King of the Underworld - Chapter 138

 Sephie

When we came downstairs, all the guys were in the kitchen, foraging for food. We hadn’t had a chance to hire a new chef yet, and honestly it had slipped everyone’s mind since we hadn’t been to the house in a few weeks. It was close enough to lunch time, though, so I said, “can we tell someone that I’m extra cranky when I’m hungry and I need Vinny’s for everyone as soon as possible?”

Misha walked to me quickly, hugging me tightly. “This. This right here is why I love you so much.”

Andrei was still in his room, but Ivan appeared shortly after we walked into the kitchen. I went to him, sliding my arm around his waist gently. “How you feeling? Do you feel like you can eat?” He nodded, as he stung his good arm over my shoulders. “Good. We’re getting Vinny’s. Has anybody checked on Andrei in a while?” They all looked somewhat guilty. I chuckled. “I’m taking those looks as a no. I’m going to check on him, since you all clearly ha te him.”

I got all the way to his room, but then stopped myself from opening the door. I walked back into the kitchen. “He doesn’t sleep in the nude or anything does he?” They all laughed.

“You’re safe from seeing anything extra, sestrichka.” Viktor said in between his deep belly laughs.

I sighed in relief, then walked back to Andrei’s room. I knocked softly just in case he was awake. I heard nothing, so I quietly opened the door and peaked in. He was sprawled out on the bed, in his underwear. Thank God he left those on. I walked over to the bed, grabbing the blanket from the end of the bed and covering him up with it. He didn’t stir. I walked back to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and took it back to his room, leaving it on his table for him. They’d given him pain pills at the hospital, so I was sure he was going to sleep for a while.

When I walked back in the kitchen this time, I walked to Adrik, tucking myself into his side, his arm pulling me closer.

“Food will be here shortly, gazelle.”

“I can take inventory of what’s in the fridge and come up with something to feed everyone tonight. Or maybe I can send someone to the store with a list?” I looked at Adrik, not sure if I could do that or not.

He smiled at me. “You’re the go ddamn princess. You can do whatever you please, solnishko.”

I laughed, loudly. That one caught me completely by surprise. I leaned up and kissed him. “I fu cking love you.”

We heard Ivan and Misha across the kitchen. “Fu cking adorable.” He smiled against my lips, as he said quietly, “we are fu cking adorable.”

Adrik needed to leave to go back to the penthouse for a few meetings that afternoon. He wanted to leave Stephen with me, but I insisted that he take both Viktor and Stephen with him.

“There’s like 40 guards around this property and at least as many dogs. And I’ll have my adorable Russian guardian and like half an Ivan and half an Andrel. That’s equal to at least 30 more guards. Clearly, I have the advantage here,” I said, grinning at my math.

Adik smiled at me, leaning down to press his lips to mine, “I won’t be gone long, solnishko. Let Misha know If you want someone to go to the store for you, I’ll add finding a new chef to the top of the list.

my arms around him tightly, “Please be extra careful.

He kissed my forehead. “We are, solnishko. The helicopter will be here soon. I’m not taking any chances.”

I sighed, feeling relief that they wouldn’t be driving anywhere. I was going to have to find something to occupy my time with to keep from worrying all day until he returned.

Misha, Ivan, and I were on the couches laughing about something absurd that had just come out of appeared.

“Bubba! How do you feel?”

He gave me a half-smile. “Mostly like I got shot.”

“Your ability to paint a picture with words never ceases to amaze nie, Bubba.” He sat on the couch next to me, pulling me to him in a rough hug with his good arm. “Are you hungry? How’s your stomach?”

He thought for a minute. “I could eat.”

I leaned back from him, looking offended. “Why am I the only one that has to starve when on pain meds?” I was mostly just making light of the situation, but Ivan answered me seriously.

“It’s because you’re a redhead, princess. You react differently to drugs and anesthesia than non-redheads.”

“I do?” I asked, now curious.

He nodded his head. He started to speak but stopped himself. He glanced nervously at Misha and Andrei. “I knew a couple redheads when I was younger. I felt worse for them than I did me, if you get my drift.”

My mo uth fell open, my eyes wide. I was horrified at the thought that there were boys treated worse than he was. “Loud and clear.” I noticed Misha and Andrei looked at us curiously, but this was not my story to tell and I could tell Ivan did not want to

get into it. I quickly stood up. “Bubba, I got you a sandwich, just on the off chance that your stomach was made of steel and you could eat when you woke up.” I walked to the kitchen to grab it for him, coming back with water for everyone too.

Once Andrei had finished eating and I was satisfied that he was not going to vomit it up, I asked, “now, who wants to go for a walk with me?”

They all three stood up. I was still sitting on the couch, looking at all of them above me. “Unexpected, but I’ll take it.”

Andrei smirked at me. “I got shot in my shoulder, not my entire body.”

Ivan laughed. “I can’t feel anything anyway, so it won’t matter what I do.”

I just shook my head, moving them around so I could grab each of their good arms as we set off on our adventure. I wasn’t planning on walking too far, as I didn’t want to tire them out too much, but they kept insisting they were fine. We walked all the way to the lake, all of them heading to my favorite spot and sitting down.

The reason it was my favorite spot is because It had several seating options available. There was a fallen tree to lean against, a rock to sit on or lean against, as well as a large log as a third optian. It was perfect for the two invalids to find a mostly comfortable spot to sat in silence for a few minutes. 1 laughed, looking at Andrel and Misha. “The last time we were here was the day t orld found out I was the go ddamn princess.”

I wander hardly see him anymore?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe he still talks about me a lot? I don’t know. We do have a ton of hilariously stu pid stories, because, well, have you met me? I do stu pid shi t all the time. Maybe he talked about me enough that she thought we were still closer than we are.” I looked down, tracing my finger through the dirt at my feet, making random designs. I was lost in thought. over Max. He was my best friend for a long time, but we barely spoke anymore. Most of that was my fault. I couldn’t tell him everything anymore, but he also didn’t push to see nie very hard. I sighed, trying to push him from my mind.

“You met Max after a really difficult time in your life, Sephie. It’s easy to ignore things about people when you’re traumatized and trying to not be completely alone. He hasn’t been as good of a friend to you as you have to him,” Ivan said. He was looking at me thoughtfully, almost sympathetically.

I smiled at him. “You sound like Adrik.” I laughed. “I think he secretly ha tes Max.”

Ivan laughed as well. “It’s not that secret, princess.”

King of the Underworld - Chapter 137

 Sephie

We crawled into bed around 8:00 that morning. He had a few things to take care of that afternoon, so he made sure to set an alarm. I didn’t want to sleep the entire day and then be awake the entire night again either. As I laid across his chest, finally feeling warmth after an entire night of being freezing in that hospital, I felt my body relax completely. My hair was still wet, so I wrapped it into a bun to keep it from soaking everything it touched. I felt Adrik’s hand slowly running up and down my back, under his shirt that I was wearing. It felt like less than a minute and I was sound asleep.

I found myself on a familiar path, in front of that same house where I saw my father the last time. This time, instead of cautiously entering the house, I ran inside. He was at the piano again and stopped when he heard me come into the room.

“Peanut!” he said, standing and opening his arms to me.

“Dad! I was wondering when I was going to see you again!”

“Well, technically, this is the second time in as many days. Ivan even saw me yesterday, too, although once again, I wasn’t really needed. Ivan had it covered.”

I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“The accident. I wrapped my wings around you right before the truck hit you, but then Ivan turned to use his body as a shield. for you. Do you remember seeing his face, peanut?”

I nodded my head. “Yes. He looked confused and then he looked like he was in…awe?”

“Accurate. What he was seeing isn’t usually seen by many people, but once again, it needed to happen. He got his wings yesterday, peanut.”

I felt the tears starting to burn my eyes. “What do you mean. Is he leaving?” I asked, very seriously. “He can’t di e yet. He’s fine. The doctors fixed him. He said he was fine.” I started to panic.

My father grabbed me and pulled me to him. “No, Sephie. He’s not going anywhere. He proved that he’ll give his life to save yours yesterday. He’s not allowed to go anywhere now. He has a job to do.”

I inhaled deeply, feeling a flood of relief that Ivan wasn’t dying. “But I still don’t understand.”

“It’s quite a long story, but the short version is that Ivan’s special gift, his inability to feel pain, is what was needed to protect you from what’s coming. It’s no coincidence that you’re the one that could calm him down yesterday. You two have been tied together your entire lives, you’re only just now realizing it.” He cleared his throat, seeing the look of confusion still on my face. “Sephle, people have many different forms of soulmates in their lives. You and Adrik? You’re the lovers. You two were always supposed to meet and fall in love. You complete each other, which is why he feels like home to you. You’ve fallen in love with him over and over through lifetimes.

But there are other kinds of soulmates, too. You and Misha? You’re here to teach Misha how to fully embrace his gift. You and Andrei? You’re both here to push the other to be better. That’s why he readily took on the job of being your trainer and why you keep reminding him how great he is all the time. You and Viktor? You’re giving him his confidence back. There’s more to the story of how he ended up in a Syrian prison. You’re helping to correct that. And you and Stephen?” He paused, smiling at me. “You’re showing him how to be himself.

He’s got a secret no one knows about yet, but you’re pushing him to be comfortable enough to share it. Now, you and Ivan. You two have a special bond. This isn’t the first lifetime you two have spent together and I’m guessing it won’t be the last, either. He’s your protector, Sephle. He basically stole my job yesterday. I’m not even mad at him, either. His wings are way cooler than mine. His swooping is going to be marvelous tually.” He looked down at me, realizing he’d been rambling. He grinned. “Ivan will always protect you. He feels compelled

you. Everything he went through in his life prepared him for what’s about to come. The Powers That Be still have big

plans for you, so they brought out the big guns to make sure those plans are seen through to completion.” He whispered, “Ivan is the big guns, in case you were wondering.”

“But Misha didn’t see this one coming. How did that happen?” I asked.

“No one saw this one coming, until it was almost too late. They saw an opportunity and they took it, which ultimately worked to your advantage. They weren’t as coordinated as they would have been had they had more time to plan. You guys were outnumbered, 4 to 1, peanut. Clearly, they should’ve doubled that if they were to have any shot at taking you.”

I thought for a moment, remembering the chaos of the day, but knowing that Ivan and I missed the majority of it. I sighed, still feeling grateful that we all made it out relatively unscathed.

“How are his wings cooler than yours, Dad?” I asked, smiling. I felt like watching him talk was like watching myself talk sometimes.

“Oh, Ivan got a special deal. Ivan’s spent so much time walking amongst demons that he can now freely walk between both Heaven and He ll. My wings are wh ite. I want no part of He ll. His wings are wh ite and then they fade to black on the ends and because he’s the big guns, they’re crimson on the very tips. WAY cooler than mine.”

