Chapter Eighty-Eight

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Sephie

The weekend was over all too soon and we had to move back to the penthouse to face reality for another week. I was starting to enjoy our weekend getaways where no one really knew where we were and we could just relax, enjoying being together. Adrik and I always managed more alone time at the house than the penthouse, which I was never going to complain about. I knew he was busy, but I was grateful for any chance I got to have him all to myself.

Viktor, Stephen, and Ivan had left for the private airport, leaving Andrei and Misha with Adrik and I. Dario was set to arrive from Colombia shortly this evening. Adrik wanted him brought to the penthouse right away, so no one would know he was back in the city without Massimo. He knew Salvadori had been trying to get Dario away from Massimo as well.

We were waiting in Adrik's office for them to bring Dario to the building. Of course, we were talking about everything we'd learned over the weekend while we waited.

"We have to remember to add the end of the month to the whiteboard tomorrow. I think Giana is going to rob him and disappear at the end of the month," Misha said. We'd talked about his anger toward Giana a few more times after we finished a run in the mornings at the house. He was starting to feel less angry toward her, but there was still no love for her with him.

"I think that's a safe bet, my adorable Russian guardian. The bigger question is whether Armando will disappear with her or not," I said.

"And what he's going to do to her when he finds out she's stolen from him," Andrei said.

I looked to Adrik, curious. "What was Armando like with his ex-wives?" I asked.

Adrik thought for a minute. "I'm not really sure. Once he ended the relationship, I never really heard much about any of them. He moves on quickly to the next woman and his focus is on her." I suddenly felt a sense of dread when he said those words. Something didn't feel right, but I couldn't figure out what. Adrik and Misha both noticed. Misha also felt something was wrong, but wasn't sure what yet either. Adrik had been at his desk while I was on one of the couches. He moved to the couch with me as soon as he felt my mood change. "What is it, love? What's wrong? I can feel something is wrong," he said as he sat down next to me.

"I'm not sure. I just got this weird feeling of dread when we were talking about Armando," I said. I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to figure out what it was that made me feel this way.

"I did too," Misha said. "But I don't know why."

We didn't have time to analyze what had happened, as the doors to the elevator opened. Viktor was back with Dario. Adrik looked at me, concerned. I smiled at him, my palm resting on his cheek. "It's okay. It can wait until later," I said. He leaned in and quickly kissed me before standing to meet Dario as they walked into his office.

Viktor walked in first, with Dario behind him, and Ivan and Stephen behind Dario. "Any problems?" Adrik asked Viktor.

"None. Everything was quiet. Only your people at the airport. They put a different flight path on the paperwork, so no one will know that plane came from Colombia," Viktor said. He walked past Adrik to sit down with Andrei, Misha, and I. I stood up quietly to hug him. They were only gone for a short time, but I was always relieved when they came back safe. The smile on Viktor's face when I went to hug him told me that he felt the same relief. He hugged me tightly, kissing the top of my head, before sitting down.

Ivan and Stephen had walked around Dario, who was talking to Adrik. Each of them hugged me before finding a seat as well. Stephen whispered, "It's bad," in my ear as he hugged me. I looked at him, surprised, but said nothing. I took my usual spot behind Adrik's desk, so I could see Dario as he talked.

He looked like he'd aged at least ten years since the last time I saw him. His once salt-and-pepper hair was now much more salt than it was pepper. Dario had always been clean-shaven before. He was an older man, probably in his sixties, but I never thought he looked bad for his age. Now, however, he looked much older than sixty, especially with his white facial hair growing in. He had a nervous look to him, like he was legitimately afraid for his life.

Dario had been a quiet man in the meetings. He rarely argued with the other bosses, but they rarely argued with him. I was never sure if it was because they were scared of him or Massimo. He exuded a quiet confidence in the meetings. The man sitting before us now was in no way confident. His eyes darted around the room like he was waiting for something to happen.

