Chapter Sixty-One

Adrik

I had to laugh to myself as I watched Sephie leaving with Stephen and Ivan. I felt like a lovesick teenager wanting to run after her. Never in a million years would I have expected to be here feeling this way about, well, anyone.

I wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Where’s the spider monkey?” Andrei asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“She took Ivan and Stephen to the lake.”

I saw the moment of disappointment on his face, but he quickly hid it. “I’m glad. He needs it right now.”

I smiled at him. I did enjoy how much they all enjoyed spending time with her. “There will be other times. You’ll go next time,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder as he walked past me to the fridge.

He laughed, knowing full well I’d caught his moment of disappointment. “I can’t help it. She’s just so much fun,” he said.

“You don’t have to justify anything to me. I know her role in your lives is very important. I understand completely. I had to fight the urge to run after her.”

“She might be solely responsible for my self-confidence bouncing back after Tori,” he said, a small smile on his face.

“Oh? I didn’t realize your confidence took a hit from her,” I said, somewhat shocked at his admission.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone but Sephie knew. Tori learned my one weakness and anytime we argued, she’d drive the knife a little farther into that wound. I didn’t think it affected me as much as it did until Sephie noticed my hesitation at connecting with my demon. She didn’t even need to look in my head to know what was holding me back. I still don’t know how she does it,” he said.

“Your brother?” I asked. He just nodded. Andrei’s younger brother was some kind of model and had been since I’d known Andrei. I’d only met him one time. To say they were complete opposites was an understatement. His brother didn’t have much to offer the world, other than his ability to take a great photo, but Andrei had to hear about how much better his little brother was for most of his life. I’m sure that wears on a person.

Makes me happy I have no siblings.

“I’m sure that I would agree wholeheartedly with whatever it was that Sephie told you. She was completely right. Everything you’re doing now has a much bigger impact on the world, as well as generations to come. If you like, we’ll start taking pictures and we can make your parents a scrapbook.”

Andrei’s laugh brought Misha into the kitchen. “What’s this? There’s fuckery and gazelle is nowhere to be found? Did we switch timelines?” he asked.

“Her fuckery rubbed off on him. It’s a perk from their recently strengthened connection,” Andrei said like it was fact.

I chuckled. “I tried to talk her into coming to more of my meetings recently and she turned me down. She actually said it was less time that she could spread the fuckery with you two.”

Misha stared at me for a moment, like he wasn’t quite sure what to say. “I love her so much,” he said very seriously.

Viktor joined us in the back room while we all waited for Sephie to return with Ivan and Stephen, all of us trying to pretend like that definitely wasn’t what we were doing.

“How does it work with Kostya, Viktor? Do you see him or you can just hear him?” Misha asked. Misha was always the curious one. He always wanted to know more. I had originally thought he would grow out of it, but now I hope he never does. I have to admit to wondering the same things he does and it saves me from having to ask.

“It’s both, depending on what’s happening,” Viktor said.

“What does he look like to you when you fix people?” Andrei asked.

“I think the same as you. A ball of light,” he said. “I can see him like he’s a real person when he comes to me in my dreams. I can also see him when I’m awake, but he looks more like a ghost than anything. He’s see-through. That one took me a while to get used to. I’d just randomly see him when he needed to tell me something.”

I tried to hide the shudder I felt thinking about turning around and just seeing a random kid in front of me. Of course, he saw it.

His deep laugh filled the room. “It’s okay. It’s disturbing. I think he enjoys it. He told me what happened when he went to Sephie.”

“She’s still creeped out by it,” I said. “But only because she wasn’t expecting it. She’s only ever talked to her dad or my mother.”

“How much can he tell you about what’s coming with Ricardo and Martin?” Andrei asked.

“Not as much as we’d like, that’s for sure. I think Sephie’s dad told her this too, but they’re not allowed to interfere or tell us anything that might change the outcome. They can nudge us along and give us hints, but we’re supposed to figure it out on our own,” Viktor said.

“I wonder how Battista’s psychic gets around that rule,” I asked.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Andrei said. “I would like to know what she’s communicating with.”

“Do you get a bad feeling about it? Or just curious?” I asked.

Andrei thought for a minute. “I wouldn’t call it a bad feeling.”

“I wouldn’t call it a good feeling either, though,” Misha said.

I looked at Viktor. “Since we don’t know who this psychic is, do you think Kostya could find out more information for us? I would like to make sure we’re not being fed incorrect information from her.”

Viktor’s eyes glazed over slightly as he asked Kostya to see what he could find on her. “He’s going to check. He’s not entirely sure who she is either.”

“I would feel better with as much information as possible,” I said.

“If we can find out who she is, I can look for her,” Misha said. “I’m not sure that looking for a nameless and faceless psychic will yield any results.”