I laughed. “Can I tell him this?”

He nodded his head. “He won’t believe you at first, but he saw them in the accident. He just has to remember.”

“How did he see them in the accident?” I was curious. I clearly remembered the look on his face before he lost consciousness.

“He saw my wings wrapped around you, but when he turned to shield you from the impact, that’s the moment that he got his. He watched them come from behind him to shield you and even cover mine.”

“Are you sure he’s not going to di e anytime soon? I can’t take knowing he’s going to sacrifice himself again to protect me.”

“Sephie, it won’t be easy and what’s coming will be bad. Very bad. But you can pull him back. Adrik showed you how when he pulled you from the darkness. You can do the same for Ivan. You will do the same for Ivan.” He had both hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eyes, almost like he was searing the information onto my brain. “See? Everything happens for a reason, peanut.”

I smiled at him. “Now that you’re out of a job, you’re not leaving, are you?”

“No, not for good. I still keep an eye on you, but now that Ivan has stepped fully into his role, I’m needed even less than I was before. I’m thinking of joining an aerial acrobatics troop. Learn some new swooping techniques,” he said, making a swooping motion with his arm.

“We can still talk like this sometimes, then?”

“Of course, peanut. I’m always around. Swooping.” We both heard a noise outside the house. “It’s time for you to go, Sephie. That’s Adrik’s alarm. Remember, you can pull Ivan back. You, too, can walk freely between Heaven and He ll.”

The scene in front of me faded quickly and I felt Adrik’s hand on the back of my neck. He was talking softly to me, trying to wake me up. I opened my eyes, still smiling at the memory of seeing my dad once again. I lifted my head to rest my chin on his chest. He smiled at me, running his finger lightly over my cheek.

“Good morning again, solnishko, You had a good dream, I take it?”

closed my eyes, nodding my head. I put my head back on his chest and hugged him tightly, I always spected there was

King of the Underworld - Chapter 136

 Sephie

Well after dark, one of the nurses came in and informed us that visiting hours were ending soon and that we would need to leave. I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “I think you should call Dr. Williams and ask him if it’s a good idea for me to leave.” She looked at me like I was a petulant child. I mean, I partially couldn’t blame her. I was too tired to have any sort of tact at that moment. She tried to cop an attitude with me. Everyone but Andrei and Ivan stood up. I took a step toward her, crossing my arms across my chest. “Call Dr. Williams.”

She left the room in a huff and I returned to the side of Ivan’s bed. I felt slightly guilty about torturing him with having to share a bed, but I knew he didn’t feel anything. He didn’t seem to mind.

The nurse came back a few minutes later, her attitude visibly different. She was now overly nice and clearly frightened. She asked us if we’d be needing an extra bed. I put on my best fake smile as I nodded my head yes. She left as quickly as she could. The guys all laughed when she left the room.

“You don’t even need us anymore, gazelle. She’s more scared of you than she is us,” Misha said, yawning in his chair.

“She doesn’t know I’m the go ddamn princess.” I mumbled, crossing my arms again across my chest.

A different nurse came in later with an extra bed. I looked at Misha and nodded my head toward the bed for him to lie down. “You’re clearly tired. You can have the first shift. We’ll be quiet.” He looked at everyone else, who all agreed. Viktor, Stephen, and Adrik were fairing better than the rest of us. I was happy making Ivan share, for now. Misha got up and stretched out on the small bed, his legs dangling off the end of the bed.

I laughed. “This is going to be the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had, my giant adorable Russian guardian.”

We were quiet so Misha could sleep. Andrei fell asleep quickly as well. I looked over to find Viktor and Stephen with their eyes/ closed, their heads leaned back against the wall. Adrik was still concerned about me, and would check on me every so often, but would close his eyes in between. Ivan was awake next to me.

I looked over at him, whispering, “you should sleep, Squishy. I won’t leave. I promise.” He looked at me, the fear in his eyes clearly visible.

“Promise?” he asked. He sounded more vulnerable in that moment than I would have ever imagined he could be.

“Pinky swear, even,” I said, holding my pinky up. He looked at me, puzzled. “Right. Let me introduce you to the pinky swear. It’s the holiest of swears there is. Like completely trumps swearing on all things holy, on your mother’s grave, on your life, all of it. It’s the holiest of holy swears. Like the pope himself can’t even make a pinky swear because he’s not holy enough.

He chuckled and held his pinky up. I grabbed his pinky with mine. “I plnky swear I will not leave you.”

“Thank you,” he said, a look of relief on his face. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes. I looked over to Adrik, catching him watching our exchange…

I smiled at him, trying to let him know I was okay. He just mouthed “I love you” and closed his eyes again. I leaned my head onto Ivan’s shoulder and closed my eyes.

Nobody got much sleep during the night, but it was better than nothing. The nurses would have to come in every few hours to check on Andrel and Ivan. Whoever was on the extra bed would get up and let someone else have a chance to be down.

Ivan eventually fell asleep, but had troubled dreams throughout the night. He would fall asleep for a bit and I would relax and start to drift off to sleep, only to feel his body start to je rk. I would just lean close to his ear, whispering to him to let him know I was still there, and he would calm down. I tried to be as quiet as I could, but Viktor caught me calming him down.

Viktor looked at me, with a knowing look. “You’re the only one that’s ever been able to do that. This isn’t the first time we’ve been in the hospital with him. It’s never gone this well. Being here brings up whatever is in his past and every time before, he’s struggled for days with it. They can’t sedate him either. We’ve had to hold him down before to keep him from hurting anybody.”

I sighed. “He has reason to be this way. He told me what happened to him. We should all be seriously impressed that he didn’t turn into a real monster.”

Viktor looked surprised. “He told you? Everything?” I nodded my head. “He’s never told anyone.” He thought for a second, before smiling. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

I smiled at him, looking from him to Ivan sleeping soundly. I sighed again, “everyone has demons. My demons recognize a few of his and his demons recognize a few of mine. He felt comfortable enough to tell me, I guess.”

The doctor was back early the next morning to check on them both. I think he wanted to release them as soon as possible just to get them out of the hospital more than anything, but I wasn’t going to complain. I didn’t want to be there any longer than absolutely necessary. They both got the green light to leave. Both were instructed to take it easy for a few days. Both had their arms in slings. I’m sure it helped Andrei’s arm feel slightly less painful, but for Ivan, it kept him from overusing his arm and ripping the stitches out. He’d already tried to use it once because he forgot he wasn’t supposed to. It didn’t seem to matter that he was heavily bandaged. He still “forgot” that arm was currently under construction and not usable.

Viktor and Stephen pulled the vehicles to the door. The nurses showed up with two wheelchairs for Andrei and Ivan. I couldn’t help myself again. I laughed at them. “You guys wasted a trip,” I said, as both guys stood up behind me and walked out of the room. Yep, they were a different breed.

Ivan got in the passenger seat, while I climbed in the back, moving over so Adrik could slide in beside me. His arms were immediately around me, pulling me closer to him. He whispered in my ear, “I appreciate why you did it, but I don’t ever want to be apart from you for that long again.” He kissed my temple. I felt my cheeks blush.

We dr ove to the house, to give Andrei and Ivan a few quiet days. I was happy to be going to the house as well. After I took a nap, I was looking forward to a long walk. My hip was finally feeling almost back to normal, with only slight soreness now and then if I overdid it.

I leaned against Adrik, closing my eyes. Happy to be next to him. Happy that Ivan and Andrei were okay. Happy that we were all together still. Knowing that the storm was coming.

The guys all dispersed to their rooms, but not before I made sure that Andrei and Ivan would be okay on their own. Ivan slid his arm around my shoulders, saying quietly, “I know you barely slept last night because you were busy keeping me calm. You need to sleep for at least a few hours, princess. I’ll be fine.” I looked at him skeptically. He just held up his pinky and grinned. “Go. Your go ddamn prince misses you.” He nodded to Adrik and walked toward his room.

I caught Viktor and Misha before they went to their rooms, on either side of Ivan’s room. “If you two hear him struggling again, come get me. I won’t let him fight this alone this time. I don’t care what time it Is, come get me. He needs to keep that arm still anyway. If he messes up the doctor’s handiwork, he could bleed to death. Understood?”

They both nodded their heads. Viktor wrapped his glant arm around me. “Ivan is lucky to have you this time. We’re all lucky to have you.” He kissed the top of my head and continued to his raam.

I felt Adrik’s arms around me. “How are you feeling, solnishko? Are you sore? Do you want a bath or a show blood on you and I would much rather not see you in hospital scrubs,” he had a small smile on

King of the Underworld - Chapter 135

 Sephie

We were still laughing when we were wheeled into the room with Andrei. Everyone turned to look at us. Misha’s wide smile across this face. “Ivan, you’re the only one I know that would be laughing after coming out of that long of a surgery.”

He sat up farther and the nurse adjusted the bed to support him. “It’s not me. It’s her. She’s evil in the best way possible.”

Adrik looked at me sternly, his hands on his hips. “Persephone, what have you done now.” He cracked a smile, opening his arms for me. I hopped off the bed and went to him, laughing.

“I did nothing except save their lives. They should be thanking me.

Ivan laughed. “She’s not kidding there. I traumatized that one doctor, I’m sure of it. But then she showed up and started cracking jokes. Those two nurses in the recovery room didn’t know what to think.”

“It’s a gift,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. I walked to Andrei, who didn’t look too bad considering he was shot earlier. I leaned down and kissed his cheek. “How you doin’, Bubba?”

“I’ve had worse. This wasn’t so bad. They just had to dig the bullet out,” he said.

I made a motion like I was going to vomit. “It sounds so pleasant when you say it like that.”

He chuckled. “Don’t pu ke on the guy that got shot trying to run to save you.” He laughed, then added, “although it turns out I didn’t need to. You took care of it like a boss, spider monkey.”

“I took care of it like the go ddamn princess,” I said, laughing.

Everyone laughed and for a moment, we had all forgotten what had happened that day. I knew it was going to hit us all later, but for now, we were alive, we were together, and I was grateful for each one of them.

The doctor came in later to check on the patients. He told them both he saw no reason why they couldn’t go home the next morning. He wanted to monitor both of them through the night, but as long as everything went well overnight, then they could go home in the morning. He asked to speak to me in the hallway once he was satisfied with both Ivan and Andrei.

Adrik looked concerned and got up to come with me, but I motioned for him to stay, I said, “I’ll be okay,” quietly as I followed the doctor into the hallway.

“Young lady, I don’t know what kind of special powers you have over that man, but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I’ve never had a patient that resistant to heavy sedatives before. We gave him enough to sedate a horse and it barely touched him. But you walked in, whispered something to him and he

as perfectly still. I don’t understand it, but I’m in awe of it. I was just about to call It and let him bleed to death on the table when you walked in. I wasn’t going to let him ki ll one of my nurses or me.”