Adrik noticed the change in him and caught my eye as I walked past his desk. My eyes went wide as I walked past him, knowing no one else could see me. He gave me a knowing look as he looked back toward Dario. Adrik usually liked to make people nervous by staying quiet, but he chose to speak first this time, trying to put Dario's nerves at ease. "Dario, Trino tells me you'd like to get out," he said quietly.

Dario looked to Adrik, then glanced around the room again. His eyes never stayed on one thing for very long. He looked to me, then back to Adrik, then the door, the couches, each one of the guys, back to me. He nodded his head, his eyes still darting around the room. "I just want to be left alone. I won't bother anyone. I can disappear. I've been planning it for years. No one will find me," he said.

"You've been planning it for years?" Adrik asked. "How do you know no one else knows about it if you've been planning it that long?" Adrik's tone of voice was similar to one he'd have with a young child.

"I haven't told anybody where I'm going. They can try to look for me, but they won't find me," he said.

"But you've told people you're going to disappear?" Adrik asked.

Dario nodded his head. "I told Sal. My kids don't want any part of the business. They've been estranged from me for years. After they found out what Massimo did to my parents and that I stayed with him after I found out, they left. I haven't spoken to them in years. I don't even know where they are now," he paused, like the weight of what he'd just said was hitting him. He started to speak, but stopped himself. Instead, he just sighed. "I was going to turn my part of the city over to Sal and disappear."

"Why didn't you come to me or my father about what Massimo did to you?" Adrik asked.

Dario's eyes darted to Adrik. He looked scared. "Massimo would've found out. Sal told me that you wouldn't do anything anyway. He was very adamant that I shouldn't come to you. He told me you would punish me." He looked to the floor quickly. He stared at the floor for a few moments.

"Apparently, Massimo isn't the only one that's been fucking with his mind," I said in Russian.

"Dario, I wouldn't have punished you. You did nothing wrong. Massimo is the one that killed your parents. Why would you get punished for that?" Adrik said.

"Sal was very adamant," Dario said quietly.

"Did Sal threaten you against coming to me, Dario?"

Dario's eyes darted up to Adrik. He didn't need to answer. The look on his face told us everything we needed to know. I heard Adrik curse quietly under his breath. I knew exactly how he felt in that moment.

"Dario, do you know anything about what Sal has been planning in the city?" Ivan asked. While Ivan usually sounded like he was low-key threatening you with his words, his voice was soft when he spoke to Dario. He sounded like he did when he would talk to me, especially when I was upset.

Dario was quiet for a moment. He looked like he was having an internal struggle. His leg started bouncing up and down. He chewed on his nails. I knew he was anxious, but I honestly didn't know how to give him any comfort right now. I stood up and moved closer to him. I thought maybe the fact that I was the only woman in the room might help him to feel at ease. I moved to the front of Adrik's desk, in front of Dario, but still so Adrik could see him. "We can protect you, Dario. We can give you a safe place. No one knows you're here. Not even Sal. We know that Massimo hurt you. He's a very bad man. Sal too. They're both bad men. We want to protect you from them," I said. I felt like I was talking to a child, but by the looks of him, he couldn't handle much more.

His bouncing leg slowed. His gaze was fixed on a spot on the floor beside me, but I considered it progress that his eyes weren't darting around the room. He slowly lifted his gaze to me, like he was seeing me for the first time since he came into the office. "I remember you. You were always at the restaurant. Sal and Armando were fighting over you when Ghost came back," he said.

I tried to keep my own anger from rising to the surface at the thought of Sal and Armando thinking they had any kind of right or access to me. "The delusions of Sal and Armando thinking they ever had any kind of chance with me aren't important right now, Dario. Do you know anything about Sal's plans? What he's planning with Anthony and Lorenzo?" I asked. I glanced behind Dario at the guys. They were all tense at this new revelation.

Dario nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. Sal brags a lot. Almost as much as Massimo," he said.

