CHAPTER 606: -CHAPTER 606-

Lake had napped away most of the afternoon, and his mate indulged him, lingering in bed till the sun went down.

"Let’s go get Rosie," Lake spoke up with a worried gaze at the clock.

"We could get dinner on our way back." Davian suggested, rising to his feet.

Lake was open to this idea, he loved his mate cooking, but he also liked his mate getting some time to relax.

Nikolai and Angelo wouldn’t be returning tonight, so it was just the three of them. They could eat out or get takeout to eat back at the mansion.

Lake was swaddled in a big, cozy hoodie. Curling up a little uncomfortably because of his seatbelt, but not uncomfortable enough to put his legs down, leaning against the side of the car.

Rosie already knew they would be coming to pick her up, so she was already waiting for them in the parking lot, her stance impatient as she looked around.

Her pale eyes brightened when she caught sight of them, hurrying over in tottering heels, a bright grin on her face.

"You’re finally here," She pouted as she got in the car, "I’ve been waiting for forever."

Lake was moved, looking over the headrest at his pitiful secretary. "I hope you didn’t have a lot to deal with today."

Rosie didn’t, all she had to do was her usual duties and also let anyone with plans to see Lake know that the boss was out. Their schedule for the day had to be canceled, and she had already done all of the needed rescheduling.

"Yes," She complained eagerly now that she had Lake’s full attention. "I’ve been on my feet all day."

Lake frowned, "Davian said we can eat out, why don’t you choose where we’ll go to eat?"

Rosie’s previously lifeless expression instantly brightened, sparkles in her eyes. "I do have a couple of suggestions."

-+-

Dinner with Jael was quiet, and the time they spent watching movies was even quieter, but the air got lighter as the time went by, their expressions less grim.

"I’ll be fine," Jael said to Caspian in the quiet of the mini-cinema. "You don’t need to worry about me."

On the large screen, the ending credits played, solemn music playing softly in the background.

Caspian didn’t believe it, but he didn’t counter Jael’s words, keeping his thoughts off his face. "If there’s anything I can do, just ask. It’ll help me worry less." He said honestly, rising to his feet.

Jael had had a busy day, and unlike him, who got to spend the afternoon napping in his mate’s arms, the Beta had been on his feet all day. He was really happy that Jael had pushed himself to watch a movie with him.

The mansion was usually quiet despite the number of people that were constantly around at any given time, so it was even more so at night.

"You should get some rest," He rose to his feet first, not giving Jael a chance to respond. "If you can’t sleep, I’ll make you some warm milk."

Caspian walked out of the movie room as he said those words, leaving first. He knew that Jael wouldn’t ask, and it made his steps a little heavy as he returned to Asher’s side.

He liked running the mansion, but beyond that, he really had no other choice. Asher would barely let him visit him at his clubs, trying to take up some duties in his Mafia House was completely out of the question.

He thought back to Lake and Angelo from their brief hangout that morning. The issue had involved his own mate, yet they both knew about it before he did.

They were both so strong in their own ways, ways that Caspian wasn’t. Determination gleamed in his blue eyes as he pushed open the door to his room, small fists clenched.

Since trying to convince Asher that he was capable wasn’t working, he was just going to have to prove it to his mate.

Caspian paused at the foot of his bed, his expression softening. Asher was so strong, but he knew that was just the side his mate liked to project to him. He wanted to improve himself, enough that Asher would stop feeling like he would shatter if the Alpha so much as leaned a little on him.

-+-

Back in the movie room, Jael didn’t move from his seat, he sat in the dim room, hands in his hair. The end credits rolled to an end, and the screensaver popped up, flooding the room with light.

He sat back in the seat, hair tousled, dark eyes red-rimmed. Some warm milk didn’t sound so bad right then.

-+-

The penthouse was exquisite; it was all tall glass windows and chrome decor, a suspended pool on an overhanging balcony.

