Chapter 6 : The Attack
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HEMERA'S POV
I decided to treat myself at the fanciest restaurant I rarely get to eat at. It’s a French restaurant with the finest truffles, meats, and wines in town. I seldom get anything more than an appetizer or a drink here because it's more expensive, but why not treat myself today? I did essentially get threatened.
Despite my unease, it was a great meal topped with a delicious Creme Brulee that I was just finishing up when Nianor came in with someone behind him holding an umbrella up. Is that James? What are they doing here, and why is James holding an umbrella?
Nia removes his sunglasses and surveys the place before his eyes meet mine. I expected shock or something, but he just heads over to me with steely resolve. Like he's here on a mission.
"Mind if I sit down?" Nia asks, gesturing to the empty chair across from me, James close behind and still carrying the open umbrella.
Nia doesn't wait for my response and sits down. It seems he notices my reaction to James, and he gestures to him, saying, "I have a skin condition that makes sunlight harmful to me. No matter how much I insist I can hold it up myself, James refuses to let me."
My eyes flicker between them again, and I swallow thickly. Umm, okay...
"Um, hi?" I manage and instantly kick myself mentally.
Nia chuckles softly. "I apologize for infringing on your private lunch, but I needed to contact you immediately." The lightless instantly drops, and he's back to being serious.
"Telling me I either have a job or don't is that serious?" I raise a brow. This is not helping my anxiety.
He shakes his head. "No, this doesn't have anything to do with your employment. Well, I suppose it does, actually. James came to me earlier with news that your current employer gave you a counteroffer--"
"Seriously? You want me so badly that hearing me be given a counter offer brings you all the way here? How did you even know I was here, anyway?" I interject before he can finish his sentence. I am not in the mood for this shit today.
"I hacked into your phone to find your location," James replies bluntly.
Nia holds up his hand before I can rip James a new one. "Please, just listen to what we have to say first. I promise you, I would not have allowed him to do that if this weren't important."
I lean back and eye them both suspiciously. "You have sixty seconds."
"As I was saying, James heard rumors that your employers would attempt to kidnap you to stop you from taking the job I'm offering you." Nia states with the confidence of a thousand bulls.
I slowly blink at him in a way to say, 'the f*ck you just say?'
"I assure you, Hemera. I would never lie to you about this. I realize that it doesn't sound like much or that big a deal. However, I assure you that the 'rumors' James hears are seldom wrong. Nine times out of ten, he is correct. I don't think any of us want to risk the small chance of it being wrong."
I inhale sharply and flag down a waitress. "Hi, can I have a glass of wine, please? As fast as possible, too. Thank you!"
We all wait in silence while waiting for the waitress to come back. Thankfully it doesn't take too long, and they watch as I chug half the glass.
"Sorry, I am far too sober for this sh*t today." My laugh is full of anxiety, and I shake my head. "Fine, let's say I believe you. What do you plan on doing about it? Like why not call the police or some sh*t?"
Nia waits for me to finish my next sip before he continues. "The police would not do anything. I think you know how useless they can be. Furthermore, I am offering you a safe place to stay while our security guards take care of the problem."
"Uh-huh. Hang on, still far too sober." I flag the waitress down again and just ask for the whole bottle. If this sh*t keeps going, I'm gonna need it.
If either finds it weird or rude, they don't say anything.
"Ms. Kadis, I assure you we merely want to make sure you're safe," James says, breaking his silence.
"You two do realize how this all sounds, right? Like I'm picking up on some real sketchy vibes from you two." I make an odd gesture to them. I pick up my glass and take another long sip with my other hand. Yup, far too sober.
"I am well aware. I wish there was something I could do to help assure you that we just want to help, but I'm unsure if I could. All I can do is ask that you trust us." Nia says, emotion straining the words. He sounds genuine.
Of course, I haven't made it this far trusting randos that seem genuine.
"Yeah, no. I'm gonna need to see some concrete evidence that what you say is true. If you don't have that, we're done here." I don't wait for them to respond before picking up my things and paying the bill.
Before I can hand the waitress the money, Nia pulls out his wallet and hands the waitress a few fifties. "I'm sure this will cover the lunch expense and your tip." That will more than cover it!
"I can pay for myself." I retort, but the waitress is already gone with a hop in her step, though even if she weren't gone, I'm not sure I'd have the heart to take the massive tip away from her.
