Contrary to any other day, Saturday was always pretty busy for her. According to her observation, Saturday at the library was the most popular choice for book lovers and general nerds to have their dates. And talk about the date, Keira didn't know what to think of Nate.
Breaking – oh, wait, the landlord let him in. The nerf! She had yet to give her piece of mind to that old man who likes to chat about the current soap opera on TV more than teenage girls about their high school crush. She had to teach him a lesson. Never would she pay for this month's rent before he apologized and gave her a seventy percent discount. That was more than generous. She could report him to the police as a burglar's accomplice for all he knows.
Although calling Nate a burglar was not quite right. But why did he suddenly appear in front of her desk, anyway?
"What are you doing here?" Keira snapped. The vivid memory of his presence in her apartment fueled her irritation.
"Hello to you too, my dear," Nate smiled sweetly, for once making him appear soft. Perhaps it was also because of the light brown and white ensemble he was wearing. "Ah, yes, it was quite hot today isn't? I decided to forgo my vest. How do you like it? Is this okay?"
"It's Miss Hawkins to you," Keira flushed at being caught staring. Though, she didn't give a shit. "You have the freedom of wearing anything you like, Mr Wolfe. It's none of my business."
"Are you sure?"
She didn't quite get what he meant for a moment. But then, she saw his hand start to fiddle with the second button on his shirt. "Don't you dare strip naked here!"
"Oh? Fantasizing about me without any clothes on, are we?" Nate chuckled. Brilliant blue eyes shone in amusement. "You know you can get the real deal yesterday night. In fact, we can get to it now if you're in the mood."
"No, I don't! I never did and I never will. Please don't ever say something like that ever again to me." Keira didn't know how a person could be that shameless. 'What's wrong with him?'
"Ugh… someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, it seems. Fine, but the offer still stands anyway. For our date, I mean."
"There is no date, Mr Wolfe. I will never go on a date with you."
Nate pouted, puckering his lips cutely. If Keira wasn't as mad at him, she'd swoon. Keeling over and pinching his cheeks right away. What a scenario. That would never happen in real life, she affirmed in her head.
"How about accompanying me to get my book then? Other than seeing your beauty, I do have a reason to come here."
Keira forgot about that. His subordinate came to fetch Nate yesterday, probably before he could read whatever he was searching for in that Latin book older than this entire city.
"Please?" Nate's puppy eyes were a force to be reckoned with. She couldn't stand a chance. Not even when she was still mad about yesterday's fiasco. But she couldn't just give up without resistance. "I promise it will be quick. I have a reservation for lunch in about an hour that I can't miss."
Sighing, Keira rose to her feet. After this, he'd never come back and bother her again. She figured it would be the best for everyone.
Once again, heading to the reference section, Nate rambled on about the library's patrons. About the young couple from yesterday, which she didn't notice before he pointed out that they were, indeed, kissing each other senseless again in the corner of Historical Fiction. Or about how few the collections on Fairytale were compared to True Crime.
"What would become of this country? What, do you want the kids here to grow up reading about how a psychopath lure their victims? How a school shooter confessed that he was just a bullied kid who took action into his own hands?"
Keira didn't know Nate was the type of person who could rant about the youth's well-being. Most men like him, all wealthy and dressed in fancy clothes, seldom care about it. If they do, there would be many camera flashes on their face, airing the well-arranged speech written by someone else to maintain an image. But, that was also her prejudice speaking out loud in her head.
"We don't let children borrow from True Crime, Mr Wolfe," Keira commented, tucking the bangs on her left face behind her ear while letting the right side cover her eye. "Besides, reading too many fairy tales could also make children grow up disillusioned. You can't always think that only a strong boy can slay the dragon or that pretty girls can't do anything but wait to be saved by a knight in shining armour."
"You're right. Strength is not everything and that girls also can save themselves. But, it's better growing up thinking about a fun adventure riding a dragon and colourful magic rather than knowing how the real world operates."
"So, you prefer to live in a make believe castle and not look out the window to see reality? That's very typical of a wealthy man like you, Mr Wolfe."