“Oh, he would’ve killed all of you,” I said, sincerely.

I believe you.” He offered me his hand. “Thank you. For helping me save his life today and for saving mine and those of my

hand

at him. “He’s not a monster, but doctors are the reason he is like he is, so he’s not exactly a fais of

e had an experience with a doctor that he can store in the good column for once,

He looked surprised at my words, the gravity of the situation fully hitting him. Without thinking, I hugged him. He needed it.

“What’s your name?” I asked him, as I stepped back from him.

“Charlie. Charlie Williams.”

“If we’re ever in this situation again, and there’s a solid chance we will be, Dr. Williams, can I have them call you in to take care of him? It’ll help him to know who’s working on him.”

He smiled nervously at me. “As long as you’re there, of course.”

“As long as I’m alive, I will always be there for him. He’s the reason I’m standing here right now.” I smiled sweetly at him, trying to hold it together until we finished this little chat.

“Deal,” he said.

“Thank you, Doctor.” I said, still smiling through the pain I knew was about to come gushing out.

“No, thank you,” he said as he turned to leave. I checked the hallway. It was empty, the floor was mostly quiet. I exhaled loudly, putting my hands on my hips as I walked across the hall and leaned against the wall. I just needed a minute before going back in. I put my hands over my eyes, my head leaned back against the wall. The tears started to come. I couldn’t stop them.

I felt warm hands around my waist, pulling me to him. He didn’t say anything, he just held me close as his hands ran up and down my back. I was fighting to get control as I lost the battle and sobbed against his chest.

“It’s okay, solnishko. Let it out.” I cried for a few minutes, but finally regained control enough that I could look at him. “Was it the doctor? What happened?” he asked, concern on his face.

1 shook my head no. “No, the doctor thanked me for saving his life today. They had Ivan strapped to the bed and he was still managing to get up to go after them,” I su cked in a breath as I thought of the sight of Ivan strapped to the bed. I could only imagine how many times in his life he’d been strapped to a medical bed. “As soon as I touched him and talked to him, he didn’t move anymore.” I smiled, remembering how they all jumped away. “Well, not exactly. He grabbed my hand and they all jumped away from the table at once.” I laughed, feeling more tears coming. I looked up at Adrik, tears streaming down my face. “He almost died today. Because of me. Andrei got shot today. Because of me.”

He looked at me, a flood of emotions coming over his face at once. He pulled me to him, resting his chin on top of my head. “No, Sephie. Not because of you. You did nothing, you hear me? None of this is your fault.” He put his hands on my shoulders, pushing me back enough that he could look me in the eyes again. “None of this is your fault.”

“I opened my big mo uth and told Massimo I know where he hides the bodies. I’m sure it was his men that came after us today. I heard them yelling. They wanted me alive.”

He pulled me back to him, sighing. “It doesn’t matter who it was that came after you today. They’re going to pay. I’m tired of being nice. They’re all going to fear me after today.” He was running his hands up and down my back the way he did when he was trying to keep himself calm. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding onto him tightly. Part of me didn’t want what 1 knew was about to happen. The other part of me, wanted to unleash He ll. At that moment, I wasn’t sure which part would win

King of the Underworld - Chapter 134

 Sephie

A nurse finally came down the hallway toward us. We all looked at her expectantly. “The gunshot wound is out of surgery. He’s still coming out from under anesthesia, but you’ll be able to see him soon. The vehicle accident victim…” she paused, and I felt my heart drop. She cleared her throat. “He’s proving to be a difficult patient. We’ve given him three times the normal anesthesia and he keeps waking up and trying to leave the table. He’s got a terrible fracture in his arm that we’re trying to fix, along with repairing the soft tissue, but it’s proving to be next to impossible.”

“You have to let me in there. I can keep him calm.” I said, as urgently as I could.

She looked at me like I was crazy, but I think the look on my face told her that I was serious. “I don’t know what else we can try without killing him, so come on.” I followed her quickly to the surgery room. She hurriedly put a sterile gown over my scrubs. I walked in the room ahead of her. Everyone in the room was surprised and protested. I stopped, looking at all of them, showing my anger on full display. “If you don’t let me near him, he will wake up and ki ll you all. I can keep him calm so you can fix him. Your choice as to which option you want.”

They stepped back. I ran to Ivan’s side. They had tried to tie him to the bed, he was struggling, half-awake, half-asleep, but fighting with everything he had left. As soon as I put my hands on his chest, he stopped struggling. I leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Hi, Super Squishy. These fuc king mo rons wouldn’t let me come in with you, but they’ve learned their lesson. I’m not leaving you again. Promise. They need to work on your arm. It’s broken. You’ve lost a lot of blood. I’m going to be here the whole time. I won’t leave you.” His body relaxed and he leaned his head back. As he inhaled deeply, I looked at the doctors and nurses and nodded my head.

“You can do what you need to do. He won’t resist.”

They stood frozen for a moment, completely shocked at what they just witnessed. The nurse that had allowed me in there. snapped out of it first and brought me a chair to sit in, so I could stay by his head without being in the way. I nodded in appreciation as I sat down, never taking my hand off him.

The doctor got back to work on his arm. Ivan stayed still, his breathing steady. I kept my hand on his chest, my thumb rubbing back and forth gently. He raised his good arm, putting his hand on top of mine and everyone jumped back from the table. “He’s ⚫waking up again!”

I felt him squeeze my hand slightly. I looked at the doctor. “He’s been awake since I got in here. Your drugs don’t work on him. Get back to work before his patience runs out.” He squeezed one more time.

It took them over an hour longer to fix his arm. The break was the easiest thing to fix. It was all the soft tissue damage that took the longest to repair. He cut a lot of veins, as well as his brachial artery, which is why he bled so much. They finally got everything repaired and all the bleeding stopped. Once they were done stitching him up, the nice nurse looked at me. “He can go to a recovery room now. You can go back out and walt for him to be transferred to the room with the gunshot victim.”

“You must be crazy to think I’m leaving him again. Do you ha te your coworkers? Do you want them all to di e tonight, because that’s what’s gonna happen If you don’t keep me with him.”

She looked shocked but didn’t argue. “Come on, then. We’re going to the recovery room.”

He squeezed my hand harder this time. The mass amounts of drugs they gave him wearing off. I bent down closer to his ear, “told you I wasn’t going to leave you again. These people are nu ts anyway.” He took one short breath, in between a cough and a laugh. I flipped my hand over and laced my fingers through his, so I could squeeze his hand.

I won’t leave you to the darkness, Ivan.

Ivan was in and out of the recovery room in record time. He had all the nurses completely baffled at how he reacted to anesthesia. They were talking loud enough that I knew he could hear them. He still had an oxygen mask over his mo uth and nose, so he couldn’t talk, but his eyes were open. I knew he was completely awake and aware now. I leaned closer to him, so they couldn’t hear me. “They’ve never seen a superhuman before, Super Squishy. You’re the first one. They’ll have your babies, if you want. I’ll get their numbers. You can decide later.”

This time he actually laughed. Both nurses came back to check on him. He looked at me, his eyes smiling. He hadn’t let go of my hand and I wasn’t about to let go of his. I looked at the nurses. “Does he still need the mask? He’s completely awake now. He has been since we got in here, if I’m being honest.”

“How is that even possible? He had like three times the normal amount of anesthesia,” one of the nurses asked me, completely shocked.

“I mean, some people are just superhumans. You should see him leap tall buildings in a single bound,” I said, trying not to laugh. He couldn’t hold it in and started laughing again.

“Okay, we can switch out the mask. He’s definitely awake,” she said, taking the mask off his face and replacing it with the tube that just went under his nose.

“Yeah! Now you can feel like the oxygen is trying to pick your nose. That’s so much better!”

He spoke to me in Russian, so the nurses wouldn’t understand. “Thank you. For staying with me. You’re what pulled me through that.”

I smiled at him, answering him in Russian, “I’m not leaving you until they let you out of here. For their safety.” I winked at him.

The nurses were looking at us curiously, but remained silent. “We’re going to move him to the room with the other guy that came in ahead of him.” I nodded, standing up. I suddenly felt very tired. I looked down at Ivan, knowing he wasn’t feeling anything, and said, “stop hogging the bed, as shole. I want to ride along to the room.”

He sat up and moved over for me sit beside him on the bed before laying back down. Both nurses just stood there, mo uths. hanging open. “That’s incredible,” one of them said.

I acted like I was discreetly pointing at him, but made it overly obvious. “Superhuman. He also has x-ray vision, in case you were wondering what we were talking about earlier.” I couldn’t help but laugh at their shocked faces. “I’m just fu cking with you. Inappropriate humor is how I deal with trauma. It’s been a long day.” Another nurse showed up to wheel us to the room where Andrel was, and I assumed everyone else was too.

Once we left the recovery room, Ivan pulled me over toward his face. “You’re a little bit evil, princess,” he said, quietly.

I laughed. “Maybe just a little, but it’s so fun. Save me from myself I begged. He quietly wrapped his giant arm-around my shoulders as they wheeled us down the hallway

King of the Underworld - Chapter 133

 Sephie

I heard footsteps, then the voice I was dying to hear. “Sephie! Are you hurt?”

“Turns out it was really good, buddy. The day just took a turn for the better,” I whispered in his ear, squeezing him just a little tighter.

Adrik’s arms were around me in seconds. I took a deep breath, finally safe.

“Ivan’s really hurt. He sacrificed himself to get me here. Don’t tell him I said this, but I think he needs to go to the hospital. He’s lost a ton of blood. I can’t lift him by myself. And I don’t know what happened to Andrei and Misha. They got separated from us. There was gunfire but that’s all I know.”

I felt Adrik’s lips on my temple. “They’re fine. Andrei was shot, but non-lethal. Viktor is right behind me.” Just as he said that, I heard the normal sound of the SUV pulling up the driveway. “We’ll get Ivan to the hospital. Andrei is already on the way there. Misha is okay. Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m okay. Ivan took the worst of it. And by that, I mean he took all of it.” I had a flash of when the truck hit us. I could clearly see Ivan turn his body toward me, using his body as a shield from the impact. He looked me in the eye as we came to rest against the parked car. I clearly remember the look on his face. It was like he was seeing something else. At first, he was confused, then he was in awe. “He used his body to shield me, Adrik. He sacrificed himself.”

I wasn’t even aware of the tears falling down my face until Adrik reached down and wiped them away. Viktor ran up the steps and helped Adrik lift Ivan off me. They carried him to the SUV. I got up quickly and climbed into the back with him, leaning him in my lap again. Adrik climbed in the front with Viktor, and we sped away from the house.

I talked quietly to Ivan the whole way to the hospital. I felt like I needed to warn him that we were taking him there. I didn’t think this was going to go well, but we didn’t have a choice.

