When a Hitman Gets Haunted by a Ghost
Chapter 45: Not the Best Call

Chapter 45: Not the Best Call

Kant woke up in the guest bedroom, disoriented for a moment. As the red of his dreams retreated, his eyes set on the abstract oil painting of a cyan sea on the wall.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps between blinds, casting warm streaks across the room. Kant rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock that was funnily shaped. Artistic or weird, he couldn’t decide.

There was some sort of art piece in every corner—a small sculpture on top of a drawer, a painting on the wall, a quirky rug. Gabriel’s home might as well have been his own personal art gallery.

Kant slumped up and made the bed. His limbs were stiff from the poor sleep, but not as stiff after sleeping in the cold storage unit.

As he stepped out of the room, he heard Gabriel’s voice, light and casual, floating from the living room.

Kant paused by the doorframe, just out of sight, listening for a moment. The tone was pleasant, but there was something off.

He quietly took another step towards the living room. Gabriel stood by the window, his phone to his ear, shoulders tense.

"Yeah, I’m alright! You know me, I’ve always been healthy..." Gabriel forced a chuckle. "How was your trip? Good?"

Kant’s eyes narrowed slightly as he approached, moving to sit in one of the chairs across from Gabriel, who spotted him in the reflection and turned to wave absently in his direction, still engaged in the conversation.

"No, really, I’m doing great. Everything’s been calm," Gabriel continued, keeping it casual. But his grip on the phone tightened as a question was murmured on the other side of the call. "Today? I..." he hesitated for a bit, his gaze trailed to Kant, who raised a brow.

Gabriel looked away. "I have time, yes. See you then, uncle."

The last word hit Kant like a thunderbolt. An alarm went off in his head, but he kept his expression still.

Gabriel ended the call and grinned at Kant, setting the phone down before rolling onto the couch. "Slept well? No hauntings?"

"Not a single ghost." Kant brushed over the question to ask about the call. "Your uncle’s back?"

Gabriel gave a dismissive nod. "Mhm. He invited me out for lunch today."

Kant watched him closely, his eyes moving from Gabriel’s fingers tapping lightly on his knee to the small, distracted frown pulling at his lips.

"And you’re going," Kant said, more concluding than asking.

"Yep."

Awkward silence. Kant could’ve sworn that if he listened closely, he would’ve heard the dying breath of their short conversation.

Gabriel seemed unwilling to talk about it. But the thought of Sam and Gabriel being alone almost gave Kant a stress-induced stomach ache.

"Will you bring your bodyguard along?" Kant asked, though it was a question more out of politeness, as he would have followed Gabriel secretly either way.

Gabriel snorted. "To lunch? What will I need protection from? Being hit with a spoon?"

"There are knives too. And forks. Anything can be a weapon, even a ceramic plate," Kant remarked, completely serious. "Also, there is a possibility of the food being poisoned or drugged."

There was that look again—Gabriel’s lips tightened for a second, then loosened with a careless smile. "I’m sure it will be fine. My uncle told me to pick a place, anyway."

Kant wasn’t convinced. He drew in a deep breath, his eyes boring into Gabriel with the intensity of a student ogling at a textbook before an exam.

After a bit of strained silence, Gabriel sent him a teasing smirk. "But, hey, if you want to come along, I’m all for it. You’ll get the chance to play the role of my driver too."

Kant didn’t hesitate, standing up as he stretched. "Sure, I’ll drive."

Gabriel blinked in surprise, then laughed. "Wait, I was joking. I was going to take a cab."

"You don’t have a car?" Kant wondered. He almost expected the heir to have at least five sports cars stashed in a garage somewhere.

"Parking’s going to be a nightmare on the weekend," Gabriel murmured, his eyes squinting with a sneaky smirk.

He didn’t even need a light bulb turning on above his head to announce a new idea—his face did it for him. "Fine, you can drive us to lunch, and after that we can drive straight to the beach."

Kant’s brow furrowed. "Beach? In the middle of winter?"

Gabriel nodded enthusiastically. "There will be no people, and the scenery should be nice. It would make a great date!"

Kant tried to interject to say he had stuff to take care of today, but Gabriel’s sea of words washed away his attempt.

"We can walk along the snowy beach, maybe hold hands—now that it’s possible! And the sky is clear today, so we can watch the sunset in the evening too!"

Gabriel hopped off the couch, pacing around as he dove into eager planning mode. "Then, when it gets dark, we could get sparklers, and when we’re done, we can eat dinner at a small seaside restaurant!" He stopped, turning to Kant, eyes sparkling. "How does it sound?"

Kant opened his mouth to object, but the sight of Gabriel’s animated expression froze the words on his tongue. It was hard to say no to him when he was like this.

However, he had to move his stuff to a different storage unit before it was all evicted by the staff.

"Not today," Kant said softly, hoping for a soft landing. "I have to find a different storage complex and move my stuff."

Gabriel’s grin deflated into a confused look. "Stuff? Why?"

"Err... raccoon problem," Kant deflected.

"Do you think raccoons will eat your furniture or something?" Gabriel mumbled, heading to the kitchen. "Anyway, are you up for breakfast or just coffee?"

Kant scratched his head, an inexplicable sense of guilt gnawing at him after shutting down Gabriel’s excitement.

"Coffee’s fine."

Kant followed him into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as the aroma of expensive coffee began to fill the air.

The earlier buzz of energy between them was replaced by a hovering quiet. Gabriel worked in silence for a while, his back to Kant. But when he finally turned, his high spirits seemed to have returned.

"So, what are you doing in the evening?"

Kant cleared his throat. "I was planning to go to gym, but—"

"Great! There’s a gym downstairs." Gabriel grinned, handing Kant the mug of coffee. "Want to go together?"

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