Chapter One

Sephie

As Adrik and Ivan were walking away from the kitchen, I asked everyone’s input on the type of cookie I should be making. I had no idea they would all have such strong feelings on the kind of cookie they needed, but it turned into quite a spirited debate.

“I just feel like regular chocolate chip cookies are classic. Timeless, really,” Misha said. “Like me.”

“But they’re boring. And overdone. And sometimes you get one that makes you wish you hadn’t taken a bite of cookie,” Stephen said, which made Viktor laugh. His deep belly laugh filled the kitchen.

“Shortbread is the way to go. It might seem plain, but nothing made with that much butter can ever be bad,” Andrei said. “And you can also put frosting on them. Win-win.”

“I don’t know, I agree with both of you, but I feel like Andrei makes a very valid argument with the frosting,” I said, laughing at Misha’s indignant expression when he found out I agreed more with Andrei.

“You can put frosting on chocolate chip cookies too,” he said.

“Feels like overkill that way,” Viktor said.

“I agree with Viktor,” I said, walking to the pantry for something. “What about you, Papa Bear? I feel like you’re a peanut butter guy. Simple, hardy, dependable, goes well with milk.” I could hear his deep laugh as I walked into the pantry.

“You’re right. It is my favorite. My wife used to make peanut butter cookies that she would dip in chocolate. It’s a miracle I didn’t gain fifty pounds the first year we were married. I think I talked her into making those cookies at least once a week,” Viktor said. He was smiling as he fondly remembered that period of his life.

“That sounds amazing, if I’m being honest,” I said, measuring out ingredients for the still-to-be-determined cookies.

“They were. I don’t think there was anything special about them. It was just a peanut butter cookie, dipped in chocolate, but I couldn’t get enough of them,” he said.

“I’ll see if I can recreate them, if you like. But it might not be the same. The chef is always the secret ingredient,” I said.

Viktor smiled his sweet smile at me. “I will never turn down anything you make for me, sestrichka.”

I winked at Viktor, then turned to Stephen. I studied him for a minute, then said, “Shit, yours is a chocolate cookie, isn’t it?”

He laughed. “Why is that a bad thing?”

“Because they’re actually the hardest to master. It sounds so simple, but you can fuck up a chocolate cookie faster than anything else. Of course that would be your favorite. They’re so deceptively complicated, but when it’s right, it’s divine. Not unlike you,” I said.

“I never would have guessed that talking about our favorite types of cookie would leave me so vulnerably diagnosed, but here we are,” Stephen said, laughing.

“What about you, spider monkey?” Andrei asked.

“Guess.”

Andrei thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he tried to analyze me. “Sugar cookie?” he asked like he wasn’t sure.

“You’re not wrong, but you’re not completely right either. Keep going, Bubba,” I said.

He thought for a minute more, then I saw him get the answer. “Lemon sugar cookie,” he said, his wide smile stretching across his face.

I nodded, unable to hide my amusement at his boyishly handsome smile. “But why, though?” I asked. I didn’t think I would stump him with my question, but I did. It was actually Stephen who answered.

“Because it’s simple, sweet, with a hint of tangy. Not unlike you,” he said, smiling at me.

“Yoden for the win,” I said.

“I had the simple part, but it would’ve taken me longer to get the rest,” Andrei said, laughing. “Stephen might be as good as me at reading minds.”

“What about Ivan? What are your best guesses for his favorite?” Misha asked.

Stephen and I both looked at each other, grinning. “Biscotti,” we both said at the same time.

“Is that even a cookie?” Misha asked.

“It’s why it’s perfect. Is Ivan even a real person?” Stephen asked, laughing. It just so happened that Ivan and Adrik walked back into the kitchen right when he said that which caused more laughter from everyone. Stephen apologized when he saw Ivan.

“Don’t apologize. I ask myself that question almost daily,” Ivan said, laughing with us. “What on earth are you guys discussing?”

“We’ve been debating what everyone’s favorite cookie is and what it says about them,” Andrei said, laughing loudly when he saw the look on Ivan’s and Adrik’s faces. “It’s actually pretty enlightening,” he said, defending our debate. Adrik just laughed, shaking his head.

He walked to me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he stood behind me. I had my hands full, so he rested his chin on my shoulder, watching what I was doing, happy to be near me. “I love you and your randomness,” he said, still chuckling.

“Bubba wasn’t lying. It’s been very enlightening,” I said, still laughing.

“What’s your favorite cookie, Ivan?” Misha asked.

