King of the Underworld - Chapter 326

 Sephie

Adrik and the other three guys walked back into the penthouse from their almost nightly visit with Armando. I could see the stress melt off of Adrik as soon as he saw I was still awake and smiling at him.

“And how is dearest Armando tonight?” I asked, standing up almost at a normal pace from the kitchen island. Adrik was by my side immediately, his arms around my waist.

“He might be learning firsthand how painful broken ribs are. I tried to explain it to him, but since I really have no point of reference, I decided to show him,” Ivan said. Misha just laughed and gave him a high five.

“Squish. What does it say about me that I adore this side of you?” I said, laughing.

“It says that you’re absolutely perfect, solnishko,” Adrik said, leaning down to kiss me gently. His s*xy smirk was evident on his face.

“Meant for this shi t, gazelle,” Misha said.

“Did he have any nuggets of information tonight?” Andrei asked.

“He might have, had we given him a chance to speak,” Stephen said. “Apparently, Trino’s guys not being okay with Sephie made us all slightly irritable.”

I looked at Stephen, surprised. “Should I not have told Trino about Martin?” Adrik pulled me back against him, his arms around my waist. He gently pressed his cheek against my neck.

“No, I think you did the right thing. Seph. We were talking about it on the way up. We were all somewhat surprised by our anger about the situation. It’s not just you that they have an issue with. They just don’t know about Misha and Andrei’s parts in it, but you did what you did when they took you and Ivan and you took all of it so they’d be protected. It’s not fair,” Stephen said. I could see he was frustrated with the situation.

“I didn’t want them to know about Misha and Andrei. That’s too much of a risk,” I said,

“We know. And we agree. But it still doesn’t make the situation any more right,” Ivan said.

“The good news is that we don’t have to see them very much once they go home,” I said. “But I won’t deny how adorable I think you all are for being pi ssed off about this right now.”

“We haven’t gotten you healed from the last time something happened before another threat showed up. It’s enough to make anybody angry,” Viktor said.

I stood, leaning against Adrik, looking at all the guys. Viktor, Ivan, and Stephen were clearly frustrated with Trino’s guys. Misha and Andrei were a mix of frustrated with a splash of worry. I could feel Adrik’s anger at the thought of Trino’s guys even entertaining the thought of harming me. But more than that, more than the feelings of anger I was getting from all of them, I felt their love. They were fully prepared to destroy Trino’s entire security team, ally or not, if it came to that. To make sure I was safe.

“Seph, why the tears?” Stephen asked, concerned. I was still smiling at them, but I was overcome with emotion, which usually meant tears would flow freely.

“They’re happy tears, I promise. I know I’ve told you how safe you all make me feel, but I can feel it so clearly right now from every single one of you. You’re all ready to annihilate Trino’s entire security force if it comes to it. I know a couple of you want to do it just to make a point, even if they don’t try anything.” I said, laughing. I caught Stephen and Ivan both nodding their heads like they agreed with that line of thinking: “I can feel how angry you all are, but more than that, I can feel how much you love me.”

“We can’t imagine life without you in it, princess,” Ivan said, winking at me.

“My God, it would be so boring,” Misha said as dramatically as possible, to help lighten the mood. I couldn’t help but laugh as I wiped the tears away.

Adrik turned me to face him, helping me to dry the tears. He looked at me, very seriously, saying, “you’ve given us something we never thought possible. You’ve shown us all how much better we should be. And most importantly, you’ve brought your own magic into our lives. Our world was very dark before you, solnishko. You’ve reminded us that the darkest shadows come from the brightest light. And 1, for one, will do everything in my power to make sure you’re always able to shine as brightly as possible. I feel fairly confident in saying every single one of them will too.”

Adrik

Once Sephie and I were alone in the bedroom, she still looked thoughtful as I helped her get out of her clothes and into my thirt for the night. “You still have something on your mind, love.” I said, putting my shirt on her. She chewed on her bottom lip. I could feel her nervousness, which was unusual for her. “What is it?” I asked, putting my fingers under her chin gently and lifting her face so she would look at me.

“I know how frustrated and cranky you are because we can’t have s*x,” she said.

I laughed. “I am, yes, but I can handle it until you’re better.”

She took as deep a breath as she was able to. “It’s not just that. I’m just as frustrated and that’s probably why Misha and Andrei keep telling me I’m extra spicy, but…” She paused like she wasn’t sure what to say. Her good hand started to fidget with anything within reach.

“But what, love?”

“It…it scared me when I couldn’t catch my breath after we kissed,” she said. She looked at me like she was unsure if I was going to be upset with her for telling me.

“Sephie…” I said, pulling her to me. I just wrapped my arms around her and held her for a few minutes. I sighed. “You’ve been acting like you felt better. I can’t feel anything from your lung, so I wrongly assumed it was better than it is. I went too fast and I’m sorry,” I said.

“I am feeling better. I just can’t breathe like I should be able to yet and you’re very good at taking my breath away,” she said. I could hear her smiling when she said it, even though she had her face buried in my chest.

1 put my hand on the back of her neck, pulling her face away from my chest so I could look in her eyes. “I’m happy you told me, solnishko. I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want you to end up back in the hospital. I will do a better job of controlling myself until you’re ready,” I said, leaning down to kiss her gently.

“You’re not mad?” she asked. She was almost confused by my reaction, which made her even more adorable than usual.

“How could I be mad that you told me that or that you’re still healing?” I asked, trying not to laugh at her doe eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip. not sure how to answer. “I will never be mad that you come to me with something that’s bothering you, Sephie. This is how relationships work. We’re a team.”

“You’re not going to swear off touching me until I’m better?”

“I will if that’s what you want, but that’s definitely going to make me extremely cranky. I’m going to go through the entire stockpile of punching bags we have here,” I said, playing with her curls.

“I don’t want that. I definitely don’t want that,” she said. “I just thought I would have to convince you that those extreme measures weren’t needed.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her. “We both know how terrible I am at keeping my hands off you. I’d rather not have to try to get better at that. I think you benefit from me touching you more than you realize, too. But I can definitely make sure you don’t lose your breath again until your lung is all the way healed.” She looked up at me, still unsure. It had been quite a while since she’d needed to search my eyes, but she needed to tonight. I let her. I’d almost missed it. I’d grown to adore the sweet smile of satisfaction that she got when she didn’t find what she was always worried she would see. “You’re getting much better much faster now that you can eat a little more. And now that you’re done with your antibiotics, that process should speed up. We won’t have to wait that much longer,” I said. I felt the strong pull in my chest as she was satisfied with her search and smiled sweetly at me. I leaned down and kissed her gently once more. “Now get in bed. You need sleep so you get better faster,” I said, grinning at her.

The next morning, I woke up to find her facing me again. For the first time in weeks, she was awake before I was. She was quietly watching me sleep, waiting for me to wake up. Her fingers lightly tracing circles over my back. I could feel her warmth before I even opened my eyes.

“You’re awake,” I said, opening my eyes to see her gorgeous smile. “That’s the first time you’ve been awake before me in weeks. Have you been awake long?”

“No, just a few minutes, but it was a nice few minutes. Although I have grown to love you holding me down when you wake me up though,” she said, biting her bottom lip.

“I’ll hold you down whenever you like,” I said, my mind immediately jumping to all the possibilities of how I could take advantage of that. I leaned over and kissed her gently. She rolled onto her back, stretching her good arm over her head, all her joints popping like normal.

“I want to see how painful it is if I leave the sling off for a bit today. I think my shoulder is more sore from not moving than it is because of being dislocated now,” she said.

“That’s a good sign. If you feel like you want to start moving it, then it’s healing from being torn when it was dislocated, I just don’t know about the extra weight from your cast.”

“Yeah, remind me to have a conversation with the doctor about rationing his cast materials next time. I don’t know much about setting broken bones, but using all the cast supplies seems excessive. This thing weighs as much as I do.”

I laughed. “It might weigh more than you do since you haven’t been eating much.” I poked her hip bone, which was more prominent than it had been since she got hurt before and after the ball. “You’re all sharp again. I don’t even get to enjoy throwing you around more easily.”

“0/10. Do not recommend,” she said, trying to be serious, which made me laugh more. I rolled over so I was above her. Before I could say anything, she reached up and pressed her palm against my cheek. “I love you, Adrik. More than I ever thought possible.”

King of the Underworld - Chapter 325

 Sephie

“The Mexicans still haven’t figured out that Lorenzo was going to sacrifice them to overthrow Boss, basically. Do you have any spies within their ranks? Can you get word to any of them that was the plan? We can cause a little division between them and Ricardo,” Ivan said.

“Si, I can get word to them. That’s how Martin made it out. Two of the guys that are loyal to me created a diversion so Martin could escape. They’re high enough in ranks that they’ll be able to get word to the right people,” Trino said.

“There needs to be a little friction between them and Ricardo. Since Ricardo is obsessed with being better than me, I’d like for him to understand that’s not possible before he d ies,” Adrik said. He was sitting at his desk, across the office from where I was on the couch with Andrei. I could feel his anger, but it was at a controllable level. His patience was wearing thin and his frustration with me being hurt was beginning to become a problem.

“I learned how to be extra spicy from watching him,” I said to Andrei in Russian, so only he could hear. I was hoping he’d be able to contain his laughter. He made a valiant effort, but still inevitably laughed loud enough that everyone heard him. Adrik raised his eyebrow at me, wanting to know what had happened. I kept my mo uth sh ut and just smiled at him, hoping it wouldn’t irritate him more.

“I’m considering going back to Colombia soon, Jefe. I don’t like being away for too long, as I’m sure you understand. There is also the matter of Massimo that still needs to be addressed,” Trino said.

“I won’t keep you here, Trino. You’re always welcome, but I would want to be in Colombia if I were you. We’ll keep an eye on Sal. I expect them to return. Keep me informed on the Mexicans. I’ll do the same for Sal and the other two bosses,” Adrik said.

They continued to talk for a few minutes before Trino left with the three guys brave enough to be in the same room as me. Once they were gone and Viktor had returned, Adrik looked at me and Andrei. “Now, do you want to tell me what you two were laughing about?” He tried to say it sternly, but 1 could tell it was an act.

I giggled. “They’ve been saying that they like the extra spicy version of me, so when you said what you said about Ricardo, I told Bubba that I learned it from watching you.”

I could feel the pull in my chest that meant he was thinking about how much he loved me. His smirk evident on his face, he just pointed to me, then pointed to his desk. Andrei helped me off the couch so I could go to him. He pushed his chair back so I could sit in his lap, his arms wrapped tightly around me. He leaned down, his lips next to my ear, whispering, “it’s getting more and more difficult to fight my desire for you, solnishko. Especially when you’re bratty. It makes me want to f**k it out of you.” As soon as he got the words out, I felt his intense desire for me. He knew I always struggled to control myself when I felt it and now we were in front of everyone so I had no choice but to contain myself.

I laughed quietly, trying to maintain control. “You’re a little bit evil,” I said quietly so only he could hear. I pushed my hips back into him discreetly, causing his breath to hitch just slightly.

“So are you,” he said, his arms holding me tightly.

