Chapter Twenty-One

Sephie

Stephen had been nervous most of the day. I couldn’t say I blamed him, either. When the time finally came to leave for the hotel, he looked like he might back out. “What if I tell them I’m sick?” he asked.

“You can tell them you’re sick. You don’t have to see them this time, but you’re also just pushing off the inevitable. They’re going to keep coming back every few years. You’ll keep having this same reaction every few years too. Or, you can go tonight, let us back you up, and see that your sisters are not as scary as you remember,” I said. “And maybe get some enjoyment out of me punching them. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll go.” He slid his arm around my shoulders. “Thank you,” he said, quiet enough that only I could hear.

“We’re all here for you, Yoden. Vlad would be here too, but he got caught up at customs. I keep telling him to make different shipping arrangements for himself but he never listens.”

He laughed again. “He is very stubborn,” he said, as he shook his head.

We purposely arrived early so that we would already be at the restaurant when his sisters arrived. They were noticeably shocked that we were the only ones there. We were waiting for them at the front of the restaurant, to make it easier for us to be closer to Stephen when he had to see them. To them, it looked like we were all enjoying a drink before dinner. In reality, we were all sipping on water, waiting for their unraveling, as Misha put it.

“Is the restaurant open?” one of his sisters asked. I didn’t know their names. Much like Vitaliy’s men, I didn’t want to know their names.

“No, we had it closed,” Stephen said.

“Why?” she asked.

“To make it easier.”

“Easier for what?”

“For me to be here. For him to be here. And for him to be here,” Adrik said, pointing to Vitaliy and Battista. While Adrik was capable of coming across as friendly, he was not putting one ounce of effort into it with these three. He had his intimidation factor up as high as it would go when he addressed her.

“Oh,” was all she said. The other two sisters stayed quiet, but I could already feel their displeasure at being spoken to that way. Clearly, they had no idea who Adrik was.

When they walked in, Ivan had glanced at them. I watched him as he watched them. I saw the look of surprise flash across his face as he looked at one of them in particular. I had a feeling I knew what he saw and I also had a feeling that it was the middle sister that he was looking at. I caught his eye, raising my eyebrow at him. He discreetly pointed out the one he saw something on and shook his head no discreetly. He was in much better control this time than he was when we met Battista’s associate, but I still pushed a little of my anger to him for good measure. I was trying to keep it to low levels for now, as I left my contacts at home. I didn’t want my eyes changing just yet. Ivan was getting so sensitive to my moods that he still felt it. He gave me a sly wink in appreciation.

Stephen introduced everyone quickly, but I still didn’t pay attention to their names. I would never care to know their names. I only cared that this was the only time I ever had to see them.

As we sat down, his sisters seemed pleasant enough, but I could easily tell it was all an act. I caught Andrei’s eyes go wide a few times as he caught some of their thoughts as well. Rude didn’t even begin to describe what they were thinking. One of them, I’m guessing the youngest, was completely disrespectful in her thoughts about literally every single one of the guys. Her mind was so far in the gutter as soon as she laid eyes on them that it wasn’t even funny. I would say her panties were wet as soon as she saw so many men, but she wasn’t wearing any. The other one, the one whom Ivan singled out, who I’m guessing was most likely the middle sister, was just nasty and unpleasant all the way around. The audacity of her thoughts might have been impressive if she were anyone else. The third one, who I’m guessing was the oldest, wasn’t quite as bad as the other two, but she wasn’t much better either. Just quieter.

But they all wore fake smiles and had fake manners at the beginning of dinner. I was sure it wouldn’t last. Once the initial awkwardness wore off, we all started talking and laughing like normal. Vitaliy knew enough of what was going on that he asked plenty of questions to keep the conversation going, as did Battista. I could tell that Battista was catching my eyes changing just enough that he thought he might be noticing something, but he wasn’t sure. We kept the conversation light, so they hadn’t gone dark, but I was sure they’d switched from blue to green to normal a few times.

