Chapter Seventy-Nine

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Adrik

It was still early Monday morning when I woke. Sephie had moved off my chest, for once, and was curled up next to me under the covers. She so rarely needed the covers when she was on my chest, but it was getting colder outside. She woke me up when she moved. I was so used to having her laying across me while I slept that not having her there felt weird. I rolled over and pulled her back against me. She was still sleeping, but she hugged my arms tightly.

My mind was replaying the whole weekend. I was grateful for Misha's order to come here. It was exactly what all of us needed. We had a chance to relax over the weekend, but Sephie actually opened up and talked to all of us throughout the weekend. About everything. Past and present. And, in turn, the guys opened up.

We were close before Sephie came into our lives, but it usually took one of us almost dying before we had a serious conversation with each other. I don't know why we couldn't just talk to each other without the threat of imminent death, but we didn't. We waited. We held it in. I was probably more guilty than the rest of them at holding things in. I'm the boss. Never weak.

As is her way, Sephie shined a light on all our darkest places, showing us that what we'd been protecting from the world for fear of being seen as weak wasn't a weakness at all. It made us stronger. Sometimes seeing your own traits in someone else makes you realize that what you've been silently dealing with for years has made you infinitely stronger. Sephie has done that for all of us, but I think most of all for me.

As I watch her step into her true potential, her true power, I can see the same traits in her that I've had for years. She has a mind for my businesses. All of my businesses. Whether legal or not. One of the reasons my father stepped aside and put me in charge when I was still barely twenty years old was because of my business sense. He saw that I was smart enough and mature enough to handle the business side, even though I was still young. I doubled many of his businesses in the first few years and started a few of my own that ultimately became highly successful. It's what's allowed him to still live like a king since he put me in charge.

The other bosses have all hesitated to put their sons in charge, despite being many years older than my father. With good reason, for most of them. Their sons are idiots. Or in Salvadori's case, they're just plain evil. While everyone needed to have a capacity for evil to make it in the underworld, Anthony took that to the extreme. He made me look forward to his death.

That bothers me now that Sephie is in my life. My bloodlust was never something that I thought much about before her. It was needed. It was necessary. People needed to fear me, especially when I first took over. My bloodlust made that possible. But since Sephie had come into my life, that part of me has taken a back seat. I worried that she would look at me differently once she saw the full extent of that side of me. I worried that it would be too much for her.

Like she was reading my mind, Sephie rolled over to face me. She was still asleep, but she successfully broke me from my worried thoughts. I smiled to myself, watching her sleep. I ran my hand over her back and through her hair, causing her to bury her face in my chest.

I felt the pull in my chest as I thought about just how much I loved her. Every little thing about her made me love her more. Talking about the possibility of Stephen being a vampire and whether that also made him a serial killer in the middle of a thunderstorm made me love her more. The way she tried to stay next to Andrei to make me think she was somewhat angry with me for blaming her for the silly conversation made me love her more. The fact that she couldn't last longer than five minutes reminded me that she's the only one for me.

Sephie moved her arm around my waist, pulling me closer to her in her sleep. I still don't understand how she can read my mind, even when she's sleeping, but I love it about her. She knows what I need before I do when she's not even conscious. It makes me try harder to figure out what she needs. I ran my hand down her back to her thigh, pulling her leg over mine so she would be even closer. She inhaled deeply, making her cooing noises. Knowing she was peacefully sleeping after the week she'd just had was one of the best feelings I'd ever experienced. I would give my entire empire, everything I had, to make sure she was safe and happy and knew she was loved. Nothing was worth it without her.

"Are we taking bets on whether Chen is going to piss himself tonight?" Stephen asked as we were preparing to go to Sephie's old apartment to meet with the dealers in charge.

"I think he's ruined at least three pairs of pants since he had to talk to Boss the other day," Ivan said. We all got a little too much enjoyment out of Chen's fear.

"You guys better be nice to him. He's helped us out," Sephie said, trying to make sure they weren't going to haze him in some way during the meeting.

"We're always nice, princess," Ivan said, pretending to be offended.

Stephen left first, with two other guys, to set up across the street from the apartment building. They had good vantage points and could see everyone coming and going. I did not like surprises, especially when Sephie was involved. It helped to ease my worry to see Stephen growing closer to Sephie. I knew he would do whatever was necessary to make sure she was protected. She'd helped him come out of his shell over the past few months. Like Ivan, he was so much funnier after having been around Sephie. I was convinced we'd all laughed more since Sephie showed up than we had our entire lives. I never wanted it to end.

On the elevator down to the parking garage, I pulled Sephie closer. She looked up at me, her eyes smiling at me. "You stay close to either me or Ivan the entire time, got it?" She smiled her sweet smile up at me, causing my heart to skip in my chest.

"I promise," she said. She'd told us all over the weekend, a couple of times even, that she was eternally grateful to all of us for making her feel safe. It was a feeling she'd been missing in her life since her mom had died. She said she never realized how much she had missed it until she had us to make her feel safe once again. I could see it plainly on every guy's face that they would do whatever it took to make sure she always felt safe with us, in any situation.

She stood on her toes, her lips finding mine. It was these little moments, the ones that seemed insignificant, that I found myself enjoying more and more. These moments made me think I'd never get enough of her, never get tired of her, never want to be without her.

We pulled into the parking lot of Sephie's old apartment building. We were early, but Chen was already there. Sephie giggled. "Stephen, you might be right. He might piss himself tonight," she said. She knew that even though he wasn't physically with us, he could hear us through his earpiece.

"Stephen said he was here even before they got here. He's worried. He's been checking outside constantly," Ivan said. "If he's only worried about Boss, that's one thing. But if he's worried about something else, I don't like it."

"I'll talk to him. If he's checking outside, he's probably looking for us," Sephie said.

I extended my hand to her to get out of the vehicle. She put her hand in mine, climbing out. I pulled her to me, looking at her seriously, "With Ivan. Then bring him up. I'd like to speak to him before everyone else gets here." I leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Consider it done," she said, grinning at me.

Ivan walked around the vehicle, his game face on. He put his hand on the small of her back, directing her toward Chen's apartment. I caught Misha's eye, "Go with them," I said, nodding toward Ivan and Sephie. He couldn't keep the smile from his face as he jogged to catch up to them.

