Chapter Ninety-Five

Chapter Ninety-Five

Sephie

I knew I was in a hospital by the smell. That's a smell that you don't find anywhere else. I could hear voices in and out. I knew the guys were with me. I felt Adrik's hand in mine. I could hear Ivan telling them what happened. My body reacted when Ivan was going through the events while we were in that room. I heard Adrik talking to me, trying to calm me, but it wasn't working. The shaking got worse. I could feel it, but it also felt like I didn't have control over my own body. There was a disconnect between my brain and my body. I was trying to move, but I couldn't.

I felt Andrei's warmer than average hands under my shoulders and Stephen's ice-cold hands on my legs, lifting me gently. I could feel the bed dip beside me as Adrik laid down next to me. I could smell him. I just wanted to be close to him. When Andrei gently eased me back toward the bed, I knew I wasn't close enough to Adrik, but I couldn't move right. I struggled to turn toward him, hoping they would see.

I couldn't do anything. I couldn't see. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. But I could hear. And I could feel. Andrei and Stephen did notice my struggle and turned me, so I could be closer to Adrik. As soon as they put my head on his shoulder, my body relaxed and the shaking subsided. I wanted to be closer still, but this would have to do for now.

I was in and out of consciousness throughout the…day? Night? I had no idea what day it was. Or what night it was. It didn't really matter, to be honest. My body stayed relaxed as long as I was close to Adrik.

I heard the doctor come in and tell Adrik that he wanted to check me. I felt Adrik shift underneath me and I knew I was going to start shaking again. I tried to tell him, but I still couldn't speak. Whatever they sedated me with this time was taking longer to wear off. I didn't like it. I couldn't control my own body.

I felt the doctor's hands checking me over. I felt Andrei and Misha move me. I felt the shaking start once I was apart from Adrik. I felt Andrei and Misha put me back against Adrik, but then I felt a very weird feeling. It was much the same as when Sal was staring at my boobs and Armando was looking at me half-naked. I didn't like it. It didn't last long, however. I couldn't see and I couldn't hear him, but I knew Ivan was standing over me. Since we were grabbed, I'd been able to feel him much the same way I could feel Adrik, just not as strongly. He had his own energy signature. I knew he was standing over me, protecting me. It was a different feeling with Ivan. With Adrik, it felt like he was standing with me, beside me, anytime he was being protective with me. With Ivan, it was like a protective bubble that he put me in, while he stood guard against whatever he perceived to be the threat. The weird, gross feeling went away almost immediately and I knew it was Ivan silently daring the doctor to continue whatever it was that was making me have this feeling. I finally felt the doctor leave the room.

I also heard Ivan's voice talking to the guys, but it was hard to hear anything except Ivan for a few minutes. I knew Adrik was still with me, but the protective bubble that Ivan put me in blocked everything else out.

I woke up again, after sleeping for who knows how long. Adrik was still as close to me as possible, his arm holding me gently but firmly. I knew he was asleep because his hand was still. When he was awake, his hand would lightly run up and down my back. I tried to move my body to see if it would work yet. This time I could open my eyes. Everything was blurry for a moment, but the room started to come into focus. I knew I wouldn't be able to move the arm that was in a sling and I was laying on my good arm. I tried to wiggle my toes. It actually worked this time, so I tried to move my foot, then my lower leg. Everything worked.Finally.

I stretched my legs and immediately regretted it. Shooting pain through my entire body caused me to let out something in between a scream, a yelp, and a cough. Adrik was jolted awake, as were the guys. Adrik was immediately concerned and we were quickly surrounded by each one of the guys.

"Sephie, what's wrong?" Adrik asked. He was looking me over, trying to figure out what happened. He noticed my eyes were open and stopped to look at me, his wide smile stretching across his face. "I missed you," he said quietly.

I tried to talk, but nothing came out. My throat felt horribly dry. I ended up coughing once, which made me wince in extreme pain.

"You shouldn't try to talk yet, spider monkey. You need water first," Andrei said as he walked to a table next to another bed in the room. There was a small pitcher there, with water in it. He poured a small amount of water into a cup and brought it to me. While he fetched me water, Misha and Viktor helped move me and adjust the bed, so I could sit up a little more. Sitting up made it easier to breathe, so I was thankful for the change.

Andrei handed me the water, saying, "Slowly," with a stern look on his face. I smiled weakly at him as I drank the water. Oh, that felt good.