"Will you tell me what his plans are?" I asked, still trying to be as soft and quiet as I could. Dario looked at me once more. This time, he actually looked at me. He studied my face, my hair. For a few minutes, he just looked at me. I felt Adrik getting tense behind me. He was not a fan of other men looking at me, but I didn't get the feeling that Dario was having any kind of inappropriate thoughts. It felt like he was stuck in a memory as he looked at me. I discreetly motioned to Adrik to stay calm and to let it happen.

"You remind me of my daughter. She doesn't have red hair, but she's about your age. She's beautiful like you though. At least she was the last time I saw her. You know, I'm glad she got away. I'm glad she's not in this life. Sal was starting to look at her too. You know he traffics girls, right? He blamed it on Anthony, but it was his idea. Lorenzo got him into it. Sal is a dirty old man. Anthony is just like him. Sal puts on a show in front of people, but he's just as bad as Massimo. That's how he knew about Massimo all these years. They recognize the evil in each other. Sal wants to take over the city. The only good thing about his plan is that he wants to get rid of Massimo. All the other bosses are helping him. You know that, right?" Dario asked. He was looking at me the whole time he was talking. I wanted to keep him talking as much as I could.

"Even Armando? He's helping Sal?" I asked.

"Yeah, they've been in business together for a few years now. Armando was trying to position himself as a leader for a while there too. I thought he and Sal were going to get into a war with each other, but then Ghost came back. It all kind of went to hell that night at the restaurant with Anthony. Nobody expected Ghost to react that way over you. Half of us lost a substantial amount of money that night because we thought the rumors of him being gay were true. We knew he was coming back to stop the tax increase. Anthony was supposed to make a scene so that didn't happen. He just got carried away once Ghost yelled at him in front of everyone. Nobody expected the outcome and nobody expected him to banish Anthony. It made Sal mad. He started trying to turn the other bosses against Ghost immediately. It was that same night that he met with the other bosses after we all left the restaurant. He called us all to his house and convinced us all we could overthrow Ghost."

"All the bosses were there?" I asked. "You're positive?"

"Everyone but Ghost. Everyone agreed. We got used to his absence. The bosses that wanted to raise taxes were irritated that he was going to try and stop them, so they readily agreed. Armando took the most convincing. He didn't want to. He felt like there was another way. He didn't completely agree that night, but he didn't disagree either, if you know what I mean." Dario's eyes were still on me, like I was the only person in the room. The guys were all quiet. It almost felt like they were scared to move or speak. They didn't want to break whatever spell he was under that was making him talk to me.

"What happened when Ghost banished Anthony?" I asked.

"That's when the brawn operation went into motion. He needed chaos to get Anthony and Lorenzo back into the city. They made the plan for the assassination attempt at the ball too. I assume that Armando tipped you off, since you're all still here. Then we got word that you were in Italy, at Armando's place. Sal tried to get all of you when he blew up Armando's office. It was a warning to Armando too. Sal knew he was trying to play both sides. Armando is a pussy, but he's not completely stupid. He has Sal's goddaughter."

"Giana is Sal's goddaughter?" I asked.

"You know her?" Dario asked.

"I've met her, yes."

"Sal was close to her grandfather. When she was born, they made Sal her godfather. Her father has made some poor business decisions, but Sal and Armando have been trying to help him get his fortune back. I heard Armando was sleeping with her, just to make Sal angry. She's just insurance though. Armando has everyone fooled. Everyone thinks he's the nice guy. Ask him where his first wife is and then tell me how nice he is," he said. He crossed his arms across his chest, his gaze once again falling to the floor.

"Once Sal takes over the city, do you know what his plans are?" I asked. I was worried I was going to lose him, so I wanted to keep the conversation going, despite feeling like I needed a minute to process what he'd just told us.

"He'll get rid of the other bosses, I'm sure. He's hungry for power. He was close to taking over the city when Vitaliy was still in charge. That's what made him divide the city up. That's also what made him banish Lorenzo. It was punishment for Lorenzo, sure, but it was more to stick it to Sal for trying to overthrow him. Lorenzo and Sal were always really close. Vitaliy knew it would cause more damage to separate them than anything, so he banished Lorenzo to Sicily. For once, I agreed with Vitaliy. I always hated Lorenzo."