We were also speaking English, so Battista could understand the conversation. I caught the sisters conversing among themselves a few times in Russian, but I wasn’t close enough that I could understand them. We finally told a story that involved Stephen’s greatness. He really had saved everyone’s asses, but I might’ve fawned over him and maybe embellished just a bit. The guys knew what was happening. They all backed me up. It was exactly what was needed.

I saw the middle sister get quiet, her face turning sour. I watched Ivan as he looked at her. It was plainly on his face that he wasn’t seeing her face any longer. I very quietly pointed it out to Stephen, who could also plainly see it on Ivan’s face that something had changed with her. She said something quietly to the youngest sister, but loud enough that the rest of us heard her speaking. She said it in Russian, thinking I wouldn’t be able to understand her.

I kindly asked her in English to repeat herself. She did. In Russian. She said she knew I was lying because there was no way Stephen could ever do anything right. I caught Stephen shrinking back beside me. I knew he was reliving her insults as a kid. I kept my fake smile plastered on my face, as I asked her in Russian to please tell me of her accomplishments that were better than saving everyone’s lives.

I could feel the excitement of the rest of the guys as they knew what was about to happen. It almost made me laugh. I had to admit that I was looking forward to it as well.

Her face fell slightly, when she learned I could speak Russian, but she doubled down. “I don’t need to tell you anything. Silence is better than lies.”

This bitch.

I was working hard to keep my eyes from changing. It wasn’t time yet. Not yet.

“So, let me see if I have this straight,” I said, in English once again, so Battista could understand. “You think that there’s no possible way your brother could’ve accomplished even half of what we’ve been talking about tonight?” She stayed silent, but she didn’t object. “Well, that stands to reason then, that you think this because you feel superior to him in some way. If you feel superior to him, then it must mean you have accomplishments that overshadow his, yet you can’t seem to come up with a single one to wow us with. Yet, I’m the one lying here?”

There were a few coughs and laughs from the guys, who were trying to hold it in, but just couldn’t. She looked around at them, realizing they were laughing at her. She started to squirm slightly in her seat. I might’ve enjoyed that.

“Please, tell me. How long have you had the job you’re at now? And what is it you do?” I asked, trying to appear curious and not seething. She was starting to get angry, but she wasn’t at the level I needed her to be at yet.

When she stayed silent, I poked her harder. “And what of your husband? What is he? Number four? Is that right? What happened to the first three?” I asked, crossing my arms across my chest, enjoying watching her get angrier and angrier.

The youngest sister tried to come to the defense of her older sister, but it was weak. I focused on her. “Do you really want to play this game, little girl? Do we need to talk about why you haven’t married yet or better yet, why you have to keep moving to larger cities to escape your reputation?” That shut her up and even got a snicker out of the oldest sister. “Oh, don’t think you’re immune from my charms either,” I said, addressing the oldest sister. “Those two are bad, but you’re no better. Arguably worse, I’d say.” The oldest sister looked at me, wide-eyed, then looked at Stephen. She knew in that moment that he’d told me everything. The other two hadn’t caught on yet, but the oldest sister knew. I watched the color drain from her face.

The middle sister had been stewing in her own anger during all of this. She finally exploded. She slammed her hand down on the table, causing the youngest sister to jump in fright. “Enough! You can’t speak to me that way. You’re obviously too stupid to see how much of an imbecile my brother is and you’re making up lies to try and make him seem more important than he is!”

I glanced briefly at the guys during her little outburst. Every single one of them had their hackles up. I could feel Adrik’s anger as well. I knew my eyes were about to go dark. I just hoped they went black. I wanted her scared.

I put my palms down on the table, as I slowly stood up. I was looking down when I stood up, so she couldn’t see my eyes yet, nor could anyone else. I kept my palms on the table, so I could lean over, getting even closer to her.