Viktor walked up the stairs first, with Andrei behind me. Sephie's old apartment was just how she left it, just without her clothes and mementos. All her furniture was still there. I kept the apartment in the beginning, just in case she ever decided she didn't want to be with me and wanted to go back. I knew now that was highly unlikely, but I still kept the apartment and kept it cleaned regularly. It was proving to be useful tonight.

We could hear Sephie's conversation with Chen through the earpieces. Poor guy was terrified to meet me. Sephie was trying to calm his nerves before they came upstairs. She eventually got him calm enough to come up. His eyes went wide when he walked into the apartment to see me standing with Viktor and Andrei.

"Is there like a height and weight requirement to be a part of this? Because I feel inadequate," Chen said to Sephie. He tried to say it quietly, but we all heard him. Sephie had her own earpiece.

Before she could answer him, I stepped forward, extending my hand to Chen. I was trying to put him at ease. He had done us a huge favor by gathering information and I wanted to make sure he knew I was appreciative. "Chen, it's nice to meet you in person. Thank you for everything you've done so far," I said.

He looked scared, but he shook my hand firmly, looking me in the eye. That was a good sign. He was trying to be bold.

"Yes, sir. Uh, happy to help, sir," he said.

"What can you tell me about the other dealers? I'm not worried about Trino's guy. He'll take care of him should his loyalties waver. But what of the other two? Three?" I asked.

Chen looked shocked about my statement about Trino. He looked at Sephie. "You told me the Colombian was a nice guy," he said.

"He is. Super nice guy. Has a flair for the dramatic, which I greatly appreciate. Just don't cross him or he'll use that dramatic flair in ways you don't want to see," Sephie said.

Chen cursed under his breath. "All right then. Gus is Trino's guy. He's the one that the other dealers defer to, so he's kind of in charge of everything. The other three guys are DJ, Smith, and Chucky."

Ivan and Sephie looked at each other. They both said, "Shit" at the same time. I could see Ivan bristle. Chen was about to piss himself.

"Tell me about Chucky. Is he an older guy? Is he a dealer or a pimp?" Ivan asked. His voice had an edge to it, but I could tell he was trying to rein in his intimidation as much as possible.

I glanced at Sephie, who was clearly worried, her entire body tense. I waited for Chen's answer before I asked more questions.

"He's both. He works for Niko. Been working for him for a long time too. I'm not sure about that guy. The other two dealers are good, as far as I can tell, but I think Chucky might be a little off, if I'm being honest," Chen said.

"He's more than a little off," Sephie said. She looked at me, her anger now clearly visible on her face. She said, in Russian, "He's the one my uncle called the night of my forced procedure. He was a pimp back then, but he could've been my uncle's dealer and I just didn't know it. I never stayed around when he came to the house. He looked at me like he wanted me to be one of his girls. He could've changed his ways, but I doubt very seriously he has. I wouldn't trust him. He's the one who took me and my uncle to the doctor." She said the last sentence quietly, her gaze dropping to the floor. I was immediately angry. It seemed like she couldn't escape having to relive her past lately.

"Oh, shit. You can speak Russian too? Shit just got so real," Chen said quietly.

Ivan was also clearly angry. Chucky might not make it out of the apartment tonight. Stephen asked, "What does he look like, Seph? I can happily take care of him before he ever sees you."

She looked to me, almost like she was asking permission. I nodded my head. Not only did I not want him to even see Sephie but I would also never be able to trust him. She looked at Chen. "Does he still keep his hair longer? Like the doll he took his name from?"

"No shit? He for real named himself after a murderous doll?" Chen asked. "I can't believe I never pieced that one together, but he totally has the same hair as that fucked-up doll."

She asked, in Russian, "Do you know what doll I'm talking about, Stephen?"

"Yep. Is his hair red too?" he asked.

"Net. It was black the last time I saw him," she said. She looked to Chen, asking in English, "Is it still black?"

"Yeah, but he's going gray too. Still same haircut though. Can't believe I never caught that reference," Chen said, shaking his head.

Stephen said, "I'll take care of him."

I looked to Chen. "Chucky will not be joining us tonight, but tell me about the other two."

His eyes went wide. "I mean, I just said he's a little off. I didn't mean anything by it."

"No, Chen. I know Chucky. I've known Chucky since I was sixteen. He was friends with my uncle. Chucky is not to be trusted," Sephie said.

Chen looked at Sephie like he suddenly understood a little more. I didn't know how much Chen knew about Sephie, but her explanation was all he needed to hear. "If you say he's not to be trusted, then he's not to be trusted," he said. Chen looked at me, saying, "DJ works for Armando. He's got a girl and two kids. He's worried about keeping them safe should the entire city get a hold of brawn. He's kind of like me. The dealing helps fill in the gaps. He's got a regular job, but dealing helps him make ends meet. Smith works for Massimo. I think he's okay, but he's really quiet. Like serial killer quiet, so I can't get a good read on him."

We heard Stephen say, "Someone is here." Ivan stayed with Sephie while Andrei and Viktor moved to the door.

I looked at Chen, confirming, "You told them to come alone?" He nodded his head. "I told them multiple times to come alone. It's not my fault if they're too stupid to listen."

We waited for Stephen to give us more information. "One male, alone. Not Chucky," he said. Viktor and Andrei stepped outside, closing the door behind them. Misha moved to the door as backup should they need it. We heard them talking outside the door, then one knock on the door. Misha opened it, revealing one nervous man with Andrei and Viktor.

He walked into the apartment. I looked to Chen, hoping he would address this person. He caught on quickly. "DJ, good to see you, man," he said, walking up to him. They shook hands, then Chen stepped back. Ivan and I were on either side of Sephie, standing just in front of her, mostly shielding her from view. DJ looked at us, nervously. I took a step toward him. "DJ, thank you for coming," I said. I stepped back even with Ivan, partially in front of Sephie once more. I felt her hand in mine. I knew she was struggling with the revelation that someone else from her past was involved in this. I laced her fingers through mine, holding her hand firmly. I heard her sigh quietly behind me.