"Once you keep that down, you can have more," Ivan said. "Can you blink?" I blinked my eyes to show him. "Good. Two blinks for yes, one blink for no," he said. I nodded my head once.

"Are you in pain, solnishko?" Adrik asked. I blinked twice. He cursed under his breath.

"Can you breathe better now?" Ivan asked. Two blinks.

"Are you nauseous?" Andrei asked. I thought for a minute, then blinked once. I wasn't happy about not being in control of my body for so long, but at least I wasn't nauseous this time. He went to refill the cup with water. He poured a little bit more this time, then handed it back to me. I drank it slowly. My body felt weak. And painful.

"Do you want to know who won the bet on how long it took them to find us?" Ivan asked, a grin on his bruised and battered face. Two blinks. "Technically, neither of us. Thirty hours," he said, smiling at me.

"You were closer," I managed to say in a whisper. "I'm glad." I smiled at all the guys and leaned my head toward Adrik. Andrei refilled my cup yet again. This time, he filled it up completely. I drank part of it, but then handed it to Adrik, who finished it. I was sure he hadn't had anything to eat or drink the whole time I'd been out. He drank it quickly, handing the empty cup back to Andrei. I gave Adrik a sympathetic look for keeping him trapped yet again.

"Don't you dare try to apologize," he said. "I would stay here until the end of time with you." He leaned over and kissed my forehead gently.

"How long?" I whispered.

Viktor looked at his watch. "Right about twenty-four hours this time, but considering what you went through, I'd say you're ahead of schedule, sestrichka," he said, giving me a wink and his broad, handsome smile.

I smiled back at him, but it was weak. Everything felt weak. And painful. So painful.

"How much pain are you in, princess? On a scale of one to ten," Ivan asked. I thought for a minute, taking inventory of my body. I held up five fingers, then three fingers. "So, like a thirteen for normal people, then?" Ivan asked, grinning at me.

"Do you want some pain meds? The doctor said you were going to be in severe pain for a couple days," Adrik said. He could tell by the look on my face that I wasn't happy with that option. He smiled softly at me. "I'm not sure superprofen is going to be enough for this time, love."

"How much longer do I have to stay here?' I whispered.

"You still have a chest tube in, but the doctor said that might be able to come out soon. You have to stay another day after that comes out to make sure your lung stays inflated, then you should be able to leave," Ivan said.

I peeked underneath the hospital gown that I was wearing, trying to find the chest tube. "Can we take it out now?" I asked quietly as I was looking. Adrik grabbed my hand, pulling me very gently against him. He was laughing at me, but he was also still concerned about me. He looked at his watch. "The doctor should be coming back soon to check on you before he leaves for the day. We can ask him then."

I looked at Ivan, noting that he'd been cleaned up and had a fresh set of clothes on. "How?" I asked, pointing at him. I was sure they would know what I was asking, so I didn't feel the need to elaborate or use any more energy than absolutely necessary.

"The recording of you playing worked so the doctor could stitch him up and make sure nothing was broken. We've all been listening to it off and on while Ivan sleeps. So far, he hasn't woken up fighting," Misha said.

I looked at Ivan, remembering him standing over me the last time the doctor checked me. "What made you protect me from the doctor?" I asked, my voice still only barely above a whisper.

He raised his eyebrow. "How do you know that, princess?"

"I can feel you now too. Not as strong though." I stopped to take a breath. "I could hear all your conversations too. I just couldn't move," I said, trying to breathe as deeply as I could.

"Really?" Adrik and Ivan both asked at the same time. I laughed quietly at them, nodding my head.

"Different though," I said. I looked back at Ivan, still wanting to know what the doctor did. "You were right to do what you did. It felt gross whatever he did."

"He was looking at you the way the doctors at the facility looked at me when they were excited about a new experiment they wanted to try on me," Ivan said.

"It felt the same when Sal was staring at my boobs. And Armando cut my clothes off," I said, taking as deep a breath as I could manage after getting the words out. I coughed once, which made Andrei quickly get more water for me. "You're my favorite, Bubba," I said as he handed me a full cup of water again. I glanced at everyone's tense faces at the mention of Sal and Armando while I drank more water. "Armando?" I asked quietly.