“I don’t really like cookies that much. Or any kind of sweets. I never had it as a kid, so I don’t think I ever developed a taste for sweet things. But I’ll eat an entire package of biscotti if it’s in front of me,” he said, smiling.

“You heard them say that, didn’t you?” Andrei and Misha both said at the same time.

“Heard who say what?” Ivan asked.

“Stephen and Sephie said that was your favorite cookie before you two came back to the kitchen. That’s when I asked if it was even a cookie, and Stephen asked if you were actually a real person,” Misha said, now even more amused with the conversation than he was before.

“I enjoy the fuckery as much as you do, Misha, but I did not hear them this time. I just heard Stephen ask if I was real. Still undecided, for the record,” Ivan said.

Adrik had moved to lean against the counter beside me, his arms folded across his chest. He was watching everyone, laughing at our silliness, enjoying a moment of peace before what we all knew was coming.

“Okay, what about Boss? Who can guess his favorite?” Misha asked. He was not going to let this conversation die yet and I loved him for it.

I glanced at Adrik, searching his eyes for a moment to find the answer. I smiled when I found it.

“Nope. Nope. Sephie’s not allowed to answer. She’s cheating. Andrei can’t answer either. They have a clear advantage,” Misha said.

“You’re very bossy when it comes to cookies, my adorable Russian guardian.”

I watched Ivan and Viktor look at each other, then Viktor said, “It’s probably exactly the same one as Sephie. Maybe with a flavor twist, but he probably likes it because he knew as a five-year-old that it was her favorite so he made it his too.”

I couldn’t contain my laughter. Neither could Adrik. “What’s her favorite, then?” Adrik asked.

“Lemon sugar cookie,” Misha said. “Was Viktor right?”

Adrik laughed. “He was. He was also right about the flavor twist. I like orange better. And they have been my favorite since I was five. One of my father’s chefs used to make them for me regularly when he found out I liked them.”

“Why didn’t I think of that,” Misha said, shaking his head.

“If nothing else, we’re having the important conversations here. We’re changing the world right now, boys,” I said, laughing. I suspected my eyes would have turned green, so I looked at Adrik when I said it. I recognized the look on his face, so I closed my eyes briefly, trying to switch them back to normal.

“As much as I’ve enjoyed this conversation, I also want to know what old friends you have in Panama,” Viktor said, looking at Adrik.

“My father,” he said. “I just called him.”

“I thought he was in Europe?” Viktor asked.

“He was during the summer. He likes to migrate south for the winter,” Adrik said.

“So, his guys are going after Trino?” Stephen asked.

Adrik nodded his head. “I told him Trino would be there tonight, but he needed a day or two before they got him out, given the situation with his mom. He said he would send a team tonight to make sure Trino stayed safe, but they wouldn’t make contact for a couple days.”

“Does your father know Trino?” I asked, curious.

“He does. Trino was making a name for himself before I took over for my father. Trino made his move shortly after I took over, partly because we had already worked out a deal for after he took over. The guy he took power from was hated by pretty much everyone. It was in my best interest to support Trino. My father saw it coming a few years before Trino got the idea, although he wasn’t sure if it would be Trino or another guy who was similarly positioned as Trino,” Adrik said.

“What happened to that guy?”

“He still runs part of Trino’s business. He decided he didn’t want to be in charge when it came down to it, but he said he’d support Trino in taking over the previous guy,” he said.

“What happens after Vitaliy’s guys get Trino out of Colombia?” Viktor asked.

“We’re going to go fetch him,” Adrik said. He looked to me as he said it. I could tell he was uncertain about whether I’d be able to make the trip … or would want to make the trip.

“Everyone is going to fetch him?” I asked. I knew the answer, but I wanted to toy with him.

“As long as you think you can make that trip, solnishko,” Adrik said, hesitantly. “But I would like you to meet my father.” He looked almost shy about his request. I could feel his uncertainty.

“Of course I’ll go. I would like to meet him as well,” I said, unable to string him along any longer. He relaxed as soon as I said I would go.

“We need to figure out security for Trino,” Ivan said. “He shouldn’t use any of the guys he has now going forward. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were all loyal to Martin at this point.”

“What about Chris or Keith?” I asked. “You guys have been training them still, right?”

“That might work,” Viktor said. “They’ve progressed in their training. You’d be proud of them.”

“You might have too many guys volunteer once they find out they’ll be spending their time in Colombia. I would imagine the winters there are much easier than the winters here,” I said.

Viktor laughed. “Most of our guys are from Eastern Europe or Russia. The winters here are mild, sestrichka. They all love it here.”