"Next," Stephen said. We waited to hear more details. "Two, actually," he said. "Neither is Chucky. Promptness is not his strong suit," he said.

Viktor and Andrei stepped out once more. Chen looked past me and Ivan to Sephie, "How do they do that? Do they have bionic hearing and can hear when people get here?" he asked.

Sephie laughed. "Something like that," she said.

Smith and Gus walked into the apartment moments later. I greeted both the same as DJ. Gus looked at Sephie, a small smile on his face. He looked to me, then said, "I mean no disrespect, sir, but Trino has talked very highly of her. I can now see why."

"Tell Trino I love him, but he still has no chance," Sephie said, smiling shyly.

Gus laughed loudly. "If you don't mind, I'll skip telling him that. But he thinks very highly of you, Sephie."

She had put her hand in mine once again after I shook hands with Gus and Smith. I squeezed her hand, my thumb tracing circles on hers.

"He's here. I've got a clean shot," Stephen said. Both Ivan and I looked down at Sephie. She looked up at both of us, the fear was evident on her face.

Ivan said, "Take the shot," in Russian. Silence for a moment, then "Done. Guys are moving in to get him out of the way. All clear."

Sephie quietly said, "Thank you." I looked to Ivan, who understood immediately. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him as I looked to the three dealers. "Gentlemen, let's begin," I said.

"There's still one other guy, sir. He should be here soon," Smith said.

"He will not be joining us," I said firmly. The dealers all looked at Chen, like he had something to do with it. "It was my decision. Chen had nothing to do with it. Chucky was not to be trusted," I stated flatly. I did not like to be questioned, but I entertained this one. I needed them to trust me.

"How did you know he couldn't be trusted? You didn't even meet him," Smith said. He was nervous, but he struck me as the type to not back down from a fight, no matter how outgunned he was. His type was useful, given he could control his temper. It was evident that he was not happy with this situation, even without knowing what happened to Chucky yet. His tone was short. A little too short.

I felt Sephie step beside me. Just like she had told me that she could feel my anger before, I could now feel hers even before she was beside me. I didn't need to look at her to know that she was seething at Smith's tone. "He didn't need to meet him. I've known Chucky for years. I'm the one that decides who we trust and who we don't, so if you're smart, you'll watch your tone when addressing Ghost because I do not care for it and I'd hate to see you meet the same fate as your pal Chucky." She had crossed her arms across her chest as she began talking to him. She had taken a few steps closer to him as she noticed him shrink back slightly, which meant that every single one of us had also taken steps closer to him as she did. It didn't matter what she did, she knew we were always standing behind her. It gave her confidence. I was proud to see her stand up and fully realize her power. She'd faced demons much worse than this punk and she was becoming aware of just how strong she really was. She knew we would always be with her.

Just to get her point across with an extra exclamation point behind it, I stood directly behind her and stared down Smith until he dropped his gaze. As soon as he did, she simply said, "Smart man," and walked back to stand next to Ivan. She glanced at me as she turned, her eyes were dark again. Like they were the day she fought Mike. I was thankful for just a brief glimpse of them. It was an unexpected turn on the last time I saw her eyes go dark. I didn't need to deal with that on top of everything else right now.

We all heard Stephen say quietly, "If I wasn't gay, that probably would've been super hot."

I had to clear my throat to keep from laughing at him. I don't know how the other guys and Sephie managed to not laugh, but I didn't hear a peep out of them.

Gus caught my eye, then glanced quickly to Smith and then back to me. He shook his head discreetly. Sephie caught it too. She said quietly, in Russian, "Let it play out. I want to know why he doesn't trust him."

"Sir, if I may, on behalf of all the dealers we've talked with, we want you to know that we're not down with this plan to replace the city's supply with brawn. Most of us remember the last time brawn was in the city. I know that the bosses took the credit for stopping it the last time, but it was us. We all refused to sell it, so the bosses had no choice but to stop pushing it. We're not down with selling it again and we'll do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn't happen," DJ said.

"Tell me what you know of the plot and what you've found so far," I said, looking between all three of them.

Smith was quick to object. "We'll tell you what we know after you tell us what you know."

We heard Stephen chuckle. "Ivan, Sephie, take one step to your left. Boss, take one step to your right." We immediately did as he said. As soon as we were out of the way, a very obvious red dot appeared on Smith's forehead.

Ivan said, "You talk a big game for someone who's squarely in the crosshairs."

Smith looked to Ivan, somewhat confused. Stephen moved the red dot to Smith's chest so he could see it. Ivan pointed to Smith's chest. "You got a little something there …"

Smith looked down, then immediately back up. He was speechless. I knew Stephen would keep his sight on him for the rest of the meeting, just to prove a point.

Gus laughed quietly. "You dumbass," he said, shaking his head. "Sir, we've been scouring the city trying to find where they're making the brawn. I'm sure you know it takes a specific setup to produce, so they can't produce it just anywhere. To get enough to replace the whole city's supply of regular drugs, they're going to need a massive operation. We've found two smaller operations. One in Vito's area of the city, one in Niko's. Neither of those is large enough, in my opinion, to produce enough to fully replace the supply, but they've been running nonstop since we found them. It's possible, I guess, if they've been working at this for a while."

"The one place we're having difficulty getting near is the docks. It's in Sal's area of the city and it's crawling with his men. My guess is they have a larger operation there, but we can't get close enough to confirm that," DJ said.

"You have the exact location of the smaller operations?" I asked.

"Yeah. We've got guys watching it all the time, since we don't know when they're going to try and replace the supply. We're not depending on Sal to give his dealers the heads-up. If they start moving their supply, we want to know," Gus said.

"We're going to need the location of those two. The third is at the docks. We've confirmed that one. It is large enough to replace the whole city's supply. The other two are likely backups," I said. "How many dealers do you guys know for sure will help us?"

"There's a couple hundred in the city, at least. I've only talked to like fifty, DJ talked to another like forty or fifty. Chen? How many have you talked to?" Gus asked.

"At least forty, maybe more. I did not realize there would be a test on that later, so I wasn't keeping track. But I've talked to at least forty," Chen said.