"Sal is still angry with Vitaliy over that and then Ghost banished Anthony as well, so now he's doubly mad?"

"That's putting it nicely." He lifted his gaze to me once more. "He's angry with you now too. You're apparently very difficult to kill or kidnap. His goddaughter was supposed to get close to you to make it easier to grab you, but even that proved impossible. Armando is the one that tipped them off that day they tried to grab you, you know?"

"Sal isn't the only one angry in this situation," I said, somewhat under my breath. Dario still heard me. He chuckled. "I've never heard Sal so mad as I did when he found out you shot three of his guys that day. He managed to get one guy onto Armando's security detail, but that guy disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to him."

"I killed him too," I said. My anger was now fully present, so holding my tongue was next to impossible for me.

Dario just looked at me, a sly smile on his face. "I would like to see the look on Sal's face if he ever finds that out. You should be careful. He wanted to kill you before, but he's angry enough now that he might try to sell you to highest bidder."

"I would like to see him try," I said. I stood up from the desk, not caring to keep this conversation going any further. I barely had a chance to take two steps away from Dario and Adrik was by my side.

"Take a breath, solnishko. You know we won't let anything happen to you," he said as he put both hands on my hips. He looked down at me, concerned, but I could also see the look in his eye that meant my eyes had gone dark. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to regain control of myself.

Ivan moved closer to Dario. "What makes you think that Sal won't know where to find you?" His voice had more of an edge to it this time, but he was still trying to be as calm as he could be.

"I have property around the world. I can move from place to place. I bought each place under a different name. The people in each town know me as a different person. It's virtually impossible to follow me from place to place. Sal isn't smart enough to link it all together." He paused, like he was lost in thought again. He looked at Ivan, then looked at Adrik. "I want out. I've lost so much because of this life. I just want to be left alone. You will never hear from me again if you let me leave." He sighed, looking at the floor. He knew that people rarely got out of this life alive. He knew more than most as well, which made him dangerous. It also put him in danger.

Adrik looked down at me, his eyes searching mine. I was still angry, but I was trying to control it. Instead of waiting for my opinion, he said, "I don't have a problem with you getting out, but I can't let you leave until I've taken care of the other bosses. You'll be safe here. No one knows you're here. You'll be protected until this is over, then you can leave, but not before. If you try to leave, my men will have orders to kill you. Understood?"

Dario nodded his head. He looked to the floor, almost like he was defeated, but then his eyes shot back to Adrik. "Wait, you'll really let me leave once this is over?" Adrik nodded his head. "You can leave, with the understanding that if I ever hear of you trying to move against me, you'll be swiftly dealt with. If you want to disappear, I won't stand in the way of that. It's time you had something to look forward to in life, Dario. You can leave once this is over," he said. I glanced down at Dario. There were tears in his eyes.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know if it means I can leave. Right now, I don't even care that there's a chance you'll kill me after I tell you everything. You've given me hope that there's a chance I can get out. I haven't had hope since my parents died," he said quietly.

"As long as you stay loyal to me, you have my word that no harm will come to you. You'll be able to leave. Betray me and I will kill you," Adrik said flatly.

"You'll protect me until this is over?" Dario asked.

"It won't be the most luxurious of accommodations, but we have somewhere to hide you that no one knows about. You'll be safe here. You'll have guards. You'll have everything you need until this is over," Viktor said.

The tears that were threatening to fall were now flowing down the old man's face. He looked relieved. Haunted, but relieved. "Thank you," he said, looking at Adrik and me. Adrik simply nodded his head toward Dario, while he pulled me a little closer, holding me just a little tighter.

