King of the Underworld - Chapter 330

 Sephie

“How much work do you have today? Can we go for a walk or do you want me to drag one of the guys with me instead?” I asked Adrik as we were walking down the stairs.

“I will go with you, but you need a jacket,” he said, stopping me from walking down another step. He pulled me back toward the bedroom once more to get the jacket that I hadn’t thought about.

“I like where this is going, too,” I said, grinning at him. I heard him curse under his breath as we walked back up the stairs.

“You are not making this easy on me,” he said, shaking his head.

Once downstairs, I realized that it’d been so long since we were at the house that there likely wasn’t very much food there. “Can I send someone to get groceries?” I asked Adrik as we walked into the kitchen.

“You can do whatever you like, solnishko,” he said, following me to the kitchen island.

“What about me cooking? Am I still banned from that? You guys said I was banned until I had use of both arms again.” I held up my left arm. “I can use it again, so the ban should be lifted, right?”

He smiled at me. “Only if you let us help you,” he said.

“Deal.” I said, right as Stephen walked into the kitchen.

“What kind of deals are being made?” he asked.

“I can cook now as long as I let you guys help me,” I announced.

“Oh, Viktor is going to be so happy. VIKTOR!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, which made me jump and laugh at the same time. All of the guys came rushing toward the kitchen like something was definitely wrong. Ivan and Andrei had their guns drawn, even. Stephen was standing there quietly waiting on them.

“What’s wrong? What happened??” they all asked urgently once they saw Adrik and I in the kitchen as well.

“Sephie can cook again,” Stephen said, his sly smile stretching across his face.

Viktor’s deep belly laugh filled the kitchen as he walked over to me and picked me up in a bear hug. “This really is the best day ever,” he said, spinning me around once.

“We have to help her, since she’s still not 100%, but somehow I don’t think anyone will mind,” Stephen said.

“I’ll do everything. Whatever it takes,” Misha said. I couldn’t stop smiling at how happy they were about this new development. I made a quick grocery list, handing it to Viktor. I knew this was one task he would happily take care of. Adrik announced that we were going for a walk and would be back shortly. Once we were outside and alone, he was still laughing at Viktor’s reaction. “He really does love it love it when you cook for us,” he said, shaking his head.

“Because it’s his language,” I said, grabbing Adrik’s hand as we walked.

“What do you mean?”

“Viktor goes around quietly making sure we all have everything we need, that your schedule is always taken care of, that the building is secure, the vehicles are taken care of, food is ordered, he does everything. It’s how he shows his love. Me cooking for you guys is that for him. It’s the way I show my love for all of you, but it’s his language. He understands it, without anyone having to say the words. The other guys love it too, just as you do, but for Viktor, it’s silent recognition of everything he does for us returned back to him,” I said.

“He does make sure everything and everyone is always taken care of. He’s so good at it that sometimes I forget he does it all,” Adrik said.

I smiled at his somewhat worried expression. “I don’t think you should feel bad about that. That’s what he wants. He wants it all to appear effortless and mostly it is, because he’s set the systems in place for it to be effortless.”

Adrik cut his eyes over at me. “I think Trino is right. You know too much,” he said, grinning at me.

“I can keep going.” I said, my own grin stretching across my face.

“Please do. Your insights are always fascinating.”

“It’s also a replacement for the what ifs he’s been plagued with ever since his wife and child were killed. He spends more time than he’ll ever admit thinking about what could have been and the almost life he lived. In the beginning, it was painful to think about. Now, he’s healed enough that it’s more curiosity to think about what might have been. Coming home at the end of the day to a home-cooked meal helps him complete his vision for that almost life.”

“Has he talked to you about this, solnishko?” Adrik asked.

“Nope. I didn’t know about his wife and child until that night that they all found out I can’t have kids. That’s the only time he’s mentioned her around me. I haven’t asked either. I really do try not to pry in anyone’s head, but I’ve picked up on a few times when he’s been thinking about her. I pieced together the rest.”

Adrik walked a few moments in silence. He was thoughtful about what I’d just told him. “Is he still bothered by it?” he asked.