"That's most of the city's dealers. You're sure the ones that work for Sal, Niko, and Vito are with you and against selling brawn?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah, no question. Sal's dealers are actually the angriest about this. There's a couple that are happy at the thought of getting paid for a weekend of not selling, but most of them are pissed off that he would try to bring it back. It almost started a war between the dealers and Sal the last time. We might sell drugs, but we're not tryin' to kill nobody. We'll facilitate bad habits, but we have standards on what we sell. Most dealers know the really bad addicts and we purposely rip them off, so they don't overdose. The dealers talk between each other in most areas of the city too. We know who buys from who and I'm not selling to someone who's already bought from another dealer to keep them from overdosing. It's all about making money, but we're also not in the habit of killing our customers. Addicts are mostly misguided people, man," Gus said.

Smith scoffed. "Speak for yourself," he said, under his breath. We all looked to him, expecting an explanation. "Some of us don't have a choice to sell," he said.

"You work for Massimo, right?" Sephie asked. Smith nodded his head. "Does he have something he's holding over you to make you sell for him or does he just force you to sell?" she asked.

"The first. Other dealers that work for him are just forced to sell," Smith said.

"Does Massimo know anything about this plan? About the dealers revolting?" Ivan asked.

"Not that I know of. I haven't seen him in a few weeks, maybe longer. Word is he's in Colombia right now, but nobody knows why and nobody has heard from him since he's been down there." Smith said. Sephie glanced between me and Ivan. She then glanced at Gus to see if he knew anything. He looked like he might've known something, but we didn't know how much.

I sighed. I needed the dealers once this was all over. I needed them to want to work for me. The fastest route to loyalty was honesty. "Massimo and Dario are in Colombia trying to negotiate a new deal with Trino. They're trying to overthrow me, along with Sal and the other bosses."

"Even Armando? I thought you two were close?" DJ asked, completely taken aback.

"No, Mando is good. He's the only boss that stayed loyal to me. The rest of them have their own agenda right now," I said.

DJ was thoughtful for a moment. "This makes everything make so much more sense," he said.

"What do you mean?" Sephie asked.

"The city, by and large, isn't happy right now. It's divided up, right? So, each part of the city has its own boss, except the area around Ghost's building. That's kind of no man's land, if you will, which is why I assume we're meeting here. This is no man's land, but we all consider it to be Ghost's territory. The people here and the people in Armando's area are happy. Like almost obliviously happy. They don't realize there's anything happening in the rest of the city. But in every other area of the city, the people are becoming increasingly unhappy. The people in Sal's area have it the worst right now. They're talking about an uprising against Sal and his people. They've already gone to the cops to ask for help, but Sal has most of the force on his payroll," DJ said. "It's only a matter of time before the other areas of the city follow suit with Sal's area, if you ask me."

"Why are Sal's people not happy with him? Because of his increase in business taxes?" I asked.

"That's most of it, but crime has increased in his area. Much of that crime is because of his people too. The guys he has working for him are all thugs and mostly out of control. It doesn't take anything to set one of them off. The people who live in his area have been living in fear for a while now, but they're reaching their limit. They've started fighting back. A couple of his guys got shot a few weeks ago. It's caused a truce. For now. But tension is high in that part of town," DJ said.

"How do you know so much about Sal's part of town when you work for Armando, DJ?" Sephie asked.

"I have family in Sal's part of town. I grew up there. I have a big extended family, so they have a good idea what's going on in different areas of the city. We're everywhere, basically, and we really like to talk," DJ said, chuckling.

Sephie looked at me. I already knew what she was thinking. I said, in Russian, "I know. I think your idea of using the people is still a good one. We might not be able to do this as quietly as we thought. It appears the people are aware of more than we originally thought. At least in other areas of the city."

"If nothing else, you can get word that we're taking care of their problem," Viktor said, still in Russian. "If you get rid of all the bosses but one, you're going to need the people to be loyal to you. We can't take on the entire city too. You take care of their problem, they continue to love you."

"It was a good option before, it's still a good option. I'd still like to do this as quietly as possible, but it's looking more and more like that might not be possible," I said.

We were quietly contemplating our options for a moment when Smith asked, "So, are you gonna take the laser sight off me or what?"

Just for emphasis, Stephen moved it to his chest once more. We watched as two more sights showed up beside Stephen's. Sephie, without cracking a smile, said in Russian, "I can't even begin to tell you how much I love you right now, Yoden."

The great thing about the Russian language is that it's harsh. So, even when you were saying something funny or sentimental, to anyone that didn't speak the language, it still sounded quite severe. Smith was completely convinced that she had just threatened his life once again. He swallowed, hard, and kept his mouth shut. I simply raised my eyebrow at him, looking at him as sternly as I could.

"Tell us where the smaller brawn operations are," Viktor said. He opened a map and laid it out on the kitchen counter.

It was exactly the distraction needed to give me a moment alone with Sephie. I pulled her away from everyone to ask her thoughts on everyone. Truth be told, I also needed to touch her. She knew what I was wanting without me asking her. She stepped close to me, her hand finding mine once again. It was such a habit for me that I reached up and resumed my ongoing battle with the curls around her face as she quietly talked to me in Russian.

"I like DJ. A lot. He's very much like Chen. Gus too. I'm not getting anything bad from those two. Smith, on the other hand, I don't get a good feeling from. I don't think he's necessarily trying to undermine anything, but he doesn't have good reasons to be here. The other two legitimately want to be here. He does not. I can't figure out why he is, but I don't trust him. However, I don't know how to get rid of him at this point either. If he's being forced to sell for Massimo, he could easily be forced to tell him everything about our plan. I don't like it, but I don't think him meeting the same fate as Chucky is necessarily fair either. I don't think he has a choice in this matter," she said. I could see the concern on her face as she talked. She'd been weighing the options this whole time.

"There's a third option, spider monkey," Andrei said from across the room. He looked like he was speaking to Misha, who was standing next to him. No one had figured out we could all hear each other yet and we liked to keep it that way.

Misha responded, "We just lock him up until this is over. You're right, he may not have a choice in the matter, but he definitely doesn't want to be here. Locking him up is a good solution. He gets to live and we don't have to worry about him betraying us. He goes free once this is over."

"And Massimo is taken care of, so he'll be free of whatever he's got over him," Sephie said. "You're giving this the official approval, my adorable Russian guardian?"