"He's still alive, sestrichka. He's in a room. Chris said he's trying to talk his way out by saying Boss has gone crazy and put him in there for no reason," Viktor said.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to get angry. I felt Adrik tighten his hold on me. He pressed his cheek against mine, trying to help me stay calm. I took as deep a breath as I could. When I opened my eyes and looked at the guys, they were all surprised.

"Holy shit, you were not lying, Ivan," Misha said. He looked at Adrik. "Does she feel calm to you, Boss?" I felt Adrik nod his head, his cheek still pressed lightly to mine. I was smiling at them, knowing they were talking about my eyes. I didn't feel out of control angry, but I was certain my eyes told a different story.

"They were like that the whole time they had us," Ivan said. "But she never once lost her cool." He looked at me with a look of pride on his face.

We were interrupted by the doctor coming in to check on me. "Oh, good. You're awake now," he said as he walked into the room. The guys took a small step back from the bed, but didn't leave. They gave the doctor just enough space to do what was needed, but they were making sure to stay close to me while he was in the room. Adrik pulled me closer to him as the doctor approached the bed. Even though it hurt, I was grateful for him doing so. "How are you feeling?" Dr. Williams asked as he looked over my chart.

"Like shit," I said quietly. Dr. Williams chuckled.

"How's your breathing? Can you take a deep breath in?" I did as instructed. My ribs were still incredibly painful, so I couldn't breathe as deeply as I wanted to. "Good." He looked at Adrik, asking, "Have you heard her wheezing at all?" Adrik shook his head no. "What about coughing?"

"Only when she tries to talk too much," Ivan said.

"That's to be expected," Dr. Williams said. "You're probably going to have a harder time talking and doing normal, everyday things for a few days. Take everything very slowly. It'll make it easier on your lungs to keep up. I'd like to take the chest tube out and see how you do." I nodded my head eagerly. If me staying in the hospital was dependent on that thing coming out, then I wanted it out as soon as possible.

"Can I get out of bed?" I asked quietly.

"After your chest tube comes out, you can walk for short distances. You'll need to take your IV stand with you, but a little bit of movement will be good for the rest of your body. You're going to be sore though. How much pain are you in?"

"I'm okay," I said. I was worried about him giving me pain meds that would knock me out for days at a time. I would rather suffer through it. Ivan caught my eye. I looked at him sternly, trying to silently tell him to keep his mouth closed.

"Why do I feel like you're lying?" Dr. Williams asked.

"I've had worse, Doc. I'll be fine," I said. My tone was short enough that I was hoping he would let the matter drop. I was trying not to maintain eye contact with him, as I didn't want him to notice if my eyes turned dark. I glanced at the guys, who all had sympathetic looks on their faces. They knew why I was refusing pain meds.

Dr. Williams just sighed. "I'll get a nurse to get your chest tube out shortly. Then you can try going for a short walk in the hallway. I don't want you to overdo it though. How's your appetite? Are you nauseous?" I shook my head no. "Good. We can give you a few snacks and see how you do with those, then you can have more substantial food." He looked to Viktor. "Or would you rather get food for her too?"

"We'll take care of it," Viktor said. I was curious as to what that conversation had been like, but I would wait to ask about that later.

Dr. Williams nodded at Viktor, then said, "I'll have a nurse come in shortly. I'll be back in the morning to see how you're doing." He smiled at me before leaving the room.

Once the doctor was out of the room, Ivan looked at me, his broad smile across his face. "Princess, do you know what you're doing with your eyes now?" I looked at him, completely confused. "Your eyes were totally normal when you were talking to the doctor, then you said you were okay and looked at me. Your eyes went dark as ever when you looked at me, then back to normal the next time you looked at the doctor. If you're doing it on purpose, I'm impressed as hell. If you're not doing it on purpose, then your eyes are telling you that you should be."

"I didn't do it on purpose, I don't think. I didn't want you to tell him I'd told you how much pain I'm in. He's going to give me pain meds that make me sick or knock me out. I don't want that. We can't afford to stay in here for a week just so I can wake up pain-free like Sleeping Beauty." I stopped to breathe, but then added, "I also didn't want him to notice my eyes changing. You guys don't need another reason to want to hurt him."

The chest tube came out quickly. The nurse made me stay in bed for half an hour after it came out, just to make sure my lung would stay inflated and functioning properly. Once the half hour was up, she came in and told me I could get out of bed. I wanted to get out of bed as much for Adrik as I did for me. I still felt guilty for keeping him trapped with me. I knew a short walk would do him good too.

