Chapter Four

Sephie

I could feel Adrik’s surprise when his father asked him what he needed. We had come to Panama for Trino, nothing more. I knew Adrik wasn’t planning on asking his father for help. In his mind, this was his problem and he was going to deal with it. His father, however, was more than willing to help his son finally realize the plans he could never materialize when he was in charge of the city.

“We might’ve just fucked up part of their plans. We got Sal’s goddaughter out of the picture, so now Martin has no payment for whatever his part in this plan is. That just happened yesterday, so we’re waiting to see how he handles that when he finds out,” Ivan said.

“She was being held at my building. Martin’s plan was to get her away from the building and grab her. I’m taking it as a move against me since it’s my guys who are on her,” Adrik said.

“How do you know this?” Vitaliy asked.

“We have the messages between Martin and Giana to prove it. We’ve also overheard conversations between them,” I said. I caught Misha and Andrei looking at me. Both were clearly surprised I would tell him that. The exchange did not go unnoticed by Vitaliy.

Vitaliy looked at Trino. “What’s his relationship like with the Mexican cartels?”

“Not good. If it weren’t for Sephie, he’d be dead. He went to try and negotiate with them while I was still in the city. I enjoy making personal deliveries,” Trino said, a sly smile creeping across his face.

Vitaliy was quiet for a minute, then he ordered all of his guys but Aleksei to leave. Once they had left, he looked at me, asking, “How?”

I glanced at Misha and Andrei, then looked at Ivan, silently asking them if they were okay with what I was about to say. They all nodded. Adrik whispered, “You can tell him.”

“It wasn’t actually me. It was Misha. Me and Andrei are just batteries for him,” I said. They weren’t aware yet that we’d already told Vitaliy about what they could do.

“Don’t let her lie to you. She plays a bigger role than she’ll admit to,” Ivan said.

Trino looked surprised. “It’s not just you, Miha?” I shook my head no. “You were right to make it appear that it was only you when I was there. My guys couldn’t have handled knowing it was more than just you. They would’ve killed me on the flight home.”

I felt Adrik and Ivan both starting to get angry. “I knew they had a bigger problem with me than you were letting on,” I said. “What about Gus and Oscar though?”

He laughed. “Oh, those two love you as much as I do. Your friend Chen has told them what you did for him and how awesome you are. They have to listen to me tell them how awesome you are. Then they both witness it firsthand. Literally every time they see you. Shit, you’re the reason Oscar got to blow up an extra building. For that reason alone, he’s always going to love you.”

“Good news for Gus and Oscar. They won’t mysteriously drop dead from a random bullet through their head,” Stephen said. He’s definitely still angry about this.

“Wait until they find out what happened with mi madre . You won’t ever have to worry about them,” Trino said.

“Her threat still stands. We’re also happy to add to it at any point,” Stephen said.

Misha had his faraway look. I knew he was checking the accuracy of Trino’s statement. “They won’t be a problem,” he said.

Vitaliy looked to Misha. “How long have you had this?”

“I can’t say for sure, really. It’s changed. It started with a gut instinct. I would know that a plan was going to go horribly wrong. It’s developed into me being able to see things as they happen for other people. But it can change, depending on decisions made or not made. It’s not an absolute,” Misha said.

“And she helped you?” Vitaliy asked. He was curious how everything worked.

Misha nodded his head. “Boss called her the Game Master. She shows you your potential when you’re ready. She also helps make everything clear for me. I can see more details when she helps.” Misha looked at Trino. “It happened the night the Mexicans tried to kill you. When you didn’t answer when Boss called, Sephie knew something was wrong. I was checking to see what I could find and she grabbed my hand. That’s when we saw you under attack. We could see the way out, but knew you needed a diversion. That’s when Sephie made the kitchen blow up so you could get out.”

Trino laughed. “I knew there was no logical explanation for that kitchen to blow the way it did. You know the entire house blew once we were out, right?”

“What? I made sure you had plenty of time to get away,” I said. I still had a hard time believing I was the one who made those explosions happen, but now was not the time to argue that point.