“Valid point. I do not know what winters are like in Russia. I’m also fairly positive I do not want to know what winters are like in Russia,” I said, pulling the cookies out of the oven. Misha was overly excited since I ended up going with chocolate chips, as that was the easiest solution for the evening’s bake. Andrei got up to make a fresh pot of coffee to go with the cookies. After pulling the cookies from the oven, I leaned against the counter, watching everyone again, enjoying the moment of peace. I loved that they had a place where they could talk about stupid things like types of cookies and just forget about everything we were facing at the moment. I knew how stressed everyone was. I was fairly certain that a couple of them were having trouble sleeping. They were constantly on edge and tense. But they got a few hours to forget about it all and just be friends. It was quickly becoming one of my favorite things.

The kitchen grew quiet as everyone enjoyed warm cookies and coffee. We heard Adrik’s phone beep. Then we heard Viktor’s phone beep.

“You first,” I said, looking at Adrik.

He glanced at the message. “Trino is safe. He said to tell you that you already know how much he needs to thank you for making him leave tonight.”

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I thought about his situation. I knew how heartbroken he would be to lose his mother, but I also knew how much peace it would bring him to know that he was able to see her one last time. I wiped the tears from my eyes as Adrik walked to me, pulling me to him. I saw the look of surprise on his face as he held my gaze. I raised my eyebrow, trying to figure out what they were doing now. “They’re golden brown now. Almost amber,” he whispered, as he held me against him tightly.

Viktor’s phone beeped again. And again. And again. “Is that her or him?” Ivan asked, trying not to laugh.

Viktor looked at his phone. “It’s both. He finally got back to her and she responded. Andrei was right. She’s not happy he waited so long to respond.”

“What did he say about her going to Italy?” Misha asked.

“He’s not happy about us sending her anywhere. He says he’s still going to come get her,” Viktor said.

I stood up straighter, looking at Andrei, then looking at Misha. Finally, I looked at Ivan. “Is that fishy to you guys?” I asked.

“Very,” Ivan said.

“What do you want to bet that Martin getting Giana as payment is contingent on something specific happening here?” Stephen said.

“She’s not happy with that plan,” Viktor said. He got up to hand me his phone. “She must be cussing him out again, because I can’t imagine this is a situation that calls for dirty talk.”

“Maybe it is and we’re just so old now that we have no clue,” I said. I read through her texts. She could definitely type faster in Italian than she could in English. She sent five more lengthy texts in a matter of seconds. “Oh, she’s definitely cussing him out. She wants to know why he’s being stubborn. Lots of creative name calling, though. I’ll give her that. She says that if he comes here to get her, then there’s a chance she’ll die. If she goes to Italy, she’ll be safe. More name calling. More regret over sleeping with him. More threats of her trying to escape on her own. She also says she might escape and disappear on her own. She doesn’t need him. More name calling.” I looked up at all of their amused faces. “She’s very creative on the name calling. I didn’t expect that. It’s like her gift.”

Viktor’s phone was silent for a few moments, then Martin responded. I looked at the texts. He responded in Italian. “Well, that’s surprising. He’s responding in Italian,” I said, reading through his texts. I suddenly felt very sick to my stomach. “Oh my God … he’s threatening her.” I quickly handed the phone to Adrik then I ran to the nearest bathroom, hoping to make it in time. Luckily, most of the contents of my stomach had already been digested, but I did puke up the cookie I ate. Not gonna lie, one of the more pleasant puking experiences I’ve had in my life.

I felt Adrik’s warm hands on my back. “Talk to me, love. What happened?” He ran his hand lightly over my back until I was sure I was done. When I stood up, he handed me a towel. I went to the sink to wash my mouth out and splashed water on my face as well. I groaned as I wiped my face.

“I don’t even like her but I’m scared for her. Martin is very much like Anthony, it seems. He turned evil on her quick. He told her that she belonged to him and he would decide what happened, not her. He said if she ever spoke to him like that again, he would arrange for her to be kidnapped and sold as a slave. It was her choice. She could either do what she was told or be sold off,” I said.

Adrik looked at me thoughtfully. “While I don’t like any of that, why did it make you vomit? You know we won’t let that happen to her, right?” he asked, turning me around to face him.

I looked up at him, not really knowing how to answer. I leaned against the bathroom sink, my hands fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. I thought for a few minutes, still not sure of the answer. He gently lifted my chin, so I would look at him. He calmly searched my eyes, looking for the answer that I couldn’t articulate. I saw the recognition on his face when he found what he was looking for.