“I feel like we should celebrate your last dose of antibiotic, gazelle,” Misha said, his wide, handsome smile across his face. Me and the Wonder Twins were once again in the kitchen making me snacks while the rest of the guys were downstairs with Armando.

“I am glad it kept me from having to go back to the hospital, but I am more glad that I won’t have to take it any more after this one. I’m hoping my appetite actually goes back to normal now. And that I can do more than, well, nothing,” I said.

“We’re all looking forward to that, spider monkey. The gym is more fun when you’re there,” Andrei said.

“Well, you didn’t tell me that. I could’ve been your cheerleader this whole time, but you guys have been going while I was sleeping. You only have yourselves to blame for that poor life choice,” I said, grinning at them both.

“Do you know how much trouble we’d be in if we got you to go to the gym with us and it made you sleep for a day and a half again?” Misha asked.

I laughed. “That’s fair. Is this how he was before he met me?” I asked. Adrik had been almost cranky lately. He refused to even attempt s*x with me because he was worried I wouldn’t be able to catch my breath. Really, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to hold back. Honestly, I was also worried. Not being able to catch my breath after he kissed me a few times had scared me. I didn’t want to tell him, as I didn’t want him to think he couldn’t

chould talk to him about it, sphlet anskey,” Andrei sand I was too busy laughing with Misha to notice that Andrei had stopped paying attention bo wat vanwwqvation hosteal be was fishing around my head.

“I now understand Stephen’s aversion to being read,” I said. Misha looked at mi, confused.

“Talk to who about what he asked.

“Talk to Bows. He’s cranky because she’s still hunt, so there’s been no, uh, extracurricular activities lately. But she got scared a few times when he kissed her and she couldic’t catch her breath after. She won’t tell him, though, Andrei said.

Misu looked at me seriously. “You should talk to him about it. It will help him be a little more patient while you heal a little more. You’re acting more like yourself lately, but we don’t know what your lung feels like. Neither does he. Just because it’s not hurting you doesn’t mean it’s completely healed. And you heard the doctor, it’s easy to get pneumonia again until your long completely heals. None of us want you to have to go back to the hospital”

“I don’t want him to feel like he can’t touch me,” I said. “Knowing him, he will,”

“He won’t,” Andrei said. “Knowing that you’re still struggling to catch your breath, and especially that it scared you, will help him keep that side of him under control, if you will. The last thing he wants to do is hurt you.”

“He’s still working through you being taken. Guys like to show that we’re in love with physical intimacy. He just wants to show you that he loves you is all. If he knows that you’re still struggling even with him kissing you, it’ll be easier for him to wait,” Misha said.

“How did you two get to be so handsome and so wise?” I said, smiling at both of them.

“Stop trying to change the subject, spider monkey. I’ll tell him if you don’t,” Andrei said, grinning at me.

“I ha te you.” Just for fun, I made my eyes go dark. Now that I’d been playing with it more, I could tell when it happened more easily. It would still surprise me, like during my last check-up, but I was becoming aware of when it happened and more importantly, I could control it when it happened. I’ had to admit that I was having more fun with it than I probably should. I knew the guys weren’t intimidated by it, but Trino definitely was. I probably liked that a little too much.

“You love me and you know you do. Your demon eyes don’t scare me,” Andrei said, laughing.

“Who knew one of the side effects of antibiotics was extra spicy attitude?” Misha said.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 324

 Sephle

Adrik, Ivan, Viktor, and Stephen paid another visit to Armando that evening. I’d needed a short nap after the morning’s festivities, but I was managing to stay awake for much longer. And my appetite was coming back slowly. I could snack periodically throughout the day without too much trouble, which was giving me more energy finally.

Misha and Andrei were both happy to stay with me in the penthouse while the others went downstairs to torture Armando.

“How do I get more details, spider monkey?” Andrei ‘asked while they were heating up yet more broth for me.

I thought for a minute. “I’m honestly not sure how to answer that, Bubba. I haven’t always had all the details I get now come so easily. The more I practice, the more details I get. I think time is the answer. The more you use it, the clearer everything will be. Same as Misha. The more he uses his gift, the clearer it gets. I think there will come a time when he won’t need anyone else as a battery, too. I think he’ll be able to do it on his own just as well as he can with us,” I said.

“Really? You think so?” Misha asked. He was clearly surprised at the thought of not needing anyone to see his visions.

“I do. It doesn’t make sense that you would always need me or Andrei to make it work. You didn’t need me in the beginning. I just made it different. Once you master it, you should be able to do it on your own. Which I think you’re getting closer to, if you could tell the difference between me and Bubba this morning.” I said.

“Yeah, that reminds me, how did you know the difference?” Andrei asked. “And how did you know I was holding back? I didn’t even know I was holding back.”

“With Sephie, it feels like she’s showing me how to do it, even though she has no idea how it works. There’s still this calm direction from her when she helps me, but I can tell that she’s jumped in with both feet. With you, Andrei, you really have no idea what’s going on still, you’re just along for the ride. But you’re hoping you don’t d ie in the process,” Misha said, laughing.

“That sounds accurate,” Andrei said. He was laughing as well, not really knowing what else to say.

“This is all a little weird, if we’re being honest. It’s a lot to take in,” I said.

“Was it hard for you, spider monkey? You didn’t have anybody when you discovered you could do this, did you?” Andrei asked.

“It wasn’t hard. I did think there was something wrong with me, not gonna lie. But I’ve shown it more to you guys than I ever did to anyone else. Even my m om. Little bits here and there with her before she died, but I mostly kept to myself. It was only just starting when she was still alive. It’s gotten much stronger as I get older. Then I met you guys and I feel like I skipped ahead like ten levels. I’ve been more open with it this year than I ever have before. You can ask Adrik, too, I was petrified he would think I was crazy at first,” I said.

Misha laughed. “We saw it. When you would tell him things about the bosses, you were timid about it. But you were always right.”

“Apparently, it was all meant to happen the way it did. You guys seeing it in me helped you see it in yourselves. There’s something special about Viktor and Stephen too, but they’re still scared by it,” I said.

“Should we make bets on what it is with those two?” Andrei asked.

“Um, yeah. Of course we should,” I said, laughing.

“Before Andrei found out he was like you, I would’ve said Stephen’s superpower was his sense of humor that nobody knew existed until you came along, gazelle,” Misha said.

“Right? How funny is that dude? And how the he ll does he keep a straight face literally every single time?” I asked. “And Viktor is still the father figure of the group. He just goes about his day silently making sure we’re all taken care of and have everything we need. He’s kind of the best, really.”

We were being si lly in the kitchen while I had yet another snack when Adrik and the rest of the guys got back from downstairs. Adrik immediately

walked to me, leaning down to kiss me. “I’m happy you’re still awake, solnishko,” he said, his handsome smile stretching across his face.

“How was Armando? Have you offered to let him jump off the roof again? Is he ready to take you up on the offer this time?” I asked. I grabbed Adrik’s hand with my one free hand, inspecting his knuckles. He laughed softly and kissed my temple. “I’m so relieved you’re finally feeling better,” he said.

“He’s definitely regretting not listening to you, Seph. I think he’s cried himself to sleep more often than not lately,” Stephen said. While his expression didn’t give away much, there was a definite air of satisfaction present.

“Why do I feel like you’re the reason for his tears?” I asked Stephen.

He cleared his throat. “I do the reading, Seph. Not the other way around,” he said, trying to look at me sternly. I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“You’re just worried I’m going to learn your secret for your in sane mastery of your facial expressions,” I said. His smile stretched across his face. “It’s one of my best tricks,” he said, grinning at me. “I could not agree more,” I said.

“Did you learn anything useful or did you just take your frustrations out on him tonight?” Misha asked.

“He confirmed the link between Ricardo and the Mexicans. He also said it was Lorenzo’s idea to go to them,” Viktor sald.

“He was planning on using them instead of any of the bosses’ men. He knew there would be mass casualties so he was going to sacrifice the Mexicans first. He promised to help them overthrow Trino, but even Armando doubted that would’ve actually happened. Lorenzo knew there likely wouldn’t have been enough of them left,” Adrik said.

“Not surprising. However, it means the Mexicans are not going to stop coming for Trino until Sal and Ricardo are stopped and maybe not even then. We might not be able to wait on Henry to figure his life the f**k out,” I said, finishing up my latest snack. When I looked up, they were all looking at me, completely amused. “What?” I asked.

“Extra spicy Sephie might be my favorite version,” Misha said, laughing.

It took four more days before Trino got any more information about Martin. He finally called Adrik in the afternoon, once he’d heard the fate of Martin. Misha, Andrei, and I all felt fairly certain that he would make it out, but we also never checked on him again. We were all relieved to hear for sure that he’d made it out and was safely back in Colombia.

Trino stopped by the building that evening. Gus, Oscar, and one of his normal security guys were with him, but the rest of his men chose to stay in the lobby. “Was that your choice or theirs?” Ivan asked when Trino walked into the office, mostly unaccompanied.

“It was definitely theirs,” Oscar said, trying not to laugh. “They’re some of the baddest motherf**kers in Colombia, but they’re scared of a girl.”

“For good reason,” Trino’s security guy said quietly. It was the first time I’d ever heard him speak.

“And yet, here you are,” I said. My tone wasn’t threatening. Yet. But I was serious enough that he got tense when I addressed him. “Did the rest of them put you up to coming up here or are you just so curious that you can’t help yourself?” He looked at me, somewhat surprised. He wasn’t sure what to say. Trino stayed quiet as well. “I saved the life of your boss’s right-hand man. I’ve saved your life before as well, you just don’t know it. A little gratitude would serve you well if you’d like to keep the baddest motherf**ker title,” I said, walking to the couch to sit beside Andrei. He held his tosit arm out, helping me sit, then wrapped it around my shoulders so I could curl up next to him.

He leaned down and said, “extra spicy Sephie is my favorite version too.”

Gus looked at Trino, then looked at me. “I see now why he likes you so much,” he said.

Adrik cleared his throat, clearly done with where the conversation was headed. “Where is Martin now?” he asked.

“He’s back in Colombia, under heavily armed guards, just in case. He said he almost didn’t make it out. Instead of just leaving like I told him to, he tried to have a conversation with them. They caught on that he knew something was off and tried to keep him from leaving. He barely managed to get out, but he’s safe now.” Trino looked at me, a look of sincerity on his face. “Miha, he would’ve been killed if not for you. I suspected he would go to Mexico, but I never actually thought he was du mb enough to do it. I thought he was smarter than that. You saved his life.”

“It was a group effort,” I said, catching Misha’s eye. I felt Andrei squeeze my shoulders a little tighter. “I’d happily do it again. Just keep your weak ass security guys that clearly can’t handle the fact that I’m different away from me.

Mishan laughed, asking in Russian, “can extra spicy gazelle stay forever? She’s definitely my favorite.”

King of the Underworld - Chapter 323

 Adrik

“Squish is right. I did not know holding back was an option,” she said.

Viktor walked in with Trino, who looked quite nervous. “Jefe, what’s going on?” he asked.

Before I could answer, Sephie said, “Trino, Martin is going to be killed. I can explain how I know, but I think you already have an idea of how I know. I’ve seen it. It’s going to be very violent and it’s going to be a very public declaration of war.”

