The Submissive Assassin

Chapter 9 - "We can't be disturbed, right?"

Nate had been on the ground when he suddenly felt a hold on the back of his shirt. A force pulled him upwards, forcing him onto his feet and during the seconds it took him to stabilizing his balance, a hand had been pressed on his waist to hold him still. Dante's attention returned to Jake the moment Nate could stand on his own, his widened eyes filled with terrorizing rage, almost showing all the horrible outcomes he relished to do to Jake.

Dante was wearing a baggy black sweater with his hair hidden under the hood. His eyes appeared droopy but deadly and even though he was dressed casually with sweats and sneakers, he seemed as intimidating as on a suit. Even Jake couldn't stare at him directly in the eyes for too long, glancing every corner in hopes that his furious expression would change.

His lips were quivering and he gulped before stammering, "Y-You never come to our s-school grounds."

Dante tilted his head to the side without any response. His eyes examined Jake, seeing his fidgeting body push himself to his feet. He adored the way the colours drained from his face, as if he was assuming death would take him if he said one thing wrong. Jake always had a special place in his heart, but not when he damaged his special specimen. He needed Nate for now and he wouldn't let anyone ruin that.

"Are you alright?"

Jake inhaled a sharp breath; Dante's eyes hadn't diverted but he wasn't speaking to him. Instantly, he glanced around for backup, only to realize that his friends had fled already, leaving him all alone to face Dante.

Nate slowly nodded his head, his hand still on his abdomen as he grunted in pain, "I'll be fine."

Dante stepped forward, noticing the way Jake's breath became irregular as he pulled his head backwards, attempting to distance himself as far as he could from Dante. Sadly, Dante's fingers gripped his neck before he could sprint away, feeling a few veins bulging as he began to squeeze even harder, the choking noises from Jake satisfying him, wanting him to feel his breath slowly seep away without any to return.

"You listen to me really well right now because I'll say this once," he growled, Nate surprised by how deep his voice had reached. He gritted his teeth for a moment, noticing Jake begin to resist against his grasp, attempting to pull his arm away but Dante was much stronger than him. All his fight failed, begging for mercy while he stared back at the wicked smile from Dante. "That boy is mine. You got that?"

When he received no reaction from Jake, he squeezed his fingers even tighter, seeing Jake's eyes begin to bulge. "Nod your f*****g head then!" Instantly, Jake nodded, starting to feel way too lightheaded and his arms were growing heavier by the second. When Dante finally released him by shoving him backwards, Jake tumbled onto the floor, gasping for air as Nate had, his palm on his throat. The squeeze had been terribly hard that he could still feel Dante's fingers around his neck.

"If you touch him again, I'll cut each one of your fingers and make you eat them." The viciousness in his tone made both of their skins begin to shrivel, even Nate flinched by how terrifying his voice sounded.

After a few seconds, Dante glaring at a gasping Jake, he finally motioned with his head towards his car. "Let's go."

Nate followed behind him without any questions, glancing backwards to Jake who eyed them walk away, leaving him on the grass. He had no idea Nate was affiliated with the Hercules. However, there was something odd from the bond they had; Dante never treated anyone this way. He never protected any of his underlings in this manner; he sometimes let them fight to the death if that was what they wanted to do. He observed Dante walk towards the passenger side of his car, pull open the door for Nate and help him inside the car before closing it and making his way around.

The motor began to roar, Dante lighting himself a cigarette and pulling down his hood before shifting his gear in drive and zooming from the parking lot. Nate was in the passenger seat, his palm still rested on his stomach where he had been kneed. After a quick glance from Dante, he shook his head and exhaled the fumes from his mouth before snarled, "You could've fought back. You're stronger than that wimp."

Nate shrugged his shoulders; he had more important things that crossed his mind regarding that encounter. "He called you boss...?"

Dante eyed Nate for a moment, followed by a scoff. "Mind your business." Nate instantly glanced elsewhere, still groaning at the cramp he felt in stomach; he was definitely going to be sore tomorrow, even maybe in a couple hours. He hadn't imagined Jake to pull this while they were still on school grounds. Even though this time he had attempted to avoid throwing his fists, he would not let Jake get the best of him next time. Well, if there would ever be a next time after Dante's threats.

