Chapter Two

Sephie

The exchange with Aleksei at the airport helped to calm my nerves a little more. Apparently, it completely disarmed him as well. He talked almost the entire way to the ranch. He asked questions about the city, but his questions were about people and places in the city. He didn’t want to know about the bosses and the larger problem. It was obvious that he missed specific things about the city, as well as specific people. He asked about a particular restaurant that I had never heard of and said he desperately missed this one dish he used to order there. Ivan, who was in the front seat beside Aleksei, asked him what the dish was. When Aleksei answered, I already knew Ivan’s plan to endear me to them even more.

I said to Ivan quietly, “Okay, but don’t come complaining to me when they start visiting too much.” Aleksei was still talking so he didn’t hear me. Ivan had to cough to keep from laughing.

Adrik pulled me closer, whispering in my ear, “You don’t have to do anything while we’re down here, love.”

“I know I don’t, but I want them to like me,” I said.

“You don’t have to do anything more than be yourself and that will happen,” he said, kissing my temple.

Vitaliy’s ranch was secluded. I would’ve missed the driveway, as it didn’t look like an entrance to anything from the main road. As we drove along the driveway, there were steep mountains in the distance. Plant life was lush, making everything so green that it almost hurt your eyes. Compared to the hibernation of everything back home for the winter, Panama was bursting with life. Adrik caught my look of wonderment as I took in the landscape. “I see now why your father likes to migrate in the winter,” I said.

We pulled up to an expansive house. It reminded me of Trino’s island house. There was only one floor, but the house seemingly went on forever. “I’m definitely getting lost later,” I mumbled to myself as we stood outside while the guys grabbed our bags from the vehicles. Andrei had walked up beside me, so he heard me. “You and me both,” he said as he was taking in the house’s expanse.

Aleksei showed us to our rooms, then waited to take us further into the house to Vitaliy. We walked through a few rooms, finally reaching the back of the house. I could see Trino sitting at a table with an older man, whom I assumed to be Vitaliy. His hair was still mostly dark like Adrik’s, but he also had prominent grey throughout. He was clean-shaven. Even sitting, I could tell he was a much larger man than Trino. Trino nodded in our direction, which caused Vitaliy to look toward us. The resemblance between him and Adrik was very strong, but Adrik had a softness to his expression that Vitaliy lacked. Vitaliy was hardened. It was the first thing I noticed about him. It was likely the first thing he wanted you to notice about him.

When Vitaliy looked in our direction, I felt Adrik stiffen beside me. His posture was always good, but he made sure it was perfect. It made me want to stand up a little straighter too. Vitaliy and Trino both stood up and walked toward us. Vitaliy was tall, but not as tall as Adrik. He opened his arms for Adrik as we got closer. “My son,” he said. Although I know he meant it warmly, it was anything but. I caught myself wondering if he was capable of it. Adrik embraced his father. The embrace he shared with Aleksei was more genuine than what I was witnessing between him and his father.

When Adrik stepped away from me, the guys instinctively stepped closer, almost surrounding me. I was used to them being protective of me, but I was confused as to why they would be so now. Adrik spoke to his father briefly, thanking him for getting Trino. I caught Trino’s eye as they talked, knowing Trino wouldn’t be able to understand what they were saying, since they were speaking Russian. I raised an eyebrow at him, wanting to know how he was holding up. He placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head. I nodded once to him when he looked back up at me.

Vitaliy’s attention shifted to me, asking Adrik who I was. I was starting to understand that Adrik hadn’t told his father that I would be with them. Adrik, who very rarely got nervous, looked at me, then back to his father. He said in English, “This is Sephie. My future wife.” He extended his hand to me, as the guys made room for me to walk to him. I was a little shocked that he had called me his future wife, but tried to play it cool. We’d talked about it before. He’d just never actually called me that before. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere and I knew he wasn’t going anywhere, but it felt different to put a label on it.

