The Mafia Assassin

Chapter Twenty-one

Adrian spent her time hiding in her room. Too scared to face them after the embarrassment she just faced leaving Tristan with Nicholas.

“ The place is still the same, huh,” Tristan said, moving and looking around.

“So why coming here, you couldn't message” Nicholas questioned

“Adrian is suspicious of us, he probably wiretapped it, you know Luke is missing right”

Of course, he didn't know. He thought of the last time he saw him.

“He'll come back, he's a survivor, he's probably in hiding like us”

“ Sure he is, but Adrian’s recent actions are strange.” Tristan put his hand on his chin as if trying to think.

“ What do you mean” Nicholas asked curiously.

“It's like he doesn't care any longer, he called off the bounty hunters and stopped his men from looking for you guys which is so confusing cause I know the chaos he made because of you guys”

The statement puzzled Nicholas the most. What was Adrian planning? He knew Adrian the most. Adrian wasn't the type to give up easily especially when it involved concerning him. He was planning something for sure and he knew that wasn't good.

Adrian's silence was even more unsettling than his past actions.

“What are you going to do now” Tristan’s voice brought him back to the present.

“ Nothing at all, let watch and see”

This was a game to Nicholas and he doesn't intend on losing.

“ I'll be leaving now before they notice my absence”

“Thank you, man”

“No probs, don't call me. I'll call you, and be careful.”

“ I'm always careful,” he muttered, and Tristan rolled his eyes.

“ I understand “ Nicholas heard him whisper before leaving the house. He knew what or who he was referring to but he brushed it off.

He sat down reflecting on what Tristan said. His mind drifted to Luke. He doubted Luke was missing. He has been having double-mindedness about Luke since the Mason accident. He knew Luke helped him and all, but Luke did drop him in a cabin where he got ambushed. Something didn't really add up.

The next morning, when Alison was awake Tristan was gone.

She found a note pasted on the fridge.

Try not to miss me much– Tristan.

As if that was possible.

Alison grabbed the note, crumbled it, and tossed it into the trash.

She was not as if she knew him that well. He was actually the master plan behind the humiliating embarrassment she felt yesterday.

Just thinking about it made her angry.

With Tristan gone, the house remained quieter than ever. Not that it was peaceful or anything.

Nicholas didn't announce Tristan’s departure and Alison didn't ask either. Nicholas was still Nicholas– cold, annoying, and unreadable.

Days run by with Nicholas going through files and maps with Alison mopping around. They haven't trained since the Tristan incident. That wasn't entirely true. Nicholas did give Alison a punching bag to work on her punch. His words, not hers. Sometimes, she imagined his face when punching. Although she didn't want to admit it, she missed their training together.

She was in the background pretending not to be interested. She wanted to ask Nicholas when they were leaving but her pride wouldn't let her.

Finally, she couldn't stand the silence any longer. "So... aren't we going?"

Nicholas didn't look up from the papers scattered on the table. "Plans have changed."

"Is that all?" she said. "No explanation?

His eyes finally met hers, piercing through hers. "We're safer here than leaving for now."

Alison crossed her arms. "And Tristan?" Did he just disappear?

Nicholas shrugged slightly. “He had things to do.”

The vague answers only added to her frustration. She hated feeling left out like she was just another piece on Nicholas’s chessboard.

Later that evening, Alison found herself walking into the small living room. The house seemed very quiet, the walls closing in on her. She couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, even though Nicholas had assured her the place was safe. Finally, she asked, “Are you always this way, or just when you’re around me?”

Nicholas looked up from his coffee, one eyebrow slightly raised. “is this your idea of small talk?”

She groaned, falling onto the couch tiredly. “You’re impossible.”

He didn’t answer, just sipping his coffee as if her words were nothing more than background noise.

After a long silence, he spoke in her softer voice than before. “Tristan left because he needed to. That’s all you need to know.”

Alison looked at him, studying his face. There was something beneath the surface—something reserved. She wondered if Nicolas missed Tristan, but he was too proud to admit it.

“Well,” she murmured, “he was annoying anyway.”

Nicolas let out a small sigh—almost a laugh, but not quite.

Silence fell between them, not so suffocating

this time.

Maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe.