Chapter Eighty-Five

Chapter Eighty-Five

Sephie

After falling asleep again for a short time, we finally managed to drag ourselves out of bed. I was happy to stay in bed for as long as possible today, but his meetings and my early Christmas present beckoned to us.

Adrik's schedule was quite full that afternoon, so while Viktor, Ivan, and Misha set about to ruin Giana's day, I stayed in the penthouse with Andrei while Stephen was in charge of Adrik's meetings.

"Why are you not in on the pickpocketing party, Bubba?" I asked him as I curled up next to him to keep myself warm. I was on my third cup of coffee of the day. It helped keep me warm as well, but I also needed help staying awake. Turns out having mind-blowing sex first thing in the morning completely zaps all my energy.

He stretched his giant arm around my shoulders, so I could lean against his torso. Since my research confirmed he was, in fact, the warmest of all the guys, he took his heating pad duties very seriously. He would happily offer his body heat anytime I needed it when Adrik wasn't around. I think he was happy to have something that the other guys didn't have once again. Adrik was right. Andrei loved being the closest one to me in the beginning. He's been much happier since he was put on heater duty.

"I'm not good at it. I'm actually quite terrible at it, if I'm being honest," he said, seriously. I sat up, turning to look at him. He was serious.

"I can't imagine you being terrible at anything, Bubba," I said, settling back against him once more.

"No, it's true. I am. I get nervous and it makes it obvious that I'm trying to steal something every single time. Pickpocketing is an art," he said.

"Why do you get nervous?"

"I don't know. I don't really like touching other people unless I have to."

I laughed, trying to move away from him. "You should've told me this earlier. I didn't know I've been torturing you."

He laughed, pulling me back against him. "Don't be stupid, spider monkey. You're different. If it's someone I know, it's fine. You've always been fine. I'm not like super weird about it. I just don't like touching strangers."

"Whew. Glad I made the cut," I said, giggling. "I know how you feel though. I'm not a fan of it either. It makes me secretly happy I'll never be able to get pregnant. Have you seen how many people just randomly touch a pregnant woman's stomach? It's disturbing. The body count would be so high…" I said, taking another drink of coffee. His whole body shook with his laughter, which shook mine too. I almost spilled my coffee.

"Sephie…"

"Uh oh. This is serious."

"Huh?"

"You used my name instead of calling me spider monkey. You guys only use my name when it's serious. I feel like I'm in trouble. Don't ever use my full name. I'll have a panic attack," I said, laughing.

"Spider Monkey Sephie," he said. I could hear the smile in voice. "I know that humor is the way you deal with your trauma and I appreciate it. But I want you to know that I've never met anyone that I admire as much as you. It actually used to be Ivan, but you took the top spot."

"It used to be Ivan?" I asked, curious.

I felt him nod his head. "Ivan doesn't know this, but he was talking in his sleep one time after he got hurt. He didn't have to go to the hospital, but years ago, even just getting hurt and having to be bandaged would send him back to fight his past. He wasn't struggling, so the other guys didn't wake up, but I couldn't sleep, so I heard everything. It was just like when we were all on the plane and heard you struggling against your uncle and everything he beat into you. I don't know all the details, obviously, but I know Ivan's mom sent him away to some facility when he was a kid. And I know he was tortured there. But I also know it made him stronger because he got out. Just like it did for you. You're both survivors."

"Ivan told me his story when we were in Italy. You've got the basics of it. Why did you never tell him that you know?"

"Ivan's private. He's opened up more since you've been around. All of us have, really. But he was always so quiet before you. I wasn't sure if it would make him angry to know that I knew, so I kept it to myself. It's why his fighting at the hospital never bothered me. It would take all of us to hold him down. Viktor struggles with taking it personally. The other guys do too, just not as much. Adrik doesn't. I think he knows what happened to Ivan too. But I heard the pain in his voice that night when I heard him talking in his sleep. He's haunted by it, but he still shows up every single day. If that's not the definition of courage, I don't know what is." He sighed. "You're the same. You've been through so much and you still show up every single day, making sure everyone around you is happy, despite carrying the enormous pain of your past. I don't know how you do it, honestly, but I admire the hell out of both of you for it," he said, pulling me back against him and kissing the top of my head.

"Bubba, you're gonna make me all weepy," I said, sniffling.

"I just wanted you to know, Sephie," he said, hugging me tighter to him. We heard the door to the penthouse open and close. I quickly wiped the stray tears from my eyes, looking to see who was coming in. It was Misha, Viktor, and Ivan. Misha and Ivan both had shit-eating grins on their faces. "Oh, this is gonna be good," I said, unable to contain my excitement.

Viktor had a small kit with him that he set down on the coffee table. "What's that?" I asked, as I leaned forward to put my now empty coffee cup on the table.

"It's a drug test kit. It'll tell us for sure what she's on," Viktor said.

"Scientific," I said, leaning back against Andrei once more.

"And what about the guy? Does she give him anything other than money?" Andrei asked.

Ivan pulled a roll of money out of his pocket. It was rolled tight, so it would be easy to hand off. "Let's find out together," he said, smiling, as he started to unroll the money. As he did that, Misha handed the small vial of powder to Viktor, who had set up his experiment on the table.

"I feel like I'm in science class again," I said, waiting for the results. Viktor put a small amount of the powder into another container with liquid already in it. He swirled it around. "What's it supposed to do? Should I duck?" I was curious how this worked.

Viktor laughed. "No explosions. Andrei is the expert at that anyway, so you're safe. It changes color," he said as he held it up to the light. As he did, the once clear liquid turned a dark blue, almost purple color.

"Does that mean it's a girl or a boy?" I asked, not able to contain my laughter. They all laughed.

"It means she's a coke addict, sestrichka," Viktor said, still laughing.

Ivan pulled a small sheet of paper from in between two of the hundred-dollar bills in the roll. He looked at it, but then handed it to me. "It's in Italian, I think," he said. I glanced at the note, chewing on my bottom lip. I got up and went to the kitchen. I kept a small notepad in one of the drawers to write the grocery list on. I grabbed it and walked back to the couch.

The note didn't make sense at first glance. It was four sentences that didn't necessarily belong together. I translated them, exactly like they were written on the note.

Safe impossible, but all documents there

Walls clean in north, west, and south rooms

Fourth window from the east corner

Top of the stairs, third door on right

"Any guesses as to what she's talking about?" I asked, after reading them what the note said. Ivan picked up the notepad, studying the sentences for a moment.

"Safe impossible. Is she talking about Armando's safe at his house?" Misha asked.

"That's what I thought too. Nobody is getting in that thing without Armando's permission," I said. "Have you guys been to his house? Do you know what any of the rest of it could mean?"

"It's been a while since I was there. I think we should ask Keith about this," Viktor said.

Ivan, who was still deep in thought, looked to Viktor. "Does Armando have expensive artwork at his house?"

"He does at his house in Italy, that's for sure," I said, remembering being completely awestruck at some of the paintings he had on his wall.

"I think she's planning on robbing him," Ivan said, running his hand over his goatee.

"But why though? She has all the money she could ever want from him. Her family as well. Didn't Mando say she's from a wealthy family? That doesn't make sense," I said.

They all thought for a moment, then Viktor stood up. "I have an idea," he said. "But I need a computer, so we have to go downstairs."

I jumped up from the couch. "Permission slips signed. We're going on a field trip! Everybody make sure you grab your buddy's hand and stay with the group."

They were all still laughing at my caffeine-fueled absurdity when we walked off the elevator. The office was still busy, even though it was getting to be later in the day. Adrik's office door was closed, so I knew he was in a meeting. Stephen was waiting outside his office and gave us all a curious look as we walked off the elevator.

I looked to Viktor. "I'll go fill Stephen in. You guys go do whatever the hell it is you're about to do," I said. "Just don't lose your buddy. I'm trusting you guys to be mature on this field trip. Remember, look with your eyes, not your hands," I said, pointing to my eyes and then to all of them.

They all shook their heads as they walked toward their desks. They each kept a desk on the floor. It made taking care of their individual responsibilities easier. Stephen's devilish grin greeted me. "Why do I have a feeling whatever you're about to tell me is going to make me very happy?"

"Because you're a vampire and you likely read my mind as I was walking over here. Get. Out. Of. My. Head," I said, smacking his shoulder with each word.

"What did you guys find?" he asked in Russian, since there were still plenty of people milling around the office.

"Well, she's a coke addict, so there's that. Honestly, I don't feel as elated as I was hoping I was going to feel about that one. It's just sad, really." I looked down at the floor for a moment, thinking about how empty she was to turn to drugs to try and fill whatever void she was feeling in her life. Stephen cleared his throat quietly, snapping me back to reality. "Anyway, moving on. She also slipped her dealer a note with the money. We're trying to figure out what the hell it means, but we think she's planning on robbing Armando's house."

"Doesn't she come from money?" Stephen asked. His brow furrowed like it always did when he was deep in thought.

"That's the confusing part. Viktor said he had an idea, which is why we're taking a field trip down here. I'm not sure what he's thinking. We also might need to talk to Keith about this later. She was weirdly specific on locations. We think she's talking about Mando's house, but the guys said it's been a while since they were there and don't really remember the layout," I said.

Stephen's watch beeped once. He looked at it, then looked at me. "Meeting is almost over, but I'll be back."

"Does he have anything directly after this one? Can I surprise him?" I asked.

Before he opened the door, he smiled at me. "That would be exactly what he needs today," he said quietly.

I moved a few steps away from the door, in case Adrik followed the person he was meeting with to the door. I waited until Stephen walked out with the person and walked past me. I heard the door to Adrik's private bathroom open and close, so I knew I could sneak into his office without him seeing me. I walked in quickly, shutting the door behind me and sat down in his chair as quietly as I could. For once, the chair didn't squeak. I propped my legs up on his desk and crossed my arms, waiting for him to come out of the bathroom.

I glanced at the few papers on his desk as I heard the water in the sink come on. They were rough sketches, different variations on the same theme. I couldn't tell what it was, but my attention was directed at the door to the bathroom as I heard the water turn off.

He opened the door, not exactly paying attention. He looked completely lost in thought and somewhat stressed. His gaze lifted as he took steps toward his desk and landed on me. He stopped in his tracks, his wide smile across his face. He just pointed to me and then pointed to the floor in front of him.

I jumped out of his chair and ran to him, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around him. I couldn't help the squeal that came out when he caught me. He held me tightly, his face buried in my neck. "You have no idea how much I needed this, solnishko," he said, inhaling deeply. I felt his body relax as I hugged him tighter, running my hand through the back of his hair.

"Anything wrong or just a long day?" I asked.

"Just a long day. I'm exhausted. I don't know how you have so much energy right now. I think you sucked all my energy out this morning," he said. I could feel his smile against my neck as he kissed my neck sweetly.

"I'm on my third cup of coffee today. That's how. It's fake energy. I'm still not entirely sure what we did this morning, but it took a lot out of both of us, I think."

"Worth it," he said, leaning back to look at me. His handsome smile pulling at my chest.

"I could not agree more," I said, unwrapping myself from him, so he wouldn't be forced to hold me up. "And also, I'll go get you some coffee before your next meeting."

He leaned down and kissed me, his hand on my cheek. His thumb rubbing across my cheek lightly as his lips were on mine. He could make my knees go weak with his kisses, and he did regularly. I think he enjoyed it. But the sweet, tender kisses almost always caught me off guard and made my insides melt completely. I couldn't help but moan quietly as I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

"I just love you, Adrik," I said. "Now, let me go get you coffee before your next meeting. How much time do I have?" I asked. He looked at his watch. "Ten minutes," he said, laughing at me.

"I can do it in seven," I said, turning to quickly walk out.

Misha was almost at Adrik's office door when I opened the door. "Gazelle, I was just coming to get you. You need to see what we found," he said.

I grabbed his arm, pulling him with me. I knew Adrik wouldn't be happy about me going anywhere by myself, so since Misha was the closest one, he got nominated to come with me. I also still refused to keep track of a key fob to the elevator, so I needed one of the guys to operate it. "Um, where are we going?" he asked as we got on the elevator.

"To get more coffee before his next meeting. I'm on my third cup today and I'm still exhausted. He hasn't had any since this morning, so he's dying. I only have seven minutes to make this happen. Really, ten, but I'm an overachiever and I told him I could do it in seven," I said.

Misha just laughed at me. The doors opened and I practically ran into the penthouse. Luckily, Adrik had a top-of-the-line coffee machine that made it quickly, so I was hopeful I could make this happen. Misha filled me in on what they'd found as I waited.

"Viktor decided to look up Giana's family in Italy. I didn't even know he knew her family name, but I shouldn't be surprised. He knows everything. About everyone. Anyway, her family was wealthy," he said. He paused for a moment, a grin on his face.

"Was? As in past tense?"

He nodded. "They've hit hard times recently. Apparently, Giana's father is not the businessman her grandfather was. It looks like bad investments, even more stupid investments, and generally wasteful spending have significantly depleted their fortune."

"That explains why Giana needs a job," I said. Misha looked at me, a confused look on his face. "Giana told me when her and Armando first got here that she needs this job. It was before I knew she came from a wealthy family, so I didn't think anything of it." I chewed on my bottom lip as I poured coffee into two thermoses. Might as well make it four cups of coffee today, since it looks like it's going to be an extra-long day. I finished making Adrik's coffee just how he liked it as well as mine and walked toward the door. Misha opened the door for me. We were both still deep in thought as we waited for the elevator.

Once on the elevator, with the doors closed, I said, "I wonder if she's planning on robbing him for herself or for her family? It still doesn't really make sense. I mean, all she would have to do is talk to Armando and tell him that her family is in trouble. He's so stinking nice that he would help them. Why is she choosing to go this route?"

"I'm not sure about that one either. There's probably more that we haven't found yet," Misha said.

"I'll be over in a minute, once I drop this off," I said, walking toward Adrik's office. Misha walked back toward the other three guys. Stephen had just walked out of his office as I got to the door. "Shit, is his meeting already here?" I asked.

Stephen laughed. "Yes, but he's early. You can still go in, he won't care."

I sighed, thinking I took longer than seven minutes. "Hold this. I'll be right back." I handed my coffee to Stephen and walked into the office.

Adrik smiled at me, looking at his watch. "Six-and-a-half minutes," he said in Russian.

"Really? I thought for sure I took longer since your meeting was already here," I said, glancing at the man who had taken a seat in front of Adrik's desk. Adrik stood up, walking to me. He gladly took the coffee from me, kissing my forehead. "Thank you, solnishko. You're a lifesaver." I grinned at him, excusing myself quickly, so he could get on with his meeting.

When I walked back outside, Stephen was waiting, my coffee still in hand. "Can you come to Viktor's desk or you have to wait here?"

"There's no way I'm not coming. My watch will tell me when the meeting is almost over. Plus, the door is open, so I can see if they get done early."

"You're so efficient, Yoden," I said as we walked to the rest of the guys. "Somebody fill in Yoden while I shove more caffeine into my system," I said, taking a drink of yet more coffee.

They filled in Stephen on everything we knew so far. Viktor had continued to dig while Misha and I were upstairs getting liquid energy for me and Adrik. "It looks like one of the deals her father made that lost him a substantial amount of money was with Armando," Viktor said.

"Do you know what happened? Like why the deal went wrong?" I asked.

"No, I can't tell from this. It's in Italian, so we need you to translate," he said, turning his laptop toward me. It was a news article from years ago, showing a picture of a much younger Armando, along with three other men. One of the men was Giana's father. I didn't recognize the names of the other two, but one of the men looked vaguely familiar.

I scanned the article, loosely translating as I went. My poor tired brain was having trouble translating from Italian to English back to Russian. "Um, it says…development deal…housing…four investors…approval still pending…three investors backed out…unknown reasons…final investor was Giana's father. It looks like he tried to fund the project all on his own and it fell through. He couldn't recover his money and lost a substantial amount."

"I would be willing to bet she's planning on robbing Armando to try and recoup some of the money her father lost in that deal. Especially if what we're thinking about the artwork is true," Ivan said.

"Artwork?" Stephen asked.

"There was a line in the note she slipped her dealer about clean walls in three locations of the house. Sephie remembered his extensive art collection at his house in Italy. If he has the same here, she's likely giving them instructions on which pieces to take," Ivan said.

"Keith would know," Stephen said. "Armando is always done for the day well before Boss is. He'll be free once Boss is done and we can ask him."

"How many more meetings does he have today?" I asked.

"Two more after this one is done."

"He might need more coffee," I said, mostly to myself.

"Are you two not sleeping at night?" Andrei asked, a devilish grin on his face. "Wait, no. I don't need to know."

I laughed. "We are sleeping, thank you very much. It's this weird shit that's happening with being able to feel each other's emotions. I'm not complaining. It's amazing. But it zapped us both this morning. Like completely."

"One mystery at a time," Ivan said. "But I can call the acupuncturist if you need her again."

"We might," I said thoughtfully. Stephen's watch beeped, signaling the end of the meeting. I walked back to the office with him, hoping to take Adrik's mind off everything in between his last few meetings of the day.

He looked even more stressed than he had earlier when I walked in his office this time. "Whoa. What happened in that meeting?" I asked.

He smiled, relaxing slightly. "It's okay, love. Just lots of details. It's more difficult when I'm tired."

I walked to his chair, leaning over his shoulder to put my coffee on his desk. "Feeling your breasts on my shoulder does not hurt though," he said, cutting his eyes up at me.

"I'll just come in here between your meetings and put my boobies on your shoulder, then leave when your next meeting arrives," I said, laughing. I stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders. He was tense. He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"That feels amazing," he said. I worked on getting his muscles to relax while he had a moment of peace. He opened his eyes, looking up at me, curious. "Why are you all down here? I didn't expect to see you until I got done for the day," he asked.

"As Ivan put it, we're working on a mystery," I said, chuckling at his expression. "They got interesting information on their afternoon excursion in the lobby. We're trying to figure it all out, but you don't need to worry about any of it until you're done for the day." I leaned down, pressing my lips to his gently. I heard the elevator doors ding, knowing his next meeting was arriving. "Let me know if you need more coffee to get through your last two meetings. I'll happily be your personal barista," I said, grinning at him. He grabbed my hand, kissing the back of it. "What would I do without you," he said wistfully as his next meeting walked into his office.

Viktor and Ivan kept trying to dig up information on Giana's family while we waited on Adrik to finish his last meeting of the day. I turned to Stephen. "Give me twenty minutes after his last meeting is done and then have Keith come to the office. He has a very short fuse right now, so he needs at least a short break before we throw more shit on the pile." Stephen nodded, smiling slightly.

As the last meeting ended, I walked into Adrik's office while Stephen escorted the man downstairs. I walked in quietly, closing the door behind me. He raised an eyebrow at me and sat back in his chair. I could feel his dirty thoughts.

"I asked them to give us twenty minutes. We both know that's not nearly enough time for what you're thinking about right now," I said.

"Don't shatter my dreams," he said, laughing at me. He stood up and met me halfway between his desk and the door. He pulled me to him. His hands were gentle, but firm, like he was fighting giving in to his true desires in that moment. I could feel the same intense need for him that I felt that morning. It came on just as suddenly, so I was sure it was him this time.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he buried his face in my neck once again. "I'm going to need soooooo much coffee, aren't I?" I asked him. He laughed quietly.

"I have been telling you I was addicted to you, so you shouldn't be surprised," he said. He stood up straight, so he could look at me. His fingers resumed the everlasting battle with the curls around my face. He looked more relaxed as we stood there.

"Fair point. I'm not complaining either, for the record. I love what's happening. I don't understand it, but I fucking love it. And I fucking love you," I said. His handsome smile stretched across his face. He rested his hand against my cheek, looking at me for a moment before leaning down to kiss me. "You always know exactly what I need to hear, my love," he said. I felt a strong pull in my chest as he smiled at me.

"Do you get like a pull in your chest when I smile at you?" I asked. He chuckled. "Every single time," he said.

"That's where that's coming from," I said, thinking out loud. I looked up at him once more, grinning. "I really had no clue of the effect I've had on you this whole time. Now that I can feel what you feel some of the time, it makes me admire your high levels of self-restraint. It's really felt like this for you since the beginning?" I asked.

He nodded his head. "Since the first time I touched you, I've felt a pull back toward you every time we're apart. When you smile at me, I either feel that pull in my chest that I'm guessing you're feeling right now or it feels like my heart stops. When you're sad or upset, sometimes I feel that pull in my chest too. Sometimes it's stronger when you're upset, like my heart is demanding I destroy whatever is making you upset." His eyes got darker and I saw his jaw tense. I was suddenly hit with a wave of sadness. He closed his eyes, preventing me from finding out why. He sighed. "It was especially bad after the ball, when we were on the plane and you wouldn't let anyone touch you. That pull toward you was so strong because I just wanted to make you feel better and I couldn't. I also knew you were upset, on top of being hurt. It felt like there was a hole in my chest until you allowed me to touch you again." He opened his eyes and I saw the regret he still carried over that whole situation. I felt the tears welling in my eyes as I saw him struggling with the memory of what happened.

"Adrik," I said. I put both of my hands on either side of his face, so he would look at me. "You don't need to keep carrying this guilt over what happened. It ultimately worked out for the best and I got a kickass scar out of it, to boot," I said smiling. I was hoping to make him laugh, but he flinched at the memory of me being hurt. I stood on my toes, kissing him gently. I sighed, taking a new approach. "I think it needed to happen the way it did, Adrik. If I hadn't gotten hurt, I wouldn't have remembered everything about my uncle and I would've kept a very big part of me locked away forever. Until we were on that plane, I would still regularly hear my uncle's voice in my head. Like he was standing next to me, still telling me all the same things he used to scream at me when he was beating me. There was a very large part of me that was terrified he would find me again and kill me. Remember the first night I spent at the house? When I had a nightmare and started shaking so bad I couldn't control myself?" I asked. He nodded. "That was a regular occurrence. I've had that same nightmare so many times I lost count. It just ended differently that night because of Anthony. Do you know how many times I've had that nightmare since the night of the ball?" He looked at me curiously, resuming all efforts to tame my curls. "Zero times. So, while you're beating yourself up thinking that you put me through Hell, I'm eternally grateful to you for saving me from it. It was you, Adrik, that showed me the way out. If that night hadn't happened, I never would've gotten out." I could see the tears forming in his eyes as he listened to my words. While he felt a pull in his chest, I felt a fire building throughout my entire body. I felt that warmth building as he looked at me with complete love in his eyes. Just to see what would happen, I concentrated on what I was feeling and then tried to push it to him.

I heard his breath hitch as his eyes widened and I knew he felt it. I grinned at him. "That's what it's been like for me since the beginning," I said.

"No wonder you're freezing when I'm not around," he said, his sexy smirk on his face.

"That struggle is ridiculously real," I said. We heard a soft knock on his office door. I stood on my toes again and pressed my lips to his. "That's Stephen, I'm sure. He's the only one with enough finesse to be able to knock that softly. You need to hear what we found out about our dearest Giana today." I walked to the office door to open it. Stephen was there, looking somewhat unsure about whether he should've disturbed us or not. I laughed. "It's good, Yoden. You guys can come in."

He turned and motioned to all the guys to come to the office. I walked back to Adrik, who walked us both to one of the couches. He pulled me into his lap and leaned me back against his chest. I crossed my legs in between his as he wrapped his arms around me.

Both Viktor and Ivan walked in with their laptops. "We need more translations, princess," Ivan said, handing me his computer. Andrei and Misha walked in behind them.

Stephen said, "Keith will be here shortly. He said Armando had a late meeting, so he asked Keith to grab dinner for him and Giana." I looked to Stephen, who had a knowing look on his face. "I agree. Weird move." His phone beeped. He looked at the text, saying, "He's on his way."

It was barely one minute later that we heard the elevator doors ding to signal Keith's arrival. He walked into the office, looking slightly nervous. I'll give it to him. The last time he was summoned before all of us was slightly uncomfortable for him.

"Shut the door, Keith," Adrik said. I could feel that he was enjoying fucking with Keith's head and was not mad in the slightest. It was all I could do to not laugh. I hugged his arms tighter around me.

"What's up?" Keith asked, sitting down in one of the chairs. He looked like he was trying to not be nervous. He was failing miserably.

"We did some investigating into Giana and her frequent excursions to the lobby unattended," Ivan said. Keith looked surprised but intrigued. He glanced around the room, looking at all of our faces. His face dropped slightly. "Why do I feel like this is so much worse than a drug problem?"

"So, you really confirmed she's buying drugs when she goes to the lobby?" Keith asked. It was almost like he was expecting us to tell him his suspicions were false.

"She's apparently got a nasty little coke habit," Misha said. He held up the vial he picked off Giana earlier that day.

Keith's eyes went wide. "That's what fell out of her purse that day!" he said, pointing to the vial in Misha's hand.

"If she's buying that much coke twice a week, she's got to be staying high almost constantly right now. It's likely why we haven't seen much of her. That kind of habit eventually gets difficult to hide," Ivan said.

"I wonder if that explains her nervousness around you guys from the beginning. I'm positive she caught on to how observant we all are right away. She's never liked being in the same room as all of us. Hell, she's never really liked being around us much at all, unless there's shopping involved," I said.

"It's easier to hide when shopping. She can be more animated without arousing suspicion," Andrei said.

"Have you noticed her having nosebleeds?" Ivan asked Keith.

"She's had a couple lately. She blames the weather. She says she hates it when it gets cold," Keith said.

"Have you seen Armando questioning her about anything? Not that he would do it in front of you, but I just wonder if he's noticing any of this," I asked Keith.

"I haven't seen anything. Ever since they got into a fight about her basically accusing you of being an addict, which is really ironic now, they've had a strained relationship. I think they even slept in separate rooms this past weekend at least one night. I've heard them arguing, but they're always arguing in Italian so I can't understand what they're saying," he said.

"It's Italian. They could be confessing their love for each other and it would probably still sound like a heated argument," Adrik said sarcastically.

"I've heard Armando arguing on the phone several times lately too. Again, always in Italian. There was one argument that got really heated, so I recorded part of it," Keith pulled his phone out of his pocket. We all looked at him, somewhat surprised. "I don't like not being able to understand what's going on. I'm not being nosey, but if I'm supposed to be keeping this dude safe, then I need to know what's going on," he said.

"Fair point," I said. He found the recording on his phone and turned the volume all the way up. It wasn't the best recording, so I couldn't hear it well enough from across the office. He tossed his phone to me, so I could put it closer to my ear. It was just Armando's voice, so he wasn't on speaker. Not that I could've understood the other person on this recording. I listened to it a couple of times to make sure I was hearing it correctly. "He's talking in very vague terms. Saying things like ‘I'll take care of it' and ‘you have to give me time.' At the end he says, ‘I told you that wasn't going to work but you wouldn't listen to me.'" I tossed the phone back to Keith.

Adrik pulled me back against him again, hugging me tightly. He put his lips close to my ear, saying quietly, "If I haven't told you how grateful I am to have you lately, just know I'm incredibly grateful to have you." I felt my cheeks flush slightly. He left his cheek against mine for a few moments.

"What do we know of his business deals lately?" Ivan asked. "He could be talking about a business deal that isn't working out the way it's supposed to. I would like to stick with that option rather than the other option my mind came up with."

"Do we want to know the other option?" Andrei asked.

"If he's really considering switching sides, that could explain the first two statements. The third could be in reference to either the ball or the explosion in Italy. Or the failed kidnapping attempt," Ivan said. He had a habit of rubbing his hand over his goatee when he would worry.

"I see why you'd prefer to stick with the first option," Andrei said.

Adrik felt me tense at the mention of those three events. His hands found mine and he laced his fingers through mine, keeping my arms on top of his that were wrapped around my waist. "What else did you find out about Giana this afternoon? You guys have been down here all afternoon, it can't be just that she's the addict among us," Adrik asked. I was both surprised and impressed that he was remaining as calm as he was right now. His fingers lightly played with mine, sending waves of warmth up my arms as we talked.

"She slipped a note to her dealer. We're thinking it's all in reference to Armando's house, but none of us have been there recently," Viktor said. He produced the note that I had translated earlier and handed it to Keith. "Can you make sense of any of that, in reference to his house?" he asked.

Keith studied the note. "Well, I'm sure you all know his safe is impossible. You have to have Armando to get into that thing, so that checks out." He read the other three sentences and then read them again. "Top of the stairs, third door on the right is Armando's room."

"Does he keep anything special in there or is he the special thing?" I asked.

"He has a second safe in there, but it's just like the bigger one in his office. You have to have Armando to get into it," Keith said. He thought for a few minutes more, studying the note.

"Armando had some very pricey art on his walls in his house in Italy. Do you know if that's the case here as well?" I asked.

I could see the light bulb turn on in Keith's head. "That's what that means. Look, I don't know art. I couldn't tell you how much these paintings are worth or even what the paintings are of, in a couple of cases, but he has the majority of paintings in these rooms on the first floor. He has a few upstairs as well, all in his room. Maybe that's why his room is specifically pointed out. It's really the only one with any kind of paintings in it upstairs."

"It sounds like she's planning an art heist," Ivan said. "If she's looking for maximum profit, that's the way to go if you can't access the safe. But stolen art is very hard to sell. Given that her family used to be wealthy, she might have connections on how to move it, but this seems well above her level of intelligence."

"Her family is no longer wealthy then?" Adrik asked.

"Viktor figured it out. It didn't make sense that she was planning on robbing Armando if she came from a wealthy family. She has all the money she could want with Armando. Why would she be trying to rob him, if not for a larger reason? When she ‘apologized' to me, it was clear that her family still controls her," I said.

"Her father has made some terrible business decisions since he took over from Giana's grandfather. They're virtually penniless now." He pulled up the first article he found and walked over to show Adrik. "One of the biggest deals that cost him a substantial amount of money was with Armando." Adrik looked at the picture for a moment. I could suddenly feel his anger rising quickly.

I sat up and turned to look at him. He was still looking at the computer screen. He pointed to the man that looked vaguely familiar in the picture, then looked to me. "That's who he was arguing with yesterday after the meeting."

"Shit. I knew he looked familiar. I didn't recognize his younger self," I said.

"What does this article say?" he asked me.

"It was originally a huge business deal that they started before they got approval. Three investors pulled out, but it doesn't give a reason why, and the last investor, Giana's father, tried to fund the project on his own. He lost a ton of money. It also doesn't give a reason why approval wasn't granted either," I said.

"What about the other article you haven't seen yet?" Ivan asked, pointing to his computer. I pulled that article up and scanned it. "This one is about a fire that demolished an entire apartment building. Three people died in the fire. Firefighters were unable to put the fire out completely for three days. Um, gory details nobody wants to know about. Ah, Giana's father owned the building," I said.

"Could be insurance fraud," Ivan said. "It's an old scam."

I searched for more articles about that building. Most were just reporting the incident, but I eventually found one that reported the ruling on the insurance claim. "I think you're right, Super Squish. He filed an insurance claim, but they did an investigation and concluded the fire was deliberately set. According to this article, they never found who set the fire."

"Sounds very similar to Armando's exploding office building in Italy," Stephen said.

"Do you think Armando was behind his own building exploding? Is he trying the same scam?" I asked. Stephen just shrugged his shoulders. "Follow-up question: did they have these kinds of insurance scams in the 1500s when you were just a wee vampire of 400 years?"

"Technically, I was the insurance scam. Lots of villages burned trying to get rid of me. I have a strong dislike of fire because of it," Stephen said, completely straight-faced. We all laughed loudly. I started laughing even harder when I saw the look of confusion on Keith's face. He was just staring at Stephen, his mouth open in complete shock.

"I love how you just have a ‘strong dislike' of the thing that could kill you," I said, still laughing.

"If you can't find inner peace in 900 years, are you even trying?" Andrei said, which caused another round of laughter from all of us. I was laughing so hard I was crying by the time I finally gained control of myself.

"Shit, I needed that," I said. "Okay, back to serious matters. Seriously, focus, people." I was making myself want to laugh again. I got up and handed Viktor's computer back to him. "Can you please find out if Armando is also in financial trouble like you did Giana's family?" I asked. I always felt compelled to be extra sweet when it came to asking Viktor for anything. I think it was the look on his face every time I did. He practically melted every time I asked him for anything. He got busy looking up information as I returned to Adrik's lap.

"So, let's just say, for the sake of argument, that Armando is having financial difficulty. He blows up his own office building for the insurance money. Why would he depend on us to stop everyone from showing up to that building that morning? He was the one that set that meeting at his building, with all his people there. We were the ones that stopped people from dying," Misha said.

"Well, when you say it like that, it makes no sense," I said.

"Unless that was also the plan all along. If he didn't show, but everyone else did…" Ivan said, trailing off.

"Assuming he hasn't found a way to alter his records, Armando is doing fine financially," Viktor said.

"Does he own that office building?" I asked. "I mean, I would assume so, but let's check just for fun."

Viktor started a new search as we all waited for the results. I leaned my head back, looking sideways at Adrik. "He hasn't said anything about the discussion he had yesterday after the meeting?"

"Not a word," he said. "He has until tomorrow to come clean before I confront him about it."

"Sestrichka, you might be a genius," Viktor said. He stood up, bringing me his computer. "Make sure I'm reading this correctly, but I think this says the owner of Armando's office building is Giana's father." I looked at the screen, reading through everything listed. "You're right, Viktor. He wasn't the owner. That brings us back to insurance scam."

"So, Giana's own father tried to kill her?" Keith asked. "That's some family drama."

"Eh, maybe not. He likely knew she was habitually late. It's also possible he knew Armando is habitually early. According to Giana's story, the building exploded sometime between 8:00-8:15 that morning. Early enough that she wouldn't be there. Late enough that he would," I said. "But you are correct on the family drama."

"This likely explains why Armando hired her to begin with. He likely feels guilty about the business deal and wanted to help her out by giving her a job. You were right, Sephie. She probably wasn't qualified in the slightest for the job, but he hired her anyway," Ivan said.

"Maybe they played on that guilt to get her closer to him," Stephen said. "She's been a plant all along."

"I think the more pressing issue is whether Armando is loyal or if he's playing both sides," Adrik said. He looked to Keith. "Can you get more recordings of his conversations, especially when he's speaking Italian? He's more likely to slip up in front of you because he knows you can't understand him."

"Absolutely. He's planning on going back to his house in two days for the weekend again. It's easier to record him there. He also has more meetings there than he does here," Keith said.

"Can you get pictures of who he's meeting with?" Stephen asked.

"Between me and Chris, we should be able to," he said. "I can send it all to you nightly, so I can delete it from my phone."

"Keith, you stay loyal to me and you'll have a job no matter what happens to Armando," Adrik said. "Chris too. I reward those who stay loyal to me. You've seen the alternative firsthand, so I don't need to elaborate."

"Yes, sir," Keith said. He stood up to leave, understanding that he was free to do so. He shot a quick glance toward Stephen before he walked out of the office.

"What happens if Armando doesn't come clean by tomorrow?" Misha asked.

"I haven't decided yet. I also haven't decided how I want to tell him about this information about Giana. I would have assumed he would know about it by now. She's spending a hefty amount of money, with nothing to show for it," Adrik said.

I laughed. "He's not going to notice that. I saw his ex-girlfriend's wardrobe. He doesn't pay attention to the money spent by his girlfriends."

