Jael was relieved that he had canceled all appointments for the day. After sending Caspian off, he went back down to the basement, cautiously stepping in.
Asher was still strapped down to the chair, so that was a good sign. The Alpha was flat-out pissed at him but Jael was only doing this for his own benefit.
"He took the twenty-five million and agreed to leave," He lied easily, leaning against the heavy door.
Asher’s eyes narrowed at that and he could tell the Alpha didn’t believe him.
This was exactly why Jael needed to stop whatever was happening here before it became irreparable, they were already acting like they were bonded.
"I’m not going to ask again."
Jael gulped, he never went directly against Asher, this was the one exception. "I sent him off to a safe house for a few days."
Asher visibly relaxed at that answer, his head leaning against the backrest. "You can let me go now. I’m fine."
Jael made a face, "Yeah, right."
"You have to give your word that you wouldn’t immediately go after him," The Beta cut in, his tone solemn.
Loud silence greeted his request, stubborn hazel-gold eyes staring him down.
"Then I’m not letting you go," Jael concluded.
He ignored the Alpha’s frustration, straightening up. "By the way, are you hungry? Had breakfast yet?"
Asher managed to look exasperated and pissed while simply cocking a brow, his head tilting slightly to the side.
"I don’t care if you’re mad. I’m not letting you go hungry." Jael insisted, he could be stubborn too.
Asher clicked his tongue, he knew that his second-in-command would keep hounding him until he agreed. "Fine. Let me go so I can eat."
"Not a fucking chance," Jael denied, leaving once again.
Asher heard the air swishing loudly as the heavy door closed, staring at the cold metal.
Jael didn’t understand, he wasn’t like his father, he could do better.
He needed to see Caspian though, it felt like his blood was slowly catching on fire the longer he stayed apart from him.
The door opened shortly after and he watched the Beta push in a mobile tray, his rumpled dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves, shoulder holsters empty.
"Not this shit again," He groaned.
"Don’t worry, I’ll spare you." Jael said generously, beckoning in a maid who looked a little too pale. "I’m not going to give you an opportunity to cave my skull in with your hard ass head." He went on.
Asher had personally been thinking of breaking his nose a little bit but he couldn’t do that to the poor maid who looked like she would pass out as she was ordered to feed him.
"Just let me go Jael, this is starting to get ridiculous." He eyed up the shivering maid.
"I’m not underestimating you, boss."
Something in Jael’s tone told Asher that the man was dead serious, he had no intentions of letting him go unless he gave up on Caspian.
"How long are you going to keep this up?" He asked dryly after the maid left, she had hurried out like she was being chased, hastily pushing out the tray.
"As long as it takes," Jael said somberly, getting comfortable on a chair.
"You can’t hold a Mafia King captive."
"I’m sure as hell willing to try..."
Jael hadn’t been kidding when he said that because the day was coming to an end and they were still stuck in this goddamned basement cell.
He hadn’t left either, keeping him company, his brows drawn tight in worry.
"You’re acting like I’m going to fucking die," He finally snapped, running out of patience.
Jael rose to his feet then, "I’m not going to be the one to say it," He said, starting for the door.
"And where are you going?" Asher asked suspiciously, if Jael planned to leave him down here all night, he might actually go through with his threats to gut the Beta.
"To get men to move you to your room." Jael deadpanned.
"What? I can fucking walk."
Jael pretended not to hear his protests, "I’ve already made arrangements, we’ll continue this in a more comfortable position..."
Asher didn’t understand what Jael was going on about and he could never have predicted what he second-in-command had actually prepared for him.
"No fucking way." He muttered, spread-eagled on his bed, his arms and legs strapped down. "You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."
Jael lit a cigarette some distance away, the men that had strapped him down long gone. He was going to blame the free reign he gave the Beta for why none of them had questioned why he needed to be fucking strapped down like a wild beast.
"I’ve never been more serious about anything." Jael puffed out a cloud of smoke.
"I’m not like my father," He said quietly.
Jael almost wrenched his cigarette out of his mouth, "You tried to rip out his shoulder!"
"But I stopped... I stopped." He replied, his voice small.
Jael scratched his head violently, gritting his teeth at the helplessness of the situation.
He knew instinctively that he could delay it but he couldn’t fucking stop it, it was an inevitable cycle.
"We’re not discussing this further." Jael shut down the conversation, "Get some rest."
Asher didn’t protest and as Jael shut the door behind him, he wondered if he was taking things too far.
It was why he had wanted to call Gage Knight, he was way out of his depth here.
He wouldn’t though, there were lines he couldn’t cross. The only person who could call the former Mafia King down to Haines was Asher himself.
As a matter of fact, he knew well that the only reason he could hold Asher hostage was because the Alpha was letting him, and he was going to take advantage of that.
He really hoped that by the next morning, the Mafia King would have properly thought things over and seen the sense in his words.
Getting rid of Caspian would be easy, it wasn’t like the Omega had his mating mark, or his baby.
Caspian woke up confused the next morning, he was in a strange bed. It took a couple of moments for his memories to return.
He immediately reached for his phone, scowling when he didn’t get even a single text or call from Jael.
It didn’t help that he had no way to reach out to the Beta. He was starting to think that maybe he should have insisted on staying back.
Because Jael had told him that he would be here for a couple days and yet the men had gotten him foodstuff that would feed a family of four for a month.
Caspian got out of bed to clean up, deciding to trust the Beta, besides if Asher wanted to see him, he would.
When he wasn’t waiting for information from Jael, he actually enjoyed living alone.
It was something he always wanted but even when he lived in a little room all alone as a teenager, he was still a part of the Pack
So being able to cook his own meals in the kitchen without a random Omega butting in was a liberating experience.
He kept to his words and stayed inside, only peeking through the curtains. He did go out the back door to take out the trash, and nothing happened.
There was no Mafia King Nikolai, there were no armed men trying to take him out.
The time seemed to pass faster as he spent it alone, enjoying the solitude.
By the end of the day, he was starting to consider having a life that was this peaceful.
With Jael’s offer, he wouldn’t have to work for a good long while and there would be no dangerous Mafia Kings threatening his safety.
He just had to give up on Asher...
Caspian watched the sun set through the curtains, a steaming mug of hot chocolate in his hand.
There was no reason to think about that right now. He had already turned down Jael’s offer, he just had to patiently wait for a couple days and he would get to speak with Asher.
The Mafia King might end up getting rid of him but at least then he would have closure.
He took off the bandage before he slept, the bite on his shoulder already healing. Even if Asher didn’t want to keep him, he would have something to remember him by.
He sounded a little insane saying that.
Caspian would rather not run off to another country though, even if Asher didn’t want him, he wanted to stay in Haines.
He didn’t want to stay in a place where he would have to be part of a Pack, he still wanted his freedom even if he was foolishly giving it away for Asher.
He still hadn’t gotten a call from Jael, and he was starting to think that the Beta never intended to reach out to him.