So they already knew about the recorder I put in Sebastian's office.
Shit.
There's no way I could open my eyes now. But what should I do now? My head kept pounding painfully while I pretended to faint.
"I'm going to kill you if you touch her." Sebastian's vicious voice came up again, this time he sounded deadly serious. "I care about our friendship, but if you touch even a strand of her hair, I will hunt you and kill you, Nicholas."
A heavy silence followed his threatening declaration. The atmosphere in this room changed drastically.
"Are you really... going to jeopardize our existence?" Nicholas Shaw spoke again.
Existence? What existence? A thousand different possibilities ran through my pounding head, but still, nothing made sense. I knew something wrong was going on right now. My instinct told me that they were planning for something dangerous.
My best guess for now 'Volder' was a secret organization — a criminal organization, most likely. And judging from their recorded conversation at Magnus, they needed Kovach's help to build a cancer research hospital in San Francisco for... for what? Illegal organ harvesting? But in that conversation, they also specifically said that they need a blood bank.
I wanted to peek so bad now.
What in the world was Sebastian involved in?
"If Dostov ever heard about this, he will kill that woman without any hesitation," Nicholas continued. "Sebastian, what the hell is wrong with you?" I could detect concern mixed with annoyance in his voice.
Who's Dostov? Were they in a mafia organization? The more I heard their conversation the wilder my speculations had become. But one thing I was sure of, these guys were up to no good.
"I'm not done with her yet," Sebastian answered curtly. "Dostov will never know about this, I'll wipe her memory when the time comes."
His words stung me more than I thought they could be. It hurt more than the pounding in my head right now.
How ironic, just a moment ago he was kissing me senselessly and now he talked about 'taking care of me' with his friend as if I was trash that had to be disposed of immediately. And how stupid I was to be charmed so easily by this gorgeous man...
I took back everything I said about him. I should've drawn a line between my personal feelings and my job.
But to be fair, I was the one who started these circumstances. If only I didn't illegally plant a recording device in his private office that night... You reap what you sow, Ludmila. So might as well finish what I started.
Wait, why did they stop talking? The eerie quiet in this room amplified the pounding in my head.
"Ludmila." Sebastian's voice was calling my name.
My heart jolted instantly in my chest. Did he realize I was only pretending to faint? Oh no.
"Well, now you don't have another choice but to wipe her memory, Sebastian," said Nicholas Shaw in a soft threatening tone.
I opened my eyes slowly and stared back at Sebastian who was crouching beside me. His unreadable face was completely stony. His pair of eerie pitch-black eyes were staring down at me.
I gasped in confusion while trying to pick myself up. My intense headache and disoriented state made me believe that his black eyes were only an illusion.
Sebastian didn't help me get up, he was as still as a statue.
"Your... eyes," I whispered, still confused. There was something wrong with his demeanor but I couldn't place it. I flinched in pain when a sharp throb assaulted my head.
"I'm so sorry, Ludmila."
I looked up at him again and my breath was knocked out of my lungs. Sebastian had opened his mouth slightly, his upper lip was curling slightly back over his teeth, almost like snarling. And a pair of long sharp fangs flashed from behind his lips.
Unlike those attachable Halloween fake fangs, Sebastian's looked quite real and much more frightening.
I must be crazy. Was it because of my concussion?
I couldn't open my mouth or uttered a single word, only stared at him in shock and confusion.
"I'm sorry," he repeated those words slowly, without any emotion. His voice changed much deeper than usual. "I'll try to make it as painless as I could."
"Wha— What—"
He started to move towards me and my common sense went back instantly. Alarms were ringing loudly inside of my head along with the sharp pounding from my injury. My basic human instinct kicked back in full force and I was scrambling away from him, dragging my body until my shoulders hit the bookcase behind me.
"Don't— Don't come clo— closer!" I stammered in panic. I had nowhere to run. "Is this a joke?"
Sebastian tried to grab my flailing hands but I pulled back faster and slapped his face quite hard until my hand sting from the force. But his head only tilted a little, his empty black eyes glinted with anger for a second.
"Quite a feisty little one. Do you need help?"
My head whipped to Nicholas Shaw who was standing a few steps from my left. Cold fear and pure, unadulterated horror squeezed my stomach when I saw the same pair of empty pitch-black eyes looking back at me calmly.
My heart pounded loudly and I stopped thinking altogether. There was only fear and a desperate need to flee from this place.
"Stay. Away. From. Her." Sebastian gritted every word viciously.
I threw my body to the floor and dragged my limp body away from Sebastian, trying to put as much space between us. He's going to kill me, I could see it in his eerie eyes.
"Help!" I croaked helplessly.
The sound of his footsteps grew closer as I kept dragging myself through the cold floor.
"HELP!" I screamed for help again while a sense of desperation almost took my strength away.
He's going to kill me.
My heart thundered on my ribcage as the tip of his black shoes stopped right in front of my face. Sebastian kneeled right beside my head and pulled me into his embrace. I fought him with all my might, but he subdued me with his arms easily.
I trembled all over and tears of fear and desperation started to run down my face.
Sebastian's impassive face was staring down at me. "Please don't cry, Daisy," he whispered in such a heavy voice, almost as if he was sad. But those sharp fangs were still visible from behind his lips.
"Are— Are you going to kill me? Please don't kill me. I'm— I'm so sorry."
"I'm not killing you. But you won't remember this tomorrow," he replied in a deep calming voice, it was almost hypnotizing.
"What— What are you?" I whispered in a choked voice.
"I'm just a dream. Now, look into my eyes, Ludmila." His hypnotizing voice lulled me into following his order.
I still trembled in his arms but when I looked into his eyes, an empty void filled my mind instantly.
"Close your eyes slowly and let me take care of the rest, sweetheart."
My eyes felt heavy immediately and I started to close them while still looking at his pitch-black strange eyes.
The darkness was warm and comforting.