Adrik slid his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. Much like Aleksei, I could see the surprise on Vitaliy’s face as he witnessed Adrik’s affection toward me. I extended my hand to Vitaliy, saying, “Nice to meet you, sir.” As soon as my hand made contact with his, his eyes went wide. He cursed under his breath, looking between me and Adrik. He quickly gained control, but it was obvious to me and Adrik that something had just happened. I didn’t know what though.

Vitaliy, in an effort to distract from his reaction, said in English, “Sephie is quite an unusual name. Is it short for something?”

I nodded my head. “Persephone.” Once more, his eyes went wide and the surprise on his face was evident for everyone to see. He stood, silent for a moment, then he looked to me once more. He extended his hand to me again, saying in Russian, “He’s been waiting for you for a long time.”

“I know. I was waiting for him, too,” I said. Vitaliy’s face was shocked when I responded in Russian, but we all watched as a very sly smile spread across his face. I heard the collective gasp from the guys behind me. I’m guessing this is the first time this man has smiled in public.

Vitaliy still had a hold of my hand as he looked at me, smiling. His face was still as hardened as ever, but he was obviously pleased. He pulled me toward him, pulling my arm through his. “Come, walk with an old man,” he said as he turned away from everyone. The guys all started to follow, but he put his hand up, almost barking at them. “She’s safe with me. You stay.” He stopped, looking right at Adrik. “You too. We can’t talk about you if you tag along,” he said matter-of-factly. I could feel Adrik’s anger at his father giving him an order, but he was also worried about me being apart from him.

He had reason to worry. Trying to control my eyes from changing color at a whim was proving to be more difficult than I thought. Luckily, my future husband happened to be very wealthy and could get things made in a very short amount of time. In the few days it took to get Giana’s new ID and passport sorted out, he had someone make me a custom pair of contacts that matched my normal eyes. They were almost an exact match to my normal eye color. The guy had made the contacts from a picture of my eyes. I was still getting used to wearing them, but at least I didn’t need to worry about anyone seeing anything I didn’t want them to see. Ivan was still the only one who knew about it aside from Adrik.

I smiled at Adrik. “I’ll be fine. You guys aren’t going to listen anyway. You’ll be able to see if I need you,” I said in Russian, looking from him to the guys, who were not happy with being ordered to stay. Adrik’s father or not, they didn’t like the idea of me being apart from them in new surroundings. Vitaliy laughed, which caught everyone by surprise. He turned away from everyone, shaking his head, leaving them all in stunned silence.

Once we were far enough away from everyone that he couldn’t be heard, he took a deep breath. He placed his hand over mine, which was still holding his arm lightly. “His mother knew you would be coming. I wish she could’ve met you,” he said. I glanced at him. He was deep in thought, but his face softened at the mention of Adrik’s mother. I knew she had died when Adrik was very young. He could barely remember her. His father never had another wife, nor did he father any other children after she passed away. He would have girlfriends here and there, but Adrik said he was never very serious about any of them. His father wouldn’t speak much about his mother, so Adrik felt like she was almost a stranger to him. He could barely remember what she looked like. He said when he was younger, he would ask some of his father’s men questions about his mother. He got the sense that they all thought fondly of her. Once he got older, he stopped thinking about her.

Watching Vitaliy, I got the very clear sense that he felt about her the way Adrik felt about me. I said quietly, “You’ll see her again, you know. And you’ll fall in love all over again.” He walked quietly for a few steps, then I heard him sniffle.

“You’re not like normal women. I can feel it. You’re different from everyone else except Adrik. He’s special too.”

Normally, I would’ve kept my mouth shut about the guys, but something compelled me to tell him everything. I looked into his eyes and I knew he’d been waiting to hear everything I was about to tell him. “You’re right about both of us, but not about everyone else. We’re not the only ones who are special,” I said.

He laughed again, patting my hand. “You’ve just made his mother a very happy woman. She told me Adrik would find people who were special like him and he would realize all the dreams I had when I ruled the city. And more.”

“You should’ve listened to her,” I said, grinning up at him. It made him laugh again.