We were met by Misha and Stephen when we pulled up to the hospital. “Where’s Bubba?” I asked as Misha opened the door to grab Ivan. He looked at me, a small smile on his face, “surgery, gazelle. He’s okay. They’re just getting the bullet out.”

They were met by nurses with a bed for Ivan just outside the doors to the emergency room. They loaded him onto the bed. I tried to go with him, but they wouldn’t let me into the room. I felt Adrik’s arms around me from behind, his face against mine. “We should get you checked out to make sure you’re okay too. You said you’re fine, but you have cuts of your own. Your head is bleeding, solnishko.”

“It is? Are you sure it’s my blood? Ivan was bleeding profusely.” He gently turned me so that I was facing him. A small smile on his face. He pushed a few curls out of my face.

“I’m sure it’s yours, solnishko. Will you let them look at you? Ivan and Andrei are in good hands. They’re tough. They’re going to be fine. I need to make sure you’re also fine. They already checked out Misha.” He pressed his lips gently to mine. He was so calm right now that it made me calm. I inhaled, closing my eyes. He pulled me closer to him, walking us toward another room where a nurse was waiting to check me over. She also had a pair of scrubs for me to change Into. My clothes were covered in Ivan’s blood. And maybe a little of mine. I did have a few cuts that I hadn’t even noticed. I got more stitches because I hadn’t had enough stitches at this point in my life. I had a deep cut on my hairline and one on my arm that both required stitching up. Otherwise, my other cuts were mostly from broken glass and would heal on their own.

We waited in the hallway for them to give us word on Andrei and Ivan. While we waited, they asked questions about what had happened, so I recapped what I could remember. I got to the part about shooting the guy in the face and stopped, not wanting to say it out loud as there wore people walking up and down the hallway. I knew the word for “sh oot” in Russian, so I said that

and pointed to my face. Their eyes went wide. Adrik pulled me against him as I continued to tell them about Ivan waking up getting out of the vehicle and to the bike. Then about the chase on the freeway with the other three bikes, the first one that had shot, and what Ivan had done to give us a clear shot for the last two. Once I told them about me going left, him going ri I walked to Stephen. I high fived him once. “That’s from me for teaching me how to sh oot. Ivan said he owes you one, as wel Stephen laughed quietly.

I then told them about making it to the house and Ivan falling by the front door. I looked to Misha. “What happened on your end? I heard gunfire almost immediately. I assumed it was you and Andrei, but we couldn’t see anything. The truck that hit u blocked the street.”

“We saw you guys get hit. Andrei stopped immediately, but there were guys waiting. They knew we had two vehicles and were trying to separate us. We got out to try to get to you guys, but they started firing immediately. We both took cover, slowly making our way toward you, but it wasn’t fast enough. We saw the guy you hit run toward you. Andrei made a run after him. and that’s when he got hit. They just hit his shoulder, but he was forced to take cover behind a parked car. Viktor and Stepher showed up soon after. They said they got the signal from your beacon, but you guys were already well on your way to the freeway by the time they got to us. They knew Ivan would take you to the house, which is when Adrik left the penthouse for t house.”

I remembered that he had showed up alone to the house. “That reminds me, how did you get to the house again?” I asked, looking at Adrik.

He smirked. “I know how to drive. I just choose not to most of the time.” He laughed at the face I made. “I have a sports car, solnishko. I rarely take it out anymore, but it came in handy today.” He wrapped his arms around me tighter, kissing my temple. I was happy for his warm body next to mine. The scrubs I was wearing were not-the warmest clothing choice for a cold hospital

“And did you four just ki ll everyone or did you leave unfinished business?” I asked Viktor, one eyebrow raised.

He laughed his deep belly laugh. “No unfinished business, sestrichka. Misha and Stephen got Andrei to the hospital, and I left for the house.”

“Good game, everyone. Seriously. I feel like teamwork really made the mo therfucking dream work this time,” I said, as they all laughed at me.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 132

Sephie

Because we were still close to downtown, there was still traffic that we had to weave in and out of. I wasn’t sure how he was managing to stay conscious, but he was navigating through traffic like it was easy. We made it to the freeway and he accelerated up the entrance ramp.

I had a moment of relief, thinking we were safe now. Boy, was I wrong. We hadn’t been on the freeway for two minutes when three bikes appeared behind us. They got closer, one of them attempting to push us over. As he got closer to us, I reached out and tried to kick him. He faltered but didn’t crash. He came back for more, still trying to push us over. I waited until he was close enough that I could almost touch him and shot through his heart. Push us over now, bi tch. I looked back at the other two bikes. They fell back, but were still following us.

“Ivan, they’re still behind us. I can sho ot them, but there’s too many cars. I’m not going to be responsible for shooting an innocent person today.”

He nodded his head once, accelerating. “Hold on.”

I gripped him tighter as we sped away from the group of cars. His shirt was wet with his blood. Sh it. The road was mostly clear ahead of us. The two bikes following us also sped up, keeping the same distance. We pulled farther away from the cars. I looked back, trying to aim at one of them, but didn’t feel like I had a clear shot. I couldn’t see well enough looking backward to feel like I could actually hit one of them.

“Ivan, I can’t get a clear shot. I’m gonna ki ll someone else,” I said, starting to panic.

“Do you trust me, princess?”

“Of course. I trust you with my life. I know what you’re fighting right now to get me out of here.”

“Hold on and when I say, you sho ot left, I’ll sho ot right. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Use the gas tank to brace against. I’m not sure I can hold us both.” I put my hand that was holding onto him on the gas tank. I felt him brake hard, pushing against the gas tank with all my strength to keep myself off him. As we slowed even more, he spun the bike around, facing the opposite direction. We were now facing the bikes that had been following us.

“Now!” I aimed at the rider on the left as he aimed right. We shot at the same time, watching as both riders fell to the ground, their bikes and their bodies sliding across the lanes of the freeway.

“I’m gonna have to give Stephen a high-five later for teaching you how to sho ot, princess.”

“Me too, Squishy. Me too.”

He spun the bike back around and took off quickly. He was flying down the freeway. I checked behind us frequently, but there was not a single car behind us. I’m sure we stopped traffic completely, which was advantageous.

Weissed the exit for the penthouse, but Ivan kept going. I knew he was on his way to the house. He’d been quiet. 1 worried about his losing consciousness again ling in your body right now?”

“My heart is racing. Keep talking to me, please. It helps keep me focused. We’re almost there.”

I started rambling about anything I could think of, to keep him focused and more importantly, conscious. We made it to the exit for the house and I felt slight relief.

I was running out of things to talk about, and I blurted out, “do you think Adrik wants kids? Because that’s not possible with me. That’s why I hate doctors. A doctor took that choice from me.”

He was starting to nod, so I wasn’t even sure he heard me. We pulled into the driveway. Just a little farther, Squishy. He made it to the front of the house. I jumped off the bike and helped him off. I threw his arm around my shoulders, to help him walk up the steps. As we reached the landing after the top step, he stopped. He looked at me, with a serious look in his eye. “He loves you no matter what, Sephie. We all love you no matter what.”

I don’t know if it was this giant man, clearly battered, clearly struggling to remain conscious, stopping to reassure me or if it was him admitting that he loved me or if it was my adrenaline wearing off, but I felt hot tears just fall freely down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry, princess.” He pulled me to him, hugging me briefly. I felt him falter and then he slowly lost his grip on consciousness.

“Ivan, no. Not yet. Sh it.” I said as I tried to keep him from crashing to the ground. I managed to get behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I used every ounce of strength I had left to help him to the ground as gently as I could manage. It meant that he was basically laying on top of me, but at least he didn’t hit his head again on the way down.

“This looks like a good place, Ivan. I agree. I feel like we should wait here.”

I checked his wounds, since there was really not much else I could do. The cut on his head was pretty good, but the one on his arm was concerning. “I’m not completely convinced honey is going to take care of that one, Squishy.” It was still bleeding profusely. Jesus, how much blood has he already lost from that? He’s like a superhuman if he stayed conscious this long. Super Squishy.

I tried to push him off me enough that I could get to my belt. I ended up laughing. He didn’t move in the slightest. I looked down. “Okay, so I’m just gonna borrow your belt for this. It’s not awkward in the least.” I reached down to unbuckle it, singing to myself, “not date rapey vibes here, not at all.”

I managed to pull his belt off and get it around his shoulder. I pulled it as tight as I could, trying to stem the bleeding. In the process of all that, his head had fallen over to the side. “That looks really uncomfortable Super Squishy. Let me help you with that.” I moved his head so he was leaning back on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. They’re going to be here any minute.”

I was quiet for a few minutes, trying to think of what to do. I didn’t have a phone. I had that disc thing from the glove box in my pocket, but that was it. I couldn’t get my legs out from under Ivan’s almost 300 lbs of pure muscle dead weight, so I was stuck here until someone else got here.

He started to twitch, mumbling quietly. I felt his body tense. I felt a pain in my chest, as I knew what he was going through. The darkness.

“Super Squishy, I’m still here. I won’t leave you, I promise. I’m right here, buddy. Just walk toward my voice.”

His body stilled, his breathing calmed down. I exhaled, starting to worry that they wouldn’t make it to me in time. He had lost a lot of blood. There was a puddle underneath us. I had slowed it with his belt, but not stopped it.

He started to jerk again, slightly,

Ivan, I’m here. I’m always here. I’m always going to be here. I just kept repeating that to him untill I finally heard a v

coming up the drive. I was half afraid to look to see who it was. I was mostly sure it would’ve been one of the guys, but it didn’t sound like their vehicles, so I couldn’t be sure. I took Ivan’s gun from the waistband of his pants, safety off, and held it against him so they wouldn’t see until it was too late. My back was to the driveway, so they would’ve seen me grab the gun I had, as I had put it in the small of my back in the waistband of my pants.

I heard the vehicle stop and the door open. “Okay, Ivan, this is either going to be really good or really, really bad. Wish me luck. I might be quiet for a minute, but I’m still here. Don’t go anywhere, buddy.”

Sephie

I heard footsteps, then the voice I was dying to hear. “Sephie! Are you hurt?”

“Turns out it was really good, buddy. The day just took a turn for the better,” I whispered in his ear, squeezing him just a little tighter.

Adrik’s arms were around me in seconds. I took a deep breath, finally safe.

“Ivan’s really hurt. He sacrificed himself to get me here. Don’t tell him I said this, but I think he needs to go to the hospital. He’s lost a ton of blood. I can’t lift him by myself. And I don’t know what happened to Andrei and Misha. They got separated from us. There was gunfire but that’s all I know.”

