CHAPTER10 - DON'T LET GO
1878 Words
“Don’t let go.”
Lucian’s voice brushed against Amara’s ear just as darkness swallowed the underground chamber.
Then chaos exploded.
Gunshots echoed violently through the room.
Men shouted orders from every direction.
Someone screamed.
Another body hit the floor.
Amara’s heart slammed against her ribs as Lucian’s hand tightened painfully around hers.
“Stay close,” he ordered.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that only existed in dangerous men.
Another gunshot cracked nearby.
Lucian instantly pulled her lower beside him as bullets tore through the darkness above their heads.
The chamber smelled like smoke and blood now.
Fear crawled up Amara’s spine.
Not because she thought Lucian would let anything happen to her.
That was the problem.
She believed he wouldn’t.
And that terrified her more than the gunfire.
“Move,” Lucian said sharply.
He pulled her through the darkness with absolute certainty, like he already knew the layout of the room without needing light.
Of course he did.
Lucian Kane always knew the exits.
Always knew the danger.
Always stayed five steps ahead.
Amara stumbled slightly over debris.
Lucian caught her instantly.
His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against him before she could fall.
“You need to focus,” he muttered close to her ear.
“I’m trying.”
“No,” he said quietly. “You’re thinking.”
Her breath caught.
Because he was right.
Her mind wouldn’t stop replaying everything.
He’s been watching you for years.
He was never supposed to get attached.
Obsessed.
The words clawed through her thoughts relentlessly.
Another explosion rocked the chamber.
Concrete cracked loudly overhead.
Lucian cursed under his breath and pushed her against the wall, shielding her body completely with his own as debris crashed nearby.
Amara froze beneath him.
Too close.
Everything about him felt too close.
His chest pressed against hers.
One hand braced above her head.
The other still gripping his gun.
She could feel his breathing.
Steady despite the chaos.
Controlled despite the danger.
His face lowered slightly toward hers in the darkness.
“You hurt?”
The concern in his voice unsettled her more than anything else.
“No.”
Lucian stayed there for one extra second.
Like he was making sure.
Or maybe fighting himself.
Then—
A flashlight beam sliced through the darkness.
“There!”
Lucian reacted instantly.
Gunfire exploded again.
He grabbed her hand and ran.
They moved deeper into the underground tunnels while bullets ricocheted off the walls behind them.
Amara’s lungs burned.
Her heartbeat pounded.
But Lucian never loosened his grip.
Never slowed down.
Never let her fall behind.
Two armed men appeared ahead suddenly.
Lucian fired twice without hesitation.
Precise.
Effortless.
Both men dropped instantly.
Amara stared at him breathlessly.
The darkness in him should have horrified her.
Instead—
Her pulse reacted in a way she hated.
Lucian noticed her staring.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Amara frowned slightly.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re trying to decide whether you’re afraid of me.”
Silence.
Because she wasn’t.
And they both knew it.
Lucian’s expression darkened slightly at her silence.
Then he grabbed her wrist again and pulled her forward.
“Come on.”
The tunnels narrowed sharply ahead.
The sound of gunfire faded slightly behind them.
Not gone.
But farther away.
For now.
Lucian finally slowed near a rusted metal door hidden along the wall.
He punched in a code quickly.
The door clicked open.
He pushed her inside first.
The room beyond was small.
Dimly lit.
Safe.
At least temporarily.
Lucian entered immediately behind her and locked the door.
Silence fell heavily between them.
For the first time since the shooting started—
They were alone.
Amara leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
Lucian remained near the door, gun still raised slightly as he listened carefully for movement outside.
Everything about him remained tense.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
But now that the adrenaline had slowed—
She noticed something else.
Blood.
Dark stains covered part of his shirt sleeve.
Amara’s chest tightened.
“You’re hurt.”
Lucian glanced down briefly.
“It’s nothing.”
“That’s blood.”
“I noticed.”
The dry response irritated her instantly.
“Sit down.”
Lucian looked at her.
One dark eyebrow lifting slightly.
“That sounded like an order.”
“Maybe it was.”
For one brief second—
Something almost amused flickered across his face.
Then disappeared.
Still—
He sat.
Amara moved toward him carefully.
Lucian watched her every step.
Not suspicious.
Aware.
Always aware.
She crouched in front of him and grabbed his injured arm gently.
The second her fingers touched him—
His jaw tightened.
Not from pain.
Amara felt it immediately.
The tension.
The awareness.
Dangerous heat curled low in her stomach.
She ignored it.
Or tried to.
“You got shot?”
“Grazed.”
“That’s still a bullet.”
“I’ve had worse.”
Something about the casual way he said it bothered her.
“How many times have you been shot?”
Lucian looked at her quietly.
“Enough.”
The answer settled heavily between them.
Amara carefully pushed his sleeve higher.
The wound wasn’t deep.
But blood still covered his skin.
“You should’ve let me see this earlier.”
“I was busy keeping you alive.”
The words came out calm.
Matter-of-fact.
