Chapter Ten Tristan
She was okay. For now.
I woke to the softness of dawn, the light filtering through the gaps in the curtains and casting a gentle glow on Adriana’s face, and that was the first thing I registered.
She was sleeping, and she was alright.
My arm was numb where she’d used it as her pillow, her body curled into mine like vines intertwined around an ancient oak. For a moment, I let myself just breathe, feel her warmth against me, and pretend the world outside didn’t exist.
“Morning,” I murmured, feeling her stir against me.
She cracked one eye open, a smile playing on her lips. “This is becoming a habit.”
“An excellent habit,” I corrected her with a half-smile, but my chest tightened at the thought that we couldn’t hide away forever. “But yeah, not exactly sustainable.”
“Shame,” Adriana teased, propping herself up on an elbow. “I could get used to this whole cabin sex retreat thing.” Her voice was light, but the weight of our truth wasn’t lost on either of us.
“Me too,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair. “But Boston isn’t going to sort itself out with us here.” I watched her expression shift, a flicker of something serious passing over her features. We both knew it. Our borrowed time was ticking away.
“Speaking of Boston,” I said, reluctantly starting to disentangle from her, “did that pregnancy pillow help any? You tossed and turned less.”
“Speaking of Boston? How are those things related?”
“Because if it did, we’ll have to get you another one for home. You can keep the spare one here.”
She considered this for a few seconds. “Not if we’re not making it a habit. We can’t just run here every time things get dicey.”
“You sure? What’s stopping us?” I asked her.
She splayed her fingers on my chest. “Tristan.”
“Right,” I said. “Well, anyway. How was the pillow?”
“Like sleeping in a cloud,” she confirmed with a nod, her voice still thick with sleep. “Thanks for thinking of it.”
“Anything for you and the twins,” I said, kissing her forehead softly before pulling away completely. My feet hit the cold floor, and I missed her warmth instantly.
But the moment had passed and soon, we were downstairs, having breakfast together.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded, pouring us both a steaming cup of coffee. The rich aroma filled the small kitchen of our cabin, a comforting scent amid chaos. “Yeah, just thinking about the box. It’s still really weird that someone left it there.”
“When would they have done it?” Adriana asked.
“Hard to know,” I replied. “This cabin is locked up tighter than a nun’s–”
“Hey,” Adriana said with mock outrage.
“Right. But seriously, the territory is very very secure,” I told her.
She raised her eyebrows, taking a sip of her coffee but saying nothing. After breakfast, I double-checked the locks and surveyed the cabin’s perimeter. Paranoia came with the territory, and today, it felt more justified than ever. Satisfied that we were as secure as we could be for now, I returned inside and we set up shop at the rustic wooden table that faced the window.
The retrieved box from the ground sat between us, its contents sprawled across the surface. Faded photographs whispered tales of times and faces long gone. We took things out; old, undated papers, photographs, ledgers. The cryptic letters lay silent, their secrets etched in loops and lines waiting to be deciphered. Every piece, every scrap, felt charged with potential.
But we didn’t know shit.
We didn’t know who these people were, we didn’t know what the letters meant. We knew some came from Dublin–so that was something, at least–but I didn’t know who had sent it or when.
Nothing was dated.
And the content was…pointless. It just said that he hoped they were okay. And someone named John had signed it.
“This is so fucking pointless,” I said after I read my third letter.
“We should keep working anyway, we don’t know what–”
The ringing of my phone cut her off. I reached into my pocket and saw Kieran’s name flashing on the screen. I pressed it to my ear.
“Kieran, what’s up?”
“Tristan, just got word. Rossi made his move last night, hit one of the outposts. It’s a message.”
“Thought they died,” I said between gritted teeth.
“No, looks like they were just well enough to order another hit. What do you want to do?” Kieran asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Are you okay?”
Kieran took a deep breath. “Yes,” he said. “Shaken, but okay. Orsini left here with Killian and the Rossis and he seemed pretty mad, but he could’ve killed any of us and didn’t.”
“What about Carmen?” I asked him.
Adriana looked at me, her eyes narrowing.
“She was here and then I drove her home,” he said. “She’s not as bad as she seems, you know. Little rough around the edges but…I like a mouthy woman.”
I held back the urge to laugh. Adriana heard him and made a face.