Trino cursed in Spanish, which always made me laugh. “Now I understand you telling my guy that you saved his life.”

Vitaliy, now even more curious, looked to Andrei. “And what of you?”

Andrei, who still wasn’t completely comfortable with his newfound ability looked a bit like a deer in the headlights when Vitaliy wanted to know what he could do. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Bubba’s like me. He can pick up on things people need said, but won’t. He notices more than most people do too.”

“And how long have you had this?” Vitaliy asked.

“Not very long at all. It just started happening. I’m still not very good at it,” Andrei said.

“You’re very good at it, Bubba. You just don’t trust yourself, and you have a bad habit of comparing yourself to me, who’s been doing it much longer,” I said.

“Andrei has a really good track record so far. He’s also my backup for when Sephie doesn’t want to tell me things because she thinks she’s bothering me,” Adrik said, holding me a little tighter.

“That’s a very good skill to have. Women can be … complicated,” Vitaliy said, giving me a sly smirk as I narrowed my eyes at him. Adrik laughed quietly at our exchange. “You have a unique advantage that I never had when I was in charge of the city. Your mother was right. You’re going to realize everything I could not,” he said, looking at Adrik.

“I still haven’t figured out how it’s all going to work. I just know that with Sephie and these five, it’s definitely possible. I’m not going to stop until all the bosses are dead,” Adrik said.

“Save Dario,” I said.

“Why him?” Vitaliy asked.

“His brain is completely broken. He wants out. He wants to disappear. He’s given us very useful information. I told him I’d let him go once this is over and the other bosses are taken care of,” Adrik said.

“And what’s your opinion of that plan?” Vitaliy asked me.

“I agree. Dario has been mentally tortured by Massimo and Sal for his entire life. He’s completely lost his entire family because of them. He has nothing. He wants nothing, except to be left alone. There’s an overwhelming sadness to that man because of everything he’s been through,” I said.

“I always suspected that Massimo was really the one in control between those two. They always made it seem like Dario was in charge, but no one could ever prove it was Massimo,” Vitaliy said.

“Sephie did,” Ivan said.

Vitaliy looked surprised, yet again. “How?”

“She speaks Italian, too, but the bosses never caught on that she could understand their conversations. She said when the bosses would meet at the restaurant she used to work at, occasionally Massimo and Dario would stay after to have their own meeting after everyone else left. She would hang around and listen because they never considered her anything above a servant. Since they were speaking Italian in front of her, they also spoke very freely. Sephie knows where Massimo buried all the bodies, literally and figuratively,” Ivan said.

“You speak Italian?” Vitaliy asked.

I responded, in Italian, telling him that I did understand it better than I spoke it, but he likely wouldn’t know the difference. It was his turn to surprise me when he responded back to me in Italian, telling me that I spoke it just fine and that he could, in fact, tell the difference. I felt my cheeks blush as he caught me being a shit. He laughed loudly.

“One reason I handed everything over to my son when I did was so that I wouldn’t need to learn Spanish as well. The Colombians and the Mexicans were not big players yet when I was running the city. Now, they are. It’s beneficial to know what your associates are saying about you,” Vitaliy said in English.

“Guess I’m learning Spanish now, too,” I said, laughing.

Trino laughed, “I know a guy.”

“And what of the dealers in the city? Where do their allegiances lie?” Vitaliy asked.

“All my dealers are loyal to Jefe and will remain so if they wish to keep existing,” Trino said.

“The rest of the dealers are also loyal to him. They helped us stop the brawn operation. They were ready to revolt against the bosses before we stepped in and told them our plan to stop it,” Ivan said.

“This drug. It seems ridiculous. Why would you want to kill your customers so easily?” Vitaliy asked.

“That’s a solid question. The story has always been that the dealers are the ones who created the drug and the bosses are the ones who stopped them from selling it. In reality, the opposite is true,” Viktor said.

“It’s another black mark against Sal,” I said. “He employed that son-of-a-bitch doctor to make it and he’s the one who tried to force his dealers to keep selling it. It almost caused a war between the dealers and bosses when it was around the first time. The dealers were a big reason the second edition didn’t go anywhere.”

