Chapter Eighty-one

Chapter Eighty-one
Kacy
My heart melted in my chest hearing Bryan say those words. He's always like that, overprotective when it comes to me. But despite the fact that he always gets himself in trouble and lives a dangerous life, I can't help but stay close with him.
"As for my boss's intention, I have no idea. He's not giving even the tiniest information himself. All I know is that he's cruel and he knows everything about me and his targets. Now that I tell you something, he might find out and kill my wife or worse, send an assassin to end all of us," the man said.
Bryan sighed audibly. "Tell us more about this Don Palermo you're talking about. Any information about him might help."
"He's a big shot, owns a number of companies that sell illegal drugs and guns. I don't really know about his family, but everyone that knows him fears him," the man said.
"Is that all you know?" Bryan asked.
"I'll try to remember more information, but please, I need you to protect my wife and child just in case," he said.
"We'll have to verify this information first." Bryan held my hand, stepped out of the room, walked through the corridor, and stopped in front of Francis's office. He knocked at the door.
Francis opened the door. "What's up? Did you find something out?"
"We got some information. We need your help to know if he's telling the truth," Bryan replied.
"Alright. Come in." Francis let us in his office. It's a room full of computers, including monitors of the whole building. "Please sit down. It's going to be a long night."
Bryan told Francis all the information that the man gave him. Francis, sitting on his computer, started researching about the man named Don Palermo. "I see. That man didn't seem to be lying. There are lots of companies with that name attached."
"Let me see." Bryan looked at the computer and scrolled down through the information. "You're right. It'll be difficult to know which one really belongs to Don Pajermo, a Mafia boss who wanted to kill all of us."
"Don't worry, Boss. I'll ask my employees to look about it," Francis said.
"But wouldn't that affect your work?" Bryan asked. "Maybe it's better to keep this to ourselves so that we do not involve innocent people?"
Francis remained silent for a while, as if thinking. "You have a point. But it'll take us some time to sort this out. I'm just suggesting it. It's not that they'll get involved for doing something for me. Besides, they are my employees, and I'm paying them to do their jobs. They wouldn't know either what this is for."
"If you say so," Bryan said. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."
"No need to apologize. We're doing it for ourselves," Francis replied. "It'll be better if you can squeeze out more information from that man."
"I'll try," Bryan said.
"As for now, let's stay vigilant. I have a hunch that something's going to happen. I'm not being pessimistic; I just want you to be ready for everything. We don't know what our enemy's capable of doing," Francis said.
"Thanks for reminding us." Bryan gave him a tap on the shoulder. Then he turned to face me. He held my hand, and we left Francis in his office. "Want to grab some coffee?"
"But we can't go outside," I said. "Francis will be mad."
"Let him be mad. We can't just stay here like locked-up slaves. We need to go outside to breathe some fresh air too. It's so cramped in this place. It suffocates me. I want to go somewhere calm, in nature," Bryan said.
"You're right. It's suffocating here. But what if those enemies see us, and then what? They'll shoot us while we're off guard," I said.
"You're overthinking it. Don't worry, I have a good idea. No one would recognize us," Bryan said, smiling like a mischievous kid.
"Okay, fine. I'll go with you. Just don't get us in trouble, okay?"
Bryan led me to a room full of hanging clothes. "Wait. Is this what I am thinking?" I asked, realizing what he's planning to do.
"Yeah. Let's play pretend and have a date," Bryan said.
"You're crazy." I nudged him. I couldn't help but smile. Being around him makes me feel like a kid again, full of adventures and uncertainty. But I'm confident he'd protect me no matter what happens; he already did it before, he could sacrifice himself for me, and he'd not hesitate to do that again, even if he didn't have to. It's just me who can't do anything to protect him. I'm still a weak girl.
Bryan and I changed clothes. I wore casual jeans, a white sleeveless top, a denim jacket, stilettos, black shades, and purplish lipstick—such a bad girl vibe. I should act like that if I have to, and I need a bubblegum.
Meanwhile, Bryan put on Hawaiian shorts, a comfy shirt, sporty shoes, and cool eyeglasses as if he were going to a beach instead of a cafe. We also put on wigs to complete the disguise. I hope Francis won't get mad with what we're doing to these clothes. This is hilarious. Now I realized what they meant when they said that sometimes happiness means doing strange things with like-minded people. The people in the building looked at us as if we were some weirdos.
We went to the cafe down the street. It was a cozy place, with jazz music playing in the background and only a few customers occupying the seats. There are plants with large leaves creeping on the walls outside.
A handsome, blonde-haired barista with deep brown eyes approached us. He smiled and asked, "Do you want to try our premium espresso, ma'am, sir?"
Bryan looked at me. "What do you want?" He asked.
"I'll have my usual latte," I said.
"Alright. A latte and espresso, please, and croissants," Bryan said to the barista.
"Got it, sir." The handsome man went back to the counter. I'm glad he didn't laugh at us. Some people might think we've come from a cosplay or whatever.
"What do you want to do after this?" Bryan asked.
"Can we take a walk to the park?"
"Sure. Let's go around. But we have to minimize our expenses. I don't have much money left," Bryan said.
"Okay."
The handsome barista came back with the latte, espresso, and croissant. I miss this kind of life, just hanging out around without worrying about our safety. I wish we could live a normal life again.
"Mmm... This is indeed delicious," Bryan said, gulping his espresso. "Never tasted black coffee this good before."
"That's what they call premium." I took a croissant and bit it.
After having coffee and chatting about anything but the amusing memories we've had together, Bryan and I took a walk at the park nearby. Watching the children playing there makes me feel a peace I've never felt before. Bryan's hand holding mine.
"I hope our child will have a normal life," I said.