Trino cursed in Spanish. “I told him that negotiations were pointless.”

“He’s there now, Trino. Have you talked to him since you’ve been in the city?” I asked.

“No, Jefe. I told him when I left to stay in Colombia since he wouldn’t come with me.”

“He didn’t listen. He’s in Mexico. You’re the only one that would be able to convince him to get out of there before they ki ll him. He still has a chance to escape, but not for long. He has to leave now,” Sephie said. She had an urgent edge to her voice that Trino heard. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled his phone from his pocket. We listened to his conversation with Martin, but no one could understand it. It got heated, then ended with Trino clearly pleading with Martin. He took a moment to collect himself once the call ended, then looked to Sephie.

“Miha, you have the gift. My grandmother did too. I thought you might because you know too much,” he said, smiling at her. “You were right. He’s in Mexico. I told him what would happen if he stayed. I don’t know if he’s going to listen to me. He’s very stubborn.”

I glanced at Misha who was checking on the potential outcomes. He ran his hand up and down his arm to rub out the goosebumps. Sephie noticed, too. “He’ll listen,” she said. Trino sighed, clearly stressed about the entire situation.

“Even if he gets out, they’re still likely to declare war,” Ivan said. “Ricardo is using them as an army to try and overthrow Boss. You’re their reward for helping Ricardo.”

I recognized one or two of the curse words that came out of Trino’s mo uth, since Sephie had clued me in on what they meant. She tried not to laugh, but she was always so amused at Trino’s tirades.

“Don’t worry. If it comes to that, we’ll help you stop it. We’re looking for ways to prevent it, though,” I said. Trino simply nodded his head.

He looked at Sephie, a sly smile evident on one side of his mo uth. “My guys are all scared of you now, Miha. They’re going to struggle to be in the same room as you after they hear about this.”

While I hadn’t thought much about it the night before, I suddenly had a strong feeling of unease when it came to Trino’s guys being around Sephie.

Sephie shrugged her shoulders. “You can tell them I don’t pry, but they’re not going to listen. But make sure they understand what will happen to them if they think burning the witch is a thing that should be brought back. Feel free to embellish as much as you want on that one,” she said very seriously. I tensed at the thought, my anger unexpectantly rising to the surface. I knew she felt it as she took a step toward Trino. “Your guys or not, I will end them if they ever so much as think about coming after me because of this.”

1 knew by the look on Trino’s face that her eyes were dark. He was completely shocked, as well as afraid. She was using it to her advantage. Just for emphasis, all the guys stood up and surrounded her as she stepped back to me, I felt Ivan’s protective bubble around us as he told Trino that it was best to stay with us, rather than against us. I felt Sephie’s hand on top of mine as I slid it around her waist, pulling her back against me.

Trino’s eyes were wide. He put his hands up, like he was worried something would happen. “No worries. That will never be a problem. I’ll take care of it myself if one of them even thinks of doing anything to harm you,” he said.

Sephie reached up and touched Ivan’s back, who was standing in front of her. I felt the bubble disappear as he turned to look at her. His face softened immediately when he looked at her so I knew she was smiling at him. He stepped out of the way so she could see Trino once more.

“I give you my word, it will not be a problem, Miha,” Trino said. Sephie simply nodded her head.

Nephr

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room as you after they hear about this,” Trine said.

I could feel Adik’tenston, even though he knew that Brind’s pays were now scared of non as of the night before. As I thought about his words, a sudden thought pepped bato my head I felt my anger rising to the surface apply “You can tell them I don’t pry, but are not going to listen. But

ure Hay understand what will happen to them if they think burning the witch is a thing that should be brought back. Feel free to embellish

The words, I felt Adrik’s anger feeding into mine. I knew my eyes were going dark, if they weren’t

I want winded him to tell his guys to fear me. “Your guys or not, I will and them much as you want on that one,” I said As already, but I didn’t care. wanded Tring to If they ever so much as Think about

When Trinn saw my eyes, he had energeti taken a step back. His feet never moved, but he shrunk back from me. I took a step toward him, just to drive my point home, as I spoke The didn’t say a word, they just moved urround me and Adnk. Tring was roughly my height, so they all towered over him. They food advantage of this and Cranked up the intimidation actor as high as it would go. I could feel Adrik’s anger feeding into mine, even though he was behind me. I was giving Trino. He would’ve been ready to rip Trine apart if I said the word at that moment. Any of them would have

Ivan stepped in front of me, putting his body in between me and Trin. I felt his protective bubble go up around me, which also fed into my anger. I could hear Ivan tell Trino, “It’s best if you’re with us, rather than against us.” could vaguely hear Trine’s response, but it was difficult to understand his words with Ivan’s bubble of protection around me, I stepped back against Adrik, his hand on my waist. I put my hand on top of his, hoping to calm us both down slig

I noticed that when I moved, the guys moved as well. They didn’t need to see the, but they knew exactly where I was. When I took a step back against Adrik, Ivan closed the distance between us, staying directly in front of me. I smiled, knowing he took his job very seriously. His anger was also feeding mine reached out and put my hand on his back, trying him as well, He turned to look at me and I felt his bubble slowly disappear. He saw me etniling at him and his face immodiately softened.

“Message received,” I said quietly to all of them in Russian. They all relaxed, but didn’t move.

“I give you my word, it will not be a problem, Milia,” Trino said, I simply nodded. Whatever had given me the idea in the first place was in the background now. I want to know if Misha or Andrei got anything from that.

Trine stayed in the penthouse for a few minutes longer, but eventually took his leave. He promised to keep us updated on whether Martin took his advice and left Mexico or not.

Once he was gone, I looked to Adrik, smiling. He raised his eyebrow, then kissed me gently. “It was different again,” he said. He looked to Ivan, asking, “can you feel her anger yet?”

“I did that time. It was unreal. I’ve only been that angry a handful of times and it’s always resulted in someone else dying,” he said.

I laughed. “I could feel both of you. You were both feeding into my anger, which is why I think it was so strong. But I can tell the difference.”

“How so?” Ivan asked.

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain what I felt. “It’s like two different functions, I think.” I paus suddenly hit me. I looked at Ivan, “you’re the shield.” Then I looked at Adrik, “and you’re the sword.”

Adrik smiled at me. “I think I understand, but explain.”

trying to find the words. It

“Your anger is beside me, looking for direction, if you will. Like all I would’ve had to do is point at Trino and you would’ve ripped him apart. But your anger is a part of me, moving through me. An extension. Just like mine is a part of you. Ivan’s is different. It’s broader and it’s focused outward. Away from me. His fire burns just as hot, but it’s directed away from me, where yours is not. His anger feels like a barrier in front of me. Your anger is always with me. A part of me,” I said,

“I raught a glimpse of your eyes, princess. They’re still getting darker when it happens. I’m surprised Trino didn’t pi ss himself,” Ivan said.

“I saw them change this morning,” Adrik said. “She was looking at me as they changed back to normal. I’ve never seen anything so amazing.” He turned me so he could look in my eyes. He was still completely mesmerized. I reached up and kissed him gently.

“Did you get anything when Tring told me his guys were scared of me now asked Andrei and Misha

“I got a quick hit of nausea, gazelle I don’t know about which one, or ones, but it wasn’t good. I’m glad you said something, because I was going to it you didn’t. It’s definitely not Tino, but one of his guys is going to have a problem with this,” Misha said.

“Same as last night for me, spider monkey. You get more details than I do, but) knew the potential for there to be a problem is there,” Andrei said

“I think you scared Trino enough that he’ll either keep this to himself or he’ll keep his guys away from you from now on,” Stephen said. “I’ve never seen him so shocked as when you threatened him. That’s going to haunt him for a while.”

“Good. That was the point,” I said, grinning. “Who’s hungry?”

They all laughed. “It’s good to have you back, sestrichka,” Viktor said, shaking his head.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 322

 Adrik

The guys were waiting on us as usual when we came out from the bedroom. She seemed like she had more energy this morning than she’d had in weeks. I didn’t have to wait on her to walk slowly down the hallway. The guys noticed she was brighter this morning, too.

“You look much better this morning, gazelle,” Misha said. He smiled at her, but was clearly surprised as well.

“I feel better this morning. First time I haven’t been in a fog when I wake up in a while,” she said. “I might actually want real food this morning, too.”

Misha looked around at everyone else. “Thank God you’re all here to witness it this time. I can’t handle the pressure of how to document these milestones in her life,” he said.

For the first time since she’d been hurt, she laughed without grabbing her ribs. I could feel the dull ache that was constantly present there, but no sharp pains this time. It was a nice change.

“Let’s make a deal,” she said, turning to me. I raised my eyebrow at her, wondering what she had in mind. “If I can eat real food for breakfast, then we can try Andrei’s idea of Misha using both of us to find Sal, as well as Martin. I want to know what those two are doing,” she said.

“Deal,” I said. I also wanted to know what those two were doing. If Martin was trying to make a deal with the Mexicans behind Trino’s back, that could put Trino în even more danger. The smile that she gave me when I agreed made my heart stop.

“How did you know that Trino and Martin were disagreeing on what to do with the Mexicans, princess?” Ivan asked.

“It just popped in my head. That’s how it works for me. Trino was thinking about it, probably trying to decide if he should bring it up or not. Given his reaction, I think he’d decided to not bring it up,” she said.

“His guys think she’s a witch now, too,” I said, laughing.

Andrei laughed. “I noticed several of them made the sign of the cross. At least we don’t have to worry about them around her now. They won’t want to be around her.”

“Did you have the same thing pop in your head, Andrei?” Stephen asked. “I know you knew Trino was lying when he made excuses for Martin not being here.”

Andrei nodded his head. “I didn’t get as many details as Sephie, though. I knew they’d had an argument, but that was all I could tell. She filled in way more details and Misha confirmed when he said Martin wasn’t in Colombia.”

“It does make me nervous if he’s not in Colombia. I wanted to ask Trino if he knew where Martin was, but he clearly didn’t want to talk about it,” I said.

“We can find out more after breakfast,” Sephie said, grinning at me. Andrei got up to make her the usual bowl of broth, since that seemed to be helping the most right now.

Viktor had been busy on his computer since we walked into the kitchen, likely trying to find the connection between Ricardo and the Mexicans he’d mentioned the night before. His phone beeped, indicating food was waiting for us. He started to get up, but Stephen put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ll get it. You keep working. I’d like some real answers today,” he said as he got up to get food.

After Sephie managed to eat half her breakfast, plus the entire bowl of broth, she got up on her own from the kitchen island. She motioned for Andrei and Misha to come with her. She glanced over her shoulder, asking the rest of us, “Sal first or Martin first?”

We looked at each other, then answered, “Martin first.”

She giggled. “Good. That’s what I wanted, too.” She’d stopped in the open area between the kitchen and the living room, grabbing Misha’s hand with her one free hand. “Somehow I think this will work even better once I have two hands again, but we’ll see how it goes this time,” she said. Andrei extended his hand to Misha as well. Misha got his usual faraway look in his eyes as he searched for Martin. After just a minute, Andret and Sephie were clearly watching something that the rest of us couldn’t see.

