"It is cold out here," Leo muttered, rubbing her shoulders. "What was I thinking, giving my jacket to her? Liora got into me and made me do it. Forgetting I am as fragile as her. I'm cold too!" She pursed her lips, walking around and hoping to spot a familiar face in the crowd that was leaving the hall after hearing the area was not safe.
"Hmmm-hmmm," she hummed, stopping at the edge of the last stair. Leo placed her foot on the edge, moving it around as if continuing the dance she had abandoned on the balcony. She rubbed her arms, feeling the burn from where the bullet had grazed her, ripping her suit and a few threads of her shirt. It left a stinging sensation in her arm, making her ponder how it would have felt if it had indeed hit her. 'Would it have hurt more than the vase on her head when Nico killed her?' These thoughts jumbled in her head, a sudden bitterness rising in her chest as she remembered she had to meet her grandpa.
Turning her head to look at the people still coming out of the hall, she hissed, "D*mn it! It's impossible to know if he'll be inside or outside by now. Should I check the parking lot? I bet his car would be somewhere." The idea sounded pleasant to her mind, but she soon rejected it as she had no idea what her grandpa's car looked like or as a matter of fact she had no idea what his grandpa was like, she had never paid attention to it and it made her regret it now. The crisp wind of the night blew away all her hope, Leo's breath formed small clouds in front of her face. She glanced back at the hall, its grand doors still spilling out a stream of concerned guests. The security guards were doing their best to manage the chaos, but the atmosphere was tense, filled with murmurs of fear and confusion.
Leo took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of her grandfather. Now the only thing she could do was to wait for him here while the memories of Nico's betrayal and her past struggles flickered in her mind like shadows, making her heart race with a mix of anger and sorrow. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts but ended up remembering her urgent mission.
"D*mn it! I didn't talk to grandpa!" she hissed, tightening her teeth with irritation and turned around to see if he was anywhere to be seen. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She lightly knocked her head, cursing at herself with a frown.
"Glad you realised it," a voice came from behind her, making her shut up instantly. Before she could turn around, a warm leather jacket fell on her shoulders. It was evident that someone had just taken it off. She looked around to find Kiera standing with his arms crossed, casually looking at her.
"It's you!" she said, slowly putting her hands into the sleeves of the jacket that had instantly killed the cold air, warming her up.
"What happened inside?" he asked.
Leo pouted. "Well, I couldn't hear anything through the earpiece. I think it's busted." She took it out of her ear carefully and held it out for Kiera. He opened his palm, and she placed it in his hand.
"But he didn't die, did he?" Kiera was relaxed, unlike earlier when he was in the room.
"Yeah, he didn't. But I don't think he is even slightly interested in paying off his debt like you people thought he would and instantly start trusting me," Leo replied, making sure he knew that his efforts were useless.
"I heard that the bullet nearly hit you. Is that true?" he asked, completely ignoring her concerns.
Leo instinctively grabbed her arm as a reflex and shook her head. "No! I am okay," she said.
Kiera's gaze deepened as he watched her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Leo replied, nodding aggressively until her head seemed like it was about to fall off, and Kiera had to reach out to her head and stop it from shaking just in case. The sudden touch on her head caught her by surprise. Stepping back, she cleared her throat and looked around as a sense of nervousness started to rise in her chest, which was very unfamiliar.
"Now that I have done what you asked me to, will your master keep his promise?" she asked, instantly taking the conversation away from the awkwardness she had just faced.
Kiera's eyebrow lifted as if amused by what he had just heard. "You think that was it? Your job?" Kiera casually rubbed his neck as she asked, tilting his head.
"What does that mean?"
"That was just the beginning. Come on. It is time for you to prepare for your next task." Kiera took a step backward, telling her to follow.
"No! I mean…" Speechless, she approached him to stop him and ask the meaning behind his words. "What else? Did you think you would try to earn his trust for nothing? Or that he would tell you right away where your father is hiding?" Kiera seemed to be making fun of how simple-minded she was. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Leo, who also came to a halt. "From now on, you will start to get close to him and make him trust you even more, to the point that he will share his most well-kept secrets with you."
"Well, that is ridiculous. How can I do that when he doesn't even know me?" Leo retorted.
"That's what we're gonna do. We're going to make you close to him. This close." Kiera placed his hands facing each other, then clapped them together sharply, making Leo shiver.
"That close? I don't think that would be necessary," she replied, unease clear in her voice.
Kiera chuckled, his stone face showing a soft crack of a smile. Leo found it surprising.
"Oh, you laughed!" She pointed at him, her tone teasing.
Kiera's lips curled back, erasing the smile. "I didn't."
"You did! You're a liar!" she said, but then remembered the harsh words from two days ago that had caused him to disappear. "Oh! No, I didn't mean it like that. I was just..." Leo looked away, instantly regretting her outburst.
"Let's head back; Master would be waiting for you," Kiera said, helping Leo change the topic.
"Oh!" Leo nodded and decided to follow Kiera but paused again and spoke, "But isn't he inside?" She pointed at the hall. "I saw him talking to gr–I mean a man. They went up to the 5th floor."
"No, he is not. Master had no appointments today. You must have confused him with someone else." Kiera sounded confident.
'What the? I thought he was that man's right-hand or something. Did he not tell him about his meeting with Grandpa? What is going on?' Leo pondered for a moment but didn't want to press on the matter for a while because Kiera was seemingly growing curious and she didn't want that to happen.
"Yeah! You are right! I must have hallucinated or something." She agreed and nodded aggressively once again. Kiera's gaze narrowed seemingly noticing something about Leo and the corner of his lip tugged ever so slightly once more.