Chapter 5: Stay with Me
1405 Words
Amara did not sleep.
She lay on her bed with the folder beside her, staring at the ceiling while the city lights moved across the wall. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the man in the alley. She heard Alexander’s voice.
They’re watching.
Her phone buzzed at exactly 6:00 a.m.
She grabbed it quickly.
Come downstairs. Now. – Alexander
She sat up. “What now?”
Still wearing her night clothes, she rushed to the window and looked down.
A black car waited outside her building.
Alexander stood beside it.
Even from above, he looked calm and dangerous. One hand in his pocket. The other was holding his phone.
Her heart beat faster.
She hated that it did.
Ten minutes later, she stepped outside.
Alexander looked at her from head to toe. His gaze paused on her loose hair and sleepy face.
“You came fast,” he said.
“You said now,” she replied. “Again.”
He opened the car door for her. “Get in.”
Amara crossed her arms. “You don’t say please?”
“No.”
“You don’t explain anything?”
“No.”
She stared at him. “You’re impossible.”
“And yet, you’re still here.”
That answer made her chest tighten.
She got into the car.
He entered from the other side, and the driver pulled away immediately.
The silence inside the car felt heavy.
Amara turned to him. “Where are we going?”
“Safe place.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It’s enough.”
She scoffed. “You always talk like this? Short words. No feelings. No manners.”
He looked at her then. Really looked at her.
“If I start saying what I feel, you won’t be ready for it.”
Her breath caught.
The car suddenly felt too small.
She looked away first. “You talk nonsense.”
But her cheeks were warm.
They arrived at a private house outside the city.
Tall gates. Quiet road. No neighbors in sight.
Amara stepped out slowly. “Whose house is this?”
“Mine.”
She turned sharply. “You brought me to your house?”
“It’s safer here.”
“For who?”
“For you.”
His voice was calm, but something in it sounded real.
He led her inside. The house was huge but strangely empty. Clean walls. Large windows. Expensive furniture that looked untouched.
No family photos. No warmth.
It looked like a beautiful prison.
Amara placed the folder on the table. “So what now?”
“You stay here for a few days.”
She laughed once. “No.”
His jaw tightened. “This is not a request.”
“And I’m not your prisoner.”
She turned to leave.
He caught her wrist.
The touch shocked both of them.
Amara froze.
Alexander’s fingers loosened slightly, but he did not let go.
“Don’t,” he said quietly.
Her pulse raced. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
She stared at his hand around her wrist.
“Then let go.”
For a second, he didn’t move.
Then slowly, he released her.
The place where he touched her burned.
Later that afternoon, rain began to fall heavily outside.
Amara stood near the window, arms folded.
Alexander was across the room on a call, speaking in a low voice she could not hear clearly.
He sounded angry.
He ended the call and looked at her.
“You need to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
“You noticed?”
His expression did not change. “I notice everything.”
She swallowed.
“Why do you care?” she asked softly.
He walked toward her. Slow steps. Controlled steps.
When he stopped, only a small space remained between them.
“Because if anything happens to you,” he said, “everything changes.”
Her voice came out quieter than she wanted. “Why?”
His eyes dropped briefly to her lips, then returned to her eyes.
“Don’t ask questions you’re not ready for.”
The rain hit harder against the glass.
Neither of them moved.
Then the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Amara gasped.
Thunder cracked above them.
Without thinking, she grabbed his shirt.
His hands instantly came to her waist to steady her.
The silence that followed was louder than the storm.
She could feel his breath.
He could feel hers.
No distance. No coldness. No lies.
Just heat.
“Amara…” he said softly.
Her fingers tightened on his shirt.
“Yes?”
Another thunder strike shook the house.
She moved closer by instinct.
His hands held her tighter.
For one dangerous second, she thought he would kiss her.
And part of her wanted him to.
Then the lights came back.
They stepped apart immediately.
The moment broke.
But not the tension.
That night, she could not sleep again.
She walked into the kitchen for water and stopped.
Alexander was already there, sleeves rolled up, leaning against the counter.
He looked tired for the first time.
Humans.
“You don’t sleep?” she asked.
“Not much.”
“Why?”
“Too many things to protect.”
She poured water into a glass. “You always speak in riddles.”
“And you always ask dangerous questions.”
She took a sip. “Maybe I like danger.”
A small smile touched his lips. “I know.”
She stared. “You smiled.”
“It happens.”
“Rarely?”
“Very.”
She laughed softly.
The sound changed the room.
Alexander watched her like he had never heard laughter before.
Then his phone rang.
He checked the screen and the little warmth vanished from his face.
He answered immediately.
“What happened?”
Silence.
Then: “How?”
Amara’s smile faded.
He turned away, jaw hard.
“No one was supposed to know she was there.”
Her stomach dropped.
He ended the call.
“What happened?” she asked.
He looked at her with an expression she had never seen before.
Fear.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
“They found us.”
Her hand tightened around the glass. “Who?”
Before he could answer, a loud crash came from outside.
Then another.
The front gate.
Someone was forcing it open.
Amara’s breath stopped.
Alexander grabbed her hand.
“Come with me.”
They ran through the hallway as alarms began to sound.
Red lights flashed across the walls.
“Alexander!” she cried. “What is happening?”
“No time.”
He pulled her into a hidden room behind a bookshelf.
The wall closed behind them.
Amara stood in the dark, shaking.
Voices echoed somewhere outside. Heavy footsteps. Men shouting.
She turned to him. “How did they know?”
His silence answered before his mouth did.
Slowly, Amara’s eyes widened.
“No…”
He said nothing.
“No,” she repeated. “You said no one knew I was here.”
His jaw tightened.
Then he spoke.
“One person knew.”
“Who?”
He looked straight at her.
“Jenny.”
The room spun.
“My coworker?”
“She’s not just your coworker.”
Amara stepped back. “What are you saying?”
His voice became colder than she had ever heard it.
“She works for them.”
The blood drained from Amara’s face.
“No. Jenny wouldn’t—”
“She gave them your location.”
Outside, gunshots echoed in the distance.
Amara covered her mouth.
Jenny. The smiling coworker. The girl who asked if she was okay.
The one person who seemed normal.
The one person she never suspected.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Alexander moved closer. “Listen to me. This is why I trust no one.”
Her voice broke. “Do you trust me?”
His eyes held hers in the dark.
Long. Intense. Honest.
“Yes.”
The single word hit harder than everything else.
More than fear.
More than betrayal.
More than the gunshots outside.
Amara’s lips trembled. “Then get us out of here.”
He reached for her hand again.
This time, she held on first.
And together, they stepped deeper into the dark tunnel beneath the house… not knowing what waited ahead.
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