I'd had bruised ribs before, but never broken ribs. Both were not something I wished to ever have to deal with again. Every single movement caused pain in my ribs. Andrei and Viktor were there to help me sit up on the edge of the bed. My hospital gown wasn't secured, so they all got a full view of the bruises down my left side. I heard collective cursing.

"If you won't take pain meds from the doctor, will you let me go get you some superprofen?" Viktor asked. "I can get snacks too," he added, grinning at me.

"I'm more excited about the snacks, if I'm being honest," I said, trying to pull the stupid hospital gown around me. "Can you get me some clothes too? This thing makes me want to murder people."

"You got it," Viktor said, laughing at me.

Adrik stood in front of me. "Hold on to me," he said as he helped me stand. Once I was standing, he wrapped the hospital gown around me, tying it so it would stay in place. His hand brushed against my skin. "Grab her a pair of my sweatpants and a hoodie. She's freezing," he told Viktor.

"She's going to be living in your hoodies until her arm comes out of this cast," Ivan said as he thumped the cast with his finger. "I can't imagine your tiny little shirts being able to fit over that thing."

"My shirts are not that tiny. Your shirts are just giant in comparison," I said grumpily.

"Okay, she needs snacks. I'll be back as quickly as possible," Viktor said, laughing. He left the hospital room quickly.

Adrik offered me his arm as I walked slowly to the door. My legs felt fine. Sore, but fine. That's a good sign. Being able to walk around always made me feel better, no matter how much pain I was in. Misha and Ivan walked out of the room ahead of us, with Andrei and Stephen behind us. It was still early enough in the evening that people were still visiting friends and family that were in the hospital, so the hallway wasn't empty. We got plenty of strange looks as I walked at a snail's pace down the hallway with my giants.

"Can I tell them I'm the goddamn princess? Will it make them stop staring at me?" I asked Adrik quietly, speaking Russian so we wouldn't be understood. He laughed at me, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "You can tell them whatever you like, solnishko. Or I can have them all killed for looking at you. Say the word," he said, grinning at me.

"Don't tempt me," I said.

Viktor was back shortly after my excursion into the hallway. "I lied. I'm more excited about the sweatpants than anything," I said as he handed Adrik a bag with clothes for me in it.

Ivan and Stephen were the closest ones this time, so they helped pick me up and move me to the edge of the bed. I was impressed with how gentle they all were, given their massive size. Adrik helped me put his sweatpants on. They were a few sizes too big for me, so he rolled the waistband and tied them tight enough they would stay up. He glanced at the guys, the sweatshirt in his hand. They all turned their backs to me, so as not to see all of me. Adrik carefully took the hospital gown off and replaced it with the sweatshirt, leaving my left arm out of the sleeve.

"Sweet, now it looks like I only have one arm," I said, playing with the empty sleeve. I smacked Adrik with it as he helped me sit back on the edge of the bed. "Oh, this is going to get me in trouble."

Adrik looked to Viktor. "Definitely needs snacks." Viktor threw a protein bar at Adrik, who ripped the wrapper open with his teeth and handed it to me. As soon as the protein bar was in my hand, my stomach woke up.

"I don't know why men think women are that complicated. Keep us warm and give us snacks. It's not rocket science," I said, taking a bite.

"I feel like most women are slightly more complicated than you are, spider monkey," Andrei said.

"That's fair. Totally fair."

Once I ate one protein bar and managed to keep it down, I was starving. I ate three more in the span of an hour. Viktor had also brought me some superprofen, so I took that, which helped take the edge off the pain. An hour after I took my first dose of superprofen, Ivan asked, "What's your pain level now, princess?" I thought for a moment, then held up four fingers. "So, an eight for normal people then?" he said, grinning at me. I was starting to feel more like myself, despite my pain. I felt like I could finally smile genuinely back at him.

"Ah, there it is," Misha said. "Viktor, she's gonna need more protein bars. Maybe get her some beef jerky or something too. Clearly protein makes her soul return to her body."

I laughed, but grabbed my ribs with my good arm. "Fuck. Laughing is not an approved activity right now. I'm currently regretting bringing out your hilarious side." I felt Adrik shift me so I was leaning back against him, his arm around me protectively.

"How much easier is it to talk now, princess?" Ivan asked.

"It's better. I can breathe a little easier sitting up," I said. "You want to know about when I was with Armando, don't you?"