“Not that I can tell. There’s some understandable sadness there. I think that’s why I pick up on it, but I don’t feel like he’s still struggling with feel more like he tries not to think about it too much. I’m guessing he struggled with it when it first happened?”

Adrik nodded his head. “Yeah, I don’t think you’ve ever seen Viktor get truly angry, but he almost lost his grip on sanity for a while there. He was consumed by revenge, which as you know eventually led to his landing himself in the Syrian prison. Honestly, it was a suicide mission for him. He didn’t expect to live through it. We’d tried to talk him out of it. We thought we had talked him out of it, but he left in the middle of the night without a word to the rest of us. Ivan was pi ssed. It almost ruined their friendship completely. They had a few heated arguments after we got Viktor out,” he said.

“Really?” I asked. Viktor and Ivan seemed very close. I couldn’t imagine them ever fighting each other.

Adrik nodded. “Ivan knew that Viktor was trying to get himself killed. Like drug use, Ivan has very strong opinions on suicide. Very strong. He told Viktor if he ever thought about doing anything like that again to let him know. Ivan would put a bullet in his head for him instead of putting everyone else’s life in danger.”

“Savage. But also, partly true.”

“Ivan’s never been in love, though. He doesn’t understand the he ll that Viktor was in after having lost his wife and his unborn child. He’s gotten closer to understanding it since you came into our lives. Ivan had a conversation with me about it shortly after we got back from Italy. He said he owed Viktor an apology because he was starting to understand how he felt after his wife was killed. He said what happened on the plane over, when you didn’t recognize him and then when you were in your nightmare and kept yelling for me, then him, gave him a glimpse someone you love.”

“I had no idea I had that much of a negative effect on him during all that,” I said.

what it was like to lose

“Not just him. All of them. Even Stephen. I think it was the first time they all realized how much you mean to them and the first time they’d had to come to terms with the possibility of losing you. You were in so much pain that you probably didn’t notice, but during the first few days when you were asleep more than not, they each went through he ll. They would come in to check on you when you were asleep in just your shirt, on top of me. They all saw how badly you were hurt, but they couldn’t do anything about it. This time was just as difficult for them, but they were able to help you much more. They were happy to move you, to let you sleep on them, to make food for you. It all helped them process the pain of thinking we’d lost you. I saw how much they doted on you. It helped them get through this time much easier than after the ball.” He had stopped walking and was standing in front of me, his hands in the usual battle with my curls.

“That’s why you’re so sad that I’m able to do more stuff on my own again,” I said. It all made sense now. He placed his warm palm against my cheek. his thumb rubbing lightly back and forth. He had a small smile on his lips as he looked in my eyes, like he was lost in them. “I will always need you.

Adrik,” I said, firmly. His s*xy smirk that I adored appeared on his face as he leaned down and kissed me gently, his palm still on my cheek. I smiled against his lips. “You regularly take my breath away with your kiss, but sometimes the sweet ones can completely turn my insides to go,” I said, shaking off the goosebumps he had caused.

“Noted,” he said, laughing at my antics.

“Let’s go back. I’m getting cold,” I said. He grabbed my hand and turned to walk back to the house “Nope,” I said, stopping him. He turned to look at me, confused. “I’m the go ddamn princess. I don’t walk back to the house.” I walked behind him, jumping on his hark. He bounced me higher and kept a tight hold of my legs as he walked us back toward the house, clearly amused with me. I pushed my warmth to him as we walked, knowing he would know I was thinking about how much I loved him.

“Did you walk too far, spider monkey” Andrei asked when he say I hitched a ride back.

“Nope. She’s the go ddamn princess. She doesn’t walk back to the house,” Adrik said, laughing.

“Solid line of thinking, gazelle. You don’t want to waste too much energy and not be able to cook later. I fully support this decision,” Misha said, grinning at me.

“See? Misha gets it,” I said, pointing at him as Adrik walked us by the couches. He walked to the kitchen, setting me down on the counter while made coffee.

“This will help you warm up.” he said, eventually handing me a warm cup of coffee.