“What about Liam?” I asked.
“He’s fine, he’s with me. I haven’t let him out of my sight since your father-in-law was here.”
I let out a deep breath. “Okay. Keep it that way. I don’t want the kid to get involved in things like this.”
“Think that ship has sailed there, lad,” Kieran said, a little too jovially.
“Yeah, well, nevertheless,” I replied. I had been pacing around the kitchen for too long, and Adriana still watched me, her arms crossed over her chest. “You know what this feels like?”
“What?”
“An old school turf war,” I said. “Which is so stupid, because…”
Adriana cocked her head, interrupting me. “I mean, is it? Because you’re in this transitional moment and–”
“Put me on speakerphone,” Kieran said.
I rolled my eyes, walking back to where Adriana was and putting the phone on the kitchen counter as I put him on speakerphone.
“Okay, you’re on speaker,” I said, meeting Adriana’s gaze.
“Good. So, let’s put this in perspective,” Kieran said, his voice filling the small kitchen. “The Rossis think we’re weak because of the transition, right?”
“You could say that,” Adriana agreed, leaning against the counter.
“And they’re trying to take advantage of it,” Kieran continued.
I took a deep breath, raking a hand through my hair again while trying to keep my focus. The fatigue was hidden well beneath my facade, but Adriana knew better. She did not miss the way I held myself, the slight tension in my shoulders that gave away my worry.
“Exactly,” Adriana finished for him, her copper-toned eyes keenly focused on the phone.
“Right. So we need to make it clear that we’re far from weak,” Kieran continued, his authoritative voice reverberating through the phone speaker.
“I’d rather not start a war over this,” I interjected, my fingers tapping anxiously against the old wooden table.
“And we won’t,” Kieran assured me. “We’ll just… remind them of our strength.”
Adriana sighed, rubbing her temples with her delicate fingers. She was clearly tired, and her patience seemed to be running thin.
“And how do you suggest we do that?” she asked, trying to keep the edge from her voice.
“Not sure,” Kieran said. “But I don’t want to have this conversation over the phone. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I think the law might be watching us.”
“That would be a surprise,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. The idea was ridiculous, but only because it was so familiar. We were always watched. It wasn’t paranoia if they really were out to get you.
“Should we meet up somewhere?” Adriana asked, her voice steady, her expression unreadable.
“Aye. Neutral territory,” Kieran suggested.
“The pub?” Adriana asked. “Not the Crooked Throne, the other one.”
“No,” I interjected, shaking my head even though Kieran couldn’t see me. “We need somewhere less...predictable.”
“Box thing?” Kieran questioned, curiosity lacing his voice. I could almost picture him furrowing his brow, that single question pulling his focus from the Rossis and back to us.
“Well,” Adriana started, glancing at me. Our eyes locked for a second before she continued. “We found a box full of letters and photos buried in the ground of your mom’s cabin. Sorry, not your mom. Uh–I don’t really know how to talk about–”
Kieran laughed. It made Adriana visibly relax. “Don’t worry,” he started. “For all intents and purposes, Catherine was my mum too. But the box?”
“Yeah, we don’t know who it belonged to. But some of the letters...they’re signed by a man named John,” Adriana explained, her gaze shifting between me and the phone. “Does that name ring any bells?”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a heartbeat, then two. I could almost see Kieran’s mind racing, turning over memories and faces in search of a connection.
“John? No idea,” Kieran finally admitted, his voice laced with confusion. “Definitely not family.”
Adriana frowned at his response but nodded nonetheless. “Still, it’s something we should look into.”
“There’s a lot we need to look into,” I added, my gaze drifting towards the window, beyond which lay the sprawling darkness of our city untouched by dawn. The Rossis attacking us, this box full of undecipherable letters, the fact that they were still coming after us after everything had happened, Silvio Orsini himself…everything was intertwined like knotted threads waiting to be unraveled. “Send us a pin and we’ll meet you back in the city tomorrow.”
Kieran cleared his throat on the other end of the line, a sure sign he was trying to mask his unease. “Sure, will do.” He paused, and I could almost hear the gears turning in his head half a city away. “Tristan,” he finally said, very quietly, almost like an afterthought.
“Yeah?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing at his sudden shift in tone.
“Watch your back,” he warned, before hanging up without another word.