I felt Adrik’s lips on my temple. “They’re fine. Andrei was shot, but non-lethal. Viktor is right behind me.” Just as he said that, I heard the normal sound of the SUV pulling up the driveway. “We’ll get Ivan to the hospital. Andrei is already on the way there. Misha is okay. Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m okay. Ivan took the worst of it. And by that, I mean he took all of it.” I had a flash of when the truck hit us. I could clearly see Ivan turn his body toward me, using his body as a shield from the impact. He looked me in the eye as we came to rest against the parked car. I clearly remember the look on his face. It was like he was seeing something else. At first, he was confused, then he was in awe. “He used his body to shield me, Adrik. He sacrificed himself.”

I wasn’t even aware of the tears falling down my face until Adrik reached down and wiped them away. Viktor ran up the steps and helped Adrik lift Ivan off me. They carried him to the SUV. I got up quickly and climbed into the back with him, leaning him in my lap again. Adrik climbed in the front with Viktor, and we sped away from the house.

I talked quietly to Ivan the whole way to the hospital. I felt like I needed to warn him that we were taking him there. I didn’t think this was going to go well, but we didn’t have a choice.

We were met by Misha and Stephen when we pulled up to the hospital. “Where’s Bubba?” I asked as Misha opened the door to grab Ivan. He looked at me, a small smile on his face, “surgery, gazelle. He’s okay. They’re just getting the bullet out.”

They were met by nurses with a bed for Ivan just outside the doors to the emergency room. They loaded him onto the bed. I tried to go with him, but they wouldn’t let me into the room. I felt Adrik’s arms around me from behind, his face against mine. “We should get you checked out to make sure you’re okay too. You said you’re fine, but you have cuts of your own. Your head is bleeding, solnishko.”

“It is? Are you sure it’s my blood? Ivan was bleeding profusely.” He gently turned me so that I was facing him. A small smile on his face. He pushed a few curls out of my face.

“I’m sure it’s yours, solnishko. Will you let them look at you? Ivan and Andrei are in good hands. They’re tough. They’re going to be fine. I need to make sure you’re also fine. They already checked out Misha.” He pressed his lips gently to mine. He was so calm right now that it made me calm. I inhaled, closing my eyes. He pulled me closer to him, walking us toward another room where a nurse was waiting to check me over. She also had a pair of scrubs for me to change Into. My clothes were covered in Ivan’s blood. And maybe a little of mine. I did have a few cuts that I hadn’t even noticed. I got more stitches because I hadn’t had enough stitches at this point in my life. I had a deep cut on my hairline and one on my arm that both required stitching up. Otherwise, my other cuts were mostly from broken glass and would heal on their own.

We waited in the hallway for them to give us word on Andrei and Ivan. While we waited, they asked questions about what had happened, so I recapped what I could remember. I got to the part about shooting the guy in the face and stopped, not wanting to say it out loud as there wore people walking up and down the hallway. I knew the word for “sho ot” in Russian, so I said that

and pointed to my face. Their eyes went wide. Adrik pulled me against him as I continued to tell them about Ivan waking up getting out of the vehicle and to the bike. Then about the chase on the freeway with the other three bikes, the first one that had shot, and what Ivan had done to give us a clear shot for the last two. Once I told them about me going left, him going ri I walked to Stephen. I high fived him once. “That’s from me for teaching me how to sho ot. Ivan said he owes you one, as wel Stephen laughed quietly.

I then told them about making it to the house and Ivan falling by the front door. I looked to Misha. “What happened on your end? I heard gunfire almost immediately. I assumed it was you and Andrei, but we couldn’t see anything. The truck that hit u blocked the street.”

“We saw you guys get hit. Andrei stopped immediately, but there were guys waiting. They knew we had two vehicles and were trying to separate us. We got out to try to get to you guys, but they started firing immediately. We both took cover, slowly making our way toward you, but it wasn’t fast enough. We saw the guy you hit run toward you. Andrei made a run after him. and that’s when he got hit. They just hit his shoulder, but he was forced to take cover behind a parked car. Viktor and Stepher showed up soon after. They said they got the signal from your beacon, but you guys were already well on your way to the freeway by the time they got to us. They knew Ivan would take you to the house, which is when Adrik left the penthouse for t house.”

I remembered that he had showed up alone to the house. “That reminds me, how did you get to the house again?” I asked, looking at Adrik.

He smirked. “I know how to drive. I just choose not to most of the time.” He laughed at the face I made. “I have a sports car, solnishko. I rarely take it out anymore, but it came in handy today.” He wrapped his arms around me tighter, kissing my temple. I was happy for his warm body next to mine. The scrubs I was wearing were not-the warmest clothing choice for a cold hospital

“And did you four just ki ll everyone or did you leave unfinished business?” I asked Viktor, one eyebrow raised.

He laughed his deep belly laugh. “No unfinished business, sestrichka. Misha and Stephen got Andrei to the hospital, and I left for the house.”

“Good game, everyone. Seriously. I feel like teamwork really made the mo therfucking dream work this time,” I said, as they all laughed at me.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 131

 Sephie

We were following Andrei and Misha back to the penthouse when suddenly we were hit from the side. The truck that hit us was large, like a delivery truck, so it forced us sideways into parked cars on the side of the street. I looked to Ivan. He was bleeding from his head and was unconscious. Sh it.

The truck that hit us backed up, and moved so that it was blocking most of the street. That’s not normal. This was no accident. I reached over, trying to shake Ivan awake. I remembered Misha and Andrei making it through the intersection before us. Surely, they saw us get hit. They’d be here any second.

Gunfire. Double sh it.

“Ivan! Ivan, I really need you to wake up right about now.” I tried shaking him, but he was non-responsive. How hard do you need to get hit to knock you out if you don’t feel pain?

I tried to unbuckle my seatbelt, but it was stuck. I couldn’t get it to release. I stretched over to Ivan, who always had a knife on him, usually more than one, and grabbed it from the holster on his leg. I made a me ntal note that I could also reach his gun.

I cut myself out of the seatbelt, moving closer to Ivan so I could assess the damage. He had hit his head hard. He also had a pretty nasty wound on his shoulder and his upper left arm, probably from the glass breaking. The gunfire was continuous at this point and now I could hear shouting coming closer to the vehicle.

I watched as one man provided cover for a second to run toward us. It was definitely not Andrei and it was definitely not Misha. I heard the first guy yell in Italian, “make sure you get the girl alive,”

News flash, boys. You’re going to have to work much harder than you thought to get this girl alive.

I waited until the second man got closer to the vehicle. I had taken Ivan’s gun out of the holster, safety off, waiting. He ran up to the driver’s side window, trying to see if the door was open. Our vehicle was smashed against a parked car, so there was no getting out that way. He got frustrated when the door wouldn’t open. He moved so that he was clear of Ivan, and I took the shot. He fell to the ground without realizing what hit him.

As it turns out, having a gun fired right next to your head will, in fact, bring you back to reality. Ivan jolted awake, looking at me wide-eyed,

“Ivan, they’re coming for us. We have to get out of here. I haven’t seen Misha or Andrei, but there’s been gunfire for a few minutes now. Hold this,” I said, handing him the gun. I cut him out of his seatbelt. “Can you feel your legs? How badly are you hurt? Please tell me you’ll be able to walk, because there’s no chance I’m gonna be able to carry you.”

He thought for a moment, still trying to get his bearings. “I’m okay, princess. I can walk. The glove box. Open it.”

I did as he said, finding another gun, along with a small round disk. “What’s this?” I asked.

“Press on it. They’ll get a signal and know where we are. Put it in your pocket. They’ll be able to find you as long as you keep that on you, Sephie, look at me.” I pressed the disc, putting it in my pocket, then looked at him. “We’re getting out of here. No matter what it takes.”

“Um, I ha te to break it to you, but my body count is already higher than yours today, sooooo….” I couldn’t help but grin at his stunned expression. I just pointed to the window. “Outside your door.”

He leaned over enough to see the body of the guy I shot. He looked back at me, a small smile on his face. “Beast mode activated.”

“He tried to open your door. They’re trying to get me. I heard them yelling,” I said.

He nodded. “We should be able to get out the back. Are you okay? You can run?” I nodded my head. He climbed to the back, still talking. “Ever stolen a car before?”

“Negatory, good buddy.”

“Today is your lucky day, princess. We’re getting you out of here and marking that off your bucket list.” He unlatched the back door, but held it so it wouldn’t raise all the way. He checked the surroundings, making sure there was no one visible, before jumping quickly to the ground. Still holding the door, he checked again and then nodded for me to jump down.

As soon as we were out of the vehicle, he closed the back door. One hand on me, the other on his gun, he kept us both as low as possible to avoid attention. The gunfire was still steady behind us as we quickly ran down the street, using each parked car as cover.

“What kind of car are we looking to steal today, Squishy? I mean, do I get to pick?” We ran to the next car, ducking behind it and waiting. As we ran to the next car, he saw a bike parked two more car lengths away.

“As it turns out, we aren’t stealing a car today. We’re stealing that,” he pointed to the bike. “Easier to hotwire. Faster too.”

“I like these options. I approve these options.” I noticed him breathing heavier before we made a run for the next car. “Ivan, look at me. You might not be feeling pain, but you’re hurt. You have to tell me what else is going on in your body. You’ve already lost a lot of blood.”

“I’m okay. I’ve been here before. We need to get out of here quickly, though,” he said, making a run for the next car. The bike was in front of us. He pointed back in the direction we just came from. “Point your gun in that direction and if you see anyone coming this way, sh oot.”

“Got it,” I said, turning to watch the street while he hotwired the bike. In seemingly under a minute, I heard the bike’s engine turnover. He climbed on the bike, whistling once. I ran to jump on the bike behind him. We sped away down the street.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 130

 Two Weeks Later

We hadn’t been able to go to the house for a few weeks. Adrik wanted me to take Sephie to the piano gallery so she could play. While we were there, he wanted me to arrange to have a piano sent to the penthouse, hopefully without her knowing.

I grabbed Misha and Andrei to go with us. Boss was disappointed that he couldn’t go. Listening to her play was becoming one of his favorite things, so Misha promised to video her so he could watch later. Fucking adorable.

Sephie wasn’t privy to where we were going. We just told her to come with us and that she’d be happy about it.

“I swear on all things holy, I’m punching you all in the nose if you’re forcing me to go shopping,” she said, trying not to laugh.

We laughed at her in the elevator, on the way to the parking garage. “Princess, I can’t believe you would think we would do such a thing to you. It hurts me,” I said, putting my hand over my heart. “Which is saying a lot, since I can’t feel pain.”

“Oh, dear God, you’ve just come up with the ultimate comeback. The final comeback. Like, how do I top that one? It’s the comeback of all comebacks. Conversation-ending comeback. Mic drop. We’re done here.” She grinned at me.

We pulled up in front of the gallery and her eyes went wide. “This is where you guys are taking me?”