He chuckled, nodding his head. Stephen said, "We all heard that conversation. What happened when you asked him about who was pulling the strings?"

"Ricardo," I said. "He wasn't looking at me until I said Ricardo's name, then he looked at me. I could tell he was livid that I had said Ricardo's name, but he was also afraid. There was fear in his eyes. When he walked back over to me after I said all that to him, it was the only time I was actually afraid for my life. If you guys hadn't shown up when you did, he might've killed me." Adrik tried to pull me closer, but it was difficult given my sling. He nodded to Andrei and Ivan, who both stood and walked over to the bed. "Pick her up so she can lay back against me," he said. They lifted me gently while Adrik moved underneath me. They put me down in between his legs, so I was leaning back against his torso. He wrapped both arms around me, his legs on either side of mine. I leaned my head back and kissed his cheek. "This is much better," I said quietly.

Viktor took his computer out of one of the bags he brought back. "I still don't understand how Ricardo could be pulling the strings with Armando. What does he have over him?"

"I don't think life is as rosy for Armando as we've been led to believe. When he first cut my clothes off me, he told me I was going to solve a lot of his problems. He got pissed when he saw how bruised I was from them slamming me into the car when they grabbed us because I wouldn't fetch as much money. That's when I told him about my back. He turned me around and saw my scars and that's when he lost it."

"Why would Armando be needing money? He's worth more than the other bosses," Andrei said.

"Maybe he's only worth more on paper. He could be in debt to someone or several people and be struggling to pay them back. Just because he has plenty of assets on paper doesn't mean any of those are actual liquid assets. He might be strapped for cash," Adrik said.

"The million-dollar question is why he'd be strapped for cash," Ivan said. "Princess, you didn't overhear them talking at all when they were both there, did you?"

"No, I only heard the other two guys speaking Italian. Sal and Armando kept their conversations completely private when they were both there. Armando never said anything in Italian in front of me. Neither did Sal. Only those other two dudes." I thought about what I'd said to Armando for a few moments, trying to remember all the details that the guys might've missed. "The exact moment when you guys came into the chat escapes me. Did you guys hear me asking him about Sal?"

"No, what did you say?" Stephen asked.

"I was trying to make him angry when he found out that I was damaged goods, basically." Adrik clicked his tongue, flexing his arms around my waist. I know he wanted to squeeze me, but he didn't want to hurt me. "It was part of trying to make him mad. I told him he might've been able to sell me with just a front picture, but because I was bruised all the angles were just fucked up. I asked him what Sal was going to do when he found out that I wasn't going to fetch top dollar and what he was going to do when he found out it was Armando that fucked it up. That's when he snapped. There's something to Sal and there's something to Ricardo," I said. "And also fuck him for thinking I was damaged goods. That is all."

"What if we're looking in the wrong spot?" Stephen asked. "There's somebody behind Armando and likely has been for a very long time. Seph thinks Lorenzo is really the brains behind Sal. What if Ricardo and Lorenzo are the connection and we've missed it?"

I could hear Viktor starting a new search after hearing Stephen's theory.

"What did your father think of Armando?" I asked. Adrik would only speak about his father on rare occasions. Their relationship was strained, but respectful. On some level, Adrik understood what his father did to keep him safe and make sure he could survive this world. On another level, that also meant that Adrik didn't really have a solid father figure in his life. Viktor was more of a father figure to Adrik than Vitaliy. Since handing over the business to Adrik, Vitaliy had basically disappeared. He would resurface from time to time for a few days, but then he would be gone for years. Adrik knew how to get in touch with him, if he needed to. He just never needed to.

Adrik sighed. "As far as I know, he had a good relationship with Armando. Armando was new to being a boss when my father handed everything over to me. I think Armando just did whatever my father told him to do, not many questions asked. He told me when I took over that Armando would never be a problem. He was under the impression that Armando was an idiot."

"I think I agree. He's an idiot, but he's also a psycho. It's a very weird combination. You guys heard him confess what he did to his first wife, right?"

"I missed that part. It was hard to hear everything with the guys trying to make me less pretty," Ivan said, smiling. He motioned like he was flipping his non-existent hair over his shoulder.