"Da. Officially," Misha said.

She looked to me. She still had a question on her face. Stephen chimed in. "We'll have a team grab him after the meeting, Seph." She looked surprised, not sure how he knew what she was thinking. "What? You're standing right by the window. It was obvious," he said, laughing. "And that's also a question I've had to ask before. I mean, it seems obvious now, but it was not obvious the first time it happened to me either."

Her gorgeous smile spread across her face as she glanced out the window, making the room just a little brighter.

We wrapped up the meeting with Gus, Smith, DJ, and Chen. They gave us all the information we had on the brawn operations they'd found, as well as the surveillance they'd already put in place. Gus and DJ were smart men. They would prove to be useful. Chen too.

Smith left the meeting first, which was advantageous. Stephen had a team grab him a couple blocks from the apartment building and take him to a safe house. He would stay there under constant guard until this was all over. I agreed with Sephie that we wouldn't be able to trust him. Before Sephie, I would've just killed him and called it a day. She was right though, it likely wasn't his fault he was caught up in everything if he'd been forced to deal. Now, he would sit this one out and get a second chance once it was over. Or he would get shot if he was dumb enough to try and escape.

Before we left the apartment, I informed the other three what we had decided on Smith. I needed them to trust me, so I made extra effort to be honest with them. It's what had made my relationship so strong with Trino in the beginning. I was as transparent as possible with him and he'd stayed loyal to me, even through the other bosses' attempts to undermine me.

"Smith will no longer be a part of this," I said. Chen's jaw dropped. He looked to Sephie immediately, shocked.

"Please tell me you knew him before too and he wasn't to be trusted either," Chen said.

She laughed quietly. "No, Chen. He's being held until this is over. I don't trust him, but if he's being forced to deal by Massimo, it's not necessarily his fault. He'll go free once this is all over with."

Chen audibly exhaled. Gus laughed at Chen, shaking his head. "You would never last in Colombia, man."

"Which is exactly why I do not live in Colombia," Chen said.

Gus looked to me, a serious look on his face. "I appreciate your discretion, sir. I've had a hard time trusting him since this started. He commands a certain respect from a small group of dealers, but I think it's because they're afraid of him. The rest of us want to be here. I never got the same feeling from him. I think it's better if he's not running anything through this."

"The dealers are very loyal to Gus, sir," DJ said. "He's well-known in his area of the city too. He's got a good rep with the people."

"I would expect nothing less from one of Trino's guys," I said. Gus simply nodded to me. "I'll be frank with you all. This is likely going to get messy. Very messy. But once the other bosses are taken care of, I'm going to need people I can trust throughout the city. I'm very generous to people who are loyal to me." They all nodded in understanding. "We're going to check on everything you've given us tonight, to see what plans we can come up with. We'll be in touch soon after. If anything changes on your end, let us know. Chen knows how to get in touch with me."

They all shook my hand once more, then took their leave. Once we were alone in the apartment, I looked at Sephie to make sure she didn't have more insight.

"I think those three are going to prove to be very valuable throughout this, as well as after everything calms down. I get the same feeling from them that I did about Trino. Good guys, trying to make good come from not-so-good activities. It would not surprise me one bit if Gus and DJ had their own businesses they were using the dealing to fund, just like Chen is," she said.

"Does anyone else find it weird that this whole time we've been told it was the bosses that stopped the first wave of brawn years ago, but it was really the dealers?" Andrei asked as we were walking to the elevators in the parking garage.

"I've been wondering about that this whole time. Maybe they were trying to keep me from finding out that Sal is the one that had it created. The story the whole time has been that the dealers were the ones making it and selling it," I said.

"Maybe it was to protect the doctor that made it, so Sal could keep using him," Ivan said.

We heard Stephen's SUV pull into the garage as we waited for the elevator, so we all stood waiting for him to catch up to us outside the elevator. As he walked toward us, Sephie met him halfway. I knew she was still struggling with what had happened earlier that night. Once again something from her past resurfaced, forcing her to face it.

He set his bag down on the concrete, opening his arms to her as she got closer to him. She ran the last few steps to him, her arms wrapping around his neck. He held onto her tightly. Everyone still had their earpieces in, so we could hear their conversation.

"Thank you, Stephen. You're my favorite vampire," she said as he held her.

"Seph, you don't have to be scared of your past anymore. Those people … they can't hurt you ever again. We'll make sure of that. You survived it once completely on your own, but you have us now. We will never let another bad thing happen to you," he said.

She was quiet for a moment. I'm positive she was fighting back tears. Finally, she sighed, saying, "Squishiest vampire ever." We heard him laugh as he picked her up and hugged her tighter for a moment.

It made me happy to see them so close. It was a long time coming. I had my doubts in the beginning of whether Stephen would ever warm up to her, but it was evident that he loved her just as much as the other guys. Almost as much as me.

It was quite late when we finally made it to the penthouse by ourselves. Sephie was sitting on the counter in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. She had taken my shirt almost immediately when we got to the bedroom. I had to admit to loving it when she demanded I hand over my shirt when we were finally alone. As much as I hated putting clothes on her instead of taking them off, I did enjoy taking my shirt off and putting it on her for the night.

"So, you know how you said you could feel my anger without having to look at me now?" I said. She looked at me curiously as she jumped down to rinse her mouth out. "I could feel your anger tonight when Smith got a little too short with me. I knew you were seething before you stepped beside me."

Her eyes went wide. "Was it like a living thing that you could feel around you?"

I thought for a moment. "That's a good way to put it. I didn't have a chance to glance at anyone else, but I'm sure it was visible on your face that you were pissed. Except I didn't see you or the guys. I was looking at Smith when I felt it. And then there's the matter of your eyes," I said, smirking at her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, pulling me into the bedroom.

"It happened that day with Mike. It's the only other time I've seen it and I, uh, found myself completely turned on by it," I said, climbing into bed so she could lay across my chest. She climbed on top of me instead, her legs straddling me.

"Well, now you have to tell me more," she said, a mischievous grin on her face.

I sat up more, so I could look at her. "Your eyes go dark, solnishko. Like the green and blue rings disappear and the brown gets dark. Really dark that day with Mike. Not quite as dark tonight, but it was a noticeable change."