“And make sure I have enough energy to cook,” I said, grinning at him.

“I support this!” Misha yelled from the other room.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 329

 Adrik

The day we were all waiting for was finally here. It had been long enough that Sephie was finally getting her cast off. She’d been making steady progress with her shoulder and was able to move her arm as much as the cast would allow. Her ribs were getting better as well and only caused a dull ache most of the time. She said she felt like she was starting to be able to breathe better finally, too. We were all looking forward to this trip to the hospital for once.

“One more x-ray before the cast comes off, Sephie. I want to take another look at your lung, as well. How has your breathing been since you finished the antibiotics?” Dr. Williams asked.

“It’s getting better. My ribs don’t hurt as much anymore so it’s easier to take deeper breaths,” she said.

“Good. We should be able to get the cast off today and send you on your way,” he said.

The x-ray wasn’t a problem at all for her this time. She hadn’t even worn the sling to the hospital. Most days, she left it off for almost the entire day. Andrei had been helping her do little exercises to help strengthen her shoulder again. Occasionally, she would wear the sling after a session with him because her shoulder would be extra sore. But she usually only wore it for a few hours and then it would come off again.

Dr. Williams walked back into the exam room with power tools. “So, the good news is that the cast can come off,” he said, walking toward Sephie. Ivan instinctively took a step closer to her when he saw the electric saw in his hands. She leaned into me, her eyes wide.

“Um, what’s the bad news, doc?” she asked. I could feel her starting to get nervous.

“I have to use this to take the cast off,” he said, holding up the saw. She immediately looked at me, her fear evident, as Dr. Williams went about setting up the saw.

“You’ve never had a cast removed before, solnishko?” I asked her in Russian.

“I’ve never had a cast before,” she replied.

“Did not expect that,” Ivan said.

“It’ll be okay, spider monkey. He just uses the saw to cut through the outer plaster layer. The rest will slide off your arm,” Andrei said, trying to calm her nerves.

“Keep your eyes closed, love. It’ll be over quickly,” I said, running my hand up and down her back to try and keep her calm. I wanted her to keep her eyes closed just in case her eyes decided to go dark, too. So far, it seemed like the doctor had missed that phenomenon and I wanted to keep it that way.

She sh ut her eyes tight, hiding her face in my shoulder while she lifted her arm to give the doctor access. I glanced up at Ivan, who was trying not to laugh at her. We had all assumed she’d broken bones before, especially given her history. It was completely unexpected that she would be terrified to get the cast off, but I could easily feel her terror growing as the doctor started to saw the cast off. It looked like Ivan cold too, as he clearly bristled once the saw turned on. His face went deadly serious as he watched the doctor like a hawk.

Thankfully, it was over after just a few minutes and the doctor pulled the last of the cast off her arm gently. She sighed, but didn’t move her face from my shoulder immediately. I could still feel her fear, but it was slowly lessening. I grabbed her left hand for the first time in weeks, my thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand. That was finally enough to get her to look up. Her fear disappeared quickly and I felt her warmth spread over my entire body as she felt her hand in mine for the first time. She looked up at me, her sweet smile across her face.

Dr. Williams turned around from putting the saw aside and said, “it’s going to be sore for a few days while you remember how to use it, but your bone healed quite well. Your ribs are looking better as well, but they’re still going to need a little more time to heal completely, so nothing too strenuous for a couple more weeks. Your lung looks nice and clear as well, so I shouldn’t need to see you again as long as that stays the same.” He nodded to everyone in the room and walked toward the door.

*Thanks, doc,” Ivan said. Once the doctor had left the room, he looked at Sephie, smiling. He opened his arms to her, saying, “come here, princess, I’ve been waiting for this.” She stood up and wrapped both arms around him, laughing. “I see now why you told me so often that my one-armed hugs socked. They really do su ck,” he said, holding her tightly.

“Let us be gone

from this place,” she said, stepping back from Ivan. She held her hand out to me, as I stood up.

“We should celebrate,” Misha said.

