Captive Mate BL-Chapter 625: - - -

Jael gave up on trying to make inquiries, casually striding out like he had truly only stepped in for a drink.

He didn’t even get to the door yet when the trio that had been whispering rather loudly by the bar got up as well. Jael pretended like he couldn’t see or hear them, but he picked up the pace - going against three had far better odds than the entire bar.

He walked to the edge of the street and then lingered around like he was waiting for a cab, curious to see what the trio would do. He wasn’t completely averse to a confrontation if it would get him some answers.

To his surprise, the men actually approached him, there was a mix of knowing and wariness in their beady eyes.

"You were sent to take him out, weren’t you?" The boldest of the three spoke up.

Jael didn’t have the faintest clue of what they were talking about, but that was hardly an obstacle for someone like him. "And you seem to know where he is." He turned the interrogation on them without giving an answer.

The trio shared looks of muted excitement, "That’s easy." They were quick to reassure him with sighs of relief.

"Tell you what," Another spoke up, less tense now that they had confirmed his ’identity’. "Give us a little tip and we’ll take you to him."

Jael didn’t know why he agreed, this was most likely another dead end, and he was wasting precious time that could be spent searching for Gage.

They seemed to have preconceived notions that he was a hired hitman, and he didn’t correct them, sticking around against his better judgment.

He didn’t have to take a car much to his surprise, because the men started down the street with confidence, speaking around him, their eyes glittering with greed.

"You’re not from around here, are you?" They directed at him.

Jael just lowered his head to give them an impassive look, saying nothing.

The man who had asked scratched his head, admiration and embarrassment whirling in his eyes. "Of course, you’re not going to answer that." He mumbled to himself.

Another eyed his physique appreciatively, "You could try out for the competitions yourself, the pay is real good."

Jael had no idea what competitions they were trying to recruit him for. "I’m just here to do my job," He cut off their bubbling suggestions.

That silenced them, begrudging respect in their eyes.

The journey took them deeper into the rundown parts of the town, if it were anyone else, following three strangers to such a shady environment would be foolish, but Jael could handle himself, even if it was a trap.

The men stopped partway down a street, here the buildings were tightly packed next together, the alleys dangerous despite the bright sunlight overhead.

"He’s right down that alley," They whispered, fear glinting in their eyes.

A howl of pain made them spring apart from their whispering, looking like they wanted nothing more than to run off.

Jael’s eyes furrowed, he put his back to the wall, and then looked around the corner. What he saw was so startling that he stumbled out, no longer caring about his safety.

He stood right at the entrance to the alley, dark eyes fixed despairingly on the scene in front of him. The ’weird old man’ had just been Gage, and it seemed like a group had beaten them to it and were already attacking him for his ’prize money’.

The men who had brought him there tried to put on a brave face, hiding behind him.

"That’s him right there."

"Don’t forget our tip for leading you right to him."

"Attack now that he’s distracted..."

Gage had an attacker pinned to the peeling painted wall by his neck, his grip suffocating as the man struggled helplessly in his hold.

The attacker had been able to scream before, but now his entire face had gone a bright red from a lack of oxygen, unable to make even a single sound.

His neck gave in under Gage’s strength before the lack of oxygen could kill him, veins bursting underneath his purple face.

The violent scene was familiar, Gage and Asher preferred to use guns, and spending so much time close to Asher let him know why. Cruelty coursed in their veins, killing their enemies with guns was the least violent thing their hands could do.

There were two other bloodied, mangled bodies on the dusty ground around him, and yet one more leaned against the other building. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Gage had held a bottle of liquor in one hand as he snapped the neck of the man pinned up against the wall. He drained the bottle like it held cool water, flipping the neck of the bottle with deft fingers.

The man leaning against the building was also a mess, dazed and bloody, but his chest still rose and fell, rapidly due to his fear.

Gage casually shattered the bottle on his head, driving the jagged tips into his neck and leaving the half-broken bottle there.

While fighting, he moved fluidly, powerfully. But when the attackers were all dead, unmoving in the dirt, he stumbled through a pile of empty bottles to grab an unopened bottle from a paper bag in the corner.

With that, he sat on a stack of cartons that had gone limp from time and the elements, leaning against the fence that ran behind the alley.

The entire time, Jael stood unmoving at the entrance to the alleyway. The men behind him had been whispering words to him the entire time, trying to get him to make his move on Gage.

Jael was devastated - Gage had drunk to escape the pain of Layla’s death, after so many years, it seemed like thhe Alpha had started to heal. He had been doing so well abstaining from alcohol - what had happened in such a short time?

Or had Gage been slowly breaking down, slowly losing his mind until he couldn’t help it anymore?