Page 11 of Nemesync
I wasn’t insane after all.
He stood there, dressed casually in loose jeans, a tight T-shirt, and a leather jacket. Tall and imposing, the material hugged his frame so snugly that it appeared slightly stretched and semi-transparent. He smoked leisurely, his gaze fixed on me, and even from this half-sitting position on the SUV door, he seemed enormous.
“I’ll see what he wants. I’ll leave; be careful, and call me if there’s a problem, Bye.”
With those words, I made my way toward the exit, barely registering his presence at the café entrance.
Ignoring him, I continued, slipping my headphones back on and finishing my black coffee with outward calmness, though my heart raced inside. Seeing this man so many times in just a week felt too deliberate to just be a coincidence. Certainly not in my world.
The SUV pulled up and halted beside me as I walked, and the window rolled down. He sat on the other side, hand restingon the steering wheel, appearing entirely at ease in that relaxed seat.
“Get in the car,” he commanded.
So the watcher has a voice now?
I removed my headphones, taken aback by his voice and its authoritative tone. “Excuse me? Who are you?”
“Get in. I don’t have time for questions.”
In those moments, I regretted my father’s security.
“Why would I do that?”
He looked at me like I was the problem in this situation. “Because I asked you to.”
Yeah, obviously.
“Do you think that just by asking me something, I must comply? Leave me alone. I’m not in the mood for some asshole getting on my nerves.”
He slammed his door, got out of the car, and opened the passenger-side door. He stood in front of me, towering over me, his scent teasing my nostrils as his voice came out more threatening than before.
“I didn’t want to be here either; I had other important things to do, but my colleague didn’t have time to come himself, so I’m helping. Nikolai wanted to see you, so for the last time, get into this damn car before I throw you in the trunk.”
Who did he think he was? Did he think he could intimidate me with his gun dangling between his jeans and hip? I needed more to be afraid, and just because he looked at me with cold and mean eyes, didn’t mean I had to let him do it.
I approached him, stopping only a few centimeters away. My head reached his chest; I raised it and looked at him just as intensely, and said in a firm, calm voice, “Next time, you might want to ask nicely and politely. And never interrupt me, especially if I have my headphones on.”
He leaned in, a cold smirk curling his lips. “Next time, I’ll pick you up on my bike and make sure you stay glued to me; you won’t have any choice but to obey. And if you dare raise your voice at me again, I’ll teach you my kind of politeness.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse racing.
“Asshole,” I whispered before getting into the car.
“I heard that. Such a pretty mouth for someone so insolent.”
He slammed the door hard, got in, and we didn’t say anything for the entire journey.
The drive was long, I didn’t know where I was going, but the landscape through the window was beautiful and soothing. He was so at ease at the wheel, his back relaxed, one hand on his lap; he was clearly in his element driving.See that’s your problem Zanae, even now you’re just trying to analyze this man, he kind of kidnapped you...
I had my music on the whole time. It was important to me to always have this little sound going on. This connection with music always calmed me, and in this moment, I needed it more than anything.
Am I stupid for getting in the car? Of course, he could murder me and leave my lifeless body in the woods or anything.
No, he wouldn’t, I’d kill him before.
Who am I kidding, he could snap me in two in just a second.
I was lost in my thoughts when I suddenly noticed that we were arriving in a sort of dark parking lot beneath a building. Finally, we parked.