Viktor and Ivan left with Dario to get him set up in a room, where he would stay until we were sure it was safe for him to leave. I knew they had holding cells on the other side of the floor. It's where Andy currently was. But apparently, there was another set of "rooms" that even I didn't know about. Dario would remain there, completely out of sight of anyone who came to this floor. Armando knew about the holding cells where Andy was, but he didn't know about the ones where they were taking Dario.

Once Viktor and Ivan were back in the office, we decided to move to the penthouse. Suddenly, we weren't completely comfortable having a conversation in the office anymore. We wanted as much privacy as possible. No one was allowed at the penthouse without permission from Adrik, which meant we were the only ones that ever went up there. It helped ease my mind that we always had guards outside the door as well. It was looking like us against the world.

"Trino needs to know that Sal and Armando have been working together," Ivan said as we walked toward the kitchen. I might as well make dinner while we talked. It would help me stay calm and I'd grown to love being able to take care of the guys. They meant everything to me. Being able to feed them was a small way of showing them just how much.

"Agreed," Adrik said. He caught my arm as I was walking to the refrigerator, pulling me back to him. "Let's call him first. I don't think this can wait," he said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. We all stood close, so that we could hear the conversation. I felt myself getting nervous. The feeling got worse with each ring. Trino wasn't picking up. Trino always picked up. Something wasn't right.

I glanced at Misha, who had that faraway look in his eye. When he came back to the present, he glanced at me. He looked worried, but not as worried as I felt. "Something's happening, but it doesn't feel like it's all bad," Misha said.

I walked to Misha, grabbing his hand. "Did you see anything specific or you just have a general feeling?" As soon as he looked down at me, I could see what he saw. This is new. I know my eyes went wide, just as his did. He saw Trino, in trouble, but he also saw him get out unharmed.

"How did you just do that, gazelle?" Misha asked, completely shocked.

"Do what?" everyone asked at once. We glanced at the other guys, who looked worried but curious.

"She just looked in my head and saw what I saw," Misha said. He was still holding my hand tightly, like he was afraid to let go.

"What did you see?" Ivan asked. I could hear their voices. I was present for the conversation, but it was also like I wasn't totally there. I was still watching Trino somehow. Misha kept glancing at me. He knew I was still watching because he could still see it too. I felt Adrik step closer to me, but he was apprehensive about touching me. I could feel that he didn't want to interrupt whatever the hell was happening. I felt Misha grab my other hand and hold it tightly as well.

I was watching Trino trying to get out of his house. He was under heavy gunfire. His men were deadly, but they were outnumbered. Martin was with him too. I could see outside the house. I could see the men that had surrounded the house.

"Where's Massimo, Anthony, and Lorenzo?" I asked in my head. I didn't think I said it out loud, but Misha answered me. "He keeps them at a different location," he said. I surveyed the scene again. There was a way to get out at the back of the house, but they were going to need help getting there. There were sections to the house. Trino, Martin, and their men had made it as far back as they could, but they were cut off from the exit. "They need help," I thought. As soon as I had that thought, there was an explosion that made me jump. I still felt Misha's hands gripping mine tightly and I heard him say, "No, don't. She's okay, just startled."

The explosion was exactly what Trino and his guys needed to make a quick exit. The explosion put a barrier between them and the men that were trying to get to them. I could see them make it safely to their exit, not wasting any time. They ran down a hill to waiting vehicles. Once they were in the vehicles, speeding away, everything went blank and I could see Misha standing in front of me again. He was still holding both of my hands tightly in his. I looked up at him, mostly confused at what just happened. His expression mirrored what I felt.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked. Misha laughed at me. "I was hoping you'd know, gazelle," he said. "I feel like you just hijacked my brain."

I felt Adrik's hand on my back, no longer apprehensive to break whatever spell I was under. Now I felt his concern. "Solnishko…" he said, tentatively.

"I'm okay. Pretty sure, anyway. Trino's okay too. But if you really want to fuck with his head, send him a text telling him to call you when he makes it to safety," I said, giggling.

