Chapter Thirteen

Sephie

As soon as we were safely in the penthouse, I stopped Ivan and hugged him again. He was much more relaxed after leaving the hotel, but I knew he was still completely unnerved by what had happened. He wrapped his giant arms around me tightly, picking me up for a few moments. He just stood there, my feet dangling, holding onto me as he slowly calmed himself down.

When he set me down, I said, “I saw what you saw.” I quickly looked at Andrei. “Did you see anything when she finally got her ass out of my chair and turned to look at me?”

“I saw her extreme hatred for you, if that’s what you mean,” Andrei said.

I looked at Ivan’s shocked face. “She didn’t look human,” I said.

Andrei started to put it together. “That’s why you panicked when she looked at you.”

I nodded my head. Misha, always curious, said, “Okay, you guys are going to have to explain what the hell happened. I also want to know what you said to Battista to get that woman out of your chair.”

Before I answered him, I asked, “Did you get anything from her, Misha?”

He nodded his head, emphatically. “I was insanely nauseous the entire time we were there. But only when looking at her.”

Before I could speak, Ivan moved to lean against the counter in the kitchen. He looked at everyone, sighed, then said, “When I was a kid, my mom sent me to a research facility where they did horrible experiments on me because of my inability to feel pain. She didn’t know that would happen. They gave her some other story and promised to send my siblings to school. My dad had died shortly after my youngest brother was born, so she was trying to raise four kids on her own and she agreed. She thought I would be taken care of. The reason that hospitals fuck me up is because I’m reliving what they did to me in there every single time. It wasn’t just physical torture. They tried to break me. They tried to turn me into a monster and they enjoyed it.”

As he was talking, I hopped up on the counter next to him. I hooked my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder. I felt him squeeze my arm as he continued talking.

“When Sephie told you all that my demons pull other people’s demons out so the world can see them as I do, she didn’t know how accurate she was. When I was at the facility, I never saw the doctors’ real faces. I saw the demons inside them. That’s why I’m so haunted by it and why I fight so hard anytime I have to go to the hospital. I’m trying to kill the doctors, but they keep coming back. I can’t see whoever is in front of me. I only see the demons’ faces from that facility.”

I glanced around the room at everyone’s shocked faces. Ivan continued, “That woman at the hotel today. I saw the same thing with her that I saw with the doctors. As soon as she walked up to introduce herself to Vitaliy, I saw it.”

“Vitaliy saw something, too. I caught his look when he touched her,” Adrik said.

“I saw it when she stood up to get the fuck out of my chair,” I said. They all laughed at my irritation.

“What did you say to Battista, gazelle?” Misha asked.

I giggled. “I asked him if he always surrounded himself with such ill-mannered women or if he brought her special for us. Then I said if he did, I needed to thank him because it’s been a really long time since I made another woman cry.”

They all laughed. Ivan slid his arm around my shoulders, hugging me to his side. “What about when she turned to leave? You said something else to her that nobody else caught,” Ivan said.

I cut my eyes to him, unable to hide my smile. “I told her if she tries to touch Adrik again, she will no longer have functioning hands.”

They all erupted in even louder laughter than the first time.

“What did Battista say to you before we left?” Adrik asked.

“That’s where it gets even more interesting. He told me I did him a huge favor and that he’s in my debt now,” I said.

“His attitude toward that woman changed after you put her in her place,” Stephen said. “I don’t know what they were saying, but he was very dismissive of her after it happened when he wasn’t before.”

“I noticed that too,” I said.

“She was worse than Giana about staring, though,” Misha said.

Andrei snapped his fingers and pointed to Misha. “Same.”

Adrik scoffed. “I don’t even know how you knew she tried to touch me because it happened while you were gone, but it made me sick.”

I hopped off the counter and walked to Adrik, clearly feeling his disgust. I couldn’t help but love him a little more for it. I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I fucking love you,” I said as I rested my head against his shoulder.

“I think there’s more to that woman being there today than we know about, especially considering what Battista said to Sephie before we left,” Viktor said.

“We definitely need to have this conversation with Vitaliy when he gets back. I know he knows something about her that he couldn’t say in front of everyone,” Adrik said.

“I just want to point out how convenient it is that you’re so good at reading my mind now. I didn’t have to tell you Ivan was unnerved. I was planning on letting you figure out why he was unnerved when we got back, but that heifer put a hold on those plans.”