He looked down at me thoughtfully. “She was very much like you. Most people are scared of me. I like it that way. She never was, though. She saw through it right away. Just as you have. Even Adrik struggles with seeing through it. He thinks I’m a cold man. He’s right, but it prevents him from seeing the love I have for him. That’s my one regret. I wanted to be softer to him, but I never figured out how.”

“He knows on some level that you love him. He also understands that you needed to make him tough in order to survive this world. He respects you. You might make him nervous, which is somewhat hilarious for me since he never gets nervous about anything, but he respects you. I know him well enough to know that not many people get his respect.”

He chuckled as we continued walking. “How long did it take him to tell you his name?” he asked. He looked down at me when he asked the question. He was clearly curious.

“Um, I think like twenty minutes, tops, from the first time I saw him. Maybe less,” I said, smiling at the memory.

“You are a special, special girl,” he said wistfully. We walked in silence for a while longer while he quietly thought as he kept my arm intertwined with his, his opposite hand on top of mine. I knew he was thinking of Adrik’s mother, I just wasn’t sure I should bring it up. I guess we’ll see how much he likes direct women …

“You were angry after your wife died, weren’t you?” I asked.

“Very much so. I still am some days,” he said.

“She helped you control your anger, didn’t she?”

He looked down at me, a small smile on his face once again. “Like no one has ever been able to before or since,” he said.

“You and your son are not as dissimilar as you think, Vitaliy,” I said. “You just take different approaches.” He looked slightly confused. “Your anger is chaotic, especially after your wife died. You lost your ability to contain it. It made you a very effective leader, but it also increased the chaos more than was needed at times. Adrik is the same, but he saw the collateral damage of your anger so he fights against that. His anger is more calculated, but when unleashed, it’s just as destructive. I’m guessing it’s a trait he got from you. I’m also guessing you saw it in him when he was young, which is why you trained him to be your personal assassin from a young age.”

“I fear sometimes that my anger became his anger. He never knew the reason for my anger. He barely remembers his mother.” I could feel the sadness he had when thinking of how much different Adrik would be had his mother not died.

“I don’t think you should feel sad about him not knowing his mother. Well, it is sad, but it also made him into the man I love today. Our lives, they’ve been connected from the beginning. Everything that happened, got us to right here where we are today. For that, I’m incredibly grateful. You should be too. Your son is an incredible man, a fierce leader, and has a heart bigger than anyone I know. He’s an amazing man. Whether you feel responsible for that or not, you still had a very big hand in it.”

Vitaliy had stopped walking and was surveying the green fields ahead of us. I glanced behind us to see the guys within sight of us. He didn’t take his eyes from the scenery around us, he just asked, “They’re behind us, aren’t they?” He did have a small grin on his face.

“It’s my fault. They’re very protective of me. They only agreed to let me leave alone because it’s you. They get nervous in new situations,” I said.

He waved his hand in front of him, dismissively. “Ah, they’re very good at their jobs. I don’t fault them for it. I just enjoy giving them shit whenever I can.” He looked at me with a devious grin on his face. “They should be protective of you, dear. This world,” he said, taking a deep breath, “is dangerous. The likelihood that you’ll be used to get to Adrik is very high.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I know, Vitaliy. Trust me, I know. They’ve been training me until recently when I got hurt and had to stop until I finish healing. I know exactly the world I’m walking into. Ask the guys later how many times I’ve kicked their asses.”

“I’m very much looking forward to that conversation.”

“You can ask Trino, too. He saw me and Misha sparring once. He still hasn’t recovered,” I said, laughing.

Vitaliy looked at me like a man who was remembering things he hadn’t let himself think of in years. “Come, we should go back. You’ve given an old man a treat. I won’t keep you any longer,” he said, patting my hand. “I want to hear stories about you from my son now.” He looked down at me, winking.

“I’m a stone-cold weirdo, Vitaliy. Don’t let him tell you any different,” I said as we turned back toward the house. Even from this distance, I could see the relief on the guys’ faces as we turned to go back. As we got closer, I made Vitaliy laugh loudly at something absurd that came out of my mouth. Even Aleksei was surprised when we walked back to them.