“Got him,” Misha said quietly. They watched for a few moments, then Misha’s broad smile stretched across his face. “You got sound, gazelle,” he said as she laughed quietly. They continued watching, the looks on their faces turning very serious. After a few minutes, the movie was apparently over.

Misha was smiling ear-to-ear as he said, “that was the clearest one yet, gazelle. I’ve never had sound before.”

She looked at Andrei. “It was Bubba. He’s the power boost we needed.” Andrei was trying not to be too surprised at what had happened, but he was still coming to terms with it.

Misha looked to us, saying. “Martin is with the Mexicans. We could hear them, but since none of us speak Spanish, I have no clue what they were saying. It looked like they were negotiating, though. Then somebody hit the fast forward button.” He paused, running his hand through his hair. “This is not going to end well for Martin.”

“They’re going to use him as revenge for ki lling Anthony and Lorenzo. He’ll be displayed in a very public way so Trino can’t mistake the message.” Andrei said.

Sephie was quietly chewing on her bottom lip, contemplating what they’d just seen. She looked to me. “I think we can stop it, but it would have to come from Trino, which means he’s going to know what we can do.” She glanced at Ivan after looking at me.

“I don’t like the idea of him knowing, but if they ki ll Martin like you say, it’s going to start another war. Guaranteed,” Ivan said.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, dialing Trino’s number. He picked up on the first ring. “Jefe, you’re calling early,” he said. We could hear the surprise in his voice.

“Trino, you need to come to the penthouse. Your guys can wait downstairs. It’s important,” I said.

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes,” Trino said and hung up.

Viktor, who had still been searching on his computer this whole time, finally found what he was looking for. “Found the link between Ricardo and the Mexicans. It’s a deal from years ago, when Vitaliy was still in charge. Major development deal in Mexico. He also has a multi-million-dollar house there. Ricardo is the link between the Mexicans and Lorenzo.”

Sephie turned to look at Misha and Andrei. She grabbed Misha’s hand again, saying, “let’s find Sal before Trino gets here. I should be able to know what they’re saying this time, if he’s with Ricardo like I think he’s going to be.”

They went through the process again to find Sal this time. It went faster this time, but they watched for longer. Misha and Andrei both looked to Sephie when the movie only they could see stopped. She was chewing on her bottom lip again. She looked up at them, then to me. “He’s using the Mexicans as his army. Since we took out half the bosses already, he needs manpower. This wasn’t about going around Trino, on the bosses’ end. That came from the Mexicans. Ricardo needs manpower. He promised to support them in taking out Trino if they helped him take you out,” she said. “Sal is angry about Lorenzo and wants vengeance. Never mentioned Anthony, though. That was weird.”

“Sal is with Ricardo now?” Ivan asked.

Misha nodded his head. “They’re definitely in Italy, but I’m not sure exactly where,” he said.

Andrei walked to Viktor. “Something looked familiar. I’ve seen it in pictures before, but I don’t know what it’s called,” he said. Viktor pushed his computer toward Andrei so he could try and find their location. It only took a few minutes and he had found where they were. “They’re in Amalfi.” He looked to Misha. “You were close yesterday. It’s really close to Naples.”

Viktor’s phone rang, indicating that Trino was downstairs. “Be right back,” he said as he walked out. Sephie walked to me, tucking herself into my side. I could feel her nerves beginning to get bad. I pulled her to me, saying quietly, “I love you. More than anything, but a little more each day.” She sighed and rested her head against my chest. “How much did that zap you?” I asked.

“I feel it, but it wasn’t like the first time. Andrei definitely helped take most of it. It didn’t zap him at all the first time he did it. He must have superpowers,” she said, laughing.

“Andrei still holds back, gazelle. That’s why it’s not quite as clear with him. You don’t hold back,” Misha said. “I figured out the difference this time.”

Ivan tghed. “Sephir doesn’t know what that means.”

King of the Underworld - Chapter 321

 Adrik

“We’ve got enough evidence for the police to lock Ricardo up for a very long time, but if the mayor is in Ricardo’s pocket, he won’t go through with it. We’re trying to work around that, if possible. It’s a good move for the people of the city to see their politicians appearing to be tough on crime. We’ve gift-wrapped the doctor that created brawn and now Ricardo for them. We’re just not sure this mayor will do anything with either, yet,” I said.

“You got the guy that created brawn?” Trino asked, surprised. “I knew you stopped their plan. I didn’t know you got the guy that created it in the first place.” He looked at Gus, like he was angry about not being fold.

“I didn’t know either. I didn’t not tell you on purpose, Jefe,” Gus said, defensively.

I chuckled. “We kept it quiet. He’s a piece of work. We didn’t want word getting around that we knew who he is and risk him running. The police have been after him for 10 years,” I said.

“Why so long?” Trino asked.

“He’s been wanted for other reasons. He’s a doctor. He does backroom procedures for cash. He’s been doing procedures against people’s will for years, but he would use a specific anesthesia combination that wiped people’s memories, so nobody could remember what he looked like,” Ivan said.

“How did you find him, then?” Trino asked, curious.

“I remembered what he looked like. His drugs didn’t work on me,” Sephie said.

“Miha. Why did you go to him?” Trino asked.

“It was not by choice. But at least I could remember what he looked like. I gave the police a sketch of him. One of Sal’s guys who’s been feeding us information when it’s convenient for him recognized him and told us he was the one behind the brawn,” she said.

“So many coincidences that they become mathematically impossible,” Trino said. He looked at Sephie very seriously. “Miha, you were always meant to be with Jefe.”

She leaned her head back so she could somewhat see me. “I know,” she said sweetly.

We continued talking about possible outcomes for dealing with Ricardo and the remaining bosses, as well as the Mexicans. We ordered food while we kept talking. Misha and Andrei ran upstairs to make Sephie’s broth and get her antibiotic. She managed to eat a few bites of my food, but that’s all she wanted. During a lull in the conversation, Misha said in Russian, “I’m surprised you’re still awake, gazelle. Are you doing okay? Me and Andrei can go upstairs with you if you need to rest.”

“I’m okay, my adorable Russian guardian. At least for a little while longer,” Sephie said, smiling at him.

“How’s Martin?” Sephie asked Trino. “Why didn’t he come with you?” It was a seemingly innocent question, but I knew that Sephie rarely asked questions for no reason. I glanced at Misha, who got his usual faraway look that meant he was looking for Martin.

“Martin ha tes to travel, especially to the states. Especially in winter,” Trino said. He seemed slightly tense when he answered her, where he’d been completely relaxed before.

I noticed Andrei glance at Sephie. She said quietly, in Russian, “he’s lying.” Andrei nodded in agreement. Misha cleared his throat, signaling that he’d seen something but it was over. I glanced around the room, noticing the looks happening between Trino’s guys.

“Do you want me to pretend you’re telling the truth and let it drop or do you want to tell me what happened?” Sephie asked, inatter-of-factly.

Trino began cursing in Spanish. His guys were both amused and unsettled by Sephie’s question. One of Trino’s guys made the sign of the cross. He also 100% thinks Sephie is a witch. While he was cursing, Sephie asked Andrei, who was next to us on the couch, in Russian, “they’re disagreeing on how to handle the Mexicans, no?” He nodded his head in agreement.

Misha said in Russian, “he’s not if Colombia. I couldn’t see very clearly. I need Sephie or Andrei to see it clearer, but he’s not in Colombia.”

Sephie nodded her head, but didn’t say anything further. She was waiting to see what Trino wanted to do. When he didn’t answer, she instead asked another question. “Was Martin with you when you took over or did he come after?”

“After. I took over by myself, basically,” Trino said.

She was quiet for a moment, like she was thinking of the right words to say. “You need to be careful, Trino. Martin has been loyal to you up until now, but this disagreement has caused a bigger divide between you than you realize. He thinks his solution is better, but he doesn’t understand the violence needed when dealing with certain people. It’s going to get him kiffed.”

I glanced at Trino’s guys again. More of them were now making the sign of the cross. Yep, they’re going to be scared of her from now on. Good. Trino looked shocked. “How…” he said, completely in shock.

“You would only be uncomfortable talking about him if you two had a disagreement. The only thing you could disagree on that is big enough to cause this much discomfort is the Mexicans,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Told you,” Stephen said to Trino, winking at Sephie.

“Nice save, princess,” Ivan said in Russian.

“You’re right. Again. He thinks we can negotiate with the Mexicans. He doesn’t understand how they do business. They are not to be trusted. Ever. They understand violence, though. They’ve been quiet since I took over until Anthony and Lorenzo went to them,” Trino said. We could hear the anger in his voice.

“The Mexicans think they have a real shot at overthrowing you. Not sure what Lorenzo told them, but given that they’ve already made one attempt your life, they’ve been emboldened by whatever it was. They’re not going to give that up easily, which is why I think it will be easy for Sal to continue to stay in contact with them,” Sephie said.

Viktor cursed under his breath, then said in Russian, “I think there’s a connection between Ricardo and the Mexicans that I glossed over before. I need to go back and check, but I’m remembering seeing something.”

I nodded, saying, still in Russian, “we’ll look into it tomorrow. I don’t want to drag this out any longer tonight, for Sephie’s sake.” I could feel her getting tired, but she was still fighting it. Her ribs were starting to ache a little more than usual, which was a sign she’d been upright for too long.

“Remind me to always stay on your good side, Miha. I want to always be on your side,” Trino said, laughing somewhat nervously.

After Trino and his guys left, the guys went to their apartments, leaving Sephie and I to go to the penthouse alone. Once we were in the bedroom, 1 started to help her undress. She still struggled to get her jeans on and off easily with one hand. “Trino’s guys totally think you’re a witch now,” I said, laughing, I unbuttoned my shirt so I could put it on her for the night.

She laughed. “I might’ve enjoyed that a little too much. They were all so nervous. It’s too bad they don’t normally talk around me. I could’ve really creeped them out. Maybe I’ll scare Gus and Oscar next time,” she said, a devilish grin on her face.

“I am curious where Martin is if he’s not in Colombia. We’ll have to see what else Misha can see tomorrow,” I said, helping her into bed.

“I don’t think it’s going to be good news if he sees more,” she said quietly as she laid down on her good side.

“We’ll worry about it tomorrow. You need sleep, solnishko. You’ve been awake almost the entire day,” I said, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her as tight against me as I could.

“It was a big day,” she said, yawning. I could feel her relax as she pressed her body closer to mine. Her breathing slowed and I heard her make her cooing noises as she drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

I woke the next morning to find she was facing me, still sound asleep. That’s progress if she can lie on her bad shoulder. I took a moment to watch her sleep. I’d missed being able to see her face when I first woke in the mornings. I brushed her curls from her face and felt her start to stir. I kissed her forehead, not really caring if she woke up yet. I’d happily lie here and watch her sleep.

It took her a few more minutes to finally wake up. Wi sweetly. Since she wasn’t ving on her good arm, sh touch. “I’ve missed this,” she said.

opened her eyes, her gorgiou ched up and ran her fingers lights through my faria

“I’m surprised you’re lying on your had shoulder. And your the. It doesn’t hurt you? fated.

