’t stop me,” she said.
His jaw tightened. “I should’ve.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Wrong.
A car passed behind them.
Neither of them moved.
“Why are you following me?” she asked.
He gave a short laugh. “You really asking that?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer again.
Too close.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly.
That should’ve been simple.
It wasn’t.
Elena shook her head slightly. “Go back.”
“No.”
“Alessandro—”
“Don’t.”
His voice dropped instantly.
Dangerous now.
Not playful.
Not teasing.
Something darker.
“Don’t say my name like that and expect me to listen.”
That made her freeze.
He looked at her for a long second.
Then softer—worse somehow:
“You walked out and I’ve been pissed off ever since.”
“That’s your problem.”
“Yeah,” he said. “It is.”
Silence again.
Closer now.
Too close.
Elena’s voice dropped. “What do you want from me?”
That stopped him.
Just for a second.
Then he exhaled sharply.
“I don’t know.”
Honest again.
Unstable.
She stepped back slightly.
That broke something in him.
His hand shot out—not grabbing her this time.
Just blocking her path.
“Don’t,” he said low.
“Don’t what?”
“Run from me like that.”
A beat.
Then softer—
“Not after tonight.”
Elena swallowed.
“You’re acting insane.”
He smirked faintly. “Yeah? Maybe.”
Silence.
The air between them was too charged.
Too close to snap.
Then he said it—quiet, rough:
“You’re the only thing in weeks that’s made me feel anything real.”
That landed.
Hard.
Elena didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t trust her voice anymore.
He stepped back first this time.
Like it cost him something.
“Get in the car,” he muttered.
She hesitated.
Then did.
And as the door shut—
Neither of them knew yet:
This wasn’t a chase anymore.
It was obsession.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD