I Made A Deal with the Devil.Chapter 44: they are killers .Akio sits at the table slowly, Japheth sits next to him, towering over him dark and menacing. Nikolai returns back to the head of the table eyes not leaving his face, and hand not leaving his side where it rests over his gun.Alexander watches it all slowly, seeing in Nikolai’s eyes what Alexander must have looked like when he first met Amir, when he slowly corrupted his heart.Love makes men like them weak."Do you know who I am," Alexander asks Akio, everyone around the circle sits tense, watching Yoongi carefully.Akio’s eyes flick up nervously and he shakes his head quickly, soft hair rippling. Nikolai’s every instinct screams at him to get Akio out of there, next to him Ren rests a hand on his back lightly, grounding him."My name in Alexander Ivankov" he says simply, and watches as the recognition burns in Akio’s eyes, the stories, the whispers, the bloodiness to that name. Akio’s face is tense and he looks at Niko
I Made A Deal with the Devil.Chapter 45: love, desire and pure wildness .Amir grins evilly. He could taste the end, so near, he wanted to watch them break, see it in their eyes when they know they've lost.Because the lost the moment they decided to touch him. "Are you a gambling man?" He stares intently at the leader who raises a gun slowly, shakily, hand not even on the fucking trigger yet, pointing it at Amir’s dirty face.Amir scoffs at his pathetic existence, his finger shakes as it moves towards the trigger, the other men have abandoned him now, running to the exits to save themselves.Amir stares into his eyes and watches him."Let's hope you are a gambling man,"He doesn't speak, mouth set firm as the gun trembles in his strong hands."Shall we make a bet?" Amir teases, "what are the odds that those are my people, or yours?" He muses out loud, alive and pulsing with adrenaline and joy.The leader sweats and looks wildly at Amir, eyes begging him to shut up, but he won't,
I Made A Deal with the Devil.Chapter 46: real life angle . Dawn was almost coming; the night had been long and full of pain. Akio lies in his bed and lets the world move around him whilst he stays cold and frozen.He didn't know how to fix himself, not this time, not when he was this afraid.His world had been crushed in a single night, nightmares had become real, reality had become lost, and villains had gained faces – and those faces were sharp and tanned, golden and harsh, black eyes and black hair – black heart.Akio felt lost. He didn't know what he wanted. He didn't know what was right anymore.That was when he heard it, the dull knock that echoed through his apartment, bouncing from the walls and freezing his bones.He opens the door and almost screams until he sees a haggard-looking Nikolai swaying on his doorstep...Nikolai had been running for hours.From the moment the split up outside the burning building till now.His gun was heavy and hot at his side, four less bulle
I Made A Deal with the Devil.Chapter 47: no name, no lead .Amir was sleeping peacefully when Alexander crashed into the bedroom, flying to his side and shaking him awake violently."Get up Amir. Get up now," he hisses in the night, dragging his sleeping form awake.Alexander’s voice is frantic, cutting through the night like ice, it chills Amir and forces him up."What – what –"Blearily he gets up, candyfloss hair messy and bare face puffy, eyes squinting against the darkness just enough to see Alexander rushing around the room, throwing possessions into a bag. Reaching into a draw he pulls out a gun."What –" Alexander doesn't waste time on him, shouting over his shoulder he carries on his crazed cursing."Get up now we have to go. Quickly," he urges throwing a pile of clothes at the sleepy other."Wait calm down," Amir is worried now, pulling on the baggy t-shirt he wakes up enough to see the panic in the room.Alexander laughs erratically eyes wild at Amir, "Calm down – calm d
I Made A Deal with the Devil.Chapter 48: escape route blocked ."Fuck," Ren Akira ran a bloody hand through his messy hair, next to him Nikolai threw his gun on the ground in anger cursing loudly and kicking his slumped body."No fucking name. No name." Nikolai growls out body vibrating in unadulterated anger."We're no closer to finishing this mess," he spits out looking at the dead body in front of them slumped and useless to them now.He had died slowly, and in pain, life leaving his eyes in an agonizing second. That hadn't seen it coming, they had got to his final digit on his first-hand, halfway through cutting off his pinkie finger when his head had suddenly rolled forward heavily, his last breath leaving him slowly through his swollen lips and then nothing.Next to him Ren drags his soiled knife over his dark, stained top, cleaning the blood and gore off from the glinting blade."Whoever is organising this is powerful enough to hide from us," Ren states, "does Alexander tru
I Made A Deal with the Devil.Chapter 49: Code 8.Amir knew, of course, he had read his file in the asylum, Alexander’s mother never wanted him to be part of his father’s world, his empire, so she sent him away to Paris to grow up. But as the then most powerful mob boss in Russia, men had come to Paris one night to hurt her whilst Alexander was asleep. Come morning when he saw the blood that was the moment he stepped up to his heritage – Alexander had killed his father for her, for everything he put her through. Then a week later he had taken over his city and empire as king, to remind everyone no one could trap him.Amir felt pretty trapped right now."She loved you."Alexander nods. Amir reaches out and touches him, the air around them silent and fragile.***The flat around them felt like a bubble, neither one of them had left in days, surrounded by art, vintage décor and oak walls, Amir felt soft and whole.Like Paris was slowly healing him from within.The cut on his throat
I Made A Deal with The Devil .Chapter 50: not an end yet .Nikolai looks away pulse racing at the words that itch against his skin and weigh heavy in his chest, against his skin Akio’s hand feels warm and safe and perfect... and so scary.Too good for him."I wish that was true," he says, seeing how Akio’s gaze drops.He feels the words on his tongue to break his heart and he knows they are true."I chose this life," he knows it."Not only did I choose it. I've worked for it. I excelled at it. I'm powerful," the words burn and Akio’s hand drops from his face, lost in the space between them – worlds apart."I'm powerful" he says it out loud forcing himself to believe it.The little boy who grew up on the streets with nothing needed to believe it. Akio looks at him carefully. "Yes you are," he admits softly. "And yet you're lost" he says."Don't look at me with your fucking pity," Nikolai spits out, building his defences behind anger and pain, too scared to be vulnerable, knowing Ak
I Made A Deal With The Devil .Chapter 51: out .Nikolai feels more free than ever, and for a moment all he wants it to be in Akio’s arms, until he remembers... remembers how he left his house with Akio’s sobs filling the empty space and dripping from the walls.And suddenly he doesn't feel so warm.He turns to look at Ren and feels his body tense for what he knew was about to come."Brother," Ren looks over to him, dark face rippling beneath long shadows and amber light flickering from the flames.Nikolai takes a deep breath of icy air."What I'm about to do..." he trails off, god he didn't even know how to say how crazy the plan was they were about to do... he was practically asking Ren to commit suicide with him.Ren must have read his thought for he says softly, "I would go to the ends of the world with you Nikolai. Always," his eyes dark and alive with flames, almost as black as Nikolai’s , "So tell me the plan."He smiles despite the seriousness of the situation."How did you