“Not unless I move too much. I don’t even remembe

I opened my eves once more. I could feel the

She laughed quieth

pulling her to me I grabbed her leg putting I knew I had to stop or risk her not being continue over the top of holding her a ss Semby The mcared study, tør tevřte numing teles, paling sets try tark so 1 to catch her breath. I cursed as I stopped

I felt her hand on my stomach and heard her say, “sorry,” quietly as the worked to catch her breath

“You shouldn’t be. It’s not your fault you’re in this condition. You can bet Armand later, though.” I sad. I could feel my arose coming

to the surface thinking about taking my frustrations out on Armando for doing this Sophie I glanced at ba eves closed again. “You okay, solnishko?” I asked, running my fingers lightly over her cheek.

She smiled at me, but didn’t open her eyes. She nodded her head, then said, “I can feel your anger very strongly. I don’t want to make things worse for you than they already are.”

I laughed, my anger disappearing slowly. I kissed her forehead. “You can open your eyes, love. You won’t make thing

She slowly opened her eyes. They were still dark, but in the process of turning normal again. I’d ne tappened befoes

I could clearly see the dark brown, almost black color fade into the background as the normal three rng of color returned. “Did you s purpose?” I asked.

“Do what on purpose?”

“I could watch them change this time. I’ve never seen it as it happened. It was incredible. It was like watching into day,” I said, still mesmerized by her eyes.

“That sounds really complicated. I for sure didn’t do that on purpose,” she said, laughing,

I kissed her gently. “You’re amazing.”

Sorinating

King of the Underworld - Chapter 320

 Sephte

That evening, once everyone in the office had gone home for the day, Trino and his guys stopped by. Gus and Oscar were with him, but Chen was absent this time. “He’s working on a contractor job. He said it was really important and he wants it to be perfect, so he couldn’t get away when we told him we were coming here tonight,” Gus said when I asked where he was, I smiled, knowing it was one of Adrik’s projects that he was working on.

“Miha, you look much better this time,” Trino said when he walked into Adhik’s office. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. It’s still too slow, but better,” I said. I’d still been coughing occasionally when I talked. The cough sounded ho rrible, even though I was feeling better.

Trino cursed in Spanish when he heard my cough. “She got pneumonia after she got home from the hospital. The doctor said it’s common after your lung collapses,” Ivan said as he helped me onto the cabinet behind Adrik’s desk.

“Dios mio, Miha. How are you still functioning?” he asked.

I laughed. “Ask them. I haven’t been lately. I’ve done nothing but sleep for like an entire week.”

Trino looked at Adrik, who nodded his head in confirmation. “Armando has had to suffer greatly because I’ve been bored without her,” he said, his sly smirk on his face.

“I fully support this, Jefe,” Trino said.

“What did you find at Sal’s house?” Adrik asked.

Trino took a deep breath and blew it out loudly. He was clearly frustrated. “We found a tunnel underneath his house. That’s how they got out without my guys seeing anything, which is advantageous for my guys. I was ready to ki ll them if they’d fallen asleep and missed Sal leaving.”

“We just don’t know exactly when they left. They could be anywhere by now,” Gus said.

“They’re not anywhere. They’re in Italy,” I said.

“And they left in the middle of the night a day and a half ago,” Ivan said.

“Along with Niko and Vito at some point, as well,” Viktor added.

“How do you know they’re in Italy, Miha?” Trino asked skeptically.

“It’s the most obvious choice. There’s a very high likelihood that’s where Ricardo is as well. Sal is likely running to him for direction now that Lorenzo is dead. Niko and Vito are simply running after their master as well,” I said. Trino looked at me thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything. I caught Andrei’s eye. He was trying not to smile.

“Who’s Ricardo?” Gus asked.

“We think he’s really the one that’s behind this coup. He’s been working with Lorenzo for years, but he also has a relationship with the other bosses as well. He’s the one that’s been pulling Armando’s strings behind the scenes. Likely since he was still an underboss. He’s been using a fake name this entire time. It was likely Ricardo that instructed him on what name to use to keep from raising suspicion with the other bosses, as well as my father,”

Adrik said.

Oscar laughed quietly. “Italians are so dramatic,” he said quietly.

“You are not wrong, Oscar,” I said.

“What are you thinking, Jefe? Are you going after them?” Trino asked.

Adrik thought for a few moments before answering. I knew he was torn about his answer, because of me. Were I not in the condition I was currently In, he would be much more willing to follow them to Italy and to end this all as quickly as possible. But given that travel likely wouldn’t agree with me very well right now, he was hesitant to follow them.

“They can come to me. I’m not going anywhere with Sephie in this condition,” he said, firmly.

“Do you think they’ll be back?” Oscar asked.

“I do. Ricardo is apparently obsessed with me,” Adrik said, smirking. “Armando said Ricardo has been trying to overtake me for years, from both sides of the business.”

“Your greatness irritates those not on your level, Jefe,” Trino said. All the guys looked at me. Even Adrik turned his chair so he could see me out of the corner of his eye. Trino noticed, giving me a questioning look.

“I said almost the exact same thing earlier, Trino. Great minds think alike,” I said smiling at him. I motioned for Ivan to help me off the cabinet. I walked to Adrik, wanting to sit on his lap. Instead of staying at his desk, he stood up, pulling me to one of the couches. He helped me sit in his lap and lean back against him; my legs crossed in between his.

Adrik put his lips close to my ear, asking quietly in Russian, “are you tired, solnishko? Do you need to go back upstairs?”

“No, I’m okay. I was cold,” I said, pulling his arm around me tighter. I could feel the low vibration of his quiet laugh as he brushed my cheek lightly with his facial hair.

“How is the situation with the Mexicans, Trino?” Ivan asked.

“They got word of what happened to Anthony and Lorenzo, so they’ve been quiet so far. They still remember what I did when I took over in Colombia, Trino said.

“I wouldn’t put it past Sal and Ricardo to keep in contact with them. They’re going to need help to make this happen, if that’s what they’re still trying to do,” I said, leaning my head back against Adrik’s shoulder.

Trino looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. He started to ask a question, then stopped himself, then decided to ask it anyway. “Miha, how do you always know what you know? You’ve been with Jefe for such a short time and yet you know this business better than men who’ve grown up in it. You’re a very smart woman, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve literally never met anyone who knows the things you know after such a short time.”

I felt Adrik hold me a little tighter as we all contemplated how to answer Trino. It was Stephen that spoke first. “Sephie has a very unique ability to understand human psychology. Because of it, she can predict what people will do in certain situations.”

Trino shook his head, like he wanted to believe Stephen, but he wasn’t sure he did. “It’s something else, for sure,” he said. “Is this why Armando took you? Surely he knows how unique you are.”

I scoffed. “That’s a complicated answer, Trino.”

“How so?”

I could feel my anger starting to rise at the thought of Armando thinking he ever had a chance with me, but I tried to keep it under control, while making sure my eyes stayed normal. I took as deep a breath as I could. “When the bosses would meet at the restaurant I used to work at, Armando would stay after sometimes and help me clean up. He would ask me questions about my life, but I always got the impression that he was trying to set me up with his son, who is close to my age. According to Dario, that was not the case at all. Apparently, both Armando and Sal had been eyeing me when Ghost came back. Dario thought they were going to get into a fight over me, but then I met Ghost and that option was taken off the table. I think it’s why Sal was going to sell me off to the highest bidder when they took me. He’s still pi ssed. Armando, too.”

Ivan, who was sitting across from me and Adrik, said quickly in Russian, “blink, princess.”

“Shi t,” I said, under my breath, closing my eyes for a second. I managed to cough to hopefully distract anyone who might’ve seen them. I opened them, looking to Ivan first. He nodded discreetly and winked at me.

“Sephie thinks they’d put Armando into a bit of a leadership role while I was away. I think he and Sal had started to think they could run the city,

either together or separately. The night I met Sephie was the night they recruited all the bosses to try to overthrow me. We’re still trying to find out how much of a role Ricardo has been playing this entire time. He seems to have more influence than he should for someone who isn’t a boss,” Adrik said.

“We think he might have the mayor in his pocket as well,” Ivan said.

Trino made a gesture like he was spitting. “Politicians. They’re all the same. They can all be bought for the right price.”

King of the Underworld - Chapter 319

 Sephle

Misha and Adrik were in the process of making me yet more broth and another egg when the other four guys walked back into the penthouse. The shock was evident on their faces, even more so once Misha informed them it was the second time in an hour that I’d eaten.

“Misha wanted to call you guys when I asked for solid food earlier,” I said, still laughing at him.

“Would’ve been worth it,” Viktor said. “We’ve all been worried about you, sestrichka.”

“I know. Don’t blame me. It’s my stomach. She has a mind of her own. She’s wild. Untamed.”

“What did you find at the airport?” Adrik asked, sliding a plate with one more egg on it in front of me.

“Sal left a day and a half ago. It was the middle of the night when he left, so either Trino was right and he had tunnels, or his guys fell asleep and missed him leaving.” Viktor said.

“Do we know where he went?” Misha asked.

“They didn’t log a flight path until they were already in the air,” Ivan said.

Adrik looked at Andrei. “We’re trying to save the small amount of energy that Sephie has right now. We want to see if you or I can help Misha find Sal, without him having to use her.”

“Does helping Misha zap your energy, spider monkey?” Andrei asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s hard to tell what’s what right now. I didn’t think so, but the night we found Tori and Max was right before I started sleeping for days at a time again, so I don’t know. Could be my lung, could be helping Misha,” I said.

Andrei looked at me for a minute, like he was completely lost in thought. “It was your lung, but I can see if it works with me. It’s good to have options,” he said, smiling his handsome smile at me. “What do I have to do?” he asked Misha.

“Just concentrate on Sal,” I said. “Misha does the rest.”

“Like think of his face?” Andrei asked. I nodded my head.

“If it works the same for you as it does for me, you’ll be able to see what Misha sees like it’s in front of you,” I said.

Andrei nodded his head, then extended his hand to Misha. It took a few minutes, but we could see Misha squeeze Andrei’s hand tighter, which always meant he was seeing something. Andrei’s eyes went wide, but he wasn’t looking at anything we could see. We knew they’d found him. We were just waiting to see where they found him.

They watched the movie that only they could see for several minutes before it stopped. “That was weird,” Andrei said once they joined us back in our reality.

“Was it like a movie?” I asked.

“It was just like when you help me, gazelle,” Misha said.

“That’s because Bubba is like me,” I said, grinning at Andrei.

“Like you how? Like his rapidly improving observation skills?” Viktor asked.

“Those, yes. But he’ll be able to know things before they happen like me soon too. That’s why Adrik asked him about me staying behind when you guys went to meet the journalist with Chen,” I said.

“That’s how he knew you felt like shi t still,” Stephen said. “I was wondering if that was a lucky guess or not.”

“It just popped in my head and I said it before I really thought about it, but she said that’s how she reads our minds all the time, Andrei said.

Stephen laughed loudly, which was somewhat out of character for him. We all looked to him, somewhat puzzled. “I’m just glad I already told you guys I was g ay because I would’ve never slept another minute knowing that both Andrei and Sephie can do this. I would’ve had to find another job. 1 would’ve been a wreck.”

“I love that the vampire among us is worried about mind reading. Isn’t that how you get your victims to willingly comply?” I asked, laughing.