"He told me he beat her to death when she wouldn't shut up. I asked him if he'd gotten her hooked on coke the same way he did Giana. He didn't know we knew about that, so it stumped him for a minute. I asked him if he knew that coke was a stimulant and told him if he wanted his wife to be quiet that he should've gone with heroin or another opioid. He looked genuinely confused. That's where the idiot part comes in. That's also when I first asked him who was pulling his strings because he was clearly too stupid to have stayed in this business for this long without help. He did not like that," I said.

"Dario was right about Armando's first wife," Misha said.

"Yeah, I remembered that part too," I said. "Now I'm curious to know how Dario knew."

"It might be worth having another conversation with Dario. He might tell us more when he sees that we have Armando," Misha said.

"I agree, but I think Sal is his biggest fear, after Massimo," I said. "Sal is what made him react. Armando just made him angry."

Viktor, who had been quietly searching for information while we were all talking, got up and brought his computer to me. "Do you feel up to translating this?" he asked.

"For you? Of course," I said, winking at him. I scanned over the article. "This one is old. From before Lorenzo got banished. It's talking about how he took over the docks. ‘Injecting new life into the failing import business,' it says. He made a deal with an Italian exporter to bring goods into the city." I looked up from the computer. "I'll give you guys one guess who the Italian exporter is."

"Ricardo," they all said.

"Winner winner chicken dinner," I said. I finished reading the article to make sure there wasn't anything I missed. There was a link to a second article that I clicked to see what else I could find. "Here's one from a few years later. It says that in the span of six months, four boats were found coming into the docks loaded with people."

"It appears Lorenzo has been in the flesh trade longer than we thought," Viktor said.

"This article doesn't mention Ricardo, but I'd be willing to bet if we dug a little, those boats belong to him," I said. Viktor got up and took his computer back to see what else he could find.

Adrik sighed. "This is much bigger than the bosses trying to take the city from me."

"Which is why you need to teach them a lesson, so no one will ever think about trying it again. There's a reason history remembers Vlad the Impaler's name hundreds of years later. Savagery has its place," I said. Adrik tightened his hold on me. I grinned at Stephen, asking, "Yoden, what was Vlad like in real life? Was he cranky? I feel like he was cranky."

"All Romanians come across as cranky, Seph. But Vlad? Surprisingly sarcastic. Liked dad jokes too. Odd combination, but it worked with him," he said with a straight face like it was the God's honest truth.

"What about the impaling? I feel like you helped him come up with that idea."

"No, that was all Vlad. I just supported his dreams. It's called enabling. I invented that," he said, still completely straight-faced.

I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't help but laugh, which caused me to grab my ribs in pain. "I did this to myself," I whined as I waited for the pain in my ribs to subside.

I got up several times throughout the night to walk down the hallway. Everyone's sleep schedule was screwed up, so we would all nap for a few hours, get up and make a few trips up and down the hallway, then nap some more. It was much nicer at night because the hallways were basically deserted. I did, however, get plenty of odd looks from the nurses since the guys insisted on escorting me each time.

"How bad do I actually look?" I asked Adrik quietly. I'd gone to the bathroom a few times, but I refused to look at myself in the mirror. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty and I just didn't want to put myself through that yet. I could see the bruises on my body, so I was sure my face made a matching set.

"Your face is bruised, but not as bad as your body, solnishko. Maybe it's the Russian that makes them nervous. They all think we're talking about them. But I think it's more that we won't let you go anywhere without us. They're not used to seeing a princess in real life," he said, smiling at me.

"Who knew being royalty was such a burden to bear?" I said, flipping my three-day-old braid over my shoulder. I was sure my hair was resembling a rat's nest at this point, but I didn't really care. There wasn't anything I could do about it with only one functioning arm, so I was resigned to it being completely out of control.

Viktor, who was behind us this time, said, "I can redo that for you. Or you're going to end up with a dreadlock before you can get out of here." I picked up the empty sleeve of Adrik's sweatshirt I was wearing and turned to point it at him. "You, sir, are my favorite."

"Hey, no fair. Just because the rest of us have never had long hair and don't know how to braid doesn't mean Viktor gets to be the favorite," Misha said. I could tell he was just trying to stir shit up for the fun of it. We were all going a little stir crazy being stuck here.

As we walked back in the room, Viktor closed the door and then said, "I think your ability to see things as they happen, both past and present, trumps my knowledge of how to braid, Misha."

"Wait, past?" I asked as I walked to the bed. I hated that I felt tired after two trips up and down the hallway, but I needed to sit down. I gingerly sat on the edge of the bed.