"Maybe not in the way you're thinking, love. But if she's spending that much money each week, there should be new clothes showing up regularly. Or something showing up in exchange for the money. She can't go buy clothes on top of spending that amount of money because it would be too obvious. That money has to be going somewhere," Adrik said.

"Didn't his first wife also have the same problem?" Viktor asked.

"Uh oh," I said.

"Uh oh what?" they all asked at once.

"That means this is a pattern and Mando is the common denominator," I said.

"You think he's getting them hooked? Or they're turning to it as an escape from him?" Ivan asked.

"That's the million-dollar question," I said.

"The other million-dollar question is what are we ordering for dinner. I'm starving," Andrei asked.

I caught Andrei before they all left the penthouse after dinner was over and we'd thoroughly discussed all possibilities. "I promise to make your favorite meal tomorrow for suggesting we order takeout tonight. You saved me so much work and I love you for it, Bubba."

He pulled me into a hug. "I know you're tired, spider monkey. We're all tired right now. Maybe I'll see if Misha can order Boss back to the house this weekend. I think it does all of us good to go there now," he said.

"Devious. I love it. I'll allow it." I announced as I hugged him tighter.

Once we were alone, I grabbed Adrik's hand and pulled him back to the bedroom. He was exhausted. He looked exhausted. He felt exhausted. I turned the hot water on in the bathtub. "I know you only ever take baths when I'm hurt, but I think you should make an exception tonight."

He pulled me tight against him. "I will gladly take one, as long as you join me."

"One of us has to make sure we don't fall asleep and drown in the tub."

Once the tub was full, I ordered him in. I also managed to talk him into letting me be the big spoon, which literally never happened. "But I can't hold you if you're behind me, solnishko," he protested.

"I know. But I can hold you. You need a break, Adrik. Even if I couldn't feel what you feel now, it's written all over your face. You're exhausted. Let me take care of you the same way you're always taking care of me," I said.

He cursed under his breath as he stepped into the tub, but he moved so I could get in behind him. I tried not to laugh at him, but I couldn't help myself. "You're pretty adorable when you're tired and cranky," I said as I wrapped my legs around him. I leaned him back against me, letting him rest his head on my shoulder. My hands were running lightly over his muscles, trying to get them to relax. It took just a few minutes for him to take a deep breath and I felt him start to relax.

"Okay, so maybe you were right. This feels amazing," he said.

"I know," I said, kissing his neck lightly.

He ended up relaxing so much that I really was worried he was going to fall asleep, so I had to keep talking to him to keep him awake. "I never got a chance to tell you my idea on how to contain your anger," I said.

I felt him turn his head and look at me. "You didn't tell me, you showed me." I turned my head to look at him, surprised. "When you put your hand on my shoulder while Vinny and Anna were in my office, I could feel what you were doing. It was almost clear as day. I wanted to close my eyes to see if I could actually see what you were doing, but I didn't because they were there. I tried it tonight when we were talking about Giana and Armando. I'm thinking it worked because I'm pretty sure you thought I was calm that whole time," he said. His smirk was undeniable on his face.

My mouth fell open. "I'm so impressed right now I don't even have words to describe how impressed I am." I thought back to earlier that evening when we were all in his office. I felt his anger just briefly, but not once after that. He really did learn how to control it so well that even I couldn't detect it. "I thought you were calm the whole time. I was actually a little worried about you because I was sure you would be angry and then when you weren't, I thought there might be something wrong. Like maybe you were getting sick instead of just being exhausted," I said.

He chuckled, grabbing my legs and wrapping them around his waist tighter. "I don't want to talk about it too much because I know I'll get mad again, but I'm livid over this whole Armando thing. I don't take betrayal well and Giana has already betrayed you, now with Armando …" he trailed off, not wanting to finish his thought.

"What did we do this morning?" I asked quietly. He just laughed at me. The water was starting to cool, so he tapped my legs indicating he wanted to stand up.

"I don't know exactly, but I don't ever want it to stop," he said as he turned toward me and extended his hand to help me stand up. As soon as I was standing, he leaned down and kissed me gently. "The kind of connection we have is something I never thought was possible, but always dreamed of. You understand me on a level that no other person has." He paused, pulling me tight against him. His blue eyes were searching mine for a moment, then he added, "I've been seriously thinking about getting rid of everyone. Armando included. With you by my side, I can run the entire city myself." As he said those words, I felt goosebumps rise over my entire body. I know my eyes went a little wide, which worried him, but I was surprised by the reaction, not his statement. I lifted my arm to show him the very clear sign that he was on the right path. The smile that spread across his face was enough to stop my heart this time. He reached down, picking me up and carrying me out of the tub. "You just proved my point," he said.

The following morning, I had an idea about how to get a little more information on Giana. I knew she'd been spending a lot of time with Ms. Jackson, not just using her as a cover story. When we came back from the gym, I asked Adrik if he'd be okay with Ms. Jackson coming to the penthouse, so I could talk to her without the possibility of Giana showing up.

"I'd be willing to bet Giana has made comments about Armando around Ms. Jackson. Because of Ms. Jackson's history, she knows when to keep her mouth shut, but she might tell me what's been said. She might not. She might feel closer to Giana at this point, but it's worth a try anyway," I said.

"I don't have a problem with her coming up here, as long as it's just her and nobody else," he said.

"Just her and just this once. I happen to love your love of privacy," I said, grinning at him. He had just pulled his shirt on as we were talking, so I walked over and buttoned it up for him. I looked up at him, my own dirty thoughts racing through my head. "I'm doing this wrong."

"You can fix it later," he said, a devilish grin on his face.

Viktor and Stephen were busy with their normal Master of the Schedule duties, as Adrik had another busy day. I recruited Misha, Ivan, and Andrei to help me get Ms. Jackson up to the penthouse, hopefully without Giana knowing. Since Giana used the excuse of having afternoon tea with Ms. Jackson, I wanted to have a chance to talk to her early enough in the day that she would be home should Giana stop by later.

