Nikolai moved purely on instinct but he still wasn’t quick enough, the weapon directed at him cutting him right below his eye, barely missing his left eye.
He jumped back but his attacker didn’t give him a chance to recover, diving right after him. His back hit the ground hard and with steel eyes, he caught the wrist that held the knife above him, noting how thin it was, it felt like he could snap it with a simple flick of his wrist.
Despite how frail that wrist felt, there was an iron-like strength behind it and he was once again in danger of losing an eye, the knife was pointed directly at his head with barely a few inches of clearance.
He could only feel the blood running down his face but not the pain from the deep gash that showed bone, his other hand restraining his attacker’s other hand, locking them in a stalemate.
Nikolai finally got the chance to look at who it was, he had been expecting a delivery but why was the delivery person attacking him?
There was a faint smile on his face as he twisted the hand that held the knife, the weapon clattering to the ground a short distance from them - it wasn’t often there was a person who went through so much trouble to kill him.
Angelo’s expression was calm despite his plan falling apart as soon as he got in, he knew that Silvia had been too optimistic, there was no way he would be able to take Mafia King Nikolai in one shot, even if the Mafia King was caught off guard.
He twisted out of the Alpha’s grip, letting loose sharp needles with perfect precision as he did.
Nikolai’s expression darkened, he had been tackled to the ground, so he was at a disadvantage. He rolled to the side and surged to his feet, going on the offensive this time.
When it came to pure physical strength, he overpowered his attacker, a close-range tussle was to his benefit. Plus he had been wearing that ugly red hat this entire time, he couldn’t even properly see the face of who was trying to kill him.
He wanted to take it off.
Unaware of Nikolai’s plan, Angelo prepared for the next attack. If the Mafia King brought out a gun, this would be over in a few seconds, he couldn’t let that happen, not until he had given him a life-threatening injury at least.
So his plan was to close the distance to throw him off but before he could make a move, Mafia King Nikolai was already in his personal space.
Angelo tried to get to safety but the Mafia King had already taken off his hat, surprising them both momentarily. He recovered faster, darting past him. A sofa had been behind him so he couldn’t move backward.
With the hat on and all the moving he had been doing, his braid had already come undone from its knot, the long sleek braid passing right beneath Nikolai’s nose.
The Alpha was frozen for a few precious seconds, long enough for Angelo to recover and charge back in, aiming with a glinting knife for his gut.
That face... those eyes... They were so familiar...
Nikolai barely dodged in time, getting knocked over a sofa as another knife stabbed his thigh.
He cursed through gritted teeth, taking the knife with him as he crashed to the ground.
Angelo immediately capitalized on this, darting around the sofa to finish up the Mafia King while he was down. A sharp stinging pain gave him pause as he pulled out another weapon to jab it right into Nikolai’s throat.
He stared blankly at the syringe sticking out of his forearm, Angelo couldn’t say if it was the drug the Mafia King had injected him with that was fast-acting or if he was genuinely stunned and that’s why he couldn’t move and finish what he started.
Nikolai had his back to the ground, his attacker straddling him with a glinting knife in hand. He watched calmly as he slumped forward against him, his braiding hair slapping Nikolai in the face as he did, knife clattering some distance away.
The attacker smelled like a breath of fresh air, it was clean, airy, and strangely empty...
Nikolai chuckled, an empty sound. He had nearly gotten his guts carved out and he was here acting like he was in an air freshener ad.
He wasn’t badly injured and he couldn’t feel the pain but he didn’t get up, laying on his back, entangled in the limbs of his assailant for a while.
He had wanted to have some fun but he quickly realized how much of a bad idea that was, if he had let it go on even a moment later, he would probably be bleeding out right then.
Nikolai eventually got to his feet, tossing the hitman to the side and yanking out the knife in his thigh with a straight face. Knowing that the hitman would be out for a few hours, he ditched him in the messy living room and strode to his bedroom to clean up.
When he came out a long while later, the room was exactly how he left it. He didn’t like his men lingering around the penthouse, so he was the only one on the entire floor. It meant that the door was still open, his package thrown carelessly on the ground.
Nikolai walked towards it, wearing a clean shirt that was neatly buttoned, the bandage around his thigh barely visibly through his pants.
He had stitched up both injuries by himself and slapped a bandage over it, the one on his face looking out of place. That was because Nikolai never got hurt, whoever the hitman was, he was pretty good.
He crouched to pick up his package, a thoughtful expression on his face. Who would be fucking stupid enough to send a single assassin after him?
With the package in hand, he walked over to the unconscious hitman and studied him. Before those eyes closed, they had glared at him with so much anger and a tinge of mania.
But with his eyes closed, he could study the rest of his face, and there was no doubt about it. This was Silvia’s partner back in Asher’s club.