Chapter 584: +Chapter 584+
When they went past the 2nd District, Angelo peered out the window, his curiosity bubbling over. As they drove through downtown, he mentally did a tally of all the weapons he had on him.
Downtown was always dangerous, but it was particularly so at night. For an average person, the small-time crime bosses were the least of their problems. It was more the pickpockets and the opportunistic vultures who wouldn’t hesitate to bleed a person out for a couple hundred that posed more of a threat to them, unless they crossed the crime bosses that pockmarked downtown.
Nikolai didn’t divulge any information until he parked in a deserted parking lot, which only had a few working lights. "What do you think about shutting down a club with me?"
Angelo’s pale eyes had some light to them despite himself; killing was something he could do in his sleep. There would be no chance to be self-conscious about the people around them if they were all dead.
The puzzle pieces fell into place at Nikolai’s words, and although he preferred this to dinner in a classy restaurant, he knew that Nikolai meant what he said about it being just the two of them.
"The new club the High Council took over?" He asked without expecting an answer because he already knew it. "Just the two of us?"
Nikolai had already had men scout out the place, and of course, there were men on standby for clean up. But prior to Angelo, he preferred to work alone - the assassin was the only exception to that.
So his dissent showed on his face, even though he hadn’t planned for it, wondering why Angelo wanted more people with them. He flinched slightly when the assassin got all up in his face, completely caught off guard.
"If you get even a little bit hurt, there’ll be no more dates." Angelo enunciated, green eyes dark.
Nikolai was too distracted for a moment to process Angelo’s words, only able to do so when the assassin pulled away. He frowned when he did, watching Angelo methodically go through his knives.
"That’s not fair," He complained.
"And that includes attacks meant for me," Angelo doubled down, ignoring his protests.
Nikolai was more shaken by the threat than he let on. Angelo was usually so docile by his side, the assassin content to simply spend time with him. He was far more greedy than Angelo, but was patient enough to bide his time, but now, he was going to lose more of the little he had.
"Wait right here," Nikolai said after going quiet for a short while, "I’ll be back soon."
Angelo paused with a knife in his hand, he sheathed it back into the leather strap on his arm, the knife hanging upside down for easy access, his attention on Nikolai, who was walking across the parking lot.
His pale green eyes were narrowed as he watched Nikolai get further and further away, the bad feeling in his middle intensifying. Despite his confident words, if Nikolai got hurt, all he could do was worry and get the Alpha proper medical care.
Nikolai couldn’t feel it anyway, and an injury was something casual to him, if the endless scars on his body were anything to go off on.
So even though he had been told to wait, he slipped out of the car and stomped after Nikolai, too worried to be upset. Because he wouldn’t put it past Nikolai to deal with the High Council’s men all by himself.
Angelo knew that despite how reckless Nikolai seemed, the Mafia King always planned ahead, but it didn’t stop him from giving chase in the direction Nikolai went off in.
He avoided the light, sticking to the shadows, moving far more slowly than Nikolai did. He hoped that the Alpha put far too much importance on their date to deal with the club all by himself, but he really couldn’t predict Nikolai.
He paused in between buildings, losing track of Nikolai. The Mafia King was far bigger than he was and wore looser clothes, yet he was dead silent on his feet; it would be terrifying if he were an enemy.
Angelo stepped out with a frown, about to risk stepping into the light when Nikolai practically materialized in front of him, nearly mowing him down.
The Mafia King was close enough for Angelo to register matching surprise in those cold blue eyes. Before he could recover enough to say a word, he was swept off his feet, Nikolai immediately breaking into a dead run.
Angelo was dismayed - only one thing made Nikolai run, and that was explosives. Just as he had the thought, Nikolai ducked to the side of a building, back against the brick wall.
The explosion was intantaneous, and even though they were quite some distance away, the impact shook the building Nikolai had ducked behind for cover, the patchy concrete under his feet trembling.
Angelo clung to the Alpha, clicking his tongue in anger as a secondary explosion followed and then a third. "Were you planning on flattening the entire block?" He scolded when the explosions finally came to a stop.
Nikolai placed him on his feet while still keeping him close, a hand going right for the knot that the Alpha had just told him to put his hair up in.
"I’m not hurt," Nikolai said instead, smile tilted.
Angelo let his head rest on the Alpha’s chest, hearing Nikolai’s thumping heart from the dash he just had to make for both their lives. His arms were by his side, but he itched to wrap them around Nikolai, feeling his hair slowly come undone behind him.
He couldn’t fault Nikolai’s reasoning. There was probably a crater where the club used to be, but everyone in it was dead and he was right in the Mafia King’s arms, the Alpha perfectly unhurt.
"I told you to wait for me," Nikolai reminded quietly, burying his hand in Angelo’s hair when he was done undoing the braid.
Angelo sighed, certain that his heartbeat matched Nikolai as they were pressed chest to chest. Nikolai’s heartbeat rapidly calmed, and his own matched the tempo, the adrenaline fading out of his bloodstream.