Misha sat on the other bed in the room, across from me. "So, when Boss called you the Game Master, I think he nailed it. You definitely unlocked a new level for me when we saw Trino," he said.

"How so?" I asked, as I tried to gingerly scoot farther onto the bed.

"I've never been able to see things that happened in the past before. But the night you and Ivan were taken, we went to the spot where they grabbed you. I could see everything that happened, like it was happening in front of me. I saw them grab you off the bike. I saw you scream to make the guy that grabbed you think you were weak, then I saw you headbutt him as hard as you possibly could to get free. I saw you shoot him. I saw you try to shoot the guys that were on Ivan, but you stopped. I saw them slam you into the car and point a gun to your head. I saw Ivan kill two of the guys that were on him, but he stopped when they pulled a gun on you. I saw them take everything from you and zip-tie your hands in front of you and then throw you into the vehicle. It was plain as day to me when it happened and it was like I was watching it in real time. It's never happened like that before," Misha said, running his hand through his black hair.

"That's pretty incredible, Misha. That's everything that happened as I remember it," I said.

Adrik walked to the bed, putting one arm gingerly around my shoulders, the other under my legs, mindful of the IV tubes still attached to me. He lifted me farther onto the bed, so I could lean back against the bed instead of having to keep myself upright. "That's not all he can do now," he said as he kissed my forehead once he had placed me on the bed.

"There's more?"

Adrik nodded his head. "He saw the building where they took you. He narrowed down the part of town you were in considerably, which made it easier to find you through the earpieces. But even after Chen connected to your earpiece, we still weren't completely sure what building you were in. It only narrowed down the possibilities. It was Keith that randomly told us what building you guys were in."

"How did you see what building they took us to?" I asked Misha.

"I had to have Boss's help for that. He thought about you, about finding you, and I was able to see the building. It was what I kind of assume happened when we saw Trino. You were thinking about Trino and it amplified what I could see. Boss was thinking about you and it amplified what I could see," Misha said. "But it was so dark that I never could see the address on the building. Keith made it easy for us. He gave us the address."

"Keith took Armando to the building? Does he know Ivan and I were there?" I asked, I could feel myself starting to get angry at the possibility of yet another betrayal.

Adrik leaned down and kissed my forehead again, laughing softly. "He didn't know, love. He's still on the good list. For now."

"Put your demon eyes away, Seph. Armando wouldn't tell Keith and Chris why he needed to go to that building. Keith said Armando was acting funny and that he had a bad feeling about it all, so he gave us the address. At that time, he didn't know you and Ivan had even been taken," Stephen said, smiling at me.

"I do not have demon eyes," I said matter-of-factly. Andrei threw another protein bar onto the bed beside me, his broad smile across his face. "I hate you," I said as I opened the wrapper and took a bite. I got halfway through the protein bar and then added, "I'm sorry for what I said when I was hungry. I didn't mean it."

Just to prove there were no hard feelings, Andrei stood up and got me a cup of water. "You're my favorite, spider monkey. Especially when you're cranky from hunger."

"When did you fill Keith and Chris in on the fact that Ivan and I were in that building?" I asked, finishing my middle of the night snack.

"He gave us the address after the first time Armando was there. Keith said he was scheduled to return the following morning, which is when we planned to get you out. We wanted to catch Armando there. We were hoping to catch Sal there too. We watched Keith and Chris drive up with Armando, but he told them to wait in the vehicle. Once Armando was inside, I made a call to Keith and told them to get out of there. I also told them not to answer their phones should Armando call them. They knew something was up, but they still don't have all the details. They just know Armando is in deep shit and is in a room," Stephen said.

"That's who Armando called, I bet. He was livid when they didn't answer. He smashed his phone."

"Is that when you told them to jump off the roof? I have to admit that was my favorite part," Stephen said.

"I think it was everyone's favorite part. That was hilarious," Andrei said.

"I'm going to remind Armando that you warned him. People just don't listen to us, gazelle," Misha said, faking being indignant.

"I really want to laugh right now, but it's going to hurt so much," I said, trying to hold back my laughter.

After my midnight walk and snack, I ended up falling asleep for a few hours again. I was woken up by one the nurses coming in yet again to check on me. The guys were still asleep, Adrik was only pretending to be asleep next to me. I could feel his thumb tracing circles on my back under his sweatshirt. He was growing impatient with the constant interruptions to his sleep. I couldn't blame him. We all were.