“You have been in similar situations to her, solnishko. The fear you’re feeling now is the fear you wouldn’t let yourself feel when you were in them. You’ve seen true evil like Martin before, but you couldn’t let yourself respond to it before. You can now. Everything that’s happening to Giana right now is reminding you of something in your past that you’ve survived, but you never let yourself be scared for you so you’re scared for her,” he said. “Stephen was right. It’s important that you let yourself be afraid. You’ve been keeping it locked away for too long. Just like he’s been feeding his monster, your fear has been growing too. I can feel how out of control it is when it comes up. I know you don’t know what to do with it. Ivan can feel it too. You’re so in control of all your other emotions, but the fear takes you by surprise every single time. I think that’s why your eyes change to a completely different color when you’re afraid. You have to let yourself feel it. It’s okay to feel it. That’s the only way you can learn how to control it.”

“It feels like it’s trying to take over every time and I start to panic. For the first few months after my uncle started beating me, I remember being terrified. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing. The beatings lasted forever. Because I did nothing. Eventually something snapped, and I stopped feeling anything when it would happen. No fear, just pain. I learned I could live with pain, but I never learned I could live with fear. I don’t know what to do with it,” I said.

“Fear can be useful, but mostly it’s just a reminder,” he said.

“Of what?”

“That you’re alive,” he said. He chuckled when I stayed silent, still not knowing what to say. “We’ll talk about it more later. They’re going to be worried about you,” he said, taking my hand and leading me out of the bathroom.

“Do we want to know what he said to her?” Ivan asked when we walked back to the kitchen.

“Martin and Anthony are very similar,” Adrik said. “He threatened to sell Giana if she disobeyed him. Did she respond?”

“Yeah, but she’s responded in Italian. It’s much shorter than her earlier texts, though. And that was the end of the conversation,” Viktor said. I walked to him, holding my hand out to read the text, but he hesitated before handing his phone to me. “You don’t have to read it, Sephie.”

“No, it’ll help me figure out her next move if I see how she responded. If she immediately cowers to him and grovels, then it’s going to make our job much harder. I’m worried she’ll think she brought it on herself and that he’s still the only one who can save her. I don’t know how much damage Armando did to her brain while she was with him. She might not be salvageable,” I said.

He handed me his phone. I read through the text, sighing. “She’s gonna be problematic.” I scrolled back through Martin’s text to her, so I could read it to the guys. “He told her, ‘You belong to me now and you will do what you’re told or I will arrange your kidnapping. Keep disrespecting me and I’ll sell you as a slave.’ I thought before that it was fishy that he wouldn’t want her to go to Italy. Now I don’t know if it’s just some weird power move on his part or if there is a contingency on him getting her or if he’s just completely lost his grip on reality.” I scrolled back down to Giana’s response. “She apologizes and says she loves him and that she’ll do as she’s told.”

“Is she just saying that to placate him, though?” Stephen asked.

“Possible,” Andrei said.

Viktor’s phone beeped, but it was a new message, not one between Giana and Martin. I handed his phone back to him. “That’s a new message. I don’t want to be nosey.”

He looked at the new message, surprised. “She’s texting someone else,” he said. He handed the phone back to me. “Whoever it is, she’s texting in Italian still.”

I looked at her newest message. “She’s telling this person that this is her new number.”

“I kind of doubt she’d be texting her family,” Stephen said. “A friend, maybe?”

The response came in. “Looks like you’re right, Yoden. This person says they haven’t talked to her in forever. Asking how she is, says they miss her, and where is she. So maybe not the closest friend?”

Giana replied fairly quickly. “She tells this person she needs their help. She asks where this person is. Spain. Giana says she can get to Spain, but she needs help hiding from her family. She says she’s done with them and that they went back on their promise. She says she thought she’d found a way out, but it’s worse than her family. She needs to disappear.”

“I wonder what her family promised her? Had to be to get her to take the job with Armando,” Ivan said.

“This person says they can hide her, but she needs to pay her own way. Oh. Well, then. She says that won’t be a problem, she can support them both. She just needs help to hide, and she needs help getting new identification cards.” I looked up at them. “So there we go. We get her a new ID and send her to Spain. I bet she has access to Armando’s accounts. As long as no one else does, she should be set for a while, if she lives smartly.”

Viktor and Ivan looked at each other. “We can get her a new ID in a day or two. What else does she need?”

“She’s got plenty of clothes. She’s also likely got plenty of money to buy new ones. She can leave everything here if she wants to travel light. Are you going to put her on a commercial flight or a private plane?” I asked.

