CHAPTER 555: +CHAPTER 555+

Jael drove to one of Asher’s clubs. It was just morning, but the downpour made it seem like it was pretty late from how dark it got.

They would all be getting a little drenched from the trip from the parking lot to the club proper, but considering that they were already a little wet from the rain, it didn’t matter much.

As soon as they parked, there were already men waiting with umbrellas. Jael couldn’t hide his surprise. "I didn’t know we had those." He muttered, parking the car as close as possible to the club.

"You’re free to walk through the rain," Asher didn’t miss the chance to say, his burnt fur coat long discarded, water getting on his shoes and the bottom of his pants as he stepped out.

Jael didn’t take the bait, walking briskly in with most of the effect from the rain minimized. The club was mostly empty because it was still morning, the rain adding to the lack of patrons.

Streaks of lightning momentarily brightened the sky as Nikolai walked over with Angelo in his arms, an umbrella held over them both.

Asher and Davian went right to his office, but Jael lingered till Nikolai showed up. "We’ve got rooms Angelo could clean up in," He offered.

He had gotten a good look at the Omega before they made the trip here, and it was like he had been dunked in a pool of blood multiple times.

"Lead the way," Nikolai allowed graciously, keeping the Omega in his arms.

They did have some generic change of clothes, nothing of high quality, but it would serve as a temporary fix.

Jael just led the way to a nearby room, ducking out right away. Nikolai would be able to find his way down to Asher’s office, his work there was done.

Nikolai gently placed Angelo on his feet, the assassin still wrapped up in his coat. "I’ll be back soon." He said the words more like a promise than a reassurance.

Angelo just nodded, he knew that Nikolai would tell him what he had discussed with the other Mafia Kings, and he really needed to get out of his bloody clothes.

He watched Nikolai leave and quietly close the door behind him, slowly walking over to the mirror in the room. He flinched slightly at his reflection, not from his aversion to mirrors but because of how terrifying he looked, completely covered in blood.

Nikolai was better than him because he wouldn’t have gotten within a few feet of himself if he were in the Mafia King’s shoes.

He reluctantly pried Nikolai’s coat off him, fortunately, he had put it on when most of the blood of his body was well on its way to drying, so the coat wasn’t completely covered in blood.

His hair had taken the brunt of the bloody mess he had been in, he tried not to look too closely at his hair in the mirror, terrified that he would find chunks of flesh and guts in it.

Angelo shed the rest of his clothes quicker, there was no saving the sweater Silvia got... Silvia! So much had happened that he hadn’t gotten the chance to ask about her.

Nikolai only knew as much as he did, but he knew that Mafia King Asher would know more, or at least be able to find out more with how close they were.

So, although he initially planned to wait for Nikolai, he found himself hurrying to the bathroom to get clean so he could go get some very needed answers.

-+-

Nikolai made his way through the warm club. He would also need to shower, but before then, there was a lot that needed to be sorted out.

Asher was pacing when he got to the Mafia King’s office, the other Mafia King was more affected than he was by the attack on his casino.

Nikolai would have felt the same in any other sequence of events. His turf was rather unorthodox, being new and incredibly unstable, but the iron control he wielded over his casino was the cornerstone of his turf.

Most of the dirty money went through him, and he had control of drugs in the city. People were going to get their fix regardless, the least he could do was keep their shit clean and run a fairly respectable business.

But most of that was run downtown, and downtown was no-man’s land, not even the High Council could take it over. The reason the outcasts and criminals there hadn’t run berserk throughout the whole city was due to the Mafia Kings’ influence, something the High Council was about to learn personally.

Nikolai spoke before anyone could, having more important questions to ask. "Have either of you heard from Silvia?" He asked, taking a seat.

Asher paused, reminded of what had been done to his friend, his anger flaring up again. "How else did you think I knew Angelo was gone?"

Nikolai’s brows drew together, uneasy. "Where’s she?"

"In the hospital," Asher reported, "The High Council shot her knee out to stop her from going after Angelo."

Nikolai quietly took in Asher’s words before speaking. "Have someone tell that to Angelo, preferably with a phone he can speak to her through."

Jael was already on the move, there was no doubt that Silvia needed to speak to the Omega even more. He also had a feeling the conversation coming up was one he didn’t want to be in the room for.

"The High Council has gone too far this time..." Davian started quietly, noting that Asher was too pissed off to speak at the moment.

"You should both split my turf between yourselves." Nikolai interrupted, his tone calm and decisive.

Asher whipped around, hazel eyes flashing. "What? Caddel hit you too hard on your head?" He tried to say lightly, but he was too edgy to manage that.

Nikolai leaned back in his seat with a sigh, "I haven’t done shit all day. Angelo killed the dog himself," He relayed proudly.

"You mean to give up your turf?" Davian asked with the right amount of gravity the situation warranted, "Is that a fucking joke?"

Nikolai shot him a look, "That’s pretty rich coming from you..."

Asher didn’t let them dig at each other. This was a crucial moment, even a little bit of infighting could give the High Council the upper hand.