Ivan and Andrei volunteered to go fetch her while Misha stayed in the penthouse with me. "I have to admit that I'm still angry with Ms. Jackson for setting up Giana's ambush of you," Misha said as we waited.

"I know, my adorable Russian guardian. I'm hoping that she simply wasn't aware of what was going on when she set it up, but I do plan on asking. You know how quick she is, she might've caught on when you told me we didn't have to stay," I said. He laughed, shaking his head. "What?" I asked.

"You always do that."

"Do what?"

"Give people the benefit of the doubt, second chances, third chances, 500 chances in the case of Max," Misha said, rolling his eyes.

I thought for a moment. "I know I do. Sometimes I think it's a fault, but I refuse to see how thinking the best of someone is a bad thing. It's gotten me hurt and taken advantage of plenty of times in my life. You'd think I would've learned by now, but I just can't help myself. I still see the good parts of people. Most people."

The door to the penthouse opened and Ms. Jackson was escorted inside by Ivan and Andrei. "Child, you have fully realized your power if you've reached a point of summoning people to you now," she said, laughing.

"She didn't want to risk being ambushed again," Misha said. He had an edge to his voice that wasn't usually there, especially around her. He was definitely still angry with her. She picked up on it right away.

"I do owe you an apology for that. I had no idea there was an issue between you and Giana. She made it seem like she just wanted to spend time with you. As soon as you saw her, I knew there was an issue." She looked right at Misha. "Then when you told her she didn't need to stay, I figured out Giana must've done something. She put me right in the middle, which is not somewhere I like to be, but I was trying to make the best of it." She looked between me and Misha. "I owe you both an apology. Child, I wouldn't have called you down there if I knew that was going to happen. And you, sir, you're much too handsome to ever chastise like that. It nearly broke my heart."

It did make me feel better that she was just as ambushed as we were that day, but Misha was still mad. Slightly less mad, but still mad. Didn't detract from how adorable he was though, so my working theory that he got away with murder as a child was still a good one.

"What happened after we left?" Andrei asked Ms. Jackson.

Ms. Jackson sighed. "I might've read that poor girl the riot act. I still don't know exactly what happened, but I gather she accused Sephie of using drugs. Spend any amount of time around that child and it's obvious she's got giant demons in her past. Those kinds of demons only show up when there's drugs involved or abuse and Sephie had both. Giana is a nice enough girl, but if I'm being honest, she's an idiot. She can't see past her own nose. I don't have a way to prove it, but I'd be willing to bet she accused Sephie of doing the exact thing she's doing."

We all looked at each other. Ms. Jackson, of course, noticed. "So, I'm right then? She's the one on drugs?" she asked. Ivan nodded his head. "We got confirmation of it yesterday," he said.

"There would be a lot less drama in the world if people would just figure out that others will always accuse you of what they're afraid of you finding out they're doing," Ms. Jackson said. She thought for a moment, then looked to me. "I'm guessing there's more to it than just her killing herself slowly? I can't imagine you needing to summon me for just that."

I smiled at her. She really was a very sharp woman. "Has she talked to you much about Armando?"

"Little bits here and there. Their relationship hasn't been that great lately. She said he's been arguing with her a lot lately, but I'm guessing it has to do with her needing to apologize to Sephie. Armando, to his credit, has been trying to help her grow up. She did tell me that her father lost a substantial amount of money because of Armando. She said it happened years ago, but Armando still feels bad about it. It's why she got the job as his assistant. That girl can barely assist herself. She said she didn't even know how to use a computer when he hired her. He's taught her everything."

I looked to Ivan. Stephen was right. She's likely been a plant all along. Since Ms. Jackson could understand Russian, I couldn't say anything, so I chose to curse in Italian instead.

"That reminds me, child. Since when do you know Italian?" she asked me.

"It's not important," Ivan said abruptly. Maybe Misha isn't the only one still slightly angry with Ms. Jackson.

"What about her family? Does she talk about them at all?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from me.

"She's mentioned them a few times, but never in a good light. She told me her family was wealthy, but they're controlling. She said her father still tries to control her life, even though he's in Italy and she's here. Not much else that I can remember. She's been unhappy since she got here. She wants to go back to Italy, but it also sounds like she was unhappy when she was in Italy," she said.

"She's going to be unhappy wherever she goes until she learns that she's the one responsible for her own happiness," I said. "Are they making any plans to go back to Italy? Has she said?"

Ms. Jackson nodded her head. "She told me at the end of the month, that she would be gone for a few weeks. She said she finally talked him into taking her back to Italy. She apparently hates the cold and wants to go somewhere warmer." We all exchanged glances. If she was planning on robbing Armando, that must be when she was planning on doing it.

"Do you spend much time with Armando?" I asked.

"I do see him occasionally. We sometimes have dinner together with Mr. Turner," she said.

"Do you get the impression he knows she's on drugs?" I asked. I was still trying to figure out if Armando was choosing to ignore it or if he really was that stupid.

"If he doesn't at least suspect it, then he might be the dumbest man I've ever known. Even Mr. Turner picked up on the fact that she was on drugs. The last two times we've had dinner, she's been so high she can either barely function or she won't shut up the whole time. There's not a lot of in between with her. Mr. Turner said there's a kid who's a dealer that comes to his hotel frequently. He's seen the kid in the lobby here a few times, but never with Giana, so he can't say he's her dealer."

"He's her dealer," Ivan said.

"Ms. Jackson, I want you and Mr. Turner to be careful with Giana. This is much bigger than just a drug problem. I know you both know how to take care of yourselves, but a little distance between both Armando and Giana is probably a good thing right now. She's been using you as cover to get away from her security guys too," I said.

"I knew she did it once, but I didn't know she was still doing that," she said. She thought for a moment. "The perks of getting older mean I can fake an illness as much as I want and nobody will question it. I feel a cold coming on the next time they want to have dinner," she said, matter-of-factly.

"If you hear of anything else that seems out of the ordinary when it comes to either one of them, will you tell me right away?" I asked. "I know you default to keeping your mouth shut, but this has the potential to be bad."

"Of course, child. You know I'll never turn down a reason to call one of your eye candies."