Dead By Sundown

Chapter Forty-Seven: Bound by him

Chapter forty-seven

The door to the balcony was already open as Nadia entered her living room. The sun had begun to make its presence known and slowly weaved its way through the apartment as Nadia did. She never liked the effort that went into closing all of her blinds, so she never bothered, letting light fill the space she called her own. Giovani was already sat outside basking in the sun waiting for her arrival, dressed and working away on his laptop, two mugs of warm coffee sat before him. Warm steam danced in the gentle morning breeze beckoning the small assassin towards it.

"Buongiorno, piccola assassina," good morning, little assassin. Gio greeted as she took her seat next to him.

"Buongiorno, caro," good morning, dear. Nadia cooed, tucking her leg up to rest on the chair. Giovani rolled his eyes, but she caught the light tug of his lips.

Almost a week had passed since she had left the compound and each day seemed to get harder than the last. Nadia couldn't bear to be near Leo any more than she could bear to be away from him, her head and heart at war with one another.

She was finally home, after months of dreaming and wishing for it, her loft apartment in the french quarter of New Orleans. It was just as she left it, but she wasn't. She felt hollow, like a piece of her was missing. A piece of her was left in New York.

Giovani's quiet and stoic company had been welcomed over the week. Together, they had settled nicely into a routine; each morning, they woke up, drank a coffee together then Giovani would head off into Nadia's office to work whilst she sat on her couch and watched 'real housewives of Atlanta'. Occasionally she would go out for a run and check in to the local patisserie for some treats, but mostly she stayed stationary, trying to avoid thinking of the man who had weaselled his way into her every waking thought. Nothing worked.

Every morning she would sit on her balcony, looking out as the sun rose and ask him the same question: "Qualche notizia?" Any news? And every morning, the same response: "Non oggi." Not today. But that morning, Nadia could sense it was different.

The small assassin let them linger in comfortable silence a while longer than usual, building up the courage to ask after him. Gio wasn't dumb, he knew what she was truly asking about and knew whatever he did know it was better if she didn't. It hadn't lessened the ache in her chest.

What Nadia didn't expect was for Gio to strike up the conversation that morning instead.

"Feeling any better?" He rumbled, pausing his work to take a sip of his coffee, eyes grazing over the healing cut on her neck.

Nadia laughed a little, "Surely I should be the one asking you that."

Although he looked better, his injuries were still healing, and Nadia knew that was one of the true reasons he was sent out here with her, to keep him away from the action long enough to heal.

Gio shook his head, a breath that could only technically count as a laugh pressing past his lips. She was avoiding his question, as she always did when he asked, and he was avoiding hers.

"Leo called," he said. There was no beating around the bush, no tiptoeing around her. Giovani wasn't there to protect her feelings.

She knew that they kept in touch but to hear Lorenzo had physically called— somehow it hurt more. 

Nadia swallowed. "Oh?" She murmured taking a deep swig of her coffee to hide the way her heartstrings tugged at the sound of his name.

Giovani, as usual, pretended he didn't notice.