CHAPTER 4: The Way He Touched Her

Daniella could still feel Alexander’s fingers against her skin long after he stepped away from her.

One simple touch.

That was all it took to completely destroy her concentration.

She hated it.

Hated the way her pulse still raced even now as she stood near the fireplace pretending she wasn’t affected.

Alexander watched her carefully from across the room.

The storm outside continued crashing against the mansion windows while silence stretched heavily between them.

Charged silence.

The dangerous kind.

“You keep doing that,” Daniella said quietly.

Alexander tilted his head slightly. “Doing what?”

“Looking at me like you’re trying to figure me out.”

His eyes darkened slightly.

“Maybe I am.”

The honesty in his voice unsettled her.

Most men played games.

Alexander didn’t.

That somehow made him more dangerous.

Daniella folded her arms tightly across her chest trying to create distance between them emotionally.

“You don’t even know me.”

Alexander stepped closer slowly.

“No,” he murmured. “But I want to.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

Because for one reckless second, Daniella wanted that too.

A knock at the door shattered the moment instantly.

Marcus entered without waiting.

His expression was serious.

“Sir, there’s a problem.”

Alexander’s gaze remained on Daniella another second before finally turning toward Marcus.

“What happened?”

Marcus handed him a tablet showing security footage from outside the mansion gates.

A black SUV appeared briefly on screen before disappearing into the rain.

Alexander’s expression hardened immediately.

“That car’s been circling the property twice this morning.”

Daniella’s stomach tightened slightly.

Marcus continued. “We also found this.”

He placed a small silver object on the table.

Daniella froze instantly.

A necklace.

Her necklace.

The one she lost years ago.

Her father gave it to her before he died.

“How did you get that?” she whispered.

Marcus watched her carefully. “One of the guards found it near the north gate.”

Fear slid coldly through her chest.

That necklace should not be here.

She lost it the night her father died.

Alexander noticed the change in her expression immediately.

“You recognize it.”

Daniella swallowed hard before picking up the necklace with trembling fingers.

The silver cross felt cold against her skin.

“My father gave this to me.”

Silence filled the room.

Marcus and Alexander exchanged a quick look.

Dangerous and observant.

Alexander stepped closer carefully. “Why does that upset you?”

Because somebody had it all these years.

Because somebody was there that night.

Because nothing about this felt like coincidence anymore.

Daniella forced herself to breathe normally.

“I thought it was gone forever.”

Alexander studied her face for several quiet seconds before speaking again.

“You loved your father very much.”

The softness in his voice nearly broke something inside her.

“Yes.”

A painful silence followed.

Then unexpectedly…Alexander reached for her hand slowly.

Daniella’s breath caught instantly.

His fingers closed gently around hers, steadying the necklace shaking between them.

Warm and careful.

Intimate enough to make her heart ache.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said quietly.

The sincerity in his voice destroyed her balance completely.

Because murderers weren’t supposed to sound like that.

They weren’t supposed to comfort people.

They weren’t supposed to look at her with eyes full of concern.

Daniella quickly pulled her hand back before she completely forgot herself.

Marcus noticed everything.

His expression remained unreadable as he spoke again.

“There’s more.”

Alexander looked toward him sharply.

Marcus hesitated slightly before continuing.

“One of our men followed the SUV.”

“And?”

“It led to an abandoned warehouse downtown.”

Daniella’s stomach tightened instantly.

Warehouse.

That word alone dragged terrible memories from her childhood.

Alexander noticed the fear flashing across her face immediately.

“You know something.”

Daniella looked away quickly. “No.”

Another lie.

Alexander stepped closer again.

Too close.

“You keep lying to me.”

His voice remained calm.

But there was frustration underneath it now.

Daniella’s heartbeat quickened.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then explain it.”

The tension between them thickened painfully.

Marcus quietly moved toward the door. “I’ll prepare the car.”

The moment he left, the room felt smaller somehow.

More intimate.

Alexander’s attention returned fully to Daniella.

“Talk to me.”

The roughness in his voice unsettled her deeply.

Not demanding.

Almost pleading.

That made it worse.

Daniella shook her head slowly. “You shouldn’t care this much.”

Something dangerous flickered behind his eyes.

“And if I do?”

The question stole her breath.

Alexander stepped even closer now until barely inches separated them.

Daniella could feel his warmth.

Smell the faint trace of whiskey still lingering on him.

Everything about his presence made thinking difficult.

“You barely know me,” she whispered.

Alexander’s gaze dropped briefly toward her mouth before returning to her eyes again.

“I know enough.”

The air between them became suffocatingly charged.

Daniella’s pulse pounded violently.

Because the way he looked at her no longer felt like curiosity.

It felt like a desire slowly losing control.

And God help her…Part of her wanted him to touch her again.

Alexander lifted his hand slowly toward her face.

Daniella stopped breathing completely.

His fingers brushed softly against a strand of hair near her cheek before sliding lower and gentle.

“You should stop looking at me like I’m the enemy,” he murmured quietly.

Her chest tightened.

If only he knew.

Daniella forced herself to step back first.

Distance.

She needed distance.

“You don’t know anything about me,” she said softly.

Alexander’s expression darkened slightly at the retreat.

“No,” he admitted quietly. “But I want to.”

Again.

Those words again.

The sincerity behind them made her heart feel dangerously weak.

A sharp knock interrupted them before the silence could become unbearable again.

Marcus reappeared.

“The car’s ready.”

Alexander didn’t look away from Daniella immediately.

Neither did she.

Something invisible stretched tightly between them now.

Something neither of them fully understood yet.

And that terrified Daniella more than revenge ever had.