She thought for a moment, as her fingers lightly traced over my chest. "I remember you looking at me and being confused at what I saw." She laughed quietly. "I had forgotten about it until now."

"Yeah, uh, super hot," I said. I could feel my cheeks flushing. I wasn't sure she would want to hear how turned on I was in that moment. "I was glad I only caught a glance of it tonight. I didn't need to deal with that on top of everything else."

She put her hands on either side of my face, her gorgeous smile across her face. "I'll try to remember not to look at you the next time I get angry in front of other people," she said, giggling. She leaned down to kiss me, still laughing.

"You laugh, but I'm seriously considering pissing you off when we're alone just to see what happens," I said. She laughed harder, hiding her face against my shoulder. Her laughter was infectious. I found myself laughing along with her, but I was serious. I really had weighed my options on pissing her off just to see if I could make her eyes go dark again.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body against mine. She was still laughing, which I loved. "I just love you so much, Adrik," she said, trying to contain her fits of laughter. I held her close, enjoying the pull in my chest that happened so frequently now when I thought about how much I loved her.

The first half of the week went by quickly. It was filled with reports from the smaller brawn operations that Gus's people had found, planning sessions, and endless meetings. By the end of Wednesday, I was very grateful we had spent the previous weekend at the house, away from everyone. I was already looking forward to being able to go back.

I finished up my last meeting of the day, looking forward to finally being done and able to go upstairs to Sephie when Viktor walked in with Armando and Giana. Fuck. They'd been gone most of the week. He took Giana to his house after her "episode" the week before where she thought Sephie had been an addict. I had to admit to enjoying some time away from them. Mostly her, but Armando was still such a talker that it was nice to have some peace and quiet without him around. Otherwise, he was tolerable. She was still very hit or miss. Mostly miss after her behavior last week.

I was so tired that I was questioning my ability to be diplomatic. I hoped this was going to be short. "Armando, what can I do for you?" I asked. I didn't even bother to address Giana. On purpose. I kind of liked it when she was so nervous she couldn't talk. I was hoping that would happen if I purposely ignored her.

"Boss, I was hoping for a minute to discuss something with you," he said.

I glanced at my watch, then looked back to him. "I only have a few minutes. Talk."

"We had a very long discussion over the weekend. Giana was hoping she could apologize to Sephie, but she also owes you an apology for the way she behaved the last time you saw her," he said. I couldn't help the smirk that I was sure was clear on my face. This felt like such a childish thing to make a grown woman apologize to someone.

"Let me stop you right there, Armando. I still have plenty of respect for you, but I won't accept any kind of forced apology from anyone. If she wants to apologize, then she can come to me on her own. If she wants to apologize to Sephie, which she should, then she should go to her of her own accord. It's entirely up to Sephie on whether she accepts that apology as well." I looked directly at Giana, finally forced to acknowledge her. "You have no clue what that woman has been through in her short life. You make assumptions about her life based on her extensive knowledge about certain subjects, never considering that she might just be that much smarter than you are. Your insecurity with yourself is no excuse to try and use a falsely perceived fault as a way to bring her down to your level. You have no idea how angry every single one of my men as well as me were last week. You hurt her, you deal with us." She had held my gaze until the very last, but then her gaze dropped to the floor. "Sephie has been nothing but nice to you since you've been here. She put herself through torture just to go shopping with you when she was injured. She could barely walk at the end of that day, but she smiled through it to make you feel more comfortable. She's listened as you talk endlessly about ridiculous things because you're nervous. She's protected you from Mike. She facilitated getting you and Mando together. And you turn around and believe she's a former addict because she has extensive knowledge about drugs? Did you ever stop to consider it's because she had to learn how that drug affects its users to survive? No. No, you did not. You chose to think the absolute worst of her to make yourself feel better. So, you'll forgive me for not wanting your apology right now. When you can grow up and act like a mature fucking woman, then I'll consider it. But not before." I could feel my anger rising to the surface as I talked to Giana. I'm sure she was terrified. I hoped she was terrified.

I heard Viktor's phone ring. He answered it quietly, which meant it was one of the guys. I heard him say, in Russian, "Net, he's okay. We'll be up in a minute. Tell her she doesn't need to come down." He ended the call and slipped the phone back in his pocket. He glanced at me, a look of surprise on his face.

Armando looked to Giana, who was staring at the floor, then looked at me. I did feel slightly bad for him. He was in an awkward spot. He inhaled deeply while looking back at Giana stare at the floor. "He's completely right, Giana. You can't expect everyone to cover for you for the rest of your life. Your parents fixed everything when you were younger, but that taught you nothing. You must learn to be your own person now. I told you this would happen," he said. His tone was stern but soft. I got the impression that he was trying to get her to finally hear his words.

She was likely trying to hold back tears. She couldn't talk, she simply nodded her head, but kept her gaze on the floor. He glanced at me, a look of apology on his face, then guided her toward the door. They were going to have more uncomfortable conversations tonight.

Viktor and I gave them time to get back to their floor before leaving my office. Once we heard the elevator doors close, he said, "Sephie knew you were angry. From upstairs. Ivan had to call me or she would've come running down here." He was clearly stunned at what he'd just told me, but it made me laugh.

"You're going to think we're crazy, but it's been happening regularly for a while now. This is just the first time we haven't been in the same room when it's happened. It's like we can feel each other's anger. I don't know how to explain it. It's not just the anger either, but that seems to be the strongest one," I said.

Viktor thought for a moment. As we walked to the elevator, he said, "Honestly, it makes sense. I've never seen two people so in sync as you two are. She seems to be able to read your mind the best. You also know what she's thinking better than I've ever seen with anyone else. And she's the only one that I've ever seen be able to get your bloodlust to calm down. I almost didn't believe my eyes the first time I saw it happen."

I chuckled. "I tried to tell her, but I'm not sure she fully understands what a feat that is. And she did it without even trying," I said, shaking my head. The doors to the elevator opened. We were still laughing at our conversation when we walked into the penthouse. As soon as Sephie saw me, she ran to me.