“Vinny’s for lunch? Stephen asked as we were leaving the hospital. We still attracted attention walking through the hospital, despite Sephie not looking like she’d just survived death. The guys knew she was still sensitive about it and didn’t particularly care for the unwanted attention. They just silently moved in closer around us so it was harder for anyone to see her. I’m sure the Russian didn’t help people to not stare, either.

“Can we actually go there?” Sephie asked.

Viktor looked at her, smiling the sweet smile that was reserved only for her. “Of course, sestrichka. We can go wherever you like,” he said. Her smile that made the world a brighter place stretched across her face.

“I haven’t been anywhere in so long. This is going to be awesome,” she said.”

1 caught Misha’s eye when she mentioned not being able to go anywhere. I knew he was about to order me to go to the house. “After lunch, we should go to the house for the rest of the week,” I said, grinning at Misha, who looked surprised that I had caught on. And maybe slightly disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to give me an order this time.

“Really?” she asked as she climbed into the backseat. She rarely needed help with anything anymore. While I was happy that it meant she felt better, I was finding myself a little disappointed that she didn’t need my help so much. I’d become accustomed to helping her and I found myself really loving that she let me.

“Really,” I said, sliding into the backseat beside her. I reached over and pulled her tight against me. She was practically in my lap, enjoying the fact that there was no cast in the way anymore.

“Best day ever,” she said, using both arms to pull my arms around her once again.

Unbeknownst to Sephie, when I had the guys pick up warmer clothes for her, I had them get double of everything. Since we had to cut the sleeve off most of her shirts, she was going to need new ones once the cast came off. The complete shirts were sent to the house, waiting for her cast to come off. She was still wearing my sweatshirt, but she was missing a sleeve underneath.

When we got to the house, I pulled her with me to the bedroom. Once we were alone, I pulled my sweatshirt off her. “I like where this is going,” she said, grinning at me. Her lung was getting better, but I had decided to let her tell me when she was ready. I’d scared her once and I was not planning on scaring her again. I pulled her one-sleeved shirt off and walked to the closet to get her a new one.

“Where did that come from?” she asked when she saw the new shirt in my hand.

“I had them get extras. I knew we’d have to cut the sleeve off of some of them, but I also knew you’d need complete shirts once the cast came off,” 1 said.

“You think of everything,” she said quietly. She took the shirt from me and put it on. “Look, I can dress myself!” she said laughing. She noticed the disappointment I was feeling at her not needing my help as much. She pulled me to her, her eyes searching mine to find the reason for my shifting mood. Her sweet smile on her face, she said, “I will always need you.” She wrapped both arms around my neck, then said, “I want to try something.”

“Want to try what?” I asked, pulling her tight against me. It felt so nice to be able to feel her body against mine once again. “As long as it doesn’t involve you any farther away than this, I’m in,” I said, smirking at her.

“It does not,” she said, standing on her toes to kiss me. The kiss started gently, almost timidly. I knew she was testing her lung capacity, so I let her dictate how deeply she kissed me. She pressed her body into mine, tightening her hold on my neck, as she increased the passion in her kiss. Her tongue exploring, making it more difficult for me to control myself. I could hear her breathing, but she didn’t stop. I ran my hands over her back, down to her a ss. Like she read my mind, she jumped and wrapped her legs around my waist.

She was making it incredibly difficult to control myself. I leaned my head back, stopping the kiss. I wanted to see how well she was breathing. She was out of breath, but she said, “I’m okay.”I looked at her skeptically. She laughed at me, squeezing me with her legs. “It’s better this time,” she said. “T out of breath, but it feels like I can catch my breath easier.”

I put my hand on the back of her heck, pulling her to me once more, I kissed her passionately, but quickly. “I think we should still take it slow. As much as I ha te to say those words out loud…” I said.