“I can speak to a piece of shit like you however I goddamn please. And if you ever take that tone with me again, you will regret it for the rest of your very short life.” My voice was loud enough everyone could hear, but it was controlled. I sounded as calm as possible, but my tone was daring her to yell at me again. I could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at me, but she couldn’t look away. While my anger was at an insane level, I was also concentrating on everything I felt when Stephen shared his memories with me. I used it as fuel for my fire, but I also desperately wanted to find a way to push it to her. I wanted her to break right in front of me. “You have the audacity to think that your brother would even want to see you, for one. Then you come here, insult me not once, but twice, and you insult him in front of his real family, who coincidentally can end you and make it appear like you never existed. I think it’s clear that you’re the imbecile here.”

I paused, wanting to see if she could come up with a response. She hadn’t looked away from my eyes. It was like she was frozen in place, unable to speak, unable to move. The youngest sister once again tried to stick up for her sister. “You’re not his real family. We’re his real family,” she said.

I laughed. I turned from the middle sister, focusing all my anger on the youngest. She was nervous when I first stood up. Now, she was terrified. “You really think he wants to claim a filthy piece of trash like you? You realize you don’t get extra points for having all the sexually transmitted diseases, right? I almost feel sorry for you. You’re so lost in trying to prove your worth to your bitch of a sister that you lost yourself somewhere along the way. Instead of having the strength to stand up to her, you turned into her and you hate yourself for it. I don’t blame you there. I hate you too.” She was now frozen in place as well, but she was making noises. Like she was crying. Or whining. Or both.

The oldest sister looked at Stephen. She was now angry as well. I stood up completely, crossing my arms across my chest, daring her to speak. She looked at Stephen, then to me. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but it’s all lies,” she half-yelled.

Stephen started to speak, but I placed my hand gently on his shoulder. “He didn’t tell me a single thing. He didn’t have to tell me anything. You see, I have this ability. Let’s call it a gift. I don’t need anyone to say a word to me and I know everything about them. You, for example. You’re still mad that your parents had to work so much when you were a kid and left you in charge of your siblings. It’s why you let your two younger sisters abuse your only brother. You were angry at your parents for trusting that you were mature enough to handle the responsibility of taking care of your siblings. Instead, you sacrificed one because you didn’t want to be bothered.” I pointed to her middle sister, who was still frozen in place. “She’s pure evil. She’s been consumed by her demon since she was a baby. You probably had something to do with that too, as I’m guessing you were very jealous of her when she was born.” I pointed to the youngest sister who was clearly struggling internally, but unable to move. “She’s an idiot that just wants to be loved. She might’ve turned out to be a very sweet girl, but you made sure she’ll never amount to anything.” I finally stared at her, my anger only slightly subsiding. “But you. You’re the worst of them. You let unspeakable things happen. Not because you didn’t care. Not because you didn’t know it was happening. No, you knew all along. You wanted it to happen. You thought if your siblings could fuck each other up enough, you’d turn out to be the brightest and your parents would love you the most. You’re pathetic, and quite frankly, I don’t want to look at you any further.”

Adrik stood up, standing behind me. I felt his hand on my waist. He looked down at Stephen, who looked grateful, then back to the oldest sister. “You’ve seen Stephen for the last time. You’ve also come to this city for the last time. Take your sisters. You have twenty-four hours to leave this city. If any of you are seen in this city again, you’ll be shot on sight. This is my city. Stephen is my family. I protect my family.” I could feel his anger feeding into mine, and I knew he was looking at her with every ounce of intimidation he had in him. She looked terrified.

She looked at Stephen, like he was going to argue. He stared at her for long enough that I wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Finally, he said, “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re expecting me to step in here? Nah. I’m good. I’ll let you learn what it feels like to fend for yourself.”

Ivan looked at his watch, then to the oldest sister, as the other two were still stuck in their own minds. I saw a brief flash of surprise on his face, but he quickly masked it. “You better get a move on. The clock is ticking. Those twenty-four hours are gonna go by real fast.” He pointed to the other two. “And it looks like your travel companions have some special needs that are going to need to be addressed.”

She looked at her sisters, pulling both of them out of their chairs. They readily stood up and went with her, but neither spoke and neither looked like they had a clue what was happening. I caught Andrei’s eye when they walked past him. The look on his face told me he had snooped.

Maybe it did work …