Page 146 of Nemesync
Breathe Z, breathe.
He prepares his drink, methodically rolling up his sleeves one by one, neatly folding them above his arms.
With a casual flick, he loosens his tie before lifting the glass to his lips for a sip. Then, he pivots towards me, his hands resting on the counter, his eyes burning.
He finally breaks the silence, “Do you want to kill me?”
I can feel the anger radiating from him like molten lava, but there is something else in his eyes, a mix of fear and frustration.
I take a deep breath, preparing myself for this Elijah.
“You think you can just vanish like that? Do you understand what could have happened, Zanae?” he continues.
I wasn’t weak. Not physically at least. Never. I trained, fought, killed. Weakness was never an option. It enraged me that he thought I couldn’t protect myself.
“Stop talking to me like I need protection every time I put a foot outside. I’m capable of defending myself.”
He lets out a humorless chuckle. “Oh really? Show me, then. If you’re so capable, show ME!”
I shoot him a perplexed look. “What does that mean, Elijah? What is your problem? I fought before you. I was alone beforeyou. And I haven’t even had a chance to explain where I was or what I did.”
His gaze is cold, challenging even, “Explain, then. I’m listening.”
I start explaining about the help, the faces pictures and the footage surveillance but Elijah cuts me off. “You kept this from me? How am I supposed to protect you if you keep secrets? I can’t read your freaking mind Zanae.”
“It’s not about keeping secrets, Elijah. It’s about handling things on my own.” I reply, my tone louder.
His jaw clenches, his tone so low, “This is not something to handle on your own! You’re being reckless, you’re taking fucking risks without fucking thinking about it.”
“And you’re being controlling, Elijah. I really don’t like this,” I shout back at him.
Gritting his teeth, he retorts, “Don’t piss me off, Zanae. Don’t push me to my limits.”
“Or what?”
He chuckles darkly, “Keep your tone lighter, Zanae, before I fuck this whole insolence out of you so hard that you won’t be able to get out of my sight again.”
I’m speechless. And he continues with the same tone, “Is that what you want? My madness? Because I will show you just how insane I can be when you’re in danger. You’ll learn the hard way never to lie to me again.”
Is he threatening me?
“You don’t want to do something you might regret, now, would you Volkov?”
“You’re just fucking testing me.”
He paces back and forth in the living room, and I can’t do anything else than just watch him closely, witnessing how stressed he is.
Maybe I should’ve told him.
Not that I regret giving Brian a chance, but more so for not telling Elijah about it. The thing is I’ve never been taken seriously before, even if I was always helping my dad, even if I was literally a fucking human liar detector, no one ever took me seriously.
Maybe Elijah trusted my talents and my capacities?
“You think you can play with your life like this Zanae? Are you aware that your father may try to come after you? That the people you helped him get rid off may come after you? Do you understand that someone is threatening you?”
“I just wanted to do something on my own, don’t you dare think I’m not capable of doing it alone.”
He takes a step closer to me, his eyes flashing with frustration. “I never thought you weren’t capable of that, you’re my greatest weakness Zanae, that says a lot about how dangerous you can be.”