I suddenly felt an extreme sharp pain shoot through my chest. Even Andrei and Misha felt it. I knew it was from Sephie. It hadn’t even subsided and I felt Ivan’s anger.

“Tell me you’re okay or I’m coming out there,” I said to Sephie, only barely able to contain my own growing anger. I knew my eyes were black, which made Andrei’s and Misha’s switch too. Viktor caught on something was happening when he saw our eyes.

“All good. Stephen needed this more than I thought. I love you for checking,” she told me. Ivan’s anger stayed present, but it was at a very low level. I’m sure whatever they were discussing was likely difficult for him as well. Anger was his go-to emotion.

My own anger completely disappeared as soon as she told me she was fine. I knew she was helping Stephen get over the small hiccup he was struggling with lately. She was probably helping Ivan with something he didn’t even know he needed help with. I felt the pull in my chest as I thought about how much I loved her. I was hoping it would replace the sharp pain from whatever she was feeling before.

Misha’s laugh broke me from my worried thoughts about Sephie. “I’m still getting used to being able to feel you more strongly. I’ve never wanted to destroy something so badly in my life right now, but it’s not me. It’s you.”

“My bad. I can’t help it. I want to annihilate anything that might cause her pain. You felt the pain in your chest. Nothing will send me into a rage faster,” I said.

“Don’t apologize. I feel the same. I just wasn’t expecting the extra fuck you boost from King Demon over there,” Misha said. “I could definitely get used to it though. Full disclosure.”

“Lord King Boss Demon, thank you very much,” I said, trying to keep a straight face.

Andrei laughed. “I would love to see Sephie’s eyes turn red at that title.”

“You don’t think they will?”

“No, not at that title. The red seems to be the most finicky of all her colors,” he said.

“Challenge accepted. Her demon loves me almost as much as she does. I don’t think it will be an issue.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt her demon loves you. I think this might be the one time they can’t completely agree. I think we’re going to see her struggle between green and red when she calls you that,” Andrei said.

“Nope. Green’s my color. Leave it out of this disagreement,” Misha said, with as much authority as he could muster.

“Ten bucks says she comes up with a completely new color just to make all of you happy,” Viktor said, his deep laugh echoing off the walls.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Viktor might be on to something.

Eventually, I searched for her to see if they were on their way back yet or not. They’d been gone for a few hours already, so I was expecting them to head back soon. I found her hitching a ride on Ivan’s back as they were walking back to the house. I could easily feel her happiness after her time at the lake. Whatever had caused the earlier pain was now a thing of the past. All I could feel was the love and joy that she was feeling for both of them.

“They’re on their way back, so we won’t have to wait very long for the answer to the quandary,” I said. I was anxious for her to get back. Not just because I wanted to see if we could see her and her demon disagree on something, either. It had always been this way since the first time I touched her, but lately, I would get restless when I couldn’t touch her for any length of time. I needed her with me.

What is wrong with me.

I had gotten up to get some water when Ivan walked in with Sephie still on his back. He deposited her on the counter, her smile making the room brighter. Her cheeks were rosy from being outside. She caught me looking at her as she settled in on the counter.

“Squish is almost as warm as Bubba, but he’s got the secret to keeping me warm. Don’t tell the others,” she said, not so quietly.

“The others already know, gazelle!” Misha called from the other room. It made her giggle. Just for emphasis, we felt Misha’s anger come through Sephie. It made her giggle more.

“I have to agree with Misha. It is quite amusing that you think getting hit with all of our anger so often just tickles a little,” Ivan said.

“We’re going to need to work on your game face, love,” I said. “We are criminals, after all. Can’t have you giggling when we’re trying to intimidate someone. It’ll ruin the mood.”

The other four guys started to file into the kitchen to hear the conversation better.

“But will it though?” she asked. “Having someone laughing at you has to be really unsettling when you know you’re about to die. It’s still intimidation. Just with flair.”

Misha just gave her a high-five while laughing and shaking his head. “The fuckery in me recognizes and reveres the fuckery in you,” he said.

“Since we’re all here now, we need you to settle a dispute, spider monkey,” Andrei said, glancing toward me with a smirk on his face.

“Oh? What dispute?” she asked, looking between me and Andrei.

“Boss has a new title,” Misha said, trying to hold in his laughter.

“We’re trying to see what colors your eyes turn when you hear it,” Andrei said.

“Andrei doesn’t think it’ll be authoritative enough to invoke your red eyes. I happen to disagree,” I said.

Sephie’s mischievous grin spread across her face. She likely already knew what the new title was. I let her search my eyes to get a recap of the earlier conversation we had while she was gone. Her wide smile and laughter made it difficult to see her eyes, but we could see them swirling. She worked to gain control of herself and to give us a better view.

