Page 13 of Nemesync
Breathe Z, breathe.
“I am looking for those men too. Why are you interested in them? I thought they were part of yours,” I asked, struggling to control the flood of memories that were threatening to bring back the images from those days I’d rather forget.
The ghosts of the past sneaked into my mind, but I couldn’t afford to let them haunt me now, not when I needed every ounce of my focus.
Nikolai seemed to enjoy my question. “They have never been ours. To be honest, they are everything we hate. We don’t kill women, don’t worry. Especially when those women are just children.”
My fist clenched on the table, and I noticed amusement in the eyes of the man sitting across from me. “What do you expect from me?”
I was really starting to feel the fatigue setting in, and the lack of energy was taking effect, but I didn’t pay much attention to that.
“We would like to ally with you to use your gift. You know, you are known in the industry. The Dellé girl with doe eyes who helped her father catch liars. We want to have the same chance and find the bad guys and liars too.”
“You can still punch them to death and find out yourselves who the liars are. What do I get in return?”
“It’s up to you to say what you want,” Nikolai replied, amused, while the other man smirked, clearly entertained by our conversation.
What I wanted? Hell on earth for them.
A death so agonizing and tormented that they would beg for the end to come sooner. I needed to hear the long silence in their graves. But more than anything, I craved the moment of taking my own tormentor’s life—his suffering would be my only peace.
“I want one of the men only. One will be enough if we find them. And I want you to leave him to me.”
Nikolai raised an eyebrow in surprise, while the psycho continued to stare at me. “That can be arranged,” he finally agreed.
Those words filled me with a sense of vindication.
I could finally take revenge.
“I would’ve liked to agree so easily, but I think my father doesn’t necessarily appreciate you. So, it’s going to be complicated for me to make an alliance with his enemies without risking a lot.”
Nikolai stood up from his seat, hands in his pockets, while his friend remained silent, eyes fixed on me.
He never looked away—not when I caught him, not when Niko spoke. Not for a single second did he break his gaze. He watched me obsessively, analyzing every breath I took, every blink of my eyes, every movement of my lips, scrutinizing my very existence.
I was his sole focus in that room.
And I was hyper-aware of it. The scariest part was how natural it felt, as if he had always been watching me, lurking in the shadows. It was disturbingly normal, like this constant surveillance was simply a part of my life.
The psycho might have been my stalker in another life.
“I know. That’s why I wanted to make sure first that we were on the same page about this. For the rest, don’t worry. I promise you my protection and that of my entire clan if you help us in this quest. Against any enemy, we will be there,” Nikolai assured me, his voice filled with conviction.
He seemed sincere. His eye contact was steady, his speech was smooth without a hint of stuttering, no signs of sweating, and his shoulders relaxed.
Okay, so he’s not lying.
He really didn’t want anything to happen to me. What I don’t understand is why me? Why them? What did Nikolai of the Zennites and his colleague want so much to the point where they would recruit me, the daughter of one of their biggest enemies?
“I’ll think about it; give me a few days,” I replied.
I rose from my seat, but before I could comprehend what was happening, I stumbled, only to be caught by Nikolai’s large hand. “Hey, what’s happening? I hope Elijah didn’t do anything wrong by bringing you back,” he reassured me with a hint of humor, trying to ease my discomfort.
I attempted to regain my composure, but even at this moment, the first thing I thought about was that now I had a name. So, his name was Elijah?
Nikolai straightened me up, but I found myself unable to stand any longer. I started to lose my sense of hearing; cold sweat began to trickle down my skin.
I felt him starting to panic, but my hearing was weak and I was too exhausted to focus. He turned toward Elijah and whispered something, while I just let go, dizzy and tired, “You know her better. What’s happening?”