But something inside her reacted to them anyway.
Lucian watched her silently while she tore part of fabric from her sleeve and wrapped it carefully around his arm.
“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Her hands paused briefly.
Then continued.
Lucian’s gaze stayed fixed on her face.
“You should be angry with me.”
The words surprised her.
Amara looked up slowly.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me for years.”
“Yes.”
“You killed people because of me.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Yes.”
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Real.
Lucian leaned back slightly against the wall.
“You should hate me.”
But Amara didn’t answer.
Because that was the problem.
She didn’t.
And they both knew it.
Lucian’s eyes darkened slightly as realization flickered across her face.
“Amara.”
The way he said her name—
Low.
Careful.
Almost rough—
Sent heat through her instantly.
She looked away first.
“I don’t understand you.”
His voice lowered further.
“You’re not supposed to.”
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too warm.
Too intimate.
Amara finished tying the fabric around his arm and started pulling away—
Lucian’s hand caught her wrist instantly.
The contact froze both of them.
Neither moved.
His grip wasn’t painful.
Just firm enough to stop her.
To keep her there.
Amara’s pulse stumbled.
“Lucian…”
His eyes lifted slowly to hers.
Dark.
Unreadable.
Dangerous.
Yet somehow softer than before.
“You keep looking at me like you want answers,” he said quietly.
“And you keep refusing to give them.”
A faint shadow of a smile touched his mouth.
“That’s because the truth usually makes people leave.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because for the first time—
Amara realized he meant her.
Lucian’s thumb brushed lightly against her wrist before he seemed to realize what he was doing.
His hand tightened slightly instead.
Control returning.
But too late.
She had already felt it.
The gentleness.
The restraint.
The conflict.
“Did you ever plan to tell me?” she asked softly.
Lucian didn’t answer immediately.
“No.”
The honesty hurt.
“But then you met me.”
Something shifted in his expression.
Dangerously subtle.
“Yes.”
Silence stretched between them.
Thick.
Heavy with things neither of them should have been feeling.
Amara became painfully aware of how close she was standing between his legs.
How his hand still held her wrist.
How his gaze kept dropping briefly to her mouth before returning to her eyes.
Lucian suddenly released her.
Like he didn’t trust himself.
He stood abruptly and stepped away.
Distance.
Control.
Amara felt the loss of his warmth instantly.
And hated herself for noticing.
Lucian ran a hand through his dark hair roughly before turning toward her again.
“You should go with your father.”
The words shocked her.
“What?”
“He can protect you better than I can right now.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“No,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t.”
Amara stared at him.
“Then why say it?”
Lucian looked at her for a long moment.
Then—
“Because if you stay near me long enough,” he said softly, “eventually I stop making the right decisions where you’re concerned.”
Her breath caught.
The confession settled between them heavily.
Real.
Raw.
Dangerous.
A loud sound echoed outside the room suddenly.
Both of them froze instantly.
Lucian’s expression changed immediately.
Cold.
Focused.
Deadly.
He grabbed his gun.
“Stay here.”
Amara frowned.
“You seriously think I’m listening to that anymore?”
A faint shadow crossed his face again.
Almost frustration.
Almost admiration.
Then—
Another sound echoed outside.
Closer this time.
Footsteps.
Several.
Lucian moved silently toward the door.
Amara followed anyway.
He noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
But this time he didn’t tell her to stop.
The footsteps paused outside.
Silence followed.
Then—
A voice.
Low.
Calm.
Dangerously familiar.
“Lucian.”
Amara’s stomach tightened instantly.
Her father.
Lucian’s expression hardened.
“You brought company,” he said coldly.
Her father laughed softly from the other side of the door.
“You know me well.”
Amara moved closer beside Lucian.
“What does he want?”
Lucian didn’t look at her.
“You.”
The single word sent tension through the room instantly.
Her father spoke again.
“You can’t hide her forever.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened.
“Watch me.”
A pause.
Then her father’s voice lowered slightly.
“She deserves to know what happened the night of the fire.”
Amara’s breath caught.
Lucian went completely still.
And suddenly—
That terrified her.
Because he looked like a man hearing something he never wanted her to discover.
“What happened that night?” she whispered.
Lucian didn’t answer.
Outside the door, her father smiled audibly.
“There it is,” he murmured.
Silence stretched.
Then—
Her father spoke again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
“Ask him who carried you out of the fire.”
Amara frowned.
“What?”
Lucian’s grip on his gun tightened painfully.
Her father’s voice dropped lower.
“Ask him why your blood was on his hands long before tonight.”
The room went completely silent.
Amara turned slowly toward Lucian.
And for the first time since meeting him—
Lucian Kane looked shaken.
“What is he talking about?”
Lucian didn’t answer.
Didn’t move.
And that silence was answer enough.
Her heart started pounding violently.
Because suddenly—
She realized Lucian hadn’t just been protecting her.
He had been there from the beginning.
And whatever happened the night of the fire
He was part of it.
- Writer