“Oh, I’m totally fine with it when I’m the one doing the reading. I prefer not to be read. 900 years, Seph. There’s plenty I’m not proud of in here,” he said, tapping his temple.

*900 years of making you awesomely hilarious and smart as f**k. I fail to see the issue here,” I said. It was hard to catch Stephen off guard, but I managed to do it. His mo uth fell open. He didn’t know how to respond. He just walked to me, putting his arm around my shoulders, and kissing my cheek.

“You’re just the best, Seph,” he said, quietly.

“So, where is Sal?” Adrik asked Misha..

“He’s in Italy. I can’t be completely sure, but it looked like he was not too far from Armando’s place in Naples. But I haven’t been to Italy very much, so everything might look the same to me, I don’t know,” Misha said.

“It farrows it down slightly,” Viktor said.

“You guys can try again later and see if you can narrow it down further,” I said, winking at Andrei who still looked surprised it had worked.

“What if Misha uses both of us?” Andrei asked. “You seem to give him the most clarity, spider monkey. Maybe you can still give him that, but it won’t zap your energy if he uses me too.”

“Maybe,” Adrik said, firmly. “Let’s see how she gets through the day. I don’t want her to go right back to sleeping the entire day.”

“The bigger question is how are we going to tell Trino that we know where he is?” Ivan asked. “I mean, Trino’s been cool with the very little glimpses he’s gotten into Sephie’s weirdness, but I’m not sure I like the idea of him knowing everything.”

Andrei once again got a look like he was thinking about something else and not at all paying attention to our conversation. “He already knows. It’s partly why he’s so enamored with Sephie.”

“He does?” Ivan asked.

I laughed. “I suspected he did, too, but never thought much about it and never tried to clarify,” I said.

“Santeria is common in Colombia. It wouldn’t be a stretch for him to believe Sephie has special powers,” Andrei said.

I couldn’t help but giggle. “I want to make him think I’m a voodoo priestess now. Does anybody have a snake I can borrow? I’ll give it back once he leaves.”

They all laughed at me; the relief clear on their faces that I was starting to feel better. Ivan looked at Andrei, saying, “you really are a genius. She feels much better.”

I smiled widely at Ivan. It made me happy to see them help Andrei be more confident in his newfound abilities. “As for your earlier question, Squish, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch that Sal would run to Italy. It’s probably a very safe bet that Ricardo is there as well. They’re likely trying to plan. What about Niko and Vito? Where are they?” I asked.

Viktor pulled his phone out of his pocket, stepping away to find that answer as well. When he stepped away, I said, “it wouldn’t surprise me if they also ran. They’re probably still trying to come up with a plan to make this coup happen anyway. I almost want to let them. If Lorenzo was the logistical brains behind this, whatever these mo rons come up with should be hilarious.”

Viktor walked back to the kitchen, with a stressed look on his face. Ivan grinned at me, then asked, “Niko and Vito ran too, didn’t they? Viktor just nodded his head, looking surprised. “Sephie called it when you stepped away to check on them.” Viktor’s wide smile stretched across his face as he walked to me, putting his arm around my shoulders, and kissing the top of my head. “It’s good to have you back, sestrichka,” he said.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 318

 Sephle

“We can just call the doctor. We don’t have to go all the way back to the hospital,” I said, knowing full well I was not going to get out of having to go back to the doctor this moming. “Andrei can call him. He’ll tell him my lung is doing better.” I had a mischievous smile on my face, trying to see how they’d react to me being bratty about going to the hospital.

“You do feel better this morning, spider monkey. That’s not a lie for once,” he said, grinning at me.

“See? No need to go to the hospital. Dr. Bubba told me I was okay,” I said.

Adrik smiled at me, instead of being frustrated like I thought he was going to be. “You’re still going, but it makes me happy that you’re feeling better, solnishko. Yesterday was the first day you were awake for more than two hours in over a week.”

“It was a big day. Andrei’s a genius,” I said, laughing when his cheeks flushed.

“No arguments from me,” Adrik said. “I’m happy he found something that helped. I was beginning to have abandonment issues.” He smiled widely at me, causing the warmth to spread over my entire body.

“We all were,” Ivan said.

The trip to the doctor was much easier this time. Not only was I starting to be able to breathe better, finally, but my shoulder was starting to hurt less when it had to be taken out of the sling. The x-ray wasn’t nearly as painful this time.

“I have good news this time around,” Dr. Williams said as he walked into the exam room. “Your lung looks much clearer this time.”

“She’s finally feeling better, but it took until yesterday for her to start to really make improvements,” Ivan said. “Yesterday was the first day she was awake for more than a few hours.”

“How’s your appetite now?” Dr. Williams asked.

“Still not as good as it should be, but she’s been able to keep bone broth down the last two days,” Andrei said.

“That’s a good option. Unfortunately, I want you to continue the antibiotics for another 7 days, which isn’t going to help your stomach. Yogurt helps, broth is great, basically whatever you can stomach, but you need to eat. I can clearly see that you’ve lost weight since the last time I saw you,” the doctor said. He had a chastising tone to his words.

I sighed. “I know. Trust me, I’d rather eat.”

“It’s not her fault. She has a very sensitive stomach,” Andrei said, protectively.

“I can write you a prescription for an appetite stimulant,” Dr. Williams said.

“No thank you. It’ll probably just make me more nauseous. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but things tend to react the opposite of how they’re supposed to with me. I’d rather not,” I said.

Dr. Williams chuckled. “You need food to help your body heal. At this point, a candy bar is going to be beneficial for you. Eat,” he said, looking at me sternly.

Adrik could feel my anger at being chastised by the doctor. I realize he was concerned for my well-being, but he clearly wasn’t understanding that I wanted to eat, but couldn’t and I wasn’t in the mood to be lectured by him. Adrik reached across my lap, almost like he was trying to push me behind him. He said quietly, in Russian, “look at the floor.” He then looked to the doctor, curtly saying in English, “we’ll make sure she eats. Is there anything else?”

“As long as she continues to make improvements, I won’t need to see her for four more weeks. Her shoulder will continue to make improvements, but keep it in the sling as much as possible. If there’s an issue with breathing amain, come back right away. Once you’ve had pneumonia, it’s easy to get it

a second time, especially when your lung has collapsed once. Take any issues with your breathing very seriously and come back here as soon as you notice something is off,” Dr. Williams said as he stood to leave the room.

Once he closed the door behind him, Adrik looked at me, immediately smiling when he looked at my eyes. “I knew it,” he said, his expression a mix of Just and amusement at my dark eyes.

“Like I want to not be able to eat for days at a time. I’ll take it from you guys because I love your all, but he can f**k right off with his lecture on my need to eat. I f**king know, doctor,” I said, pronouncing the “doctor” as sarcastically as possible.

Adrik looked at me for a few moments, his smile still prominent on his face. Then he looked at Andrei. “You really are a genius. She’s feeling much better.”

I motioned for Ivan to help me up. “I am feeling better and I want to be gone from this place,” I announced. “Who’s carrying me out of here so we can leave faster?”

1 felt Adrik’s arms around me as he picked me up. He looked in my eyes, telling me, “keep your eyes closed until we get to the vehicles. We don’t need any delays.”

“Happily,” I said, as I buried my head in his shoulder and neck until I felt him slide me onto the backseat of the SUV. I opened my eyes as he got in beside me. He was still clearly amused at my attitude with the doctor. He leaned over and kissed me passionately, but stopped much too soon for my liking. I groaned quietly, in frustration.

“I don’t want to risk you not being able to catch your breath again,” he said quietly.

“I know. I still don’t like it, but I know,”

“Soon, love. Soon. Maybe not soon enough, but soon,” he said.

Adrik’s phone rang on the way back to the penthouse. He pulled it out of his pocket. “Trino,” he said, answering it. Because we were in the SUV, he didn’t put it on speaker, so I could only hear one side of the conversation.

I felt Adrik tense beside me, so I knew whatever Trino had to tell him likely wasn’t good news. “When did it happen?” he asked. He worked until his hand was under the sweatshirt and thermal shirt I was wearing and his fingers were running lightly over my bare skin, trying to keep himself calm. “And your guys have no idea where he was headed? Have you checked the private airport?” He paused to hear Trino’s answer, then added, “okay, we’ll do it. Most of the people at that airport are my guys anyway. If that’s how he left, they’ll know something.”

Adrik was silent for a few moments, listening to Trino. I could hear that Trino was angry, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. “No, don’t worry, Trino. We actually expected this. Sephie called it when you delivered Anthony and Lorenzo. She’ll be happy to hear she’s won the bet pool,” he said. Sal’s finally decided to run. I could hear Trino talking again, then Adrik said, “We’ll go check out the airport. Come to the building this evening

There’s even more to this.”

The conversation ended soon after. As Adrik was putting his phone back in his pocket, Ivan said from the front seat, “so Sal decided it was best to run?”

“Trino said he must’ve had tunnels under his house, because his guys haven’t seen anyone leave in two days. It felt off, Trino sent a team in to the house. There’s been no movement or any signs of anything in the house for a couple days. They were all gone. They’re currently looking for how they got out of the house. Since we don’t know when they left, he could be anywhere by now, but my guess is he took a plane out of here,” Adrik said.

“Do we know where Ricardo is right now?” I asked

“Since we got Armando, he hasn’t been seen in the city. We didn’t have anyone on him, because we didn’t know to have anyone on him, so the short answer is no. We don’t know where he is,” Viktor said.

“I would bet all my earnings from Sal’s bet pool that he’s going wherever Ricardo is,” I said.

Adrik laughed. “Don’t say that in front of Trino. I did not peg him as having a thing for women who like to gamble.”

“He is a complicated man,” I said.

The guys dropped me, Adrik, and Misha off at the building while they went to the private airport to see what they could find out. Once upstairs, Misha and I both looked at each other. “Do you think we can find him?” he asked.

“It’s worth a try,” I said.

Adrik clicked his tongue. “How much does it zap her when she does that?” he asked Misha.

Misha looked at me, pondering his answer. “It really zapped her the first time, but since then, I don’t think it’s been a problem, but it’s hard to tell because she’s been so si ck otherwise.”

They both looked to me. “Don’t look at me. I don’t even know what day it is, much less what makes me tired. Existing makes me tired lately. I mean, it’s a lot of work to be this f**king awesome, granted. But still.”

They both laughed at me. Adrik looked to Misha again. “Do you need her for it to work or can you use someone else?”

“It works best with her, but it worked with you when we were looking for her and Ivan. It might work with someone else the same way, too. It’s just clearest with her,” Misha said.

“Let’s wait until they get back from the airport. You can try it with me again or Andrei. If we don’t make it clear enough, then use Sephie. I’d like to not zap her very small supply of energy right now,” Adrik said.

“I can help with that too,” Misha said, getting a bowl from the cabinet so he could make me another bowl of broth.

“Do we have any eggs?” I asked. They both turned to look at me, clearly shocked. “I’m as shocked as you, trust me,” I said, laughing at their response to my question.

“How many do you want?” Adrik asked.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. One is plenty for now.”

“Instead of broth or in addition to broth?” Misha asked, pausing the heating process.

“In addition to,” I said.

