HIS CRUEL REMINDER

∆EZEKIEL∆

“Start whenever you want, Ezekiel.” Raymond’s voice came out very casually and I frowned at those words.

“Whenever I want?” I repeated, my brows pulling together. “Are we really planning an operation… or are you sending me to die?”

Raymond didn’t answer immediately. He simply stared at me, calm and detached, as if my life had already stopped mattering.

“That depends on you,” he said at last.

My jaw clenched, however I forced a dry smile making myself composed.

“At least give me something,” I said. “Information, locations, close contacts, anything that can lead me to him.”

Raymond leaned back in his chair lazily, and threw an unbothered glance at me.

“You’re the agent,” he replied smoothly. “Finding him is your duty. My duty was assigning the mission, I’ve done my part, and the rest… is yours.”

Silence fell between us, it's heavy and suffocating.

I looked at him, realisation slowly sinking in, it's very clear that he wasn't helping me, in fact he never intended to.

This wasn’t a mission, it was bait, and I was the bait.

“I’m very grateful,” I said quietly, my voice edged with something dangerously close to hatred, “to have such a chief.”

His expression didn’t change, not even a flicker.

I turned around and walked out before I said something that would get me arrested instead.

By the time I reached my car, my hands were shaking literally because I've nothing with me, no clues, no backup, no team, no protection either.

All I've is just a name.

Zachary.

The name that turned my world upside down, I let out a hollow laugh and rested my forehead against the steering wheel.

If he wanted me to find the devil… I already knew which hell to walk into.

"Let me test my luck!"

That was the only thought following me as I stepped into the bar where everything had begun.

The same neon glow washed over the crowd. Music throbbed through the air, low and heavy, the smell of alcohol and smoke clinging to my skin almost instantly. 

Memories rushed back too fast, laughter, heat, and hands guiding me through the dark.

I pushed them away.

This wasn’t about that night, this was just about work.

My eyes scanned the room slowly, carefully, and trained. Faces blurred past until they stopped.

Him.

Zachary sat lazily in a leather chair near the back, like he owned not just the bar but the people breathing inside it. 

Two women hovered near him, laughing too loudly, their fingers grazing his shoulders as if touching him might make them special. 

One leaned close enough to whisper in his ear, another rested a hand on his knee.

Unlike them, eager to climb into his bed, he didn’t look interested.

He just let them orbit him, as if he were untouchable.

My jaw tightened. I hated the way something hot and irrational twisted inside me just from seeing him exist.

"Focus Zeke! You're here on a mission!" 

I moved toward the counter and ordered a drink I didn’t want. My fingers curled around the glass while I watched him from the corner of my eye.

I didn’t need alcohol. All I needed was courage, and if courage came in a glass tonight, I’d drink every drop.

After one gulp, I looked back in Zachary's direction once again, one of the women laughed again, and threw her head back dramatically while flipping her hair.

He barely reacted.

Then, his eyes lifted straight to me, and the world narrowed.

The drink slipped from my fingers, glass shattering against the floor, conversations paused briefly before resuming like nothing mattered.

Except his gaze.

The women noticed where he was looking and turned toward me, annoyance flashing across their faces.

I shouldn’t move, I should observe, I should just think.

Instead, my feet carried me toward him, the women shifted aside instinctively as I stopped in front of him.

Up close, he looked even calmer, and more dangerous.

His lips curved slightly, as he asked, "Who are you?" 

The question burned my heart for some reason, this guy after tossing me up and down on the bed for the whole night till dawn, how dare he ask who I am?

After everything he did to me… how could he look at me like I meant nothing?

At least have the decency to remember the person you ruined.

Is he pretending or he really doesn't remember me?

"You don't know me?"

"Are you someone that special for me to remember you?" 

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to remember why I was here, so that I'll not burst out into anger in front of this man.

"If this is what takes my mission forward… then okay, being patient doesn't cost me anything."

Determination settled inside me like steel, taking a deep breath, I stepped forward, rehearsing the words in my head, trying to behave like a rational adult for once.

My foot caught against the edge of the carpet, and my balance betrayed me.

"Shit...."

I stumbled forward, grabbing the nearest thing to steady myself.

Unfortunately, the nearest thing was him, and my lips crashed straight into Zachary’s.

For a second, everything stopped around me, the women gasped softly somewhere behind me.

I jerked back immediately, horror and embarrassment flooded my body, because it's not something I wanted to do right after meeting him.

But all I could see was a shameless smirk on his face, "what a nice way to remind me about you!" 

"You... Misunderstanding me... I..." 

He didn't give me a chance to complete my words, his hand rose slowly, fingers threading into my hair and pulled me closer, not gentle, not rough either, just controlled strength. 

Before I could realise what was happening, he sealed my lips once again, the kiss deepened, his lips cool against mine, and his dominance effortless.

My breath tangled, it felt dangerously familiar at the same time suffocating.

When he pulled away, it was sudden, and I was breathing heavily.

"Pathetic fool," he murmured. "You can’t even breathe properly."

Did he just call me a fool? I'm out of breath and whose fault is it?

His fingers tightened just enough to tilt my head back, his gaze moved lazily over my face, studying me like something he already owned.

A slow smile touched his lips, and his thumb traced my swollen lower lip as he murmured, "What a pretty face!" 

Heat rushed to my skin.

"And such tempting lips." 

The words sent a dangerous shiver through me.

Then his expression hardened.

"But it’s a waste," he said quietly. "I hate using used goods." 

His thumb lingered on my lip a second longer than necessary before he let go, and for a brief moment, his eyes darkened.

Those words landed like a slap, and the women beside him smirked.

I froze in shock as his eyes left my face, dismissing me like I had never mattered at all.

The humiliation burned hotter than anger, before I could respond, gunshots exploded.

Screams ripped through the bar as masked men stormed inside.

"Zachary you're dead today!" 

Instinct took over, and my hand moved toward my weapon, but a strong arm pulled me back.

Zachary.

He stepped in front of me effortlessly, the gun already drawn. "Let's see who is going to end up dead in whose hands!"

His movements were precise, fluid, and almost lazy. Each shot landed without hesitation, bodies fell faster than my brain could process.

Within seconds, silence returned, and the smoke drifted through the air.

He lowered the gun slowly.

"They’re dead," he said calmly, like discussing the weather. "No one can mess with me!" 

My throat tightened at the sight in front of me, slowly with cold eyes, he turned toward me as if I'm his next target.

"I know nothing," I stammered, "I'm innocent, I just came for a drink.... I don't belong to them."

Only when the gun pointed at me did I realize how desperately I wanted to live.

Then he lowered the gun slowly and raised an eyebrow, "Have you ever seen your face in a mirror?"

"Huh?" 

"You’re trembling like a drenched dog. Do you really think you’re someone capable of killing me?" 

Should I take it as an insult or lucky enough to escape his suspicion?

Clearing his throat he said in a low voice, "Now listen carefully." 

He stepped closer until I felt the danger radiating off him. "Don’t come near me again."

The teasing was gone, the warmth was gone too, only warning remained.

"If I see you anywhere within ten meters of me," he murmured, "you won’t walk away next time, understood?"

I nodded before I even realized it. "…Understood." 

He studied me for one long second, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes, like he was memorizing me, then turned and walked away, those women scrambling after him.

He didn’t look back, but I had the terrifying feeling he knew I was still watching him.

I stood there, while shaking like a scaredy cat.

That’s what he’d called me, I wanted to laugh that I managed to escape.

Instead, the sound that left my throat broke halfway into something dangerously close to a cry. "What kind of monster did I just walk back to?"