Adrik pulled me closer. “You’re adorable when you get all bitchy,” he said, kissing my temple.

The guys took advantage of Adrik’s mostly free afternoon while we waited on Vitaliy to make it back to the penthouse. They all took care of little things they’d been putting off because of more important tasks. Adrik had some work in his office to get done, so I went with him so the guys could come and go as needed.

I stretched out on the couch, suddenly exhausted from everything the past few days. I tried to stay awake, but inevitably fell asleep. Since Ivan and I were taken, I hadn’t fallen asleep once without someone next to me. I wasn’t even sure if it was possible anymore.

It was possible. It happened.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep when I felt Adrik’s warm hands on me, gently shaking me awake. “Solnishko, you were having a bad dream. I need you to wake up.”

I was somewhat startled awake and immediately worried that I’d been talking in my sleep. “Shit. Was I talking?”

He smiled sweetly at me, his warm hand resting against my cheek. “You were mumbling, but I could see the shaking from across the office. Andrei is on his way back so you can go back to sleep on him. You are overdue for sleeping in. It took you two seconds to fall asleep when you laid down.”

“At least I wasn’t yelling this time,” I said, sitting up.

Andrei walked in, looking somewhat concerned, but he relaxed when he saw me awake and talking to Adrik. “Spider monkey, I’m surprised you even fell asleep without anyone next to you. I didn’t think that was a thing you could do anymore.”

“I didn’t either, Bubba. You were right, apparently. I am overdue for sleeping in. I’m really tired,” I said.

“Being bitchy always makes you tired,” Adrik said, grinning at me. He stood up, leaning down to kiss my forehead. “Go back to sleep, love. Andrei can keep you warm. I just have a few more things to finish up and we can go back upstairs.”

Andrei sat down at the end of the couch, stretching one leg out along the back of the couch, opening his arms for me. I curled up in his arms, resting my head on his almost warm enough chest and was asleep again in a matter of minutes.

When I woke up again, I was in the penthouse. I knew I was lying on Adrik now instead of Andrei without even opening my eyes. I could feel Adrik’s perfect warmth against me. I started to stir and felt his arms hold me tighter.

“Mmm, I still love when you hold me down as I wake up,” I said. I could feel the vibration of his quiet laugh in his chest. I looked up at him. “You moved me and I didn’t wake up?” I asked, realizing I was no longer in the office.

I heard Andrei laugh from one of the other couches. “You were completely out, spider monkey.”

“We’d all been talking for like half an hour, thinking you’d wake up. You never did, so Andrei carried you up here and handed you off to Boss,” Misha said.

“Guess I really am overdue,” I said. I looked around to see if Vitaliy and Aleksei were back yet.

“They’ll be here soon. Along with dinner,” Viktor said.

It was that moment that I realized how late it had gotten and that it was now dark outside. “Shit,” I said, under my breath.

“You need a break, Seph. Don’t feel bad,” Stephen said. “You’re always extra tired when new stuff happens. You’ve had multiple new things happen lately.”

I looked at Andrei, then to Ivan. “That reminds me. I forgot to ask if you two knew you were pushing your anger to me when I was fighting to keep the panic at bay at the hotel.”

Andrei nodded his head. “I could feel you panic but then I felt you get angry and figured out what you were trying to do. I had no idea how to do it, but I tried to push mine to you. I know you can deal with insane amounts of anger, but you struggle with the panic and fear. I was hoping the anger would override everything else.”

“You’re so smart and so handsome. It’s like you’re a double threat,” I said.

“It was a little different for me. Your anger amps mine up to the point that it’s all I notice. I felt yours getting stronger, which made mine get stronger. I think it was having the same effect on me as it was you because it calmed my nerves when looking at her,” Ivan said. “It was a welcome change.”

“That’s different,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip. “I felt your bubble too, Squish. A couple of times.”

“Have you learned how to keep your demon eyes under control, Seph? I was sitting across from you and I didn’t see them once when you were talking to her. I was incredibly impressed,” Stephen said. We hadn’t had a chance to fill him and Viktor in on my mood ring eyes yet.

“She’s been wearing contacts since we went to Panama. Her eyes have a mind of their own now. The demon eyes aren’t the only trick she can do now, but she has problems controlling it. Since we were all a little punchy after Trino’s guys had such a problem with her, Boss had contacts made for her so she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone seeing and we wouldn’t have to kill anyone,” Ivan said. He had his devilish grin on his face.

