Nikolai’s dark blue eyes were empty as he stared at the laptop in front of him. After showing himself downtown, Luis Caddel had left the city. He knew the scum would eventually show himself, he just didn’t have that much patience to wait for him to take his damn time.
It was late at night, but he had no interest in returning to the penthouse. There was no one there waiting for him, just an empty apartment that never felt like home.
He refocused on the laptop to find that he had opened up the cameras in Angelo’s room, he didn’t even remember doing it. It was empty, and even though he knew that wouldn’t change, he didn’t close down the cameras.
Nikolai knew exactly how things were going to go down with Luis Caddel, the High Council’s bitch would be completely overconfident that he wouldn’t do anything to him for fear of retaliation from the High Council.
Nikolai would burn the world down on a whim, much less for Angelo.
He would prefer a much quicker method, but he didn’t have much of a choice but to put out a honey jar and wait for Luis to come to him. He flexed a hand, he preferred to use his gun, but Luis was one of the few people who made him want to use his fists.
He wrenched his gaze from his laptop screen and closed it, rising to his feet. It was almost midnight, he was too antsy to be around people, it was better he went back to the apartment complex and took as many glasses of wine as it would take to knock him out.
With a lit cigar between his lips, he started down the stairs, a gunshot going off as he got off the last step. Nikolai blew out white smoke, not flinching even as one of his bodyguards went down with a grunt.
The trigger-happy bastard was swiftly disarmed and dragged to him, the momentary chaos sorted almost instantly.
"Why don’t we take this upstairs?" Nikolai suggested with a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. This was exactly what he needed, a way to blow off some steam.
The man who had fired off the shot wore an unrepentant grin as he was tossed into his office. "Luis wanted me to send you a message," He started, his eyes glittering.
Nikolai dismissed his men with a wave of his hand and then stopped them again, "Wait. Where’s Palin?" He asked, referring to the man who had been shot, completely ignoring the shooter’s words.
"Receiving medical care." Someone gave him an answer.
"Bring him in," He said calmly.
No one questioned his orders, and shortly, Palin was brought to him. He looked pale, his shirt hastily buttoned, blood drenching the outfit.
Nikolai’s movements were casual as he pulled out a gun and shot Palin right in the head. The men Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free!
The man who had fired the shot downstairs froze, his eyes wide as he stared at Nikolai in disbelief. The rest of his tirade was long forgotten in Nikolai’s intimidating presence. He had been certain their inside man was secure, had Mafia King Nikolai somehow figured him out in the split second he shot him?
"I’d prefer if Luis brought the message himself," Nikolai finally replied to the shooter, who had gone quiet and pale, a thoughtful expression on his face.
The men assigned to the top floor of the casino weren’t exactly specially selected, a decent number of them were people who admired him for various reasons. Nikolai didn’t care much, as long as they did their jobs and didn’t two-time him.
It wasn’t often he had to deal with betrayal, they knew well that the only outcome for that was death, so most steered clear of that, regardless of how they felt towards him.
"Call him up," He directed the shooter in front of him.
"Huh?" The man blinked, his brain flatlining.
"Call Luis. Tell him you delivered your message." Nikolai urged him, leaning back in his seat.
This wasn’t going according to plan. He took out his phone, his forehead quickly becoming sweaty. He wasn’t a reckless idiot, he was working for Luis Caddel, and everyone knew Luis had the backing of the High Council. Even Mafia Kings treaded carefully around the High Council.
He was supposed to deliver his message and be home free, not whatever was going on here. Their eyes on the inside was dead too, and he still couldn’t figure out how Mafia King Nikolai had guessed it.
The call rang out in the eerily quiet room, there was no answer, the call ringing endlessly. The shooter colored up at being ignored despite his dangerous situation, ringing Luis up again.
This time, there was an answer, and after a beat, a low voice spoke into the phone. "Report."
"Message delivered." The shooter said shortly, swallowing thickly.
There was a pause on the other end, "And he let you go?" Luis asked, sounding completely surprised.
The shooter paled once more, starting to realize that even Luis Caddel hadn’t thought he would survive this. He glanced at Nikolai who cocked a brow, "He... He did..." He mumbled, barely audible.
The call dropped then, like Luis Caddel couldn’t even be bothered to hear his response. As soon as the call ended, the phone fell out of his hand, a smoking hole going through his eyes.
Nikolai rose to his feet, in a worse mood than before. Luis Caddel was playing games on purpose, probably trying to sound out what he wanted with him.
His discarded cigar butt fell into the pool of blood in the middle of his office, the congealing dark red liquid putting it out. By the time he got to the stairs, he had a freshly lit cigar in his mouth again, his expression dark.
He couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something important, a little puzzle piece that would put the whole picture together and help him figure out exactly what Luis was thinking.