Misha looked at Adrik. “I feel like the other four should be here to witness this. Should we call them? Video it? What do we do here? We can’t make her wait until they get back. The hunger might pass. This is so stressful,” he said, his hand running through his hair. I couldn’t do anything but sit and laugh at him.

“Misha, you’re my favorite. Don’t tell the others.”

“Oh, I’m telling them. That’s the first thing I’ma tell them when they get back,” he said, grinning at me.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 317

Sephle

I looked at Misha and Andrei when everyone else left to go “talk” to Armando. “We are not allowed to do anything weird that will cause them to come running back upstairs this time.”

While they both laughed at me, Misha asked, “do you not like it when Boss comes out of nowhere to save you?”

“No, I do. I very much do. But I feel bad for always interrupting his schedule,” I said. We were in the kitchen, as Andrei had talked me into more broth. It was actually working. I managed to eat most of the first bowl he gave me when they first got back from the meeting with the journalist and I only slept for a short period that afternoon.

“You know you’re more important than his schedule, spider monkey. He’s told us all exactly that. Multiple times,” Andrei said, setting down another small bowl of broth in front of me.

“I know, but it still doesn’t mean I should constantly interrupt him. This needs salt,” I said, taking a small sip.

Misha’s handsome smile stretched across his face. “That means your appetite is waking up, gazelle.” He grabbed the salt and handed it to me.

“I thought it meant this was bland,” I said, grinning at him.

“What did Boss say about Andrei’s newly discovered ability?” Misha asked, curiously.

“He mostly wanted to know how long I’ve been able to do it. He seemed more amused that I outed Sephie than anything.” Andrei said, still giving me an apologetic look.

I laughed softly. “Don’t apologize, Andrei. It makes him angry that I try to keep it from him when I don’t feel well. He’s still mad at me for keeping it hidden after Misha and I were attacked. Same for the ball. I clearly need help in that area.”

“Ivan lectured him on being mad at you for that, you know,” Misha said.

“He did?”

“Yeah, it was after you got home from the hospital. When he could feel your pain. He was happy that you wouldn’t be able to hide it from him anymore. We could hear it in his voice when he made a comment about you always trying to hide it. Ivan told him it wasn’t your fault,” Misha said.

“It’s not? Pretty sure I’m the one that’s constantly trying to hide it. I know I’m doing it. I just don’t know how to stop,” I said, pushing the now empty bowl away from me.

Andrei picked up the bowl to wash it. He said, “you really don’t know, spider monkey?” I shook my head no.

“No, it’s just something I feel like I have to do. No idea why. And no idea how to stop it.”

“It’s a trauma response, gazelle. You’ve learned that you’re better off not asking for help when you need it because the few times you did got you hurt worse. You might not be aware you’re doing it, but there’s some part of you that’s still trying to protect you, especially when you’re hurt. It’s why you get extra argumentative with us when we try to do stuff for you and why you try to hide it from Boss when you’re hurt. You’re still scared you’re going to get hurt worse,” Misha said.

I thought for a moment, chewing on my bottom lip. “Ivan really said all that?” I asked. They both nodded their heads. I took in a slow, almost deep breath. “He’s been hanging around Stephen. Obviously,” I said, grinning at them.

“He’s right though,” Andrei said, drying his hands on the kitchen towel. He threw the towel back on the counter and walked around the island to stand next to me. Flis giant arm slid around my shoulders. “It might still take you a while to fully believe it, but you’re safe with us. No matter what. You’ll always be safe with us,” he said. I leaned my head onto his shoulder, taking another almost deep breath. “I know that. I really do. And I love you all for it. I don’t know why I can’t stop trying to pretend I’m okay when I’m clearly not,” I said.

“You don’t have to figure it out, gazelle. I kinda like when you’re extra spicy and cranky,” Misha said. Andrei helped me up so we could move to the couches. He laughed at Misha, but said quietly, “I think we all do. You’re extra hilarious when you’re cranky.”

Adrik was clearly surprised when he walked back into the penthouse and I was still awake, laughing with Misha and Andrei about something ri diculous that we’d come up with. He walked to me, kneeling down in front of me, his face immediately softening when he looked at me. “You’re still awake,” he said, almost like he couldn’t believe it.

“I’m pretty sure Andrei spiked the broth with caffeine,” I said, smiling at him.

He looked at Andrei. “You got her to eat more?” Andrei nodded his head: “She ate all of it this time,” Andrei said.

“Downside, they had to help me up like 12 times so I could pee, but otherwise, I think it’s helping.” I said, laughing quietly. “And just in time, too. I might murder him if the doctor tells me I have to go back to the hospital tomorrow.”

“Nobody wants that, princess,” Ivan said.

Andrei looked at his watch. “It’s been a couple of hours since she ate the last bowl and it’s time for her antibiotic. Think you could manage some more, spider monkey?”

“As long as I can put salt in it. It tastes so much better that way,” I said. Andrei stood up to go to the kitchen while Adrik helped me up from the couch. “How did it go with Armando? Was he happy to see you?” I asked, grinning at Adrik.

Before he answered, he pulled me to him and pressed his lips to mine. “I’m so happy you’re still awake, solnishko,” he said quietly so only I could hear.

“I think he was happy that he could finally see out of both of his eyes again, Ivan said. “I might’ve ensured that happiness was short-lived.” He had a devious grin on his face as he looked at me.

“Squish. Everyone knows you don’t punch like a weak girl. You didn’t have to prove it,” I said, laughing at him.

“Was he any kind of helpful about Ricardo?” Misha asked.

“Only after Stephen made him want to cry,” Viktor said, also with a devious grin on his face. I looked at Stephen, my mo uth open in shock. He just shrugged his shoulders. “He had it coming. It’s not my fault he hasn’t dealt with his childhood.”

I caught Adrik’s eye as he helped me sit at the kitchen island yet again. I could see the “I told you” running through his mind.

“What did you find out?” Andrei asked, sliding another bowl of broth in front of me, along with my antibiotic, and a glass of water.

“It seems that Ricardo thinks of himself as an equal to Boss. It looks like he’s the real reason for the coup, not Sal. Ricardo has never been able to gain as much power and favor as Boss has in the city and it drives him crazy. He’s been trying to simply outdo Boss in business for years, but has never been able to come close. That’s when he started trying to get politicians and police in his pocket,” Ivan said.

“Outdo you how?” I asked, sipping the warm broth. I had to admit, I was starting to really like it. It didn’t make me nauous and my stomach was finally happy after so many days of not eating.

“Apparently, he’s been in competition with me for years. I had no idea. Armando said that Ricardo took it personally every time he would try to make a move in a business deal and either I was there first or I had an even bigger project in the works. It’s not my fault he’s shi t at business,” Adrik said, shrugging his shoulders. He had a sly smirk on his face, which told me he was clearly enjoying this new piece of information.

“Your greatness will always irritate those who aren’t willing to work as hard as you do,” I said. “Did Armando know how Ricardo got the other bosses to go against you?”

“No, but we didn’t ask that question either. I think that question is best put to Dario,” Stephen said.

“Maybe I’ll be better enough that you can talk to him tomorrow,” I said, pushing the empty bowl away from me. Misha grabbed it to wash it this time.

“One day at a time, love. We’ll see how you are after you see the doctor tomorrow,” Adrik said, kissing my temple.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 316

 Sephle

Adrik asked Andrei to stay behind while everyone else went with Chen. He knew I’d want more time alone with Andrei, but I think Adrik was also curious to see what Andrei’s newly discovered gift was about as well, especially given that he so easily read me that morning.

For the first time since I’d come into their lives, I saw Andrei nervous about staying behind with me. “Bubba, don’t be nervous,” I said, trying not to laugh at him. He was still sitting at the kitchen island, so I walked slowly to him, sliding my arm around his shoulders. He grabbed my wrist, bolding onto my arm. He gave me a sideways glance. He’s definitely nervous.

Adrik might’ve been enjoying his nervousness. He was standing on the other side of the kitchen, arms crossed over his chest. He watched me try to calm Andrei down, finally saying, “how long have you been noticing these things?”

“Not long. Really since the night we saved Max. Tori popped into my head the day or two before that night and I couldn’t get her out of my head. I’ve not thought about her since the day she got fired, really. I mean, we saw her that one day when Glana wanted to go shopping. Well, Misha saw her. I didn’t see her. Mentions of her here and there after that, but other than that, I never thought about her. It was weird that I thought of her and couldn’t get her out of my head,” he said.

“Did you feel like something was wrong when you thought about her?” Adrik asked.

“Yeah. It wasn’t the same as Misha’s impending doom, but something didn’t feel right. Same as when Sephie grabbed my hand today when I was thinking about her going to the meeting with the journalist.”

What about the rest? About her lung healing and her still feeling like shi t?”

“That just popped into my head. I said it before I really thought much about it, Andrei said. He glanced at me, apologetically.

“Don’t be sorry, Bubba. You’re right. I do feel like shi t still,” I said, smiling at him. “But that’s the way it works for me. I’ve learned that when something pops into my head like that, it’s usually because the other person is thinking it but doesn’t want to say it. That’s how it seems like I can read your mind all the time. It’s only different with Adrik,” I said.

“How is it different with him?” Andrei asked.

“With the rest of you, it’s usually something you need brought to light, if you will. It’s an issue that you need help dealing with. But if you’re not thinking about it or struggling with it, I don’t necessarily pick up on it. I might be able to if I made an effort, but I don’t like to pry. With Adrik, it’s everything. I just have to look at him for a few seconds and I know what he’s thinking. Like when he gave Giana shi t over accusing me of being on drugs. It wasn’t the same as when I see things with Misha, but I got a recap of what happened. Enough to know what went on,” I said. “He’s able to do it to me more now, too. It seems like the more time passes, the more connected we are.”

“She’s still much better at it than I am, clearly. Since I believed her when she said she was starting to feel better,” Adrik said. He squinted his eyes at me like he was still somewhat irritated with me.

“It wasn’t a complete lie. I do feel some better. I just still feel like shi t overall. But slightly better shi t,” I said.

“Viktor said he was going to get you bone broth. That should help. Not eating isn’t helping you out right now,” Andrei said.

“I’ll consider a feeding tube if that doesn’t work. She’s going to get all sharp and pointy again. I’m very delicate,” Adrik said, grinning at me.

“I’m ruining all of Bubba’s hard work training me. He’s going to have to start completely over with me by the time I get out of this cast and my ribs heal enough that I can do anything strenuous.”

“That’s what I like to call ‘job security,” Andrei said.

The other guys got back a few hours later from Chen’s latest meeting with the journalist. I felt Adrik hold me tighter before he lightly brushed his fingertips over my cheek to wake me up. “Wake up, solnishko. They’re back and it’s time for your antibiotic,” he said quietly.

“Shocking. I fell asleep again,” I said, sarcastically. Adrik helped me up from the couch.

“How did it go?” Adrik asked as we walked slowly to the kitchen.

“Chen really is quite good at pretending to be someone else,” Stephen said. “I don’t know why he thinks dating is hard.”

“The thought of boobies makes most men incapable of forming complete thoughts. Women instinctively know this, so they put them on display. It’s downhill from there, really,” I said.

“That seems legit,” Stephen said.

