"Deal." Lake agreed easily, a tad breathless after the kiss. He waddled off with purpose, heading for the kitchen.
Lake couldn’t remember the last time he cooked, he didn’t miss it but every now and then, he didn’t mind doing the cooking.
He loved the vacation and he time he got to spend with his mate but he also missed his friends and his home he left behind in Haines. He could see that Davian was in a grumpy mood but maybe he could propose occasional weekend getaways to soothe his mate’s bruises.
Despite the excitement of returning early, he couldn’t forget about the reason why they were doing that.
The High Council making a move was like an urban myth. After running his Mafia House for a few months, Lake knew that well. There were clauses in place to stop the High Council from interfering in the running of Haines.
But he knew that Asher wouldn’t jump to conclusions about nothing, there was a very valid reason to be concerned. There were other ways for the High Council to make a move after all, and knowing them, they wouldn’t miss a chance to do just that.
Lake went over the information he had been given while absently cooking up one of the simplest breakfast they would be having while on vacation.
He cut up two bowls of fruit salad when he was all done, walking back to the bedroom while still wearing his apron to call Davian for breakfast.
The bedroom was a whirlwind of chaos, one that had him standing in the doorway with an expression of surprise.
He didn’t see his mate anywhere in the piles of clothes and suitcases and just when he was about to call out for him, Davian stepped out of he bathroom shirtless, a look of focus on his handsome face.
"You seem very busy," Lake speaking up caught his attention and made him change his trajectory. "Could you spare a few minutes for breakfast?"
Davian looked Lake over like he expected to see several burns and some broken bones.
Lake just chuckled and took his wrist, it was just like the Alpha to forget that he used to be the cook. "Are you sure you don’t need help with packing?"
"I don’t," Davian denied without hesitation. "Why don’t you call Doctor Perez to fill him in?"
Lake graciously accepted, maybe he could call Rosie while he was at it, and Caspian as well...
Unaware of the chain of dominoes that Silvia had tipped over, Nikolai sat back in his office at his casino, a signature cigar between his fingers as he watched a tracker blink on the map laid out on his laptop screen.
Luis Caddel should have chosen someone else to fuck arond with because Nikolai was adept at playing the long con.
The dog was really lucky he was in a hurry, it was why he was graciously taking so many low blows while lying down.
The tracking device hadn’t moved for several hours now, and it hadn’t stopped outside Haines like he had been expecting but instead it was right in the 1st District.
There was a predatory focus as he watched it, only easing back when it disappeared. It was easy to slap a tracker on one of the men Luis Caddel dispatched like rats.
What he couldn’t guarantee though was if they would return to the High Council’s dog’s side. And he wasn’t generous enough to let that many of Luis Caddel’s men leave with their lives.
He already had all the info on where the tracker had stopped in. It was a pricey five star hotel, and he had no doubt that Luis Caddel was in there.
Nikolai didn’t make a move however, he had only ever told Luis Caddel that he wanted to have a word with him. Luis Caddel going off on that limb and making several moves against him was like a rabid dog snarling.
He wore a smile that was nothing like a happy expression, a dense cloud of smoke making the expression appear more sinister. Finding Luis Caddel was easy and he just wanted to send a little message to the dog.
Luis glared down at the blood inching closer to his polished shoes. He lifted his shoe to show the crushed device underneath, cooling blood rapidly staining it as he stepped back.
His dark eyes quickly scanned the room, the other armed men in the room wore ignorant looks and it made him want to drop them all one after the other.
This had screwed everything over. The plan was simple, he would lie low while the High Council did whatever they wanted, then when Nikolai’s defenses were all down, he would stride right in and curb stomp him.
He also still hadn’t gotten enough information on the other Mafia King. Angelo had only been seen with him a few times and then he just disappeared.
He knew better than to underestimate Nikolai. Dealings with the Mafia King was like dining with the devil, best to not bother taking out a long spoon, because even that wouldn’t be enough to save you.
He knew well that the High Council would only proect their interests and as soon as things went south, they would foist all of the blame and consequences on him.
Luis had been attending to some business in person downtown, and he came back to this incompetence. No one he sent to Nikolai was supposed to make it back alive, and if they did, his men knew better than to let it remain that way.
There was no reason to interrogate the idiots, it would provide no more answers than a brick wall. He might have destroyed the tracker but he knew well that Nikolai already had several eyes on him.
Luis walked into a different room with an inbuilt wet bar, pouring himself a drink. This new outcome was a nuisance but it wasn’t debilitating, he would just have to push his plans forward.
There was one last hitch in his plans but even that was at an 80% certainty. The odds were too good for him to lose.