I nodded. “Adrik feels bad we haven’t gotten to the house yet. He knows you miss the piano, so he wanted you to have some time. Stay as long as you want, princess.”

She got out, with me, while Andrei and Misha parked the vehicles. She turned to me and jumped into my arms, almost catching me off-guard. “Thank you thank you thank you!!”

When we walked in, the salesmen knew her immediately. “Sephie: You’re back! We haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Hi, Craig. How are you?” she said, hugging him as he walked up.

“I’m good, Sephie. Please tell me you’re here to get some playing time in. We have a couple of potential customers coming in just about 15 minutes and you’re going to sell pianos today for us if you play,” he smiled widely at her. Andrei and Misha walked in, standing next to me. Craig looked nervously at us, but tried to remain calm.

“I am here to play, if you don’t mind,” she said. Without even looking at us, she added, “and don’t mind the giant men. They’re with me. I’m experimenting with having my own audience now.”

Craig cocked his head to the side, not sure if she was serious or not, but he laughed. “Pick any piano you like, even though I have a feeling I know which one you’re going for.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I like what I like, Craig.” She walked toward one of the pianos toward the back of the showroom. Misha and Andrei followed, while I lagged behind to speak to Craig, who looked slightly terrified that I wanted to speak to him.

“We’d like to arrange for her own piano, but it needs to be delivered to a penthouse. Is that possible?” I asked. “And I’m assuming you know which one she will like best?”

•

He looked at me, smiling, tears welling up in his eyes. I looked at him, puzzled. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since her mother passed. Her mother was a dear friend of mine, Sephie had to sell her piano to pay for funeral expenses, I’ve kept it safe

in the back of the store, without her knowing, In the hopes that this day would come. The piano she always plays in the showroom is the exact model that her mother had. That’s why she always chooses it. She’s trying to get as close to her mo m’s piano as possible.”

I felt a pang in my chest as he talked. This is beyond fu cking adorable. “Can we get it moved to the penthouse? Money is no object. Whatever needs to happen to get it there, we’ll do it.”

“As long as your elevator is freight-sized, we should be fine. We move planos to high-rise apartments all the time. If we have to use the stairs, we have to use the stairs.” He thought for a moment, then added, “once we used a crane. I’ve never been so nervous in my life.”

I nodded my head. I handed him my card, “I’ll be the contact for the arrangements. Please, try to keep this between us. We’d like for it to be a surprise.”

Before he took my card, he looked at me like he was gathering every ounce of courage to stand up to me, “I will only agree to this if I’m allowed to be there when she sees the piano. Her mother was incredibly dear to me and I made a promise to her that I intend to keep.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said, sliding my card into his shirt pocket as I patted his shoulder. I walked to the back of the showroom to Andrei and Misha.

Andrei raised his eyebrows at me, silently asking if arrangements had been made. I leaned closer to his ear, telling him. everything I’d just learned. When I finished and looked at him, he had tears welling up in his eyes too.

“She’s going to be so happy,” he said. I nodded, completely understanding what he was feeling in that moment.

Sephie was happily playing when a few people wandered into the store. There were a few other salesmen, other than Craig, that spoke to them. The customers couldn’t stop themselves from walking closer to Sephie as she played. They were mesmerized.

Craig eventually walked up beside us, a small crowd had now formed around her. She seemed oblivious to it, as she just kept playing. Craig smiled. “This always happens when she comes in. I differed to pay her for doing this on a regular basis, but she wouldn’t take it. The pianos sell themselves when she’s here.”

Sephie played for a few hours, before finally deciding she’d had her fill. They sold three pianos while she played, so they were sorry to see her go. Misha got plenty of video for Adrik for later. He sent a few of the shorter ones to him already. Fucking adorable.

Misha and Andrei pulled the vehicles around to the front of the building. Misha jumping out of the second one, getting in with Andrei. I got into the driver’s seat, Sephie was in the passenger seat with me.

We made our way back toward the penthouse, through afternoon traffic. Andrei dr ove through an intersection and the next thing I knew, I heard metal crunching on my left side and we were going sideways, I looked to Sephie, turning toward her to try and shield her from the impact. Everything was in slow motion. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like there were wings surrounding her as bits of shattered glass flew through the air around her. She looked at me, clearly worried, but all I could see was the feathers. Were they…changing?

King of the Underworld - Chapter 129

 Ivan

Sephie came to me the next morning in the gym. Everyone else was preoccupied with other things, so she snuck over to me, a look of worry on her face.

“I kind of fu cked it up with Massimo and Dario, didn’t I?” she said. I could see the look of genuine concern in her eyes.

I tried not to laugh at her, as I knew she was really worried. “No, princess. We just need to take extra precautions when it comes to you. Salvadori’s people are still actively looking for you and now I’th sure that Massimo’s people will be too. We just need to be more careful. You’re not to leave with any less than three of us, okay?” I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to offer some comfort, but also to make sure that she wasn’t going to argue with me either.

She nodded her head, chewing on her bottom lip like she did when she would worry. “I think we also need to have a conversation about exactly what you know about all the other bosses, too. Especially Massimo. There have been a lot of perle after that man for a lot of years. If any one of them find out you know what you know, they could come for you too.”

“Awesome. Let’s just set the whole city onto me. I mean, go big or go home, right?”

I laughed, shaking my head at her. “You know we won’t let anything happen to you, princess. There’s a reason we work for your go ddamn prince and why no one ever gets close to him,” I said, asly smile on my face.

She grinned at me. “I’ve heard stories, yes.” Andrei called for her from across the gym. She smiled at me, turning to go. “My giant trainer beckons me to lift heavy sh it!” she said, as she jogged across the gym.

Her hip must be getting much better if she can handle more than walk.

After we were done in the gym and ready for the day, I caught Boss alone in his office. “I’d like to go have a conversation with Max about keeping his mo uth sh ut about Sephie. And not just because of Tori, either. This new situation with Massimo has me a little worried.”

He looked at me with an intensity that I instantly recognized. He was just as worried about Massimo, but there was something else there. “That kid makes me so angry, but she still feels loyal to him, so I can’t tell you to have as serious of a conversation with him as I’d like to,” he said.

Ah, there it is. This might be the first time I’ve seen him jealous.

I chuckled. “Listen, I’ve wanted to punch that kid since that night in the restaurant when he shook her too hard and then basically abandoned her for some mediocre woman at the bar.”

Adrik’s eyes went wide. “It’s not just me, then? I keep telling her that he’s an id iot. To the point that I’m actually starting to feel bad about it. He’s like her one friend her own age.”

“She’ll see him for how he really is in her own time, Boss. He was the only friend she had after a difficult time in her life. That kind of life experience can make you ignore things you shouldn’t just to keep from being completely alone. I understand her connection to him, but I don’t think it will last that much longer, nless he starts to realize what he’s doing to her every time he chooses another temporary woman over her.”

He looked lost in thought for a moment, but then smiled at me. “Sephie was right. You are wise beyond your years.” He laughed. then added. “She also said you just don’t want anyone to know it because you value your peace too much.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “She hasn’t been wrong yet, Boss.”

“Let me know how it goes with Max. Do you need anyone to go with you?” he asked, still smiling.

I shook my head no. “Andrei told me that he called them ‘trained killers’ when they saw him yesterday. He’s plenty scared of us and I can be very convincing when needed.”

He nodded his head. “Be as convincing as you need to be without hurting him.”

We’d had Max followed since the night we first met Sephie, just to make sure he stayed safe and that no one would try to get to her through him. We saw him try to hide her behind him in the parking lot that first night when Boss went back to give her money, so we knew there was at the very least a friendship there.

Cioing back to give her money was Adrik’s excuse, anyway. He really just wanted to see her again. We all kniew it, but we all played along. We’d never seen him act like that around a woman before, so we were all somewhat fascinated by it.

I knew his schedule, so I knew where to find him. He’d be at the gym, then he’d go home, shower and change in time to get to work just before the happy hour crowd hit. I waited outside the gyn until he came out. I hated smoking, but it was a reasonable excuse to be standing outside, so I smoked a couple of cigarettes while I waited.

All of us had smoked off and on for years, Boss included. We’d all stopped since Sephie came to us, but none of us actively decided to quit. We just did. She never said a word about the habit to any of us. Whatever benefit we were getting from smoking occasionally was no longer worth it.

Max walked out, his head down. Man, this kid is never aware of his surroundings. I followed him to his car, where he finally spotted me in the reflection of his car’s window as he went to open the door.

“Holy shi t, what are you doing there?” he said, turning to face me. He pressed himself against his car, like he was trying to get away from me.

“We need to have a chat, kid,” I said. I put out my cigarette, looking at him seriously the entire time.

“A chat about what?” he asked, even more nervous now.

“Sephie.”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Is she okay? I just saw her yesterday.”

“She’s fine. I would like to keep it that way. I’m going to be very clear here, kid. You are no longer going to mention anything about her to anyone. That includes Tori. Especially Tori. No one is to know that your grandmother taught her to understand Italian. No one is to know any details about her from this point forward.” I cracked my knuckles, knowing it would make him even more nervous. “If I hear that she’s in danger because someone found out that bit of information, I’m coming for you first. Are we clear?”

“Ye… yes. We’re clear. Is she in danger?” he asked, his fear overtaken by concern.

I looked at him for a moment. “She’s been in danger since we first met her, but you’ve been too busy choosing other women over her to notice.” I walked away from him before he could respond. He was still leaning against his car, completely stunned, when I glanced back before walking out of sight. Good

King of the Underworld - Chapter 128

 Adrik

Viktor and Armando returned a few hours later. We were still in the office, Sephie still in my lap, talking about anything and everything. Somehow every conversation was more entertaining when she was with us. Not just because of her sense of humor, but because of her genuine interest in all of us, in our pasts, in everything that made us who we are. We were all laughing as Viktor and Armando walked in.

“Looks like I got the short straw today,” Viktor said, smiling.

“It’s your own fault for being so da mn good at your job, my giant Russian security master,” Sephie said, grinning at him.

“How did the meeting go?” I asked Armando.

He sat in one of the chairs across from the couch. “I think it went well. Dario and Massimo were already thinking that Anthony and Lorenzo were trying to meet with Trino, but they weren’t able to get confirmation that they actually had met with him. I think those two are up to something on their own. I don’t think they’re with Sal.” He looked at Sephie, smiling. “I don’t think Massimo blinked once the entire meeting. He must have very dry eyes.”

I felt her shiver once. “That guy creeps me out, not gonna lie.”

Armando chuckled. “He’s always been a bit of an odd bird. Dario too. They always present it as Dario being the one in charge and Massimo is just going along with it, but I think in reality it’s the other way around. There have been stories about Massimo’s savagery for years, but no one ever speaks against him pu blicly and no one knows where he dumps the bodies, 50 they stay rumors.”