She laughed, unwrapping her legs from my waist. “I don’t disagree. But at least now I know I won’t hyperventilate when you kiss me like that. I’ve missed that,” she said. She turned so her back was to me. She pulled my arms around her waist, leaning back against me. “I can’t wait to go to bed tonight. I can finally lay across your chest again,” she said. It was such an innocent thing to say, but I felt my breath hitch at the thought of it. God,

I’ve missed her.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 328

 Adik

taber that night, once we were alone again, I asked Sephie about her and Andre’s silent exchange that morning. She laughed, telling me the was starting to understand Stephen’s aversions to being read. “Bubba picked up on the getting scared by not being able to catch my breath. He and Misha winced me to tell you I didn’t want to at first because I the ou’d be worried about touching me at all and I didn’t want that. They gave me the male perspective, which was helpful”

“Tm glad they convinced you to tell me. Although I don’t know how I feel about Andrel’s ability to read you. It seems to be working best on you right now,” I said, helping her into bed.

“I don’t think it will always be that way. He’s getting his confidence from ne right now. Once he’s more confident, it’ll get better with everyone, but he’ll also have to learn how to turn it off. Like with Stephen, I know insanely private, so I tend to turn it off with him. Only little things here and there with him.”

I thought for a moment. “He is much more private than even Ivan is now that you say that.”

She sighed. “Ivan is private because he just doesn’t want to drudge up the past. It’s over and done with and he doesn’t want to have to relive it by telling someone about it. But he’s also handling it. Like, it doesn’t bother him day to day. When big stuff happens, it comes back, but he’s learning new ways to cope and it’s helping him overall.” She waited for me to lie down, then she rolled over to face me. “Stephen, though. He has something in his past that’s just as dark and traumatic as Ivan, except he’s not dealing with it. Something happened to him as a kid and he’s kept that part of his life locked up tight. It’s partly why he turns so sadistic and violent when he gets pushed past his limit. It’s one of the universe’s little jokes on us, When you ignore something, instead of it going away, it gets stronger. Hy shutting that part of his life away, he’s basically been feeding the monster inside him. It’s grown. He’s going to have to deal with it at some point or the monster will consume him. For now, he can control it and we only see glimpses of it when he’s angry, which rarely happens. But if he doesn’t make fjends with his beast, the beast will take over.”

I inhaled, thinking back to what the acupuncturist had told me about Ivan, Sephie, and me. “The acupuncturist told me that you, me, and Ivan were older than the rest of them. Misha is in the middle. He’s older than the other guys, but not as old as us. Knowing Stephen, he signed up for the hardest lessons first.” She giggled, nodding her head in agreement.

“Andrei’s the youngest,” she said. “She told me the same thing. She said nobody expected Andrei to figure out he was like me in this lifetime, but he did. I think that’s also partly why he’s more attached to me right now. He might’ve scared himself.”

“Did she say anything about Stephen? She told me they all have gifts and we’re supposed to help them discover them.”

Sephie looked at me, curious. “When did she tell you that?”

“The first time she worked on you after you and Ivan were taken. You were talking with Ivan and she came to me to tell me all this. She told me you and Ivan couldn’t hear us. It was like we had left the room, but when she stepped away from me, you saw me again and I could hear you talking to Ivan.”

She smiled. “That’s a handy trick,” she said, thoughtfully. “What else did she tell you?”

“That you needed the most help with your pain, just as I needed the most help with my anger. She said your soul was showing me where you needed help by allowing me to feel your pain. And that you still don’t feel completely safe being totally vulnerable when you’re hurt.”

She sighed. “I know I’m doing it, but I don’t know how to stop trying to hide my pain from you.”

“You don’t have to now that I can feel it. Although I’m still not sure why I couldn’t feel anything from your lung. But I can feel what your shoulder feels like and what your ribs feel like.”

“You didn’t feel anything from my lung because there’s nothing to feel. I only felt pain when I was in the hospital from my lung. You’re not missing anything,” she said, smiling sweetly at me. She had a quiet way of instilling confidence in every one of us. Even me.

“I did miss that it scared you, though,” I said. “You’re still able to hide that one from me, but luckily, I have backup now. What you can hide from me, you won’t be able to hide from Andrei.” She giggled, burying her face in my chest.

“I’m in deep sh it now,” she said, still laughing.

