Chapter 665
Fallon was right there to receive them as soon as they got out of the car. Behind him were heavy machinery clearing up the rubble and breaking down what was left of the casino.
Angelo had put his hair in a braid, but when he stepped out, his long, dark hair was swaying in the gentle but cold wind that blew.
"It’s been uncharacteristically calm all morning," Fallon reported right away. "Even downtown’s quiet."
Nikolai frowned, that could go a number of ways. "Don’t let anything slip past you." He cautioned, although it really wasn’t necessary to.
But the High Council had blown up his casino once, there was nothing really stopping them from doing it again. Nikolai didn’t care about their flashy explosives, but it would be his men getting hurt.
"Got it, boss." Fallon respectfully acknowledged, walking over to the leveled casino.
Nikolai closed the distance between himself and the assassin lightly leaning on the car. "Want to get a closer look?"
Angelo looked up at Nikolai, his eyes dim with worry. "Alright."
Nikolai reached out a hand to offer it, but Angelo had already pushed away from the car, his gaze fixed on the bustle behind him.
"Do you think the High Council will make a move?" Angelo asked quietly, walking next to him.
Nikolai’s hands were clenched into fists in the pockets of his trench coat. "It’s unlikely, but we can’t be too careful."
The High Council rolled back their influence from Haines long before he made the decision to rebuild his casino. They truly hadn’t done much of anything since they made the offer to Asher, there was an obvious reason why, and that was what made everyone so antsy, how obvious it was.
They couldn’t get too close without protective gear, but a look was more than enough. Fallon had men meticulously comb through the rubble for any explosives long before the construction crew showed up.
Soon, it was midday, but there was still nothing out of place. The demolition didn’t take too long, most of the building had already been brought down by the explosion.
Rebuilding would naturally take a while, not to mention that it was winter, but funds and manpower weren’t a problem, so while difficult, it wasn’t impossible.
Angelo turned to Nikolai, they had driven around for a bit to get a look around and were now back at the casino. If nothing had happened yet, it would be difficult for the High Council to pull something off, they weren’t all-powerful.
"Let’s go get something to eat," He suggested.
They had left the house that morning without breakfast, eager to arrive at the casino. Now they had spent hours here and the day had even gotten a bit warmer, they did need to eat.
And there wasn’t anything more for them to do.
All three Mafia Houses had men patrolling the perimeter, the construction site was locked up tight.
Nikolai looked the assassin over, his coat didn’t properly fit his slender frame, but it darkened his eyes with pride every time he looked at him. "At home?"
Angelo had been thinking they could eat out and then return to the casino, but it made no difference really. "Alright."
Without asking, he went to the driver’s seat, hearing the soft jingle of keys after he closed the door behind him. He glanced to the side to find Nikolai already in the car holding out his keys to him.
He reached out to take the keys only to meet resistance, he glanced up at Nikolai with questions in his eyes, their fingers hooked into the key ring.
The Alpha had been looking at him the entire time, his other hand reached out to wrap a hand around his neck to pull him close.
The pressure on his tender mating bite was deliberate, it made soft sounds spill past Angelo’s round lips into the heated kiss.
He broke away first, a little dazed and out of breath, but he did get the car keys, turning on the ignition and driving them home.
With both of his hands free, Nikolai’s hands were in his hair like clockwork, the Alpha never taking his dark blue gaze off him. "What do you say to getting married?"
Angelo did a double take at that, finding it difficult to keep his attention on the road. "A binding contract would be more apt," He tried to tease, but his quiet voice didn’t quite convey it.
Nikolai’s breath seized, his hands turning into fists in the assassin’s hair. "I’ll take anything." He murmured. Everything.
Angelo glanced at him, not missing the Alpha’s odd tone. "We can get married." He said directly - they were already mated, after all. "I just didn’t think you cared about that."
Only after the Omega’s words could his lungs properly function again. It was selfish. He wanted to bind Angelo so tight to him that no one would be able to tell where one of them ended and the other began.
And the assassin was endlessly indulgent, but he was still greedy, crouched ravenously at his feet.
Did Angelo also care about getting married? Did he also want to get married... to him?
When Nikolai still said nothing, Angelo slowed down, moving to the slow lane. "We could get married right away. What kind of wedding would you like?"
"Would you wear a wedding dress?" Nikolai was quick to recover. His tone was teasing, but his gaze was anything but.
Angelo shot him a look, "Good thing you can find your way home. Keep that up, and you’ll be walking."
"Not even for me, on our wedding night?" Nikolai doubled down, a little more than hung up on the topic.
Angelo couldn’t understand how they got to this point, he had just been curious if Nikolai wanted a quiet wedding or something more lavish.
The curiosity only grew stronger, he suddenly wanted to know. "Have you thought about getting married before?"
Although his attempts to get the assassin to wear a wedding dress had been foiled, Nikolai was noticeably in a better mood.
"No. Have you?"
Angelo picked up the pace, he would prefer that they had this conversation in their home. "I’ve never thought about wearing a wedding dress." He made another attempt at a joke.