CHAPTER TWO -STAY CLOSE
1152 Words
The ride to Alexander Cain’s penthouse felt longer than it should have.
Amara sat in the back seat, clutching the suit jacket he wrapped around her like it was a shield. She could still feel the warmth from his body on the fabric. It didn’t calm her. It only made her more aware of how close she was to a man who could ruin her life if he ever learned the truth.
Alex watched her from the corner of his eye not staring, but observing. Studying her like she was an equation he needed to solve.
His voice broke the silence.
“What’s your full name?”
Her stomach tightened. “A…..Amara Lane.”
He nodded slowly. “Age?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Family?”
She hesitated. “Just my mother.”
“What does she do?”
“She’s sick,” Amara whispered.
Alex didn’t comment. His face didn’t soften, but it didn’t harden either.
The car turned into an underground garage. Everything looked expensive clean floors, sharp lights, private security every few meters. Amara shrank a little in her seat.
When the car stopped, the driver rushed around to open the door. Alex stepped out first, tall and solid, then turned and offered her his hand.
She stared at it for a moment.
Large palm. Strong fingers. Steady.
She hesitated, then placed her shaking hand in his. His grip closed around her gently but firmly, helping her out of the car.
“Try to walk,” he said. “You’re safe here.”
He had no idea how wrong he was.
As they walked toward the private elevator, Alex noticed her trying to hide her trembling.
“You’re scared of me,” he said almost casually.
Her breath caught. “No…..I mean”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Most people are.”
That didn’t help.
Inside the elevator, the doors slid shut. Amara felt the air change the space was too small, too quiet, too intimate. She tried not to look at him, but he was impossible to ignore.
Alex stood straight, hands in his pockets, eyes forward. The powerful type who didn’t need to say much to dominate a room.
But Amara felt his gaze shift to her.
“Why were you alone at the courthouse?” he asked. “No friends? No lawyer? No one to help you?”
She swallowed hard. “I… don’t have people like that.”
He studied her for a moment longer.
“You look like someone running from something.”
Her heart jumped painfully.
She quickly looked down. “I’m not running.”
But she was.
From the truth.
From the danger she accidentally stepped into months ago.
From the powerful people involved in the financial crime she witnessed.
And now she was trapped in an elevator with the man who unknowingly sat at the center of everything.
The elevator chimed softly as the doors opened to his penthouse. Amara stepped out and froze.
It was beautiful.
Floor-to-ceiling windows. A view of the entire city lit by rain. Clean, sharp furniture. Dark colors. Warm lights. It smelled like cedar and something expensive she couldn’t name.
She felt out of place.
Alex walked ahead, loosened his tie, then turned to her.
“Sit.”
It wasn’t a request.
Amara sat on the edge of the couch, hands clenched in her lap.
Alex stood in front of her, arms folded.
“Now,” he said, voice low but firm, “you and I need to understand what’s going on.”
Amara’s pulse quickened.
“When that photo hit the internet,” he continued, “you became tied to me. People will assume things. Reporters will dig.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“And I don’t like surprises.”
She felt sweat form on her palms. “I….I’m not trying to hide anything.”
He tilted his head. “Not intentionally. But you’re hiding something.”
Her breath hitched.
He moved closer.
“Your reaction to the crowd,” he said. “The way you froze. The way you kept looking over your shoulder.”
His voice softened, just a bit.
“That’s not a girl who just came to sign a contract marriage.”
Amara’s chest tightened.
He wasn’t wrong.
He was dangerously close to the truth.
But her voice came out small. “I’m just overwhelmed. That’s all.”
Alex leaned back a little, studying her.
“Fine,” he said. “Let’s say I believe that for now.”
Relief washed through her but only for a second.
“However,” he added, “until this storm passes, you’re staying here.”
Her head jerked up. “What? Here? With you?”
“Do you see another option?” he asked calmly.
She opened her mouth then closed it. There really wasn’t.
Alex turned away, walking toward the kitchen area.
“You’ll stay in the guest room,” he said over his shoulder. “And tomorrow morning, we go to my company headquarters together.”
Amara’s blood froze.
No. Not there.
Anywhere but there.
“I….I can’t go,” she stammered.
Alex turned. “Why not?”
Her throat tightened painfully. She couldn’t tell him the truth
That the people involved in the financial crime worked for his company.
That she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
That she was supposed to testify anonymously quietly in three weeks.
He stepped closer. “Amara. Look at me.”
She forced herself to meet his eyes.
“You’re not in danger with me,” he said quietly. “But you might be without me.”
Her breath shook.
He didn’t know how right he was.
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed again. He glanced at the screen, and his jaw tightened.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“One of my executive board members just resigned out of nowhere,” he said. “He’s connected to the investment deal that’s threatening the company.”
Amara’s heart dropped.
The same man she saw that night.
The same man whose voice still haunted her.
Alex continued, unaware of her panic.
“And now he’s vanished.”
Amara accidentally let out a tiny gasp.
Alex’s eyes snapped to her instantly.
“You know something,” he said quietly.
Her heart stopped.
This was it.
He felt it.
He sensed it.
Amara looked down, her voice barely a whisper.
“I…I don’t know anything. I swear.”
For a long moment, Alex just watched her.
Then, slowly, he walked closer sat beside her and spoke with unsettling calm.
“Amara,” he said, “whether you mean to or not, you’re part of something much bigger than you understand.”
Her hands shook uncontrollably.
“And until I figure out what and who is trying to destroy my company”
His voice lowered.
“you’re staying exactly where I can see you.”
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