It was almost two weeks later and Trino finally sent the video of Massimo’s overly dramatic death. He really did light him on fire, but as it turns out, he didn’t have to push him off the cliff Massimo pimped on his own, trying to get away from the flames that engulfed him. I shared the video with the guys, but Sephie skipped watching it. She could hear it while everyone else watched and she said that was enough for her Her memory was so good that I understood why she didn’t want to have that seared into her fave images

1 called Trino later that evening to ask about Martin and to give him an update on tal and Picando We’d had people in Italy watching them for us. Niko and Vito were still with them They were definitely planning, we host weren’t entirely sure of their plans.

“How’s Martin, Trino” I asked after we had laughed about Massimo.

He sighed heavily. “I thought we were okay when I first got back. He was nervous about almost not making it out of Mexico. I thought it was going to be enough, but he’s back to thinking there’s another way of dealing with them. He’s been questioning my business practices as well.”

“Trino. I know you already know this, but he needs to remember his place. He’s either going to go back to the Mexicans and get himself killed or he’ll try to split from you and run his own business. Both of those options are not going to end well for him. If he tries to split and he comes to me, he’ll meet the same fate as Anthony and Lorenzo.”

“I know, Jefe. I’m trying to get him to use some common sense, but he’s not thinking right now,” Trino said. “My guys are oddly sympathetic toward him, as well.”

Sephie had walked up beside me, tucking herself into my side while I talked to Trino. The call was on speaker so she could hear as well. “I’ve put you in a very tough spot right now. Trino, and I apologize for that. You need to be careful how much you say in front of your men. If you tell Martin he’s going to d ie if he chooses to leave you, your men will turn against you once that happens. I did not peg them as being ultra-religious, but they clearly art. They’re obviously fine with lighting someone on fire and throwing them off a cliff, but knowing what will happen in the future is a clear line in the sand for them. I don’t understand it, but that’s where they’re at. They’ll likely go through extensive me ntal gymnastics to blame it all on me, but you’ll be guilty by association. That’s where I see this going.” she said.

“I didn’t even tell them everything about you saving Martin,” Trino said quietly.

“It doesn’t matter. They saw enough that they know. Or they think they know. But take it as a blessing. If this was enough to cause their loyalties to waver, they were never loyal to you in the first place, Trino,” she said.

We could hear Trino cursing in Spanish on the other end. “You’re absolutely right, Miha. It seems I have some housekeeping to do.”

After I hung up with Trino, Ivan looked at Sephie, his sly smile across his face. “Princess, you really were made for this shi t.”

“Called it,” Misha said, pointing at Sephie.

“Stephen was also right. I know how people react to things they don’t understand. Even without knowing things I’m not supposed to know, I could’ve called this one,” she said.

King of the Underworld - Chapter 327

 Adrik

Trino stopped by the building two days later. He was leaving for Colombia and wanted to say goodbye before leaving. His guys stayed in the lobby once again, which put everyone slightly on edge.

“Miha, you look better each time I see you,” he said walking to give her a hug.

“Maybe I’ll have the use of both arms the next time I see you,” she said.

“You and Jefe must come to Colombia once this is all oves with. Have you ever been to Colombia?” She shook her head no. “Well, then, you must come. I’ll be your tour guide. It’s a beautiful country, Miha. You’ll love it there.”

“I’m not moving there, Trino,” she said, flatly. He laughed, shaking his head.

“How’s Martin?” I asked.

“He’s fine. He got a little roughed up when he escaped, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. He has no one to blame but himself for it anyway, so I’m somewhat glad he didn’t escape unharmed. We’re going to have a very long talk when I get back,” he said, thoughtfully.

“Good. He was likely coming from a good place, but he also clearly doesn’t have the experience you do when it comes to dealing with certain people,” I said. I somewhat expected Sephie to chime in, but she stayed quiet. I glanced quickly at Andrei, to see his eyes somewhat glazed over. While Sephie could pick up on things about people without anyone noticing, Andrei was still obvious about it. I knew there was more to be revealed about this situation, but if Sephie didn’t say anything before Trino left, I wasn’t going to either and Andrei decided to keep his mo uth sh ut as well.