The nurse noticed I was awake. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm okay," I said quietly.

"You're still able to breathe normally?" I nodded my head. She glanced around at the guys, checking to see if they were still sleeping. "Can I ask you a question?" she asked quietly. I nodded my head again, curious as to what she wanted to know. "Are you the girl that kept that guy from killing the doctor and the nurses in the ER a few months ago?"

I smiled, once again trying not to laugh. I nodded my head again. "You heard about that?" I asked.

Her eyes went wide. "The entire hospital has heard about that," she said. "You're a legend. None of us know how you did it. I worked a shift with one of the nurses who was in the ER when they were trying to sedate him. She said she's never seen anything like it in her life. Nothing worked. They gave him enough to kill a horse and he just kept getting up. They thought he was on some new kind of drug nobody had seen yet. She was scared for her life, then you showed up. She said you just whispered something to him and he laid there, perfectly still. There are plenty of theories about what happened, but nobody can come up with a viable answer."

I took as deep of a breath as I could. "He wasn't on drugs. And he's not a monster. He's one of my favorite people." I sighed. "I don't have any special powers either. I simply accept him for who he is. Everyone has demons. He has more than most people, and for good reason. He's been through things no human should have to endure. But I love him for it. I love all his broken parts and pieces because they still make the man that would readily give his life to save mine. Sometimes people who've been through serious trauma need an anchor in the storms of their psyche. I'm that for him. And it's not something that you're going to be able to scientifically explain either. Science is the death of magic and certain things are only explained by magic."

She looked somewhat perplexed by my explanation, like her brain couldn't comprehend my words. I held her gaze until she got frustrated and left. When he heard the door click, Adrik said quietly, "She 100 percent thinks you're a witch now." It caught me so off guard that I laughed, which quickly turned to me cursing as softly as I could so as not to wake the guys. He opened his eyes, looking at his watch. "It's close enough for your next superprofen that I think it's okay if you take it now. You clearly need it, witch," he said, grinning at me.

"Stop making me laugh. It fucking hurts," I said, holding my ribs with my good arm. I smiled at him, still grinning at me, then said, "Okay, don't stop. I love it. And I love you, witch lover."

Adrik moved slowly, so as not to hurt me. He pulled his arm that was around me back to him and propped himself up on his elbow. He was still smiling at me as he leaned closer to me and kissed me gently. His lips lingered on mine and I found myself wanting more. I parted my lips, taking his top lip between mine softly. His palm rested against my face, his thumb tracing lightly against my bruised cheek. I leaned into his hand, wanting desperately to not be in pain so I could kiss him the way I wanted to. I felt him smile against my lips. "Me too, solnishko. Me too," he said as he got up to get my next dose of superprofen and some water. "Are you hungry again?" he asked as he walked back to me.

"No, I'm okay. It works faster if I don't eat anyway," I said. Adrik clicked his tongue at me. "Do you have more pain than usual?" he asked, climbing back into the tiny hospital bed with me.

"It's nothing specific. My everything hurts. This bed sucks. I'm cold. I want to shower, but I still haven't figured out how that's going to work with this thing keeping my arm strapped down. And I want real food. And I want to leave. Okay, so that was more specific than originally thought," I said, smiling at him.

Adrik glanced at his watch. "I think you'll be able to leave in a few hours. I wanted to make sure your lung was okay before I took you home. That's not something we can fix or help with. But it seems like you're doing well without the chest tube, so I think the doctor will release you. If not, I think he can be persuaded. I'm very persuasive when I need to be," he said, sliding his arm around me gently. I laughed softly at him. "Incredibly persuasive," I said as I laid my head as far onto his shoulder and chest as I could manage.

The doctor was back early that morning, which I was happy for. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.

"Like I want to go home," I said. I might've been grumpy, so it came across a little harsher than I meant for it to.

Dr. Williams laughed. "How has your breathing been? Still no wheezing? No sharp pains?"

"Only when I laugh, but otherwise I can breathe as well as anybody with five broken ribs can, so I should be able to leave," I said. The guys laughed at me, but I knew they were just as ready to leave as I was.

"I want to take a few x-rays before you leave, just to make sure," Dr. Williams said. "I'll schedule them for later today and you'll be able to go home tonight."

"Or, hear me out here, here's an alternate plan. You do them now and I leave after. I like my plan better