The sprawling casino was the same as it always was, stepping out of the car with Davian in tow, Asher couldn’t help but think about how unhelpful disguises would have been.
They instantly drew attention, Nikolai’s men going on high alert.
Asher didn’t wait for them to approach, heading to the closest of Nikolai’s men. "Where’s Nikolai?"
"I-In his office," The armed hand stumbled over his words.
Asher strode right past him before he could recover, there was a chance that Nikolai would be at his casino, and it was one he had been willing to take.
Nikolai’s skirmish with the High Council didn’t seem to affect the casino’s patronage in the least, slot machines going off despite it being a Sunday morning.
Asher had been to Nikolai’s office a few times so he knew his way around, going past the second floor which seemed more deserted than usual. The intimidating wall of armed men on the third floor were fewer too, it made him frown.
Contrary to the main activities of the casino on the ground floor, Nikolai seemed to be taking the moves the High Council was making very hard, by the look of everything else.
Davian seemed to be thinking along the same lines, "You say it’s only been a week?"
Asher’s grim expression was enough of an answer. The bodyguards at the door didn’t try to stop them, their weapons at the ready.
It had only been a week since ’Luis Caddel’ started making moves. It was a good thing Silvia decided to come to him, by the time they figured out how severe things were, Nikolai might have been hanging on his last limb.
Asher pushed open the door to Nikolai’s office and strode in like he owned the place. He knew that the other Mafia King was already aware of his presence in his casino, and if they weren’t getting shot at already, he didn’t plan to get rid of them.
The Mafia King was calmly seated in his office, behind a desk, this time, a laptop opened in front of him, the rich and redolent scent of cigar smoke filling the space.
His dark blue eyes were frosty as he looked up at them, "I don’t need either of you meddling." He said calmly.
Asher ignored him and went over to the wet bar to pour himself a drink. "We’re going to meddle anyway."
He was very curious about what would make Nikolai so docile while the High Council was openly antagonizing him, but he would rather not return to his mate with a bullet wound, so he kept his curiosity under wraps.
Davian pulled up a seat and sat at the table, "Have you made a counter move?"
Nikolai’s expression couldn’t be more unwelcoming, but he knew that he couldn’t get rid of either Mafia King until they wanted to leave. "I’ve got things under control." He replied through gritted teeth.
"So that’s a no," Davian went right on.
"Why not?" Asher came over, extremely concerned about this.
No one took a jab at Nikolai and survived it, even if they meant no harm.
Nikolai sighed, aggravated, but backed against a wall. He had already sent all of his men out, so it was just the three of them in his lavish office.
"Simple. I want to kill Luis Caddel myself." He reluctantly divulged. "The dog is going to deliver himself to my hands sooner or later."
Asher shared a look with Davian, questions brimming in their eyes, questions they didn’t dare ask.
"And if he doesn’t?" Davian asked gravely, knowing that if Nikolai was saying it, then the Mafia King meant it.
"Then I’ll keep waiting." Nikolai said calmly, his face hard.
A heavy silence settled over the room, no one making an effort to change Nikolai’s mind.
It did at least explain why Luis Caddel was still alive. If Nikolai wasn’t bound by whatever he had going on, the High Council’s executioner would have been dead after his first move on the Lauder Mafia House.
"What if that’s exactly what the High Council wants?" Davian asked, his expression grave.
Nikolai leaned back in his seat, "They don’t know what I plan to do, they’re only taking shots in the dark." He said matter-of-factly, it went beyond confidence, he sounded completely certain.
"...And if my calculations are correct, the High Council will halt their attacks on my turf... And I’m rarely ever wrong."
Davian glanced at Asher, a hint of accusation in his gray eyes. Nikolai did seem to have everything under control. "And if the High Council doesn’t back down after you kill their executioner?" He asked gruffly, a hairsbreadth away from rising to his feet and returning home.
"Then you’re free to meddle," He invited generously, dark blue eyes returning to his laptop screen.
"And if your calculations are wrong?" Asher doubled down, Nikolai was talking big, but the destruction to his turf was evident.
He had kept his scrutiny off Angelo when the strange Omega came over for dinner with Silvia, but now he was starting to think that he should have probed a bit. He never imagined that Nikolai could genuinely care for someone else, but this went beyond that.
Nikolai was sacrificing his Mafia House for Angelo. It was a really, really big deal.
"Then I’ll deal with the fallout myself." Nikolai said tautly.
Asher was unimpressed, "That’s fucking selfish. The fallout is going to impact us all."
Nikolai was immovable, "It’s my Mafia House taking the fall, I don’t see why you’re so pressed."
Davian didn’t let it escalate further, intervening. There was no need for Nikolai to say the quiet part out loud.
The reason they were here was that they wanted to maintain things as they were. If Nikolai’s Mafia House fell, the High Council taking over his turf wasn’t the only option. He and Asher could take advantage of the chaos and expand theirs.
They could leave Nikolai to his own fate, but they had established a relationship of sorts over the past years. Despite Nikolai slapping away their helping hands, he wasn’t about to let the Mafia King continue down his self-destructive path.
"If the High Council keeps making moves, we’ll discuss further." He calmly cut the conversation short.