“I do.” Sephie said. We all looked at her, shocked. “Yeah, that wasn’t an idle threat. I really do know where he hides the bodies. I also wasn’t kidding about them thinking less of me when I was their personal servant. There were a few meetings when they would stay after everyone else would leave. I’d be cleaning up, trying to get out of there, while they were having their own. meeting. Fu cking mo rons never realized I can understand Italian.

They would act like I didn’t exist the entire time I was in the room. I used to stay longer on purpose, just to get more of their conversation. I don’t know why I felt like it was important to have information on Massimo, but I guess I’m glad I did,” she said shrugging her shoulders.

We all just stared at her, in silence. Armando asked her, in Italian, you can really understand Italian?”

She nodded, but answered in English. “I’m just not the best at speaking it, so I don’t. Unless I absolutely have to, which rarely happens. We all just continued to stare at her, completely stunned. “What? Max’s grandmother is Italiam. We spent a lot of time with her. She taught me how to make pasta.”

“Does anyone else, outside this room know you can understand Italian?” Ivan asked. I knew where his mind was going. While this was beneficial to us, it also made her a target of Massimo’s now too.

“Max and his grandmother, but that’s it. It’s obviously not something I make known,” she said.

“I think we need to have a conversation with Max about you,” Ivan said.

“Why?” she asked.

“He needs to keep his mo uth sh ut about you from now on. Not just because of Tori, either,” he said, a look of concern on his face. I felt her tense, but she didn’t say anything. She simply nodded her head.

We discussed a few more things between all of us. Armando looked at his watch. “I should get some dinner for Giana,” he said, running his hand through his dark hair.

“When are you going to ask her out, Mando?” Sephie asked. I could hear her smiling when she asked the question. He looked at her, shocked. “Don’t play du mb. We all see the way you two look at each other.”

He was flustered for a moment. “But… she’s my assistant. I’m her boss.”

“She said the same thing. I feel like that’s just an excuse to keep ignoring your feelings for each other,” Sephie said.

He looked at her, mo uth open, for a few moments. Finally, he realized what she had really just said. “Wait, she feels the same?”

“Well, I can’t answer that definitively, but there’s attraction, as well as interest there. It’s up to you two to figure the rest out. Unless you want to keep ignoring it and pretending it doesn’t exist, which is fine with me, because honestly, it’s entertaining for me.” The guys were trying to hold back their laughter. “She’s a good girl, Armando. I already told her you would let someone else wear all her clothes if she sleeps around. She was mortified at the thought. That’s a good sign,” she said, laughing.

He chuckled, standing up. “Well, then, I should go have a conversation with her, I guess.”

Sephie stood up to give him a hug before he left. As soon as she stepped into his arms, I could see her body tense. She sniffed his shirt, then stepped back from him. “Mando, were there any women at the meeting with Dario and Massimo?” She took another step back from him, like she was trying to get away from him.

He shook his head. “None at the table with us. There was a woman at the bar in the restaurant.”

She looked to Viktor. “Could you see inside the restaurant?”

“No, not at all. I was listening, but I was down the street so no one would see me,” he said.

“Vanessa was there. Or else she’s with either Dario or Massimo. Did you hug either one of them, Mando?”

He shook his head no. “No, I shook their hands, but that’s it.”

“How close were you to the woman at the bar? Do you remember her perfume?” she asked.

“It was very strong, yes. I ordered a drink, but I wasn’t that close to her. As close as you are to me now. She reminded me of the ex-girlfriend that had issues with fidelity. She was not someone wished to speak to,” he said.

I looked to Ivan. “Have you spoken to the tail you put on her today?” He pulled his phone from his pocket and left the room.

“Who’s Vanessa?” Armando asked, puzzled.

I stood up, moving to pull Sephie back to me. I sat down and pulled her back in my lap, hoping to clear her nose of that smell. “She’s an ex-girlfriend of mine. I broke it off with her years ago, but she showed up recently. It doesn’t make sense. We’re trying to figure out why.” Sephie leaned her head against my shoulder, inhaling deeply like she was trying to replace the perfume smell with my scent.

“You think she’s working for Dario and Massimo?” he asked.

“We don’t think, we know,” Ivan said, walking back into my office. She was at the restaurant and she left-with them. I told the tail to cautiously follow her, so if he ever felt like anyone she was with was trying to evade him, he was to lose them on purpose. He doesn’t know where they went after the restaurant, but she got into the vehicle with them after the meeting.”

I sighed, thinking about how this wels of conspirators just kept gwing.

knew I should’ve punched her in the nose when I had the charice,” Sephte sighed.

Right on time. Everyone laughed

King of the Underworld - Chapter 127

 Adrik

I made a call to Trino, Informing him about our plan to see if Darid and Massimo would also contact him. He agreed that it was a good plan. He was still making Anthony and Lorenzo wait for an answer for another few days. “I know it’s a di ck move, but it’s really fun, man. They just wait like little puppy dogs for me to talk to them. I made them wait for weeks, Jefe!” He was laughing so hard on the other end of the phone that he couldn’t speak. I enjoyed Trino.

He was a typical Spanish man. Very flamboyant with his wealth and just as likely to cuss you out as he was to help you out. He was passionate in everything he did, but he loved his family, and he took care of his city, Rules were different in South America. They played a little dirtier than we did, but he had brought order to the chaos once he took over the cartels in Colombia. They’d enjoyed many years of peace under him. The people loved him because of it.

“The longer you make them wait down there, the longer they’re out of my hair, so it’s much appreciated. I’m sending you a gift, to show you just how much.”

“Jefe, you send the best gifts, but watching these pendejos squirm is a gift in itself,” Trino said. “And now you’re sending me two more? I should be sending you the gift, Jefe.”

I laughed. Trino was a good guy. He enjoyed his evil side as much as I did.

I had a few minor meetings the rest of the day. Armando had made plans to meet with Dario and Massimo that evening. Viktor organized a security detail to escort him. He would accompany them, but stay out of sight so neither Dario nor Massimo could spot him. It was admittedly difficult for my guys to blend into a crowd.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and I still hadn’t seen Sephie. I was trying not to be worried about her. I didn’t know if she was still asleep. It wasn’t like her to sleep quite this long, unless something was wrong. I called Misha, assuming he was the one waiting on her to wake up. He answered on the first ring. I could hear laughing in the background.

“Where are you?”

“Boss, she’s fine. She’s been awake for a while. Ms. Jackson called her down a little while ago.” He moved so he was out of earshot, since Ms. Jackson could understand Russian. “She’s been trying to leave for the last 20 minutes, but Ms. Jackson and Giana just keep talking to her. Giana has said more today than I’ve ever heard her say. Shopping is the way to that girl’s heart.”

“Tell her I need to see her and you, then. You can always use that xcuse, anytime you see her trying to get away, I will always confirm that.”

He sighed. “Thanks, Boss. We’ll be right there.”

I ended the call, smiling at the thought of Sephie trying to get away from them but not being able to. She might be cranky again…

I didn’t have to wait longer than two minutes and she rushed into my office. I barely had time to stand up before she literally jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs and arms around me tightly. “Oh my God, you saved me. You have no idea how much I love you right now.” She was clinging to me like she’d barely escaped death. Misha walked in, laughing.

“They were making plans to go shopping again,” he said, trying not to laugh.

She leaned back enough that she could look me in the eyes. “They ha te me. They must ha te me. Why else would they want to torture me like that? I mean, Glana I don’t know very well, but Ms, Jackson? I thought she loved me.” She put both of her hands on either side of my face, looking at me very seriously. “I was wrong. I was so wrong.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her, making her laugh as well. “I can give you’n curfew this time, solnishko.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck again, hugging me Ughtly “See? You clearly love me.”

“I do love you, solnishko. I’m also working on getting Armando his own security detail. Gilana can go shopping as much as she wants, and she’ll be safe once that detail is in place.”

She leaned back to look at me again. I was expecting her to say something funny, but instead she kissed me. Hard. I was caught off guard by her passion, but found myself very turned on by it. Misha cleared his throat, reminding her that he was still in the room. She broke the kiss, pointing at him, but not looking away from me. “Don’t be rude, my adorable Russian guardian.” He laughed as she unwrapped herself from me. She stood on her toes, kissing me one more time and turning to glare at Misha, before laughing. She leaned back against me, which I appreciated as I heeded to adjust my punts otherwise. Her excitement to see me was unexpectedly arousing.

She pulled my arms around her waist, wondering out loud, “so if they get their own security detail soon, does that mean we can go to the house for the weekend?”

1 pulled her close, knowing she felt exactly what she had done to nie, poking her in her back. I rested my chin on the top of her head. “Of course, solnishko. Do you like it better there? I thought you were happy here?”

She squeezed my arms. “Of course, I’m happy here. I’m happy whenever you are. I was actually missing the piano,” she said quietly. She was still somewhat shy about playing in front of us. loved it and I knew the guys did too. She had a real talent for it and we all got to enjoy it when she would play.

I suddenly had an idea on how to surprise her. Can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before now.

“We can go to the house whenever you like, Sephie. We have enough security to leave with Armando and Giana that they’ll be fine for a couple of days. He’s meeting with Dario and Massimo in couple of hours. I’m sending a detail with him, along with

Viktor.”

“Won’t Dario and Massimo recognize Viktor, though? I mean, I know they know that Armando is loyal to you, but that might be a bit too obvious,” she asked. I pulled her toward the couch, keeping my arms around her as I sat down so she would sit in my lap. She kicked her shoes off and crossed her legs in between mine.

Misha laughed. We both looked at him. “Ivan was right. You two are fuc king adorable.”

“It’s because I’m the go ddamn princess and he’s the go ddamn prince. Thank you very much,” she said. She tried to get that out completely before laughing. She almost made it, but started laughing before she could finish it completely. I shook my head at both of them, moving Sephie’s hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck.

“Viktor is very good at staying out of sight, solnishko.”

“Really? There are some Syrian prison officials that might disagree with that statement,” she said.

Misha laughed loudly. Even I laughed at that one. She wasn’t wrong there.

“He’s improved since his time there,” I said, still laughing.

“He’s gonna love that one,” Misha said.

“Did you talk to Trino about Dario and Massimo?” she asked.

“I did. I think you need to meet him at some point. I think he’s a good guy, much like Armando, but I would like to get your

opinion on him as well,” I said, my face brushing lightly against her neck. I felt her push her hips backward into me slightly. I knew feeling my facial hair on her neck dr ove her crazy. I was just returning the favor for the way she greeted me earlier.

“Has he given Anthony and Lorenzo an answer yet?” she asked, trying to control herself.

I laughed. “Not yet. He’s really enjoying making them wait. I think he called them puppies? I told him I was sending him a gift. for keeping them out of my hair for a little longer. He said that making them wait was the gift because he was enjoying it so much. And now I’m trying to send two more to him.” Sephie chuckled. “I like him already.”