“Commercial. We’ll be using the plane to get Trino,” Adrik said.

“So, ticket. New ID with a new name. Ride to the airport and she’s off to start her new life. No one will be able to find her.” Viktor’s phone beeped again. “She asks where in Spain. Okay, she’s going to Madrid. Giana says she’ll be there in a few days. So, better get started on that new passport right away, boys,” I said, handing Viktor his phone back.

“That’ll be good. One less thing to have to worry about here and I can pull the guards off her for other things. I had to put extra guys on her because of her tantrums and her tendency to sneak off,” Viktor said. He was very obviously still annoyed about it.

“I share in your annoyance, but it does not detract from how once again you guys are going the extra mile to make sure somebody we all hate is safe,” I said. “It’s like you guys are good or something.”

Three days later, a bag was dropped off at Giana’s apartment in the morning. In it, she found a new ID, new passport, a ticket to Madrid, a little bit of cash, and a new cell phone with a note to leave her old one as it was compromised. The new cell phone was still in the sealed box, to prove that it was not compromised. The note also told her a taxi would be waiting for her at a specific time and wished her well.

Ivan watched on the monitors as she left the building and got into the taxi that was waiting to take her to the airport. Once she was safely in the taxi, he gave Viktor word that she was taken care of and we were free to leave for Panama. Ivan met us in the parking garage as we left for the private airport. I had to admit that I felt incredible relief to know that Giana had a chance at a fresh start. She had texted her friend a few more times over the course of the previous few days and given her friend more details. The friend seemed genuinely distraught for Giana and promised she would be safe. Her friend had said she was thinking of moving again soon and that Giana could come with her, so it would be even more difficult to find her. It appeared that Giana would get a second chance.

Adrik and I took over one of the couches on the plane. We hadn’t slept very much the night before, but neither one of us could fully take the blame. I think I woke him up just as many times as he woke me up. I laid down in between him and the back of the couch once we were in the air while he used his coat as a blanket for me. It was also cover so he could slide his hands under my shirt and down my pants, wanting no barrier between his hands and my body. We really couldn’t get enough of each other.

Fortunately, the flight was long enough that we both got a nap in so we were both feeling better once we landed. Only now we were both nervous for me to meet Adrik’s father. He was nervous because his father could be a very gruff man and he was worried he would say something that would offend me. I was worried that his father would find some reason to not like me. We were both acting like children, worrying over nothing, but neither one of us could stop.

Vitaliy’s men were waiting for us at the small air strip when we landed. We still had a short drive to get to Vitaliy’s ranch once we left the airport. The guys knew a few of Vitaliy’s men who came to get us, but a couple of them were new. One man walked up to Adrik, as soon as we were off the plane. He was much older than Adrik, as well as all the guys, but he still looked lethal despite his age. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Adrik, but he was built like a house. I caught myself wondering how difficult it was for him to walk through doorways when he was so wide. He had grey, almost white hair and his clean-shaven face visibly showed a few scars.

Adrik smiled when he saw the man. “Aleksei. It’s good to see you again, my friend,” he said as he opened his arms for Aleksei. They embraced each other, talking quietly, and laughing like old friends. Adrik stepped away from him and held his hand out to me. I stepped closer to Adrik as he put his arm around my waist and held me against him. I caught Aleksei’s surprise when he saw Adrik do so.

“Sephie, this is Aleksei. He’s been working for my father as long as I’ve been alive. Aleksei, this is Sephie,” he said. It was evident that it was somewhat of a surprise that I was there, but Aleksei was a gentleman and didn’t make a big deal out of it. I extended my hand to him, telling him it was nice to meet him and trying to give him my warmest smile. I could see the tough exterior crack slightly when I smiled at him.

“Sephie is a very unusual name,” he said, as he was carefully studying me.

“Aleksei probably isn’t that common around here either. Should we fascinate the locals later?” I asked. I thought Viktor had the best loud laugh I’d ever heard, but Aleksei’s laugh was a very close second. His laugh shook his entire body. He looked at Adrik, saying in Russian, “I’ve never known you to bring a woman around your father. Smart choice to wait until you found this one. He’s going to love her.” Adrik smiled at me, knowing that I would want to respond.

“If that’s all it takes for him to love me, you gentlemen need to get out more,” I replied. When he heard me speak Russian, his eyes went wide. Ivan had walked up beside us during this exchange, laughing at Aleksei’s response to me knowing Russian.

“You’ll come to understand very quickly that she’s one of a kind,” Ivan said, grinning down at me.