"What happened?" she asked, concerned. She was searching my eyes, trying to answer her own question before I had a chance to answer. I glanced to Viktor to make sure he was watching. I wanted them to see this. I looked back at her and let her search my eyes without saying a word. She let out a small gasp. "Giana tried to apologize, but you made her cry, didn't you?"

I smiled down at her, then glanced back to Viktor. His mouth was open in shock. I glanced quickly at the other four guys who looked just as surprised. "To be fair, I didn't see her crying. She wouldn't look at me at the end there," I said, smirking.

"She was crying," Viktor said. He was still completely shocked at what he'd just witnessed.

"Dammit, I miss all the fun!" Misha said.

"Sephie, how did you know he was angry from up here? I mean, you were right. He was hot, but how did you know?" Viktor asked.

"You felt it, didn't you?" I asked her, before she could answer. She grinned at me, nodding her head. I looked at Viktor, saying, "Told you. I don't know how it works, but it does."

The other guys were now curious. "She felt what? She can feel when you're angry now?" Andrei asked.

She turned back toward the kitchen, grabbing my hand and pulling me with her. "Yeah, that's the only way I know to describe it. It's happened a few times now, but we've never not been in the same room before. This one was different," she said as she went back to finishing dinner.

"Does it only happen with anger, or can you feel other emotions too?" Stephen asked.

I looked at Sephie, who was thinking. I knew she likely didn't want to get too detailed on our sex life, but the truth was it was happening with other emotions too, especially when we had sex. It felt like it was getting more intense every time. I think she's been feeling it longer than I have, but I'm finally feeling what she feels. She glanced up to see me looking at her. She couldn't hide the smirk on her face. I knew she wasn't going to answer either. I looked to Stephen, saying, "The anger seems to be the strongest and, therefore, the easiest one to feel, but it's happening with other emotions as well."

"How long has she straight up been reading your mind?" Misha asked.

I laughed. "That one has been happening for a while. But that shouldn't surprise any of you. She does it to you guys too," I said.

"Not like what she just did to you. Although, I'd be willing to bet she probably could do it to one of us if we tried it," Misha said.

"I don't know. It works the best with Adrik. He's the only one I know for sure. The rest of you is usually my best guess," Sephie said.

"Christmas isn't that far away. What size crystal ball were you thinking you'll need to get this side hustle off the ground?" Ivan asked, causing Sephie to grin at him.

"It does make sense that you two would be so completely in sync. I've never seen two people as connected as you two are. It makes sense that you two feel what the other one feels, but not even being in the same room is pretty impressive," Stephen said. Out of all the guys, he was the most scientifically minded, especially when it came to psychology and matters of the mind. I'm sure he was constructing an experiment to carry out to prove that what he'd just seen was real.

"Surely you've seen something similar in your 900 years on this Earth?" Andrei asked Stephen.

"Once before," Stephen said, completely straight-faced. We all laughed. Sephie had set out the food on the island as we were talking and laughing. She walked to me as the guys helped themselves to food, tucking herself into my side where she fit so perfectly. I looked down at her, reveling in her smile.

"This is exactly what I needed, solnishko," I said, brushing a curl from her face. She just smiled her sweet smile and stood on her toes to kiss me. Suddenly, the stress from the day was completely gone.

"So, tell us what happened with Giana," Misha said after we had all started eating.

Viktor couldn't hide his amusement. "You missed a good one, Misha. You would've been so happy, especially after you were so angry last week," he said.

Misha looked at me, clearly still angry as he thought about Giana's behavior last week. "I hope you made her feel terrible."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know if she actually heard anything I said, that's the issue. It seemed like Armando had said the same thing to her over and over and she's still not hearing it. He was almost trying to force an apology out of her, like she was a child. I question whether she's really heard anything that's been said to her if she can't even apologize on her own," I said.

"Thankfully, Boss didn't accept it. Honestly, I was shocked that Armando did it," Viktor said.

"I do feel bad for Mando. He's in an awkward spot with this one," I said.

"What did you say to her?" Sephie asked.

"I told her she should come and apologize on her own, first and foremost. Then I think I told her you were smarter than she was and that her insecurity with herself was no excuse to try and use a falsely perceived fault to tear you down to make herself feel better. Then I listed everything you've done for her since she's been here and tried to make her feel bad for thinking the worst of you. I also might've thrown in a veiled threat about how angry we all were with her last week," I said that last sentence quietly. I wasn't sure how happy Sephie was going to be with that one. Misha, on the other hand, was ecstatic.

"Oh, please tell me you told her how angry I was last week. She can't keep from staring at me. Like literally all the time. I hope it crushes her to know I was pissed," he said.

"Not just you, Misha. I told her all of us were angry with her," I said.

"He told her that if she hurts Sephie, she deals with us," Viktor said.

Misha threw his fists in the air, "YES! Please tell me she was scared."

"Serves her right," Ivan said. "Sometimes you have to learn lessons the hard way. This is definitely one of those times for her."

"I think Sephie was right about her leading a sheltered life up until recently. Armando made a comment about her parents fixing everything for her but teaching her nothing or something like that after Boss ripped her a new one," Viktor said.

"So, her parents have been covering for her?" Sephie asked.

"That's what he made it seem like, but I don't know anything else about it," Viktor said. "This kind of has spoiled rich kid vibes, don't you think?"

Sephie was quiet for a moment. I could tell she was thinking about things; she chewed on her bottom lip, lost in thought. "Okay, so who here thinks she's going to want to go back to Italy in the next week?" she asked, a devilish grin on her face.

Four of us raised our hands. Stephen, one of the ones that didn't raise his hand, said, "I think she'll try, but I think this is the pivotal moment where Armando forces her to grow up. I don't think he'll let her go back to Italy right now. Not without him and I don't think he's dumb enough to think it's a good idea to leave the city right now."

"We're adding this to the white board in the morning," Andrei said.

Sephie was still lost in thought as we cleaned the kitchen up from dinner. We'd settled into a routine where she would cook, with the help of whoever was around to help her, but we all pitched in to clean up after, so she didn't have to. The guys would happily wash dishes if it meant she cooked more. Viktor still hadn't even advertised that we needed a chef. At this point, I was convinced he wasn't going to until Sephie told him she was tired of cooking.