“The journalist didn’t have much information on the mayor, but he said he was going to look into him to see what he could find. He was under the impression that the mayor was clean, but he also said he hadn’t looked into him much. Since he was the one that appointed Henry, he assumed the mayor would also be upstanding.” Ivan said.

“He might’ve been when he was first elected. Or might’ve been trying harder to be. If he took campaign money from one of the bosses, it would’ve been hard to get away from that,” Adrik said.

“Would he know he took money from one of the bosses?” I asked, my half-empty glass of water in my hand. Adrik walked to me, grabbed the glass, finished it, then refilled it for me.

“It’s possible he didn’t know. Henry said it came from a non-existent corporation. On paper, it would’ve looked like a large donation from a company,” Viktor said.

“That’s how they get politicians in their pockets, princess,” Ivan said. “They make it look legit at first, then once they’ve already accepted the money, they reveal where the money actually came from. They’ve already accepted it, so it already looks bad. Then the bosses have their guy.”

“Rude,” I said.

“But effective,” Viktor said.

Misha and Andrei had been busy warming up bone broth while the rest of us talked. Misha ordered me to sit while Andrei put a small bowl of broth in front of me. “It might still be too hot, so be careful,” he said, as he set the bowl in front of me.

I looked at it for a minute, which made Misha say, “I will airplane it. Don’t tempt me.”

“You’re still not the boss of me,” I said, picking up the spoon.

“The bigger question is which one of the bosses has the mayor in his pocket. Or if it really is Ricardo,” Stephen said.

“It’s interesting that Ricardo seems to have so much influence without being well-known and without being a boss himself,” Andrei said. He and Misha both were basically standing over me to make sure that I ate at least part of the bowl of broth. Nothing like feeling like a child to stimulate your appetite.

“Not everyone is interested in recognition,” Adrik said, a small smirk on his face. “But I find it interesting that the other bosses allowed him to have this much influence.”

“Do you think it was because of his ties to Lorenzo?” I asked, diligently taking sips of the broth so the Wonder Twins wouldn’t yell at me.

“Possibly. I think it’s worth seeing what we can get out of Armando about it. Dario might know something as well, but I don’t want to talk to him without Sephie,” Adrik said. “Did the journalist give any indication of when he’d have more information?”

“He seemed to think he’d be able to find something quickly if there was something to be found, but it could’ve been his ego talking,” Ivan said. “He’s supposed to let us know when he finds something.”

“We’ll see what we can get out of Armando tonight. It’s been a few days since I’ve been down there. He might miss me,” Adrik said.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 315

 Sephe

I did manage to make it through the entire meeting with Henry, even though it lasted well past two hours. However, it did mean that I slept for a full 24 hours after it was over. I was only awake long enough to take my antibiotic and then I’d pass out once more.

Because of my brilliant idea during the meeting with Henry, the guys were now working around the clock to find information linking the current mayer to any of the other bosses or Ricardo, Ivan was going through the information given to us from the journalist again to see if he could find any connection between Ricardo and the mavo

Henry had agreed to give us a little time to see what we could find before taking the information to the mayor. He was considering a run for mayor; it depended on the information we could find. Henry was a mostly good person, but his title took priority over almost everything else. While it’s a valid argument that he could do more as police commissioner than he would be able to as a regular citizen, he was still willing to sit on information that would put away a very evil person just to ensure he kept his position for four more years. At some point, remaining in the grey area will come back to haunt you. We, however, knew that even if he sat on the information we provided, Ricardo would still get everything he deserved. Just not pu blicly.

The guys really did work out a shift schedule for babysitting me while I slept off having to be awake for more than 20 minutes. They tried to leave me alone, but I started mumbling and shaking after a few minutes, so that option was out the window.

“It wasn’t so bad, spider monkey. It was nice to have a guaranteed nap every few hours,” Andrei said after I finally woke up and they were filling me in on everything I’d missed.

“How did Stephen’s undead body temperature not wake me up?” I asked, completely surprised.

It almost did the first time. I used an electric blanket the second time. It fooled you,” he said, grinning at me.

“This is the kind of important knowledge that one collects from centuries on this planet,” I said.

“You at least look slightly better, princess,” Ivan said.

“I do feel better. I think the antibiotic is working. I don’t feel like death. I still can’t breathe as well as I’d like to, but it’s not as bad either,” I said.

“What about your appetite

Misha asked..

I thought for a minute. I didn’t ha te the idea of food, but it wasn’t exciting either. “Still undecided, but I don’t ha te the idea anymore.”

“Baby steps,” Misha said, grinning at me.

“Your ribs and shoulder aren’t as painful, at least. We moved you several times and you never woke up,” Viktor said. “That’s progress.”

“You did?”

Adrik smiled at “I moved you to the bed at night, then back out here during the day. We had to move you slightly each time the guys would switch. You slept through it all.”

“Did you give me any superprofen when you gave me the antibiotic?”

They all shook their heads no. “We never actually thought about that,” Viktor said.

I laughed. “I’m not complaining. I’m just surprised I didn’t feel that. Apparently, I was dead to the world.”

Misha walked over to me, with another carton of yogurt. “It’s not time yet for your antibiotic, but you haven’t eaten anything in almost two days. You need to eat something, gazelle. Whether you want to or not.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” i said as I took the spoon from him and took a bite, trying not to laugh. “What did you guys find on the mayor while I was out?” ivan sighed. “We’ve found a few connections to some of Ricardo’s business associates, but nothing that tie them directly. We also can’t find anything from any of the other bosses yet.”

“Let’s ask the journalist,” I said, in between bites, still under the very watchful eye of Misha. I couldn’t tell if he was watching me to make sure I ate or watching to see when I’d give him the rest.

We recruited Chen once more to have a conversation with the journalist. This time about the mayor and whether he knew anything about any ties to Ricardo or any of the other bosses. Chen was noticeably more relaxed this time when I called to ask him if he would be willing to meet with the journalist.

“Yeah, I’ll totally do that. It might be concerning how much I enjoyed lying to that dude’s face,” he said, laughing.

“We just unlocked a new life goal for you, didn’t we?” I asked, trying to hold in my laughter so it wouldn’t make me cough.

We set up a meeting at the same café for the following afternoon. Adrik was once again concerned it would be too much for me. “I only just got you back from the last meeting. Now you’re going to sleep for an entire day again,” he said that night when we were alone. I felt his mood shift when he said it. He was legitimately sad at the thought of me sleeping for an entire day again if I went to the meeting.

“I can feel your sadness,” I said, almost surprised by it.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, without hesitation. I hadn’t thought about how difficult this had been on him. Not only was he still working through me and Ivan being taken, but he also had to deal with me not being able to do much on my own since coming home and having the extra worry of trying to take care of me when he knew exactly how much pain I was in all the time.

I thought for a moment as he helped me undress so I could put his shirt on for the night. “What if we sent Keith and Chris instead? I was only needed for the Italian possibility, but he knows Chen doesn’t speak Italian, so it won’t be an issue this time. Viktor and Ivan can feed him all the information about the mayor to tell the journalist.”

Adrik stood in front of me, his s*xy smirk on his face as he buttoned up his shirt. “You’re not going to argue about going?” he asked as he leaned down to press his lips gently to mine.

“I mean, I can if you want me to. But I know how difficult this has all been for you. There’s a very good possibility that going along would make me sleep for another day, or longer. Doesn’t seem worth it, really,” I said, pulling his arm around my waist with my one functioning arm. “And to be honest, I’m very tired of doing nothing but sleeping.”

“We’ll ask Misha what he thinks about it tomorrow,” he said as he gently pushed me back toward the bed.

“I think you should ask Andrei, too,” I said as he helped me into bed. He raised his eyebrow at me, wanting more of an explanation. “It was Andrei that stopped Max from dying. Misha wasn’t kidding when he said he never would’ve thought to look for Tori or Max if Andrei hadn’t brought it up. I wouldn’t have either. I hadn’t thought about Max in weeks.” I paused to take a few breaths, as talking too much was causing me to cough more lately. “The acupuncturist told me he was like me, too. I want to see what he can do.”

“Andrei’s like you? How? Like his observation skills?”

“Those are the beginning. She said he’ll soon figure out that he knows things before they happen. Like my ability to pret Trino’s methods for revenge. Andrei should be able to do that too. Or something similar.”

“He has been much more observant lately. He’s been right every single time, too.”

“I told him that. He’s still insecure about it. He doesn’t trust himself completely yet,” I said. I was lying on my good side, like normal, with Adrik behind me, his arms around me as tightly as possible. It took exactly two more minutes and I was sound asleep again.

“Is Andrei getting breakfast this morning?” Adrik asked as we walked into the kitchen the next morning. Ivan nodded his head, as he pulled me to him to hug me good morning.

“Good morning, princess,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

“Squish,” I said, hiding my face in his chest. “Why do I not want to wake up when all I’ve done is sleep for the last week?”

His laughter made his chest vibrate, which made my nose itch. “You need it, princess. You’ve had a lot to deal with lately. It also doesn’t help that you won’t eat very much. Your body is tired from trying to heal and you won’t give it any fuel,” he said, his giant arms holding me gently.

“But food makes me nauseous, I want to eat. Believe me, I do. But every time I do I feel like I’m going to pu ke afterward. Sometimes the nausea happens when I think about eating.” I said. “It’s not fair.”

Andrei walked back in with breakfast. “What’s not fair?” he asked.

“That I can’t eat right now because it all makes me nauseous,” I said, grumpily,

“What about drinking? Does that make you nauseous?” Andrei asked.

“Not that I’ve noticed.”

Andrei looked to Viktor. “We should stop and get her bone broth while we’re out today. Or we can make her some. My grandmother used to make it. She showed me how. It’ll be easy for her to drink, but it should help the lack of food for the last week or so and might kickstart her appetite again.”

Adrik caught my eye, a small smile on his face. “Andrei, what are your thoughts about Sephie and I staying here today? I’m worried it will be too much for her if she goes and she’ll end up sleeping for an entire day again.”

“You should ask Misha that question,” Andrei said.

“But I’m asking you,” Adrik said, somewhat firmly so Andrei would know not to brush him off a second time. I was watching Andrei, but I caught Misha’s eye. He knew what we were up to, giving me a quick wink. Andrei was almost flustered at trying to figure out how to answer the question.

“Don’t overthink it, Andrei, or you’re going to get in your own way. What does your gut tell you?” Misha said. I walked quietly over to Andrei and grabbed his hand. It worked for Misha, maybe it will work for Bubba.

He took a deep breath when I grabbed his hand and thought for a minute. He looked at Adrik and said, “she should stay here. Her lung is slowly getting better, but she still feels like total shi t, despite what she’s telling us.”

Adrik raised his eyebrow, looking straight at me. His wide smile slowly crept across his face as he knew I was likely regretting telling him to ask Andrei’s thoughts on whether I should go or stay. I wasn’t expecting Andrei to completely out me like that. I just laughed. There wasn’t much else I could do. He was right. Everyone knew he was right.

Adrik walked to me, pulling me gently to him. He was still trying not to laugh, but he was clearly amused at what had just happened. “Looks like you’re staying here with me, solnishko,” he said, as he kissed my temple. “Maybe more often than you’d like.” He finally laughed as I poked him in his ribs.