Misha pulled me to him, hugging me tightly. "You're a little bit evil, gazelle."

I stepped back from Misha, looking at the very surprised and very concerned faces of the guys. Adrik pulled me to him, a questioning look on his face. "I have no idea what just happened, but I saw Trino under attack, basically. They had him surrounded in his house. Then there was an explosion and they made it out. You saw all that too, didn't you?" I asked Misha.

He nodded his head. "But you left out the part where you caused the explosion," he said, grinning at me.

"I did no such thing," I said.

"I saw it, gazelle. You clearly said, ‘they need help' and then the kitchen exploded."

"We all heard you say it," Ivan said.

"You guys heard that? I just thought that in my head. I didn't think I said it out loud," I said, feeling even more confused. "I could still hear Misha, but I didn't hear anybody else."

"Do you know who it was that was after Trino?" Ivan asked, looking at Misha.

"Not for sure, no. My best guess is that it was the Mexicans. There was a whole lot of Spanish being spoken that I didn't understand," he said.

They all looked to me. "Don't look at me. I only know curse words in Spanish. There were plenty of those being thrown around, but that doesn't give us any valuable information here."

Misha, who shared my love of comedy probably more than any of the others, said, "Does this mean you're going to drop in my head regularly? That could prove to be awkward. Can you give me a warning or something? Make sure I'm wearing pants, at least? I'm very shy." He crossed his legs and crossed his arms over his crotch like he was blocking me from seeing something I shouldn't.

We all laughed. Adrik looked down at me, his deep blue eyes laughing as he let me search his eyes.

"I think she needs to touch you to make it happen anyway. It started as soon as she grabbed your hand," Stephen said. "It got stronger when you grabbed her other hand. So just wear gloves when you want her to stay out of your head. You'll be fine," he said, completely straight-faced, which caused us all to laugh again.

Adrik's phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, putting it on speaker for us all to hear. "Trino, what happened?" he asked.

"Jefe…" Trino still sounded almost out of breath. "I almost didn't make it out. Guys from one of the Mexican cartels tried to take me out. The only reason I'm talking to you right now is because my kitchen exploded. It gave us enough cover to make it out the back. The entire house blew as we were running down the hill. I don't know what happened or what faulty gas line caused it, but I'm thankful for whatever that was."

"You're sure it was the cartels?" Adrik asked.

"Positive. This has to be Anthony and Lorenzo."

"Where are they?"

"I'm still holding them at a different location. This house was one I only use occasionally, but I've met with Tony and Enzo there a couple times. They had to have given the information to the cartels on where it was," he said. "They're dead men."

"Looks like war is coming. If you take care of Tony and Enzo, do you think the cartels will stop?" Adrik asked.

"Oh, they'll stop. They're all going to die too. We had an agreement that they would stay out of Colombia and I would stay out of Mexico. Since they didn't stay out of Colombia, I'm not staying out of Mexico. They suffered greatly on my rise to power. They're going to get a reminder of what happened the last time they tried to cross me." Trino's voice was dripping with anger.

"Once the situation here is under control, we're here to help you as much as you need," Adrik said.

"Jefe, thank you. I might need some help. How are things there? Did you find out more about that puta Armando? What about Dario? What did you decide on him?"

"Don't trust Armando. He's in deep with Sal and has been for years. Giana is Sal's goddaughter. It's a giant mess. It's easier to just get rid of all of them. As for Dario, he's being held until this is all over. I'm fine with letting him go once the other bosses are out of the picture. That guy needs a happy ending to his fucked-up life," Adrik said, sighing.

There was silence for a moment on the other end of the line. Trino took in a deep breath, exhaling loudly. "Jefe, I'm glad you decided that. I would've supported whatever decision you made on him, but you're right. He needs something good for once." Trino's voice had softened as he talked about Dario. I could clearly hear the sympathy he had for that old man. "The others, though? I'm going to have to get creative on how I want to end them."

"If anybody can wow us, it's you," Adrik said.