Vitaliy walked us back to Adrik. He took my hand from his arm, thanking me once more for being kind to an old man. He placed my hand in Adrik’s, saying, “You and I have much to discuss, son.”

Adrik looked between me and Vitaliy, completely surprised and maybe slightly worried. I smiled at him. “Don’t worry, he just wants to hear stories about what a badass I am,” I said, smirking at Adrik. He immediately relaxed, laughing at me.

“We can help with that, too,” Viktor said.

“Good. I want to hear everything. She needs time with the Colombian anyway. He needs her,” Vitaliy said in Russian as he walked toward the house, expecting everyone to follow him. Adrik looked torn between following his father and staying with me.

I put my hands on his chest. “Go. You’ll be glad you did. He’s right, too. I want to talk to Trino. I have a feeling there’s something he needs to hear or say.”

Aleksei had noticed Adrik’s hesitancy to leave me. “Go. I will stay with her and the Colombian. I’ll bring her to you when they’re done. I know where he’s going,” he said, nodding his head toward Vitaliy.

Adrik glanced at me once more, kissing me gently, then followed his father. The guys looked torn between following Adrik and staying with me. “You can go, too. I’ll be okay. He wasn’t kidding. He really does want to hear stories about me. I promised him glory. You guys better deliver and make me sound way fucking better than I am. I’m talking mythological proportions, fellas. Fables. Epic poetry. Urban legends. All of it.”

Every single one of them gave me their best smiles as they followed Adrik. Aleksei looked at me as they were leaving, his eyebrow raised. “You are very special. He hasn’t smiled in years, much less laughed. I’m not sure how you managed it, but thank you. He needed that.” He didn’t wait for me to respond. He walked a short distance from me and Trino, giving us privacy.

“I’ve really gotta learn Russian if I’m going to keep hanging out with you people,” Trino said, cheekily.

“You know, I’ve thought the same about learning Spanish,” I said. We stood in mostly comfortable silence for a few moments, then I asked, “You were able to see her?”

“Si, Miha. I spent the last few hours with her. She was still lucid enough when I got there that she knew who I was. My father said she’d been in and out most of the day, but she recognized him right before I got there. She told him I was coming, even.” He laughed. “He didn’t believe her. He thought she was hallucinating again, then I showed up ten minutes later.”

“Trino. I’m so sorry, but I’m so thankful you got to see her. I didn’t know about your mother until I’d already told you to leave,” I said, reaching out and putting my hand on his arm.

“Miha, I don’t know how to ever thank you. I thought I was in debt to you before for giving me closure about Mateo, but now this. My mother was stubborn. She wouldn’t let my father tell me. She said I was a busy man and she didn’t want to bother me.” His voice cracked as he struggled to finish the sentence.

“She did what mothers do, Trino. They sacrifice for their children. Willingly. I’m fairly sure she would tell you she’d do it again, too.”

He laughed, trying to keep the tears that were threatening to fall from doing so. “It’s weird. My entire world is falling apart and I can’t stop thinking about how grateful I am that it happened so I could see her one last time.”

“Everything happens the way it’s supposed to, Trino. We might not be able to see it at the time, but there’s a reason for everything. It’s our job to figure out the reason. This one just happens to be obvious.”

Trino sighed. “Thank you, Miha. I still don’t know how you know everything you do, but I’m forever in your debt and I will always stay loyal to Jefe because of you.”

“You would’ve stayed loyal to him without me, Trino. I’m just extra incentive,” I said, laughing. I put my arm through his, walking us toward Aleksei. “Come on, you can add to the stories about me that they’re all telling. I’ll be your translator.”

Aleksei nodded to both of us. “Follow me,” he said in his thick Russian accent.

We wound our way through the house to a study at the opposite end of the house. “I’m never going to find my way out of here,” I said, mostly to myself as we walked into the room. Adrik’s eyes landed on me immediately when we walked into the room, almost like he was expecting us to walk in at that moment. Trino patted my hand that was still holding his arm, releasing my arm so I could go to Adrik.