“They made another version?” Aleksei asked.

“They revamped it, trying to increase the aggression. That was the original plan to get Anthony and Lorenzo back to the city. Create extreme chaos and they’d be able to slip in unnoticed,” Ivan said.

“Unfortunately for them, we found out about it and were able to stop it,” Stephen said.

“Jefe likes to stay one step ahead of the other bosses,” Trino said, nodding toward Adrik.

Vitaliy was quiet for a few moments, thoughtfully contemplating everything we’d just told him. He sighed, then looked to Adrik. “You still don’t have very many contacts in Italy, do you?”

Adrik chuckled, but shook his head no. “To be fair, I haven’t needed them until now.”

“You will use mine, then,” Vitaliy said, matter-of-factly. “It will be easier now that you have malishka. None of them speak very good English and they’re too stubborn to learn Russian.”

“I mean, no pressure,” I said.

Aleksei laughed. “Italian men are suckers for beautiful women. You’ll be fine.”

Vitaliy also couldn’t help but laugh. “Alyosha is right. You need not worry, malishka.”

That night, once Adrik and I were alone in our bedroom, he was working to undo my pants as I was trying to quickly get the contacts out of my eyes. They were helpful and kept me from worrying about anyone seeing something they shouldn’t, but I was finding that I didn’t like wearing them for long periods. They made my eyes itch.

I was giggling at him trying to get my pants off while I was distracted. “You’re going to make me drop one of these things and then I’m screwed,” I said, trying to hurry and be careful at the same time.

“I’ll have them make you extras when we get home,” he said as he knelt down to slide my pants down my legs. “At least we know you won’t need to worry about my father seeing anything. It’ll probably make him love you even more. Aleksei too. He was surprisingly okay with our conversation this afternoon.”

I laughed. “I think your father has been waiting a very long time to have that conversation.” I pulled the second contact out and put it in the container. I turned around to face Adrik, rubbing my eyes. He took advantage of my hands being busy and picked me up, setting me on the bathroom counter.

“I think my father is just as in love with you as the rest of us,” he said. His hands were roaming over my body as he waited for me to stop rubbing my eyes so he could pull my shirt off.

“Told you. He’s a cheeseball in there,” I said, laughing. When I finally let my hands move from my eyes, he quickly pulled my shirt over my head and then his lips were on mine.

“Enough talking,” he said, smiling against my lips. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer to me as he sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, biting down on it gently. It caused me to inhale sharply, my desire for him coming on strongly. I pushed my hips into him, feeling that he was completely aroused already. His warm hands made quick work of my bra, throwing it over his shoulder. He placed his hands over each breast, gently squeezing as he deepened the kiss. I moaned quietly in his mouth, loving the trail of fire that spread over my body when he touched me.

His hands moved down to my hips, pulling me even closer to him. I smiled as he ripped my panties off. “That’s why I brought extras,” I said, laughing. He was smiling as he kissed down the side of my neck. My breaths were quicker as he teased all my favorite spots with his mouth. I was so completely lost in what he was doing that he was still completely clothed. I momentarily snapped out of my euphoria and started to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped me.

“I won’t be able to control myself if you take my clothes off and I want to take my time,” he said, his voice husky with desire. As he said it, his lips were against my neck, his teeth grazing my skin lightly. I could feel his stubble against my skin, loving the contrast between the softness of his lips and the roughness of his facial hair. A small moan escaped my lips as I felt him push all of his desire to me.

He knew that I struggled to control myself when he pushed his desire onto me. It was so overwhelming that it almost consumed me. I made an attempt once more to get his shirt off, but he took both of my hands in his. “I will hold you down if I have to,” he said firmly, his lips right by my ear. His words were an unexpected turn on. My hips pressed into him involuntarily as my need for him grew. He looked at me for a moment. I recognized the look that meant my eyes were changing. He let go of my hands, his warm hands once again leaving a trail of fire everywhere they touched.