When they got inside the apartment, Angelo let Nikolai take the lead. He hadn’t been here before, so he didn’t know his way around.

Nikolai easily led them to a master bedroom, his steps familiar like he had stayed here before.

Angelo was curious, so he asked, "You’ve been here before." It was more of an observation than a question.

Nikolai gave an answer regardless, opening the door to the room. "I stayed here before I moved to the apartment complex."

"And was it always empty?" He prodded, stepping into the room after Nikolai.

The tall windows in the room provided a gorgeous view of the 1st District, tall skyscrapers, and neon billboards; it was a sea of flashing lights.

Nikolai’s trench coat was partially off his shoulders when Angelo’s question made him look over his shoulder. "It wasn’t..."

Nikolai didn’t like to live alone, it left him at the mercy of the monsters in his head. He liked his own space, but he preferred to live with people merely a few walls away. It was why he didn’t have his own home turf like the other two Mafia Kings.

"I don’t like to live alone." He tagged on.

Angelo’s expression was gentle, he was no longer the lethal assassin, sharp as his knives. "But the resort is empty." He pointed out the obvious.

Nikolai had already gotten started on the buttons of his dress shirt. "It’s not. You’re here." He said casually, fixing a questioning gaze at the Omega lingering at the door. "Don’t you want to take a shower?"

Angelo looked away to hide the flush on his face, taking a step back. "I’ll use another bathroom." He announced, ducking out of the room before Nikolai could stop him.

Nikolai had no plans to, his smile lingering even as he stepped into the bathroom. His gentle smile didn’t lighten his dark eyes, however. They were like the night sky, the warm lights in the bath reflecting off them.

Angelo eventually wandered back, dressed in night robes with matching pants. It was a dark red, with silver stripes running down horizontally over the fabric. The robe was belted tight, it accentuated the assassin’s slight waist.

He knocked lightly before entering, his drying hair frizzy as he stepped in. "We should get started on cooking, it’s getting late."

Angelo said those words despite the fact that he was the only one who ever cooked. Nikolai just stuck to his side, wanting to be helpful but being able to do nothing more than bring him utensils.

Nikolai had been sitting at the edge of the bed, waiting for Angelo. They somehow ended up wearing matching night robes, the clothes fitting completely differently on his powerful frame than they did on Angelo.

"Where’s the kitchen?" Angelo asked curiously.

He could have probably easily found it himself if he wandered about a bit. He could move around the penthouse freely without restrictions. Yet, his first move had been to come back to Nikolai.

The Mafia King had also been expecting him, waiting patiently for his return.

"It’s up ahead," Nikolai gave him an answer, even though he was already leading the way there. "Down the hallway, by the left.

The kitchen was decorated pretty much like the rest of the penthouse apartment. The walls were windows, one way windows considering that Angelo hadn’t been able to see much of the interior of the penthouse from the parking lot.

It was completely stocked, despite Nikolai not having lived in it for a while.

Their groceries were already on the kitchen island, Angelo immediately beelining for it, reminded of the matter of the ice cream. He opened it right up, curious to see the flavor of ice cream Nikolai had gotten.

Nikolai’s voice was right next to his ear when the Alpha spoke. "Looking for something?"

Angelo suppressed the shiver that snaked down the slender column of his neck, looking up with a frown. "Where’s the ice cream?"

"In the fridge." Nikolai replied, amusement in his eyes.

Angelo dropped the bag of groceries, heading to the fridge instead. A disappointed sound left his lips when he saw the flavor, "Oh, it’s just neapolitan."

Nikolai had already gotten busy taking out the packs of noodles, "You sound disappointed. Were you hoping for something else?"

"Don’t you dare buy me chili mango ice cream." Angelo tossed over his shoulder. He could hear the teasing in Nikolai’s voice, this was going to be like the pancakes all over again.

He closed the fridge and turned around to find Nikolai right in front of him. He wasn’t scared of Nikolai, but the Alpha made him jumpy for other reasons.

"Why? You don’t like it?"