CHAPTER 9 - THE TRUTH BETWEEN US.
1835 Words
“She’ll hate you.”
The words settled into the silence like poison.
Amara stood frozen between them, her father’s gun aimed directly at Lucian’s chest while Lucian stared back without fear.
No hesitation.
No panic.
Just that same dangerous calm that somehow made him even more terrifying.
And somehow—
More impossible to look away from.
Amara’s pulse pounded violently.
“What truth?” she demanded.
Neither man answered.
Her father’s finger tightened slightly against the trigger.
Lucian noticed.
Of course he did.
His gaze sharpened instantly.
“Think carefully before you do this,” he said quietly.
Her father smiled faintly.
“You think I won’t?”
“No,” Lucian replied. “I think you’ve wanted an excuse for years.”
The tension in the tunnel became unbearable.
Amara looked between them desperately.
“What is going on?!”
Her father’s expression darkened.
“You want the truth?” he asked softly.
“Yes!”
Lucian’s voice cut through sharply.
“No.”
Amara turned toward him instantly.
“No?” she repeated incredulously.
Lucian stepped slightly closer despite the gun pointed at him.
“You’re not ready.”
Anger flared immediately.
“You don’t get to decide that anymore.”
Something flickered in his eyes at her words.
Pain.
Quick. Barely visible.
But real.
Her father noticed it too.
And smiled.
“That’s the problem with caring about someone,” he murmured. “Eventually they stop obeying.”
Lucian’s gaze turned lethal.
“Say what you need to say.”
“Oh, I plan to.”
Amara’s chest tightened.
Because suddenly she understood something horrifying—
Both men had been waiting for this moment.
Her father lowered the gun slightly.
Not enough to stop being threatening.
Enough to speak.
“You think Lucian Kane found you by accident?” he asked.
Amara frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” her father said softly, “he’s been watching you for years.”
Silence crashed through her.
Amara turned slowly toward Lucian.
“What?”
Lucian didn’t answer immediately.
Which terrified her more than if he had.
Her heartbeat became uneven.
“Lucian…”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
The word hit hard.
Cold.
Unavoidable.
“You watched me?”
“It was my job.”
The answer shouldn’t have hurt.
But it did.
Her father laughed quietly.
“Careful,” he said. “That sounds too innocent.”
Amara’s stomach twisted.
“What aren’t you saying?”
Her father’s eyes remained fixed on Lucian.
“He was assigned to protect you.”
Amara blinked.
“What?”
Lucian’s expression darkened instantly.
“That’s enough.”
But her father continued.
“After the fire, your enemies kept searching for you. So I made sure someone stayed close enough to eliminate threats before they reached you.”
Amara’s breathing slowed.
Not from calm.
From shock.
“You were protecting me?”
Lucian finally looked at her fully.
“Yes.”
The word landed differently this time.
Not cold.
Not calculated.
Real.
Her father smiled faintly.
“The interesting part?” he said softly. “He was never supposed to get attached.”
Silence.
Amara’s pulse stumbled.
She looked at Lucian again.
And suddenly every moment replayed differently in her mind.
The way he always noticed danger first.
The way he watched her.
Protected her.
Touched her like losing her wasn’t an option.
Her chest tightened painfully.
“How long?” she whispered.
Lucian held her gaze.
“Since you were eighteen.”
Her breath caught sharply.
Years.
He had been there for years.
Watching her.
Protecting her.
And never saying a word.
“You lied to me,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt worse.
Her father stepped closer slowly.
“He was supposed to stay detached,” he said. “Professional. But then he started killing people without permission.”
Lucian’s expression became deadly.
“Careful.”
But her father kept going.
“For you.”
Amara stared at him.
“What?”
“There were men who got too close to you,” her father said calmly. “Men who asked questions. Men who threatened exposure.”
Her stomach dropped.
“And Lucian eliminated them.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Horrifying.
Amara looked at Lucian slowly.
“You killed people… because of me?”
His eyes never left hers.
“Yes.”
No apology.
No hesitation.
Just truth.
Her chest tightened violently.
Because part of her should have been terrified.
But another part—
The dangerous part—
Couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he had done all of that for her.
Lucian stepped closer.
“Before you judge me,” he said quietly, “understand something.”
His voice lowered.
“There are monsters looking for you.”
The intensity in his eyes trapped her instantly.
“And every time one got close,” he continued, “I made sure they disappeared.”
Amara’s breath became uneven.
Her father watched them carefully.
Then smiled slowly.
“There it is.”
Lucian’s gaze snapped toward him.
“Shut up.”
But it was already too late.
Because Amara felt it too.
That dangerous pull between fear and attraction.
Between anger and trust.
It terrified her.
Another tremor shook the station suddenly.
Concrete cracked above them.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
The tunnel was becoming unstable.
Her father glanced upward briefly.
“We don’t have much time.”
Lucian ignored him completely.
His attention stayed locked on Amara.
“You need to come with me.”
Her father laughed softly.
“That’s not happening.”
“She’s not safe with you.”