With the waitress gone, I turn to Nia and glare daggers at him. He's lucky I don't dabble in curses, but that's just bad juju waiting to happen in my book. "You don't seriously expect that I'll trust or believe you just because you paid my bill."
"Of course not. You're far too smart for that. And I'm not nearly stupid enough to believe for a moment that it would sway you. I won't force you, Hemera, but I strongly suggest you accept our help."
I lean in a little, adjusting my purse strap on my shoulder. "Or what? You'll make sure the kidnapping threat is genuine by sending in your own men so you can swoop in and play hero?"
As soon as I finish speaking, the brown in his eyes seems to fade, showing off a blood-red. If I didn't know better, I'd think that his pupils change from circles to cat-like slits. I swallow thickly and take a step back.
Nia pushes away from the table and almost seems to loom over me while James hurries to adjust the umbrella. "I won't force you, but insinuating that I would stoop to Orsova's level is entirely unnecessary. I wish you a good day."
I take another step back as he pulls away and dons the sunglasses again.
I numbly head out into the parking lot and fiddle with my keys. I can still feel Nia's gaze on my back. He hasn't driven away yet.
I jump as tires squeal on the pavement, and a large black van crashes over the curb and stops just in front of me. I yelp as I shift my grip to hold one of my self-defense keychains.
The van door slides open, and arms reach for me. However, Nia is already by my side and is pulling me to safety, hissing in pain.
With everything happening so quickly, I don't have much choice but let Nia drag me away while I snap, "Oh, come on! Enough of this! Tell your goons to back off!" Everyone ignores me, and the next thing I know, I'm inside their car, and James is speeding away from my would-be kidnappers. Nia sits across from me, huffing in pain.
I can't help but lean forward and push his hands away to find harsh red marks on his exposed skin. What's worse is that smoke is coming off the wounds. God, he wasn't lying about the condition, was he? I'm just not sure what condition would cause this type of reaction.
"Nia, are you okay?" I demand, forgetting about my situation entirely.
He nods and grabs a large travel mug, and chugs it down. The marks slowly stop smoking and fade away a minuscule amount. I gawk at the fast healing. The f*ck?
"Special medicine," Nia says, holding up the mug. "Never leave the house without it."
"I-wouldn't medicine for your skin condition be topical? You know, something that wouldn't be ingested and instead applied to the skin?" I sputter.
He clears his throat and shakes his head. "Do you believe me now?"
The recent events flood back to my mind at the question, and I eye him and James suspiciously. I can't believe I just let myself be distracted like that.
"How do I know you didn't just fake this entire thing?"
"Hemera, do you really think I'd fabricate this whole thing and risk my health just to get you?" Nia asks, absentmindedly scratching at the faint marks left from the sun.
"I-oh, um,"
"Further, what purpose would I have to do this? I have nothing against you, and I don't need money through ransom."
His reasons leave me quiet. I just lean back in the seat and mutely watch the scenery.
"Even if you needed the money, you wouldn't get anything," I mumble.
"What do you mean by that?" Nia inquires.
"I have no family. You'd have no one to contact for ransom." I retort.
Nia grows quiet, and the rest of the drive is silent.
After ten minutes, James pulls into a long driveway and stops in front of a moderately sized home.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"My home," Nia replies as he adjusts his hat. James has already come around with the umbrella and waits for Nia to get out of the car. "No one besides my family, James, and a couple others know of its location. You should be more than safe here. Don't worry, there are plenty of spare bedrooms for you."
I raise a brow and turn to the house. I'm not sure there'd be many spare bedrooms. However, before reaching the front door, James and Nia turn down a side path and open a door on the side of the house. Inside is a small mudroom and then a staircase down.
"Don't tell me you live in your parents' basement."
Nia chuckles and shakes his head. "No, but an understandable assumption. I live underground simply because it's easier to stop the sun from getting in. Come, I'll give you a general tour, and you can recover from the shock of recent events."
I nod mutely and follow him down to find a giant, lavish home. He has his own little mansion all underground. He and James quickly show me where the kitchen and bathroom are, the living room, and where I'll be staying.
After the short tour, Nia excuses himself to recover, and James leaves after telling me how I can contact him.
With nothing else happening, the adrenaline mixed with alcohol leaves my system, and I crash into bed. At this point, a nap sounds pretty good.