We were eventually joined by Ivan, Andrei, and Stephen. Viktor had left already for the meeting with Dario and Massimo. We would wait until he and Armando returned to get the news.

“Bubba, they want to go shopping AGAIN. They want to drag me with them. Help me,” she said as they walked into the office. They all laughed at her blatant hatred for shopping.

“Boss told me I could use him as an excuse to get Sephie away from anything she didn’t want to do from now on. Just tell them he needs to see her,” Misha said, smiling broadly at Sephie.

She leaned her head back, kissing my cheek. “You really do love me.” She smiled sweetly at me. I’m not sure if it was her smiling at me or the fact that she was starting to believe that I really did love her, but I felt my cheeks blush slightly. My entire body suddenly felt warmer, too.

“I really do love you, solnishko.”

“Fu cking adorable,” Ivan and Misha both said in unison, which made everyone laugh. Sephie just hugged my arms to her a little. tighter as she sighed. She always seemed happy anytime she was in my arms, which made me happy. When she wasn’t in my arms, I always felt an invisible pull toward her until I was touching her again. I’d never experienced anything like it before, but I loved it. I was completely addicted to her now and I hoped that feeling never went away

King of the Underworld - Chapter 126

 Adrik

I woke the next morning to find Sephle in her favorite spot. She was snoring softly, her fingers playing on my chest. I ran my hand over her back. She simply snuggled into me more, without waking. She was exhausted after shopping all day the day before. She was also adorable when she was cranky from shopping all day long. We all got more enjoyment out of her crankiness than we probably should have, but we couldn’t help it. She was hilarious, especially when her crankiness wasn’t directed at any of us.

I kissed the top of her head, picking her up slightly so I could get up. It was rare for her to not wake up when I moved, so I knew she needed the sleep. I quietly went about getting ready. I needed to meet with Armando this morning. He needed to let It slip to Dario and Massimo that Anthony and Lorenzo had indeed met with the Colombians and had gotten their support.

Then we would wait and see what Dario and Massimo did with that information. If Ivan was correct, they would likely try to meet with the Colombians as well. I would make a call to Trino to inform him of this move as well, so he’d be ready. I trusted him, but I found myself wishing that Sephie could see him to get her opinion of him. Right now, that was out of the question, but perhaps we could arrange for her to meet him at some point.

I was ready to leave and Sephie still hadn’t woken up. I left her a note, as usual, and leaned down to kiss her, as well as cover her up so she wouldn’t get cold. The weather was starting to get cooler outside. She liked sleeping in my long-sleeved shirts more now.

I met Viktor in my office. “Sephie’s still tired from shopping, isn’t he?” he asked, still laughing about the evening before.

I looked at him, amused as well. “She didn’t even need triple strength tea this time. She really was exhausted. Can you have one of the guys go up and wait for her to wake up again?”

He nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He typed a few words, then put it back in his pocket.

Ivan walked in with Armando. “Good morning, Boss,” Armando said as he walked in. “Is Sephie not with you? I need to thank her for yesterday. Giana was so happy when she got back last evening.”

Ivan and Viktor both chuckled, knowing Sephie did not share the same sentiment. “She’s still upstairs, but I will make sure she gets the message,” I said.

“Giana introduced me to Ms. Jackson, as well. She said she spent the day with them as well. She’s quite the woman,” he said, running his hand through his hair.

I smiled at him. “Did she threaten your life?” He nodded. “Don’t worry, that means she likes you,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

“I’m going to have to figure out how you surround yourself with such interesting women,” he said, laughing.

“It’s not me. Ms. Jackson came with Sephie. It’s all her.” I smiled to myself, thinking about how lucky I was to have her in my life.

We quickly got down to business, discussing Anthony and Lorenza meeting with Trino. I explained Ivan’s plan to see if we could pit those two against Dario and Massimo, using the Colombians as the bait, basically.

“I like that plan,” Armando sald, nodding toward Ivan. “It’s possible they’ll take care of each other for us.

Exactly,” Ivan said.

“I can make a call to Dario and Massimo and ask them to meet, see if they’ve heard anything from their guys, and tell them my guys found out about the deal they made with Trino. I still can’t imagine that Dario is working with Sal. I could be wrong, but those two have hated each other for so long. I can’t see them putting that to rest. What did Sephle say they do again when they’re lying?” Armando asked.

“Dario will repeat the question back to you, like he’s buying himself time to think of an answer. Massimo doesn’t blink. At all,” I said.

He nodded. “She’s like having a secret weapon. She should meet Trino too, just to be safe.”

I chuckled. “I had thought of that, yes. Not right now, but it’s a possibility in the future.”

“I’ll set something up and meet with them today,” he said.

“I’ll send a few of my people with you. They all know my guys, but I can send other security with you that they won’t recognize as mine, just to make sure you’re safe. We need to work on getting you your own security detail. Viktor can help you set that up and get guys trained,” I said.

“Thank you, Boss. I was going to ask you about that. I have admittedly been very relaxed about that over the last few years. It was just me to worry about, so I didn’t worry. Now I want to make sure Giana is safe,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow, remembering what Sephie had told me about Giana last night. He had a faraway look in his eye, like he was lost in thought. I remained silent, allowing his mind to drift wherever it wished. He slowly drifted back to reality, realizing that we were all looking at him. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen his cheeks so red. “You don’t need to explain the need to protect someone to me,” I said, a small smirk on my face.

He exhaled, still slightly embarrassed. He stood, mumbling something about calling Dario and Massimo. “I’ll let you know the plans to meet with them so we can arrange security.” He extended his hand to me, saying, “I also want to thank you for letting us stay here, so Giana is safe and I don’t need to worry about her, didn’t realize how worried I was about her since the explosion.

And, please, give my thanks again to Sephie for yesterday. Giana was very happy last night. She had a great time. She loves Sephie and she even said Ivan is slightly less scary now.” He said, laughing. He walked out of the office to make the necessary arrangements.

I looked to Ivan, my eyebrow raised. “Giana is alright. She’s funny in her own right. She’s a very quiet girl, but she has potential. It’s pretty obvious Armando is practically in love with her, and I’d be willing to bet very good money that she feels the same way about him.”

“Interesting.” I said. Sephie would be happy to hear of Armando’s reaction to Giana’s safety

King of the Underworld - Chapter 125

 Sephie

When Adrik and I went to the penthouse later that evening, all the items I’d been talked into buying had been delivered. There were quite a few bags just inside the door. Adrik smiled when he saw them. “I’m glad you bought a few things. I hope you bought more panties,” he said, his eyebrow raised.

“Well, if someone would stop insisting on ripping them off, I wouldn’t have to replace them in bulk.” I went to pick up the bags. to take them to the closet. Instead, he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom.

“Leave those. You need to soak in a bath. I don’t like that your limp is back.”

“You read my mind. Don’t we have to change my bandage tonight anyway?” He nodded his head as he put me down on the bed.

“Ivan told me to leave the bandage off for a few hours this time. He said to let it dry out and then put the regular honey and bandage back on it. It’s healing well still, but it’s still slow. He said this might help speed it up,” he said as he went to turn the water on in the bathroom.

“I’d be fine with leaving the bandage off for longer than a few hours. The adhesive is really irritating. That hurts worse than the hole in my hip most days.”

“I think you will be able to do that soon, solnishko. Maybe a few more days of the bandage and it’ll be small enough that you can go without the bandage.” He pulled my shirt over my head, as yawned. I was so tired. I fell back on the bed, not wanting to make any more effort than absolutely necessary for the rest of the night. I heard him chuckle as he unbuttoned my jeans. “It was really that bad today?”

I laughed. “No, Well, yes. But I am being a tad overdramatic about it all. I think I’m so cranky because my hip hurts so much. If that didn’t hurt, I probably wouldn’t have cared to keep going.” He pulled my jeans off, pulling me up to undo my bra. “I saw Max today,” I said as he pulled me up from the bed.

“Oh, yeah? You guys went to the restaurant?” He asked, surprised.

“No. God, no. He was on the sidewalk as we were walking back to the vehicles. Well, everyone else was walking. I was being carried like the go ddamn princess I am,” I said laughing.

He pulled my panties down, making sure that I noticed he didn’t rip them off, which made me laugh more. “How is Max?” he asked as he scooped me up to take me to the bathroom. He set me down on the counter so he could remove my bandage as the tub continued to fill.

“He’s good, but you won’t believe this.” He stopped to look at me smiled at him, “he’s dating Tori now.”

“What?!” he exclaimed, completely surprised.

“That was my first reaction as well, but something seems fishy about it. Until I met you, I spent the most time with Max. Well, when he wasn’t seeing anyone seriously. He was probably the best friend I had at the time. He told me that Tori got a job at the restaurant, which isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. She’s a chet. It’s a restaurant. Makes sense, right?” He nodded as he picked me up from the counter and took me to the tub.

He set me down so I could sit in the hot water. I waited for him to get in behind me as I continued my thoughts, “but Max and I have a bu nch of stu pid, hilarious stories from working together for so many years. I would be willing to bet he told her a story about me. Max has very few rules, but not dating coworkers was always one that he stuck to. Religiously. If they’re dating, she would’ve had to initiate it. I just don’t think she has good Intentions toward him.”

“Did you see Tori today?” he asked as he sat down behind me, pulling me back against him. The bath got instantly warmer as soon as I leaned back against his chest. I sighed, feeling my body relax at the warmth, as well as at his touch.

“I didn’t see her. Misha said he saw her in the store, but doesn’t think she ever saw us. Poor Andrei was so angry after we left.”

“Did you tell Max that you knew her?”

“We didn’t have much time to talk. Ivan left Misha and Andrei with me, and he took Ms. Jackson and Giana to get one of the vehicles. He was on his way back, so I had time to ask a few questions about whether she knew that he was friends with me and if she knew before or after they started dating. I told him to get rid of her, that she was bad news, but he’s literally never listened to any advice I’ve given him on girls. Ever. I don’t see why he would start now.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I know he’s your friend and I know I keep saying this, but he’s not a smart man, Sephie. If he can’t see that you have his best intentions in mind, then he deserves everything that Tori does to him.”

I sighed. “I know you’re right. I guess I’m just worried that this is going to be the one time he doesn’t come back. Every time he would choose another girl over hanging out with me, I always worried it would be the last time. At some point, he’s going to find a lasting relationship and then he’ll forget all about me. It doesn’t hurt as much now that I have you and the guys, but it still hurts.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, as he kissed my neck.

“Some people are in our lives forever, some for just a few chapters. Maybe his chapters are coming to a close,” he said, holding me tighter.

I wrapped my arms around his, lacing my fingers through his. “At least I have six more that will be there until the last page.”

“Always. We will always choose you.