When Nate cleared his throat, one of Dante's ears perked but he maintained his attention onto the road. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Done what?" Dante raised his eyebrows, incredulous. "Protect you?" Before Nate could respond, Dante slowly shook his head. "You should be grateful that I protected you. I'm the least person to care about anyone; I don't even protect my brothers when they get beaten by anyone."

Nate raised an eyebrow. The only thing his mind had processed from that sentence was, "You care about me?"

Dante glanced towards him, noticing that there was a dim light of hope in Nate's gaze. That made him wrinkle his nose before he spat, "That's not what I said or meant. You're my test subject, that's all—" He was interrupted by a sudden blaring of a song, one that made his ears screech and he was not a fan of that music. "Turn that s**t off."

Nate reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and staring at the name that brightened the screen. He wondered when she would get in touch with him and realize he was no longer at the school. After pressing the green button, he squeezed the phone against his ear.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?" Her tone was impatient, sharply harsh as her eyes travelled across the parking lot and entrance, not seeing her nephew anywhere.

Nate chuckled; she barely had any patience either while she was the one being late. "I got a ride."

That made her frown, staring at her phone for a second, as if contemplating if she had heard correctly. "From who?!"

Nate glanced towards Dante, seeing a small smile pull his lips as he eyed him as well, their gazes meeting for a few seconds before Dante chuckled and looked away. It was clear this was amusing him, seeing Nate attempt to find an accurate lie to avoid needing to admit that he was with her arch nemesis.

He cleared his throat after a few seconds, scratching the side of his face. "A teacher from school."

She stayed quiet for a second, folding her arms. "What's their name?"

Nate furrowed his brows. "Why do you need to know their name?"

She narrowed her eyes at the school building. "So I can thank them for giving a ride to my dumb ass nephew."

"Their name..." his eyes searched for any idea for a person's name, sending pleading eyes to Dante who shrugged his shoulders, his smile having widened from ear to ear. "It is..." he observed each street sign there was, eventually landing on a pizza shop and reciting it, "Mr. P....Johns."

"Mr. P. Johns?!" she repeated in a scream, causing Nate to rapidly begin nodding.

"Yes, he saw me outside alone and he decided to—"

"Hey auntie." Nate squeezed his eyes shut when Dante spoke in his husky tone, laughing when he heard the gasp from aunt Judy and the long exhale from Nate.

Judy exhaled sharply, her fingers gripping the phone tighter and landing her forehead on her steering wheel. All of the memories of Mell begging her to keep her son safe, pleading that she wouldn't let him get himself in trouble, vividly crossed her mind. The worse was that she promised she would guide him; the first day they were gone, she had landed him the company of the deadliest person in the city and she had no idea how to remove Nate from that situation without either of them being killed or severely injured.

"You better not be at Nate's apartment when we get there," he spoke again, causing her flesh begin to shrivel in fear. She wished she wasn't afraid of him, but she had witnessed too many of his wrongdoings and it was practically a miracle that she was still alive.

She shook her head. "I'm at the school, I was on my way to pick him up." Her tone had calmed soothingly and they both heard her clear her throat before she asked, "Are you alright Nate? You're not hurt, right?"

Before Nate could respond, Dante reached for the phone and pulled it closer to him. "Is there something you need because we're a little busy," he spat, turning the steering wheel into the parking lot of Nate's building complex.

Nate rolled his eyes, unhappy that Dante did nothing to soften her worry but not expecting him to. "I'm fine."

They both heard her sigh, the other end becoming quiet before she whispered, "Call me when he leaves."

"He will," Dante replied before hanging up the phone. He changed the phone setting to silent before shoving it inside his pocket.

When Nate extended his palm to get his phone back, Dante scoffed and shifted the gear to park, pushing open his driver's door and exiting the car. Nate furrowed his brows, rushing after him, staring at the back of his hood when he stated, "So you have to keep my phone now?"

Dante glanced over his shoulder, a smirk twirling one corner of his lip before shoving his hands in the front of his sweater pocket. "We can't be disturbed, right?" Then he winked, and oddly enough, that wink made Nate's heart thump.