Page 223 of Nemesync
They exchanged curious glances before taking a seat, giving me their full focus.
“Oh, okay, I’m listening, Little Z,” Niko said, grinning like a proud dad.
I began laying out everything – the connections, the faces, the pictures, the position of some of them.
They absorbed the details, their expressions shifting from curiosity to concern.
Elijah reacted to one picture, “Stop on this one.”
Pointing at the image on my tablet, I explained, “It’s an old picture. And that’s the woman we’re after, and a man who weirdly appears in every photo she is in. Notice the physicalproximity between them, almost touching. Normally, we keep a certain distance from strangers unless we share some kind of relationship with them.”
Niko tilted his head, curious, “What else do you see, Zanae?”
My eyes scanned the picture again, and I lost myself in analyzing every little detail to explain my thoughts to them. “The orientation of their bodies is so intimate. They are turned towards each other, like they’re focused on each other rather than on what’s happening around them.”What else, Zee?“The mirroring effect says a lot about their connection. Their gestures reflect each other, see how they’re both crossing their arms, they have the same head position too. They definitely know each other. And when I say know, I meanromantically.”
Elijah’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as he processed the information. “We’ve got to dig deeper into this. Zanae, this man is Lukas Contini, Naevio’s father.”
“That’s insane,” I muttered, my mind reeling at the revelation. “So, she’s really with the organization, the woman that’s after me works with them.”
“She definitely is a member,” Niko added.
I nodded, adding, “The thing is, she’s not just a singular enemy; she has connections that extend to Russia and Poland too. I found pictures of her at some gatherings with powerful people from all over Europe.”
We spent hours discussing every detail we had surrounding this woman, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful for having them by my side. It felt like I had finally found people who trusted me and my capabilities.
I was sitting next to Elijah with my legs on his lap, his arms gently stroking my thighs. “So, tomorrow’s the big day,” I said. “We finally get to snoop around Naevio’s father’s house.”
Elijah chuckled, “You’re going to be careful, right? No reckless moves.”
Niko raised an eyebrow. “She won’t, or we’re going to have to kill her ourselves.”
I grinned and put my hands underneath my chin to mimic innocence, “No worries, I’ll be an angel tomorrow.”
Niko laughed. “An angel with raised middle fingers isn’t exactly my definition of an angel, Little Z.”
“Well, maybe you’ve got the wrong definition. Is that why you keep calling Elijah your guardian angel?”
Elijah leaned against me while I kept my middle fingers up to Niko, and then he playfully bit my finger and then the shell of my ear.
“Elijah, what are you doing?” I asked, confused but amused.
He straightened up, leaning back in his chair as if nothing happened. “Just trying to make you shut up,Angel.”
“How dare you? I thought we were on the same team, Eli!” I whispered, feigning outrage.
“We are, baby,” he smiled, then took my hand and planted a kiss on the skin of my palm.
After a few more minutes, we decided to call it a night and head home.
“Early to bed, early to rise,” Nikolai replied as we headed outside the building, his arm around my shoulder. “After tomorrow, we’re going on vacation, guys.”
Elijah, a hint of a smile on his lips, added, “We don’t do holidays, Nikolai, we run the fucking city.”
I nodded and looked at Elijah. “Oh no, I would’ve loved to. I’ve always wanted to go to Colombia.”
“We’re going there,la mia ragazza, don’t listen to him. We’re going there like two besties, you and I. Maybe Ben if he’s less of an asshole than he already is.”
Elijah chuckled, pushing me closer with his arm around my waist. “Over my dead body, Nikolai.”