"Hmm… perhaps you're right. I prefer you think of me like that. No matter how much I want us to get closer, I prefer you don't see how bleak and cruel my world is."
Keira didn't see it, but he sounded sad. Something tugged at her heart, telling her that Nate was honest about it. That despite his bright grin and dashing appearance, there was something dark clouding his voice just now. What bleak world was he talking about? She actually wanted to know that, but they finally arrived at the closed reference section of the library.
"Ah, let me," Nate rushed to push the button on the mobile shelving system, eager in his steps. "Where were we before?"
Keira let him navigate the shelving, tagging alone when he got between the shelves and plucked an old tome. She wondered if he truly understood Latin.
"Do you have a paper and pen with you? May I have them?" Nate asked as he headed to the desks on the side of the shelves.
Keira nodded but didn't leave to fetch what he needed. Instead, she watched how he handled one of the old treasures this library had. If something happened with the book under her surveillance, the boss would have her head.
Noticing that, Nate gave her a blinding grin. "Relax. I can handle a bound manuscript older than the United States with care. It's no less breakable and precious than my previous bed partners. And I do wonder with them, as you should know."
"Ew."
Getting a single paper and pen for Nate, Keira took the liberty to sit opposite the brilliant blue-eyed man. He had placed his phone on the table and opened the book near the middle. Curiosity piqued, Keira followed Nate's gaze as he consecutively looked at the screen of his phone – which displayed a picture of some random numbers – and the Latin written tome.
Both of them were silent. She didn't know Nate could be this focused on his task. He looked so much like a CEO of a big company studying a contract before giving his signature.
Although, as she kept observing him, it became clear that the numbers on his phone were a code, not as random as she initially thought. After opening the pages, he would write a word on his paper. He repeated, ending up with four lines and about twenty Latin words that didn't mean a thing to her. On the other hand, Nate's face turned from serious to one with heavy frowns and confusion. Though, it only lasted for a second before he shot to his feet and strode to the reference section's corner.
Nate made a call to someone. She couldn't hear the exact words, but his rushed tone was enough to tell that whatever he got from the book was something big. Something that warranted such a quick action for him to take.
"I have to go," he told her after ending the call. Face void of any emotions as he walked back to the desk with the old book still open. The paper with Latin words was still ignored beside the text.
"What happens?" Keira found herself asking, not knowing why she needed to. He was just a stranger. An annoying man who broke into her apartment and voluntarily cleaned her home, did her laundry, and baked a tray of delicious, heart-shaped chocolate cookies she ate while watching a movie last night, no less. Oh, and went through her underwear's drawer and intentionally left his pocket square there. Even so, a hint of worry bled through her voice.
Nate stopped on his track to the main library section. As he faced her, she could see a familiar smile grazing his lips. "Something came up at work. Don't worry about it."
After saying that, he left without a second glance. Something unsettled inside her as she saw his back disappear behind the Law shelves. It was pretty strange when she was so used to seeing him so expressive and cheerful, or plainly in teasing mode, spewing innuendoes left and right. Throughout the three days since their first meeting – that felt so long already as if they had been meeting for years – Keira never saw him this serious.
Well, other than that time he confessed to her about what he thought of her imperfect face.
Left alone by the most annoying patron of the week, Keira decided to put the old book he abandoned back on the shelf. Then, she realized that he did not take the paper he wrote on with him. Keira's curiosity urged her to take a closer look. It was still written in Latin, and no matter how many times she blinked, the words wouldn't suddenly transform into English by her willpower alone.
Pulling her phone from her pants pocket and opening the website to translate the words, Keira hesitated. It was none of her business. But he left the paper here anyway. If it was that important and secretive, surely he would take it with him.
"Besides, he broke into my apartment," she reasoned with herself.
With certainty this time, Keira took a photo of the paper, angling her phone so that all words written there were readable by the scanner. It only took two seconds until she had the translated words. For such unsuspecting Latin words Nate wrote neatly – at first, because it grew messier the more he wrote – the translated form was not what she expected.
'Kill head lamb and ruler family, raid north den before end of moon, frame slaughter wolf.'
It sounded like a threat, and Keira couldn't help but wonder. Who was Nathaniel Wolfe?