“What else are they doing, sestrichka?” Viktor asked.

“It’s easier if I show you. Be right back,” I said, running to the bathroom to take the contacts out. When I came back out, they’d all moved to the kitchen, where there was better lighting.

I walked to Adrik, knowing how much he loved seeing my eyes change to blue. The smile on his face told me they had changed. He called Viktor and Stephen over so they could see.

“Her demon eyes started as the brown overtaking the other colors and turning darker. Now it’s to the point that they’re black when it happens. The other colors started doing it now too whenever she feels different emotions. Blue means she’s thinking about how much she loves me. Green means she’s being a shit and sarcastic,” Adrik said.

“Now that we’re all here, I want to see the white,” Misha said. He was always the instigator and I loved him for it.

“White?” Stephen asked.

I nodded. “When I get scared, they turn almost white. There’s just a hint of blue still, but it’s mostly white. The other day when the Wonder Twins asked me about my demon eyes, I showed them the other colors but I didn’t want to show them the white because Ivan feels my panic and you guys were gone to get Vitaliy. I didn’t want to distract him. We haven’t tested it to see how far away it works, but my panic and fear are very strong so he and Adrik get punched with it when it happens.”

“It’s scarier than her demon eyes when it happens,” Adrik said.

Viktor laughed, the uncertainty evident in his deep voice when he said, “I’m not sure I want to see that, then. I’m still trying to get a handle on your demon eyes when that happens.”

“Aww, Papa Bear. It’s never directed at you. You’re my favorite,” I said, smiling sweetly at him.

“I don’t want to freak you out and make you panic, but I’m definitely curious,” Stephen said.

I looked at Adrik, who looked concerned. “You don’t have to show them. You struggle to control your fear. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, but I will be right here to calm you down if you need it,” he said.

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, then said, “I have an idea.” I stepped in front of him, pulling his arms around my waist. “You always help so maybe you can keep it from getting out of control, but still let me feel it enough that they can see.” He wrapped his arms around my waist tighter, leaning down and resting his chin on my shoulder. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I started to replay the afternoon’s events in my head when that woman stood up and looked at me. It didn’t take long and I felt his grip on me tighten as we both felt my panic coming on.

Ivan stood up a little straighter, followed by Misha and Andrei. “It’s working,” they all said at the same time.

I opened my eyes to see Stephen’s shocked expression. It worked. Misha and Andrei also walked closer so they could see. Viktor couldn’t help himself and also walked closer to see. They were speechless. I could feel my panic starting to grow stronger as I looked at their shocked faces in front of me.

I felt Adrik’s lips close to my ear. “You’re with me, love. You’re safe. We all love you.” He just kept repeating those words until he felt me start to relax.

I finally took a deep breath. I had closed my eyes when he started talking to me. Their shocked expressions had an unexpected effect on me, so when I opened my eyes, they were the almost amber, which meant I was sad. Adrik felt the shift. They all saw the new color before he turned me around.

“Why are you sad, spider monkey?” Andrei asked as I hid my face in Adrik’s chest.

“So that color brown means she’s sad?” Stephen asked. “That’s different than her normal brown.”

Adrik nodded his head. “I’ve only ever seen that amber color once before. When she was thinking about Trino seeing his mom for the last time,” he said. He gently put his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me away from him so he could search my eyes. He cursed under his breath, pulling me back to him. “We love you no matter what, Sephie. That’s never going to change.”

I heard Andrei quietly explain to the others and I knew he had done his own searching. “She doesn’t want to scare us with everything that’s happened. She doesn’t want us to look at her differently, either. She’s sad at the thought of us feeling uncomfortable around her now.”

We heard the door to the penthouse open, signaling that Vitaliy and Aleksei were back. Adrik kept his arms around me, but walked us quickly back to the bedroom. Once we were alone, he stepped back from me, looking me in the eyes. “They were just shocked. The white eyes are scarier than the demon eyes the first time you see them. They still love you as much as they ever have, Sephie. Nothing is going to change that.”

I nodded my head, but didn’t say anything. I walked to the bathroom so I could put the contacts back in. He followed me, standing in his favorite spot behind me, his chin once again resting on my shoulder while he watched me put the contacts in. It had become one of my favorite things. It was such a simple thing, but I found myself loving the little moments we had together.