Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 130. The Masked Man

Ignoring the fear rising in the pit of his stomach, Misha leaned closer to Tristan to hide the boy from sight with his body. Though he had a bad feeling about the masked man and knew he had to keep a low profile, Misha wouldn't shy away and push the child into the spotlight to save his skin—he'd rather die. Fear wouldn't stop him from protecting the people he held dear, never.

Jake acted out of character and told them to run earlier, but Misha still did not trust him with Tristan's life. So he took it upon himself to protect the boy, not caring if that put him in the limelight. Whatever happened next, he could face it.

All in all, the less attention Tristan received, the better.

From the corner of his eyes, Misha glanced at Jake, who seemed utterly unbothered by the masked man's sudden appearance. Instead, he wore a disdainful look that urged people to beat him up, his emerald eyes filled with contempt. It was the usual annoying face.

Misha's mouth twitched. Could that idiot not court death when he was in the vicinity? He didn't want to become collateral damage, thank you!

"Oh my, you look like a little lioness protecting its cub," the masked man chuckled, bending over to grasp Misha's chin and lift his face. Dark, unfathomable eyes looked into his, and Misha momentarily forgot to breathe. "Tell me, do you think standing before the kid is enough to stop me from taking his life? It'd only result in your death."

Misha pursed his lips, refusing to answer. Though Tristan wasn't crying, he was trembling like a leaf, barely managing to hold back his tears. It brought out his protective instinct, and all the fear he felt was thrown at the back of his mind. And so, the teenager put on a brave front for the child's sake, gritting his teeth and enduring silently.

Only the goosebumps on his arms betrayed his disgust.

Gosh, he hated being touched. He hated it so damn much.

Still, Misha knew better than to bark at the man. Instead, he allowed him to scrutinize his face to his heart's content, letting him turn his head left and right. Misha didn't want to anger the masked man, whose temper was a mystery, and endanger the boy. Therefore, he was obedient. For once, he resisted the urge to fight back and didn't sink his teeth into the man's hand, though it was oh-so-tempting.

"You have quite a beautiful face," the masked man let out a chuckle after a while, caressing the teenager's cheek with his gloved thumb. "I wonder how much you'd fetch on the black market."

The words resounded like thunder in Misha's ears, and his heart skipped a beat. His eyes grew wider, but he did not make a sound. Only inwardly did he allow himself to curse Angela and Matthew. If the masked man was related to human trafficking, what kind of business were the couple running in the shadows?

Honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Are you stupid? Selling that shitty brat on the black market wouldn't earn you as much as asking my family for a ransom," Jake snorted, the look in his eyes seemingly mocking the man's shortsightedness. "There's no way that idiot brother of mine wouldn't pay a hefty amount for that kid. Heck, he'd plunder the family's assets for him."

A short silence fell following Jake's words, and then the masked man laughed, loud and clear. He let go of Misha and walked to Jake, crouching to grip the man by the throat. With a smile in his eyes, he pronounced the following words painfully slowly, "What if I never intended to ask for a ransom? If there's one thing I'm not lacking, it's money."

"You never have enough money," Jake replied, not the least bit bothered by the gloved hand gripping his throat. Instead, he kept on spouting nonsense, "Only a fool would say no to easy money."