We would order takeout regularly, just to give her a break. I didn't want her to feel like she had to cook. Only when she wanted to. We were just incredibly lucky that she wanted to cook more often than not.

She was still sitting at the island in the kitchen, lost in thought, as we cleaned up and kept chatting about everything going on. Ivan noticed her blank expression before I did. He called her name to try to get her attention, but she didn't respond. The other guys noticed she didn't respond right away too, so we all stopped. Ivan walked to her, placing his large hand on her shoulder.

"Princess?" he asked. As soon as she felt his hand on her, she looked up at him. She was almost surprised that he was standing next to her.

"Shit. I did it again," she said. He chuckled at her as he slid his arm around her shoulders.

"Tell me what's going on, princess," he said quietly. I stood and watched this giant bear of a man that could strike fear into any person he chose to be gentle and soft with her. I had never seen him be this way until Sephie. I didn't know it was possible. He generally never liked being touched and, from what little I know about his past, with good reason. She knew he needed it the most, I think. Ivan had very thick walls, but they were no match for Sephie. She knocked them down faster than I thought possible.

He pulled a chair up next to her, his hand still on her shoulder. He was trying to keep her here. The rest of the guys quietly went back to what they were doing, trying to give them as much privacy as they could, but I was sure they were all eavesdropping as much as possible. She sighed, looking up at him. She glanced at me as well, then back to Ivan. "I was thinking about everything that's happened the last week or so. Mostly about the Giana thing. I feel like it's my fault, somehow. Like I should've been nicer to her and this wouldn't have happened. Then I started to think about Chucky and my mind went blank and you were standing next to me," she said.

While the guys had tried to appear busy when she started talking, they were now blatantly listening to what she was telling Ivan. It made me smile that they were all so concerned about her.

"Your mind is going blank, Seph?" Stephen asked her.

She nodded her head. "I didn't know I was doing it until Adrik pointed it out."

"Does it happen often?" Andrei asked. He gave Stephen a knowing look, which surprised me.

"She's done it a few times since Mike. It's been a few days since it happened last, I think. It didn't happen at all when we were at the house, did it?" Ivan asked, looking at me.

"No, I didn't catch her doing it at all when we were there," I said. I looked at Stephen, asking, "Do you have more insight into why she's doing it or what we can do to help her? It seems that talking about things helps her not do it for a while."

In his usual calm, serious manner, he thought for a few minutes. While he was thinking, Andrei said, "It's happened to me before. After a bad concussion. Sephie's had at least two bad concussions fairly recently. It eventually went away for me, but it took a while. I think her brain is still healing. It doesn't help that she has to deal with everything else on top of it."

Ivan looked at me, then back at Sephie. "Maybe the acupuncture will help again. It helped before. You might need it again."

Sephie looked at me, silently asking my thoughts. She still wasn't used to believing that she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She still felt like she needed permission. I found it amusing, but very endearing. I smiled at her, trying to tell her that she didn't need my permission. She looked back to Ivan. "I think I still have her card somewhere. It did help me feel better last time."

"I've got her number. I've been going to her for years," Ivan said, a smirk on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What? It's not like I can feel when something is screwed up. Sometimes I need an outside opinion," he said. Sephie laughed, leaning over, and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Did this ever happen before to you, Seph?" Stephen asked.

"I think so. I would lose time after that night in the basement with my uncle for a while after I got away from him. It mostly happened when I was alone, so I'm not sure if it's the same thing. I'm not exactly aware when it's happening, but I would realize that the movie was over and I had no recollection of anything that happened. Things like that," she said.

"Any idea how long it lasted after you got away from him?" Andrei asked.

"I don't really remember. How long was it for you?" she asked.

"I think it lasted around six months for me, but it was a nasty concussion," he said.

"How did you get it?" she asked.

"Car accident. My buddy was a little too drunk. He swerved to avoid an animal in the road, lost control, and hit a tree. I got thrown through the windshield," he said.

I glanced at Sephie, who's eyes were wide in shock. I never knew about this story, either. "When did this happen?" I asked.

"Just after high school. I was a shit in school. Always did what I wasn't supposed to do. My friend was worse. It was good though. The accident was the wake-up call I needed," Andrei said.

"What happened to your friend?" Misha asked.

"He walked away from the accident. You know how they always say the drunk people survive the accidents? It was true in this case. He had a couple of bumps and scrapes, but they had to life-flight me to the hospital. They thought I was going to die. I haven't touched alcohol since that accident. I don't think my friend can say the same. Last I heard, he was spiraling out of control. He couldn't deal with the guilt," Andrei said.

I felt Sephie's eyes on me. I knew she was connecting something, but wasn't sure what just yet. She looked to Ivan with the same look on her face before she looked back to Andrei. "Bubba, were you unconscious when you were in the hospital for the first however long?"

He nodded. "I think I was out for four days."

That's what she was connecting.I caught Ivan's eye as he realized where she was going with this as well.

"Do you have any memories of when you were out?" she asked. There was a flash of immediate recognition on his face, but he looked like he was uncomfortable talking about it. She quietly got up and went to him. "You don't have to talk about it, Bubba. But I have a feeling I know exactly what you remember," she said as she put his giant arm around her shoulders, so she could hold onto his waist. He looked down at her, curious. "Was it like swimming in the nothing? Like you could see your own body but nothing else?" she asked.

Andrei's eyes went wide. "How did you know that? Did you just do that mind reading thing to me? Get out of my head!" he said as he put his hand over her eyes.

She laughed, taking his hand from her eyes. "No, Bubba. It happened to me too. When I was on the plane, that's what was happening. Adrik's voice pulled me out of my nightmare and pulled me there. His voice is eventually what helped me find my way out."

"That's what happened when I was at the hospital. Sephie's voice pulled me there out of my nightmare where I'm trying to kill the doctor that experimented on me when I was a kid," Ivan said.

"That's what happened when I was a kid the first time someone tried to get to my father through me. My father's voice is what pulled me out of it," I said.

Sephie laughed softly at the shocked expression on Andrei's face. She then looked to Misha, Stephen, and Viktor. "Have you three had similar experiences too?"

They all had equally shocked expressions on their faces, but they just nodded their heads. Sephie smiled, looking at me. "That's why we're all here together. We've always been connected."