One red, one green. We were both right. Technically, Viktor called it.

“Viktor was right! She came up with something completely new to make everyone happy,” Misha said, laughing. We all got a good look at her one green eye and her one red eye before they switched back to normal.

“I still think it’s authoritative. My demon, while amused, doesn’t feel it delivers the proper level of respect,” she said. “We compromised.”

She caused another round of laughter from everyone. I looked at Misha. “This might be as close to a disagreement as we ever get, kid.”

“Disappointing,” he said, while still laughing.

Before going to meet with Trino, Sephie and I had a few moments to ourselves. We were planning to return to the penthouse after we met with Trino. We didn’t want Henry to start looking for us or to think that something was amiss if we stayed away from the penthouse for too long. The people of the city were so successful in stopping Niko, Vito, and the underbosses that, so far, police didn’t suspect our involvement.

We were in the bedroom, so she could change into warmer clothes. A storm was blowing in and the air was colder. Ivan had offered to keep his anger up the whole meeting for her, but she decided to put on warmer clothes anyway. I think she wanted a few minutes alone before we left more than anything.

“How did it go with Stephen? What caused the sharp pain in your chest?” I asked, leaning against the door of the closet while she changed clothes. I felt the same pain, but to a much lesser degree when I asked about it.

She looked at me, as she was pulling her shirt over her head. “Ivan made the comment that he and Andrei were basically two sides of the same coin. Ivan sees evil and Bubba sees good. Then he said you and Stephen are much the same. Stephen saves souls, while you destroy them. Stephen, of course, had already thought about it because his mind never, ever stops. He said it wasn’t performance anxiety like he told everyone. He’s struggling with believing that he’s the good side of the coin,” she said as she walked toward me. Her amber eyes were the first thing I noticed. Mostly because she was fully clothed once again.

“He’s still fighting everything his sisters told him when he was younger?” I asked.

She nodded her head. “I think it’s much better since he broke them. I think he got rid of most of it, but it’s sometimes hard to kick your abuser’s voice out of your head. It stays longer than everything else, I think. You forget it’s there until something happens and that little bit of doubt opens the door for the voice to come back at full volume.”

“Is that why you heard your uncle’s voice when we were on the plane after the ball?” I asked.

“I think so. I was struggling with comprehending that you weren’t dead and I wasn’t kidnapped. That desperation I felt overpowered everything else,” she said. We’d walked into the bedroom so she could sit on the bed to put her sneakers back on. She sat up, her eyes closed, and inhaled deeply. Her breath hitched slightly. I could feel the emotions coming back as she thought back to that night. I could also feel her trying to control it all, as she knew we all still struggled with that night, but me more than anyone.

I sat on the bed beside her, taking her hand in mine. She leaned her head over on my shoulder, apologizing for the shift in her mood that she knew I could feel.

“You have nothing to apologize for, love. I still struggle with that night, too. You don’t need to worry about trying to control what you feel for my benefit either,” I said. “It always makes it worse.”

She reached over and held onto my forearm with her other arm, laughing quietly. “I think Stephen needs to hear that, too. You’ve apparently been hanging around Ivan. You’re very wise,” she said, lifting her head to look at me. Her sweet smile made her face brighter. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers.

I let go of her hand, moving my hand to the side of her face. What started as a short kiss quickly turned to much more. She put her hand on top of mine, holding it in place as she leaned into me. Always wanting more, she took control. She loves my soft kisses, but judging from her reaction to my mouth on hers, now was not the time for it.

She quickly climbed into my lap, her lips never leaving mine. One long leg on either side of my hips, she pressed her body to mine as she deepened the kiss. Her hand left mine as she wrapped herself around me. My hands ran over her back down to her ass. I grabbed both cheeks roughly, loving the squeal I got for my actions.

I groaned when she didn’t stop. “We’re supposed to be leaving in 15 minutes, solnishko. We both know that’s not enough time when you’re like this,” I told her silently.

“Oh, I know. I’m just making sure you’re thinking about what’s going to happen later just as much as I am.”

“You’re a little bit evil.”

“Maybe, but you still love me.”

“I do. I love you more because of it.”

She giggled and finally leaned back enough to look at me. We were both out of breath, but her wide smile makes everything worth it. Even having to wait for my boner to calm down.

She knew exactly what she’s done to me and she’s enjoying every second of it.

As Sephie stands up, she extends her hand to me. “Does baseball do the trick to make it go away? Or do you have some other secret?” she tries to ask innocently.

I grumbled under my breath, which only made her laugh a little louder. “I take it back. You’re a lot evil,” I say, following her to the door.

She surprised me by turning to face me, her eyes the deep red that I’m quickly growing to love just as much as the deep blue.

“I learned it from watching you,” she said, her gorgeous smile across her face.

God, I love her.