“And she’s safe with the man obsessed with her?”
Silence.
Amara’s heart stopped.
Obsessed.
Lucian’s expression hardened instantly.
“Watch your mouth.”
Her father smiled wider.
“You think she hasn’t noticed?”
Amara looked at Lucian.
Really looked at him.
The tension in his body.
The way he kept positioning himself between her and danger.
The possessiveness he barely controlled.
And suddenly—
She realized something terrifying.
Her father might not be wrong.
Lucian saw the realization cross her face.
Something dark flashed in his eyes.
“Don’t,” he said quietly.
But she had already seen it.
The truth beneath his control.
The thing he kept trying to bury.
A loud explosion echoed somewhere deeper in the tunnels.
The ground shook violently.
Cracks spread across the walls.
Her father’s men shouted from farther down the corridor.
“We need to leave now!”
Lucian grabbed Amara’s wrist immediately.
“We move.”
This time she didn’t pull away.
And that alone felt dangerous.
They moved quickly through the narrow passage while debris continued falling around them.
Her father walked ahead with several armed men while Lucian stayed close behind her.
Too close.
Every few seconds his hand touched her back.
Her waist.
Her arm.
Always guiding.
Always checking.
Always there.
Amara hated how aware of him she had become.
The tunnel narrowed sharply ahead.
Lucian moved closer behind her to help her through the tight space.
His chest brushed lightly against her back.
Heat rushed through her instantly.
Her breathing faltered.
Lucian noticed.
Of course he did.
His hand settled briefly against her waist.
Steadying.
Protective.
Dangerously intimate.
“You okay?” he asked quietly near her ear.
The low sound of his voice sent chills down her spine.
“Yes,” she whispered.
A lie.
Nothing about this felt okay anymore.
Because despite everything—
Despite the lies—
Despite the blood on his hands—
Her body still reacted to him.
And that scared her.
The tunnel finally opened into another underground chamber.
Larger.
Cleaner.
More modern.
Vehicles waited near the far wall.
Her father stopped walking.
“This is where we separate.”
Lucian immediately stepped beside Amara.
“No.”
Her father’s expression hardened.
“You don’t decide.”
Lucian’s voice lowered dangerously.
“I do if you want to keep breathing.”
The armed men around them immediately raised their weapons slightly.
Tension exploded again.
Amara stepped between them before either could move further.
“Stop.”
Neither listened.
Her father looked at her softly.
“Come with me, Seraphina.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened visibly at the name.
“You don’t even know him anymore,” she said carefully.
“I know enough.”
“And what exactly is that?” Lucian asked coldly.
Her father’s eyes shifted toward him.
“That you fall in love too easily.”
Silence.
Dead silence.
Amara’s heart stopped.
Lucian’s expression went completely still.
Which somehow confirmed everything.
Her father smiled faintly.
“There it is.”
Amara looked at Lucian slowly.
And for the first time—
He looked away first.
Her breath caught.
Because Lucian Kane never looked away.
Not from danger.
Not from threats.
Not from anyone.
But he couldn’t hold her gaze now.
And that told her more than words ever could.
The realization hit her hard.
Too hard.
Because something inside her responded instantly.
Something dangerous.
Something she should have killed immediately.
Instead—
Her pulse raced faster.
Lucian finally looked back at her.
And whatever he saw in her face made his expression darken.
“Amara.”
Not Seraphina.
Amara.
The name sounded different in his voice.
Personal.
Real.
Her father noticed that too.
“You gave her a new name,” he said softly.
Lucian’s gaze remained locked on hers.
“She chose it.”
“No,” her father replied. “You wanted her to belong to your world.”
Lucian stepped forward slightly.
“And you wanted her buried in yours.”
Silence snapped tight again.
Amara suddenly felt exhausted.
By the secrets.
The tension.
The impossible pull between them all.
“I’m not choosing anyone right now,” she said quietly.
Her father’s expression softened slightly.
“You will.”
Lucian’s eyes never left hers.
“Not tonight.”
The certainty in his voice wrapped around her dangerously.
Then—
Gunfire exploded above them.
Everyone froze instantly.
More shots followed.
Closer this time.
One of her father’s men rushed forward.
“They found the lower entrance!”
Chaos erupted immediately.
Weapons raised.
Orders shouted.
Lucian grabbed Amara’s hand instantly.
“We’re leaving.”
Her father stepped forward sharply.
“She comes with me.”
“No.”
Both men looked ready to kill each other again.
Then—
A bullet tore through the chamber.
One of the guards dropped instantly.
Another shot followed.
Closer.
Lucian reacted immediately.
He pulled Amara hard against him, turning his body to shield hers completely.
The force of the movement slammed her against his chest.
His arm wrapped tightly around her waist.
Protective.
Possessive.
Real.
Another gunshot cracked through the chamber.
Then suddenly—
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
People shouted.
Weapons clicked.
And in the chaos—
Amara felt Lucian’s hand tighten around hers.
Then his mouth brushed briefly against her ear.
And he whispered—
“Don’t let go.”
- Writer