One hand went to the back of my neck, pulling me to him. His lips found mine once again as his other hand moved between my legs. As soon as I felt his fingers in my wetness, I moaned. His touch was light, at first. Too light. I wanted more. His fingers worked slowly, exploring my pussy. I pushed my hips into him, trying to get more pressure, more friction. He groaned into my mouth. “You’re always so eager,” he said, quietly. He pulled back slightly so he could look at me, his sexy smirk on his face. He knew he was driving me crazy. He was clearly enjoying it.

Just as I was about to say something, he pushed two fingers inside me roughly. Instead of words coming out of my mouth, I moaned loudly. He chuckled as he leaned in and kissed my neck again. He pulled his fingers out and went back to exploring lightly. He stopped briefly, putting his hands on my hips. He pulled me to the edge of the counter, his hands holding my thighs that were still wrapped around his waist. He put his hand in between my breasts and pushed me back lightly before pressing my knees up toward my shoulders.

He knelt down in front of me, putting my feet on his shoulders. I had to lean back on my arms to keep from falling against the mirror. He kissed my inner thighs, taking his time, clearly still enjoying my torture. I felt his warm breath as his tongue started to explore where his fingers had previously been. His lips wrapped around my clit, sucking lightly. I ran my hand through his hair as he worked his tongue back and forth. I could feel myself starting to slowly build, but I still needed more. I grabbed his hair in my fist, trying to push his head toward me. He understood, increasing the pressure. I felt him slide his fingers inside me once more, curling upward, as his tongue continued to work over my clit.

My breaths were coming quick, moans escaping as he pushed me closer to the edge. Each time I moaned, he increased the pressure of both his tongue and his fingers until I finally couldn’t take anymore and crashed over the edge. His fingers didn’t stop as I rode out my orgasm. He stood up, his lips crashing into mine.

He didn’t stop me this time when my hands went to unbutton his shirt. I worked feverishly to get it off, along with his pants. His fingers were still inside me, pushing me toward another orgasm. He only briefly stopped to let his shirt fall to the floor before slamming back into me. I was close enough to another orgasm that all I could do was hold on to his shoulders as his fingers fucked me. When he felt my orgasm start, he put his hands on my hips and slammed into me with his cock instead of his fingers. It was exactly what I needed. I was trying not to scream as he slammed into me repeatedly, pulling my hips toward him each time he thrust into me.

I grabbed his neck, kissing him to help muffle my loud cries of pleasure. I was breathing so hard at this point that I had to break the kiss as he was unrelenting in his rhythm. I felt his lips on my neck, then I felt his teeth as he bit down a little harder than usual. It sent waves of pleasure throughout my body. Much like I couldn’t control myself when he pushed his desire onto me, he struggled to control himself when I pushed my pleasure onto him when I was having an orgasm. He was learning to get a handle on it, but only sometimes. Because he spent so long teasing me this time, my orgasm was especially intense so I decided to return the favor and shared it all with him. I’d learned that I could regulate how much I shared with him, to help him learn to control it. I didn’t hold back this time. Turnabout is fair play, after all.

I heard him groan. “Fuck, Sephie,” he said as he increased the intensity even more. His thrusts came harder and faster. I knew he was feeling everything I was. I also knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. I wrapped my legs around him tighter, the walls of my pussy clamping down on him as he kept drilling into me. He grabbed me roughly, his fingers digging into my hips. I loved when he lost control. I loved being able to make him lose control. I felt another orgasm start before the previous one was completely done. His grip got tighter, his thrusts harder, and I finally felt him explode inside me as I was coming down.

He grabbed my face in both hands, kissing me roughly. Both of us trying to catch our breath. He picked me up off the counter and walked us both to the shower. We were both sweaty. “At least I won’t feel bad about skipping cardio tomorrow,” he said as he turned the water on. His arms kept a hold of me, not wanting to let go just yet. He stood to the side of the water stream until it warmed up. His hands roaming over my back, his lips on mine. I was happy to stay in his arms for as long as he wanted to keep me there.