We talked for a few more minutes. Trino promised to send video of Massimo when he finally threw him off a cliff. I wanted him to keep me informed of what was going on with the Mexicans. It still worried me that they were working with Ricardo. More so for Trino’s safety than anything. They wanted Trino gone and they were bold with Ricardo behind them. It was a volatile situation. Even more than the situation with the other bosses and

Once Trino left the penthouse, I looked at Andrei, then to Sephie. “What do you two know?” I asked.

Andrei looked at me, surprised. “How do you know we know something?” he asked.

“Much like Misha, you get a certain look on your face when you’re getting something. I can’t see it with Sephie, but given that she stayed quiet, it likely means there was something she didn’t want to say,” I said.

Andrei laughed. “I’m going to have to work on that,” he said.

“Not me. I don’t care,” Misha said, grinning.

Sephie looked at Andrei. “I want to know what you got first, Bubba.”

“When Boss said that Martin was likely coming from a good place. That’s not right. There’s something deeper to why Martin went to the Mexicans,” Andrei said.

“Something deeper like there’s going to be a split between those two in the future?” I asked.

Andrei thought for a moment, then looked to Sephie like he was asking for help. “You don’t need my help, Bubba. You’re doing just fine on your own. You can ask for clarity. I do all the time. When something comes in, ask a silent question, and wait for the answer. It’ll come,” she said.

He inhaled deeply, thinking more on the situation. He started to say something, then stopped himself and thought for a moment longer. Finally, he said, “it depends on how Trino handles this when he gets back. Martin isn’t happy with him, but I can’t figure out why. That’s why he went to the Mexicans. It has the potential to be bad, but it’s going to be bad for Martin, I think.”

I looked to Sephie, who was smiling at Andrei. “See, you’re getting more details. It’ll get easier each time,” she said. She then looked at me, saying,

“it’s not dissimilar to what’s going on here. Martin is drunk on thoughts of grandeur, if you will. He’s getting it in his head that he can run things better than Trino can. The situation with the Mexicans probably scared him, but depending on how Tring handles this, he’ll either remember his place on his own or he’ll be so angry with Trino that he’ll go back to the Mexicans out of spite. Or he’ll try to split from Trino and create his own empire, Only one of those options is going to result in him living much longer.”

I sighed. I appreciated her keeping her mo uth sh ut on this one. I didn’t necessarily want to get in the middle of this, I would support Trino, whatever happened, but he needed to handle this or it would never really be resolved.

“It’s always the people who seek power the most fervently who can’t handle it,” Stephen said.

“Because they’re the ones looking for fulfillment outside of themselves. Something is missing from their soul and instead of seeking the answer to what’s missing and why, they seek a band-aid to cover up their pain. People will commit unspeakable horrors trying to escape having to face their own shadow,” Sephie said. I walked to her, pulling her to me. I could feel her body starting to shake slightly as she leaned against me. Instead of continuing on with this conversation, she changed the subject by asking me to help her take her arm out of her sling. “I’m tired of my arm being strapped down all day long,” she said.

“Your shoulder doesn’t hurt you as much now?” Andrei asked.

She shook her head no. “It’s still sore, but I think it’s sore from not moving at this point.”

“That’s likely. It’s a good sign if you’re feeling like you want to move it, but you should still go slow. Your shoulder was completely out of socket, which meant there was a lot of soft tissue damage. You can easily re-tear something,” he said.

“Nobody wants that. I just don’t want to be strapped down for like 20 minutes,” she said.

“As soon as you can go longer periods without it in the sling, we can do some physical therapy to help you strengthen your shoulder again. You don’t have much longer and the cast comes off too,” Andrei said. It was evident on his face that he was looking forward to being able to get her back in the gym to train once more. He took his job as her trainer very seriously. He was quite good at it. I knew she would be back in shape quickly.

“Just as long as her lung is healed. Her shoulder and arm are healing faster than her lung,” I said. Andrei looked to Sephie and smiled at her, like he knew something. She nodded her head, then pulled my arm around her, leaning back against me once more.