The Mafia Boss's Good Girl

I wanted to ask about what I heard, but maybe I was too tired, too sleepy.

Not long after, I drifted to sleep, completely forgetting about Quinn and Xander's conversation.

The next day, Tessa Adams, my friend and the leader of Investigation Unit One, visited me.

"Holly, about the A mission..." she started, but I cut her off.

If there's one thing I learned, bad news always comes after every leader's home visit. And I refuse to hear it.

"Please save it. My mind won't change. I want to come."

"But it's risky. We don't know if the informant was telling us the truth or if it's a trap."

"I know the danger that mission entails, Tessa. I wasn't born yesterday, okay?"

Tessa sighed.

I know I can be a bit stubborn, but I need to be on that mission.

I have answers that I need to find, and it is the one and only case that I haven't closed.

"It's in the underdeveloped part of Ydris Mountain. If something goes wrong, Xander will lose his mind."

Whenever there was danger, Xander would always persuade me to back out from the mission.

I used to find that sweet, so I'd turn missions down without a say. He was all I had left, so his opinion matters the most to me.

But I'm not giving this mission up. Not this time.

"No, I'll go. Don't worry about Xander," I said firmly.

Tessa's eyes lit up. Not to boast, but I am really good at what I do.

Give me a mission, and I'll get the job done. So me being there will make a difference.

"Alright! This could be a game-changer, Holly. If that's really the base of the Mafias, we'd hit a jackpot! This kind of mission leaves no regrets."

Tessa was about to say more when Xander walked in.

Faking a cough, she winked at me and left.

"Xander..."

"I know what you'll say, and I'm saying no."

No? Who said I was asking for permission, though?

"Do you know how dangerous Ydris Mountain is, Holly? God! Why do you have to be so reckless and make everyone worry about you?"

I laughed bitterly. "Care about me? When did you ever care about me?! Weren't you always busy with Quinn? And what? You can go anywhere whenever you want, but I can't?"

Xander didn't say a word. As always.

Whenever we have heated conversations, he'll just slam the door and leave.

Just like what he did right now.

He did text me a few minutes later, though.

"I'm coming home late. Lock the doors, and don't wait for me," he said.

I didn't reply. I didn't need to.

Cold treatments are not new to us anymore.

Instead of being productive, curiosity got the best of me. I wandered into Xander's office.

I've rarely been here. It was his space, and I've always respected it.

Not today, though. I was really curious.

Going in, I saw a slightly ajar cabinet. I hesitated, but my heart pounded.

Dead-curious, I gently pulled the door open and started rifling through the contents.

Suddenly, my fingers brushed against something cold and metallic.

When I looked, I paused.

A gun?

Why would Xander have a gun?

Xander might be cold and distant, but he had never been violent. He's also a businessman, so his work wouldn't require one.

I sat on the floor and carefully scanned the gun in my hand.

Was he in some kind of danger?

Was he hiding something from me?

One scenario came after another, troubling me to my core until I couldn't stop my mind from spinning out of control.

Maybe I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice my phone vibrating.

It wasn’t until I heard the front door open that I snapped back to reality, shoved the gun back, and dashed downstairs.

"Why haven’t you been answering your phone?" Xander asked.

"I-It was on silent," I said, my voice barely steady. "I didn’t hear it."

Xander's eyes narrowed as he approached me, and I panicked.

"I've been calling you for hours. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

His concern seemed genuine, but I couldn't stop thinking about the gun.

What was this man hiding?