Jael returned a short while later, frowning at the spaced-out look on his boss' face.
Asher snapped into focus when he walked closer, "Cancel the rest of my appointments for tonight."
At any other time, Jael would have said something but even he was a little tense at Nikolai's sudden appearance.
Mafia Kings didn't just brazenly walk into each other turfs to make demands unless they had an ace or two under their sleeves.
He managed to hold back his questions until they got in the car. He was just as busy as Asher but he preferred to be the one to drive his boss whenever he could.
It was just the two of them in the car, Asher in the backseat. The perfect time to corner him.
"So..." He drawled, his voice desert dry. "A sex slave?"
"Shut it," Asher said but his words held no heat.
"If you wanted one you could have just said so," He shrugged, "And I'd get one that wasn't a washed-out junkie, selling herself as a last-ditch option."
"It be great if your mouth stopped making sounds," Asher shut him down again, clearly disinterested in having this conversation.
Jael wasn't giving up though, "I just never thought you swung that way," He belatedly went on.
Asher didn't grace him a response this time, and although Jael knew he should stop pushing, it wasn't very often he got to tease his boss.
"I didn't think you'd feel the need to get a partner that wouldn't try to leav-"
A bullet embedding itself in the windshield right in front of Jael's head shut him up quickly, a dark chuckle spilling out. He kind of deserved that.
Asher wasn't upset, frankly, he had expected Jael to scold him for wasting money on something that was clearly not worth that much.
But if his grating taunts were what he had to endure instead, he would rather be scolded.
"Would you like me to do a background check on her?" Jael picked up the conversation, somehow managing to drive with ease despite the cracked windshield while wearing sunglasses.
The finality in his boss' tone told him to end that conversation there, he would still do a background check regardless.
He didn't even know why he bothered to ask Asher, the Alpha did things on impulse and just damned the consequences. It was why he had to be peak at damage control.
He was certain that this was another one of such impulses, he would get bored of the Omega in no time, and it would be up to him to deal with getting rid of her.
Caspian took off his shoes for better grip, they were clunky low-heeled shoes, white to match the dress he had on.
It was a good thing he hadn't been put in high heels because he would have fallen face-first to the ground the moment he tried to take a step in them.
It was unfortunate that the color of his dress was highly reflective but he couldn't just take it off like he did the shoes.
Caspian took his first tentative step out the window, trembling in fear at how dangerous and stupid the risk he was about to take was.
He couldn't say exactly how he got to the ground but he managed it somehow, his hands and legs bruised raw from holding onto the notches on the side of the building.
He had to take a moment to rest, muscles aching from the strain he had put on them to get him down without falling.
Fortunately, the window led him down to the side of the mansion, so he hadn't dropped down in the middle of a group of guards.
Caspian was outside but he didn't know where else to go from here, there hadn't been a chance to plan further. Honestly, he hadn't even been expecting to get to the ground undetected.
He carefully walked closer to peek around a pillar, and just like when he was brought in, the largest concentration of guards was at the front gate.
It was no surprise that they didn't feel the need to man the walls as well. The walls were so high, they were practically impossible to scale. He was certain they were also fortified so it would be a waste to have people guarding them.
The only gate out he could see was the massive main gates but unless he turned invisible, there was no getting past all those guards.
He retreated, going to the back of the mansion to investigate. He had to quickly duck into the shadows when he nearly made eye contact with more guards.
Caspian pressed himself against the wall, praying that the guards wouldn't come to investigate, his chest heaving.
If the windows had been in front or behind the mansion, he would have been caught the moment he tried to get out through the windows.
The sound of chatting and laughing women coming from the front of the mansion caught his attention, sending him tip-toeing there.
They seemed to be workers leaving for the day, a smaller gate off to the side was opened for them to leave through.
Caspian was suddenly struck with a stupid idea, the chances of it failing were massive but it was either that or he climbed up a story to get back to the room he had been left in.
He was certain that he would stick out like a sore thumb sneaking out of the shadows to join them as they left, but the worst that would happen would be that he would be caught, and the best? He would be free.
Coincidentally, a slew of cars were coming in through the main gate at that exact moment, it was almost like fate was finally taking pity on him.
Because, in the flurry of actions, he was able to effortlessly slip into the crowd of women leaving for the day.
He was barefoot and disheveled, his wig a mess but no one paid attention to him as he snuck out. It felt like the air was more crisp when he was free of the walls, his fingers ice cold from trepidation.