“You have very impressive stories about you, malishka,” Vitaliy said in Russian, watching as Adrik pulled me next to him on the couch.

“Depends on your definition of impressive, I think,” I said, smiling at him. “But I did tell them I promised you glory. I hope they didn’t disappoint.”

Vitaliy laughed. “They did anything but.”

“Can we speak English for Trino? He has stories of my glory as well. I don’t want to leave him out,” I said in English. Vitaliy laughed for the second time in as many minutes.

“Since you’re all here now, tell me what’s happening. I’ve heard little pieces here and there from some of my contacts I still keep in touch with, but I’m guessing it’s gotten much worse,” Vitaliy said.

We spent the next few hours filling in some of the details of everything that had happened since I met Adrik. Vitaliy was not surprised that Lorenzo and Salvadori were big players behind the coup. “You know I banished Lorenzo just as a ‘fuck you’ to Salvadori, right?” The disgust was apparent. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a more disgusting human than Salvadori.”

“Armando might actually get that title now,” Stephen said.

“Explain,” Vitaliy said, curious. We hadn’t gone into explicit detail about Armando’s betrayal and Vitaliy didn’t know yet that Ivan and I were taken. When he heard all the details of what had happened, he was clearly angry, but surprisingly, it was somewhat directed at me. “You said you got hurt and couldn’t train. You never said anything about almost dying at the hands of Armando!” he said, his voice quite loud. Adrik’s hold on me got a little tighter. I could feel his anger, but I squeezed his leg to let him know I was okay.

I looked at Vitaliy, as calmly as I could, and said, “Because I knew this would be your reaction and I preferred to have them closer to me when it happened.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it without saying a word. I heard Adrik cough quietly and I knew he was trying not to laugh. I glanced at Ivan, who was also struggling not to laugh.

“She didn’t tell you how badly she was hurt either,” Trino said. “I saw her soon after. It was bad.”

“I mean, it wasn’t ideal, but I’m still here,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“And what of Armando?” Vitaliy asked.

“Oh, he’s wishing he took her advice, pretty much on a daily basis,” Ivan said.

“What advice?”

The guys couldn’t hold in their laughter. None of them could keep it together long enough to answer, so it fell to me to do so.

“There were a few minutes between when they got to the building and when they actually made it up to me and Ivan. Armando knew they were in the building and made a call to his security guys, who had already left and wouldn’t take his call. I might have told him his best option was to go to the roof and jump. Otherwise he was going to experience a very slow, painful death,” I said. “He didn’t take me up on the offer, so he almost died that day and a few times since.”

Adrik looked at his father. “I want him to suffer for what he did to her,” he said.

“As well you should. What was the end game of taking her? To get to you?” Vitaliy asked.

“That and they were trying to sell me. I still don’t know if it was Sal’s idea or Armando’s idea to do so, but Armando seemed to think I was going to solve a lot of his problems once I was sold. When he realized I wouldn’t fetch top dollar, that’s when he lost it and the beating began,” I said.

Vitaliy cursed under his breath. “By what standards did they decide that you wouldn’t get top dollar?”

I sighed. “I have scars covering my back, Vitaliy. Armando didn’t know about them. I keep them covered. My stomach and legs were also heavily bruised from when they grabbed me and Ivan. They had to slam me into a parked car to subdue me. When he saw the bruises and the scars, he lost it. I might’ve also provoked his anger by being a shit. I have a problem controlling my mouth.”

“The scars. What are they from?” he asked. I could tell he was curious, but he was very serious, like he was already planning on destroying whatever it was that gave me the scars.

“Her uncle almost killed her,” Ivan said, so I wouldn’t have to.

We watched as Vitaliy’s anger rose to the surface, his face a new shade of red. “And what of him?” he asked. He was gripping the arms of his chair so hard that his knuckles were white.

“I killed him,” I said, flatly.

My answer took Vitaliy by surprise. I heard Aleksei cursing behind me as well. Vitaliy thought for a moment, then said, “I see I was wrong to worry about you, malishka. You were made for this world.”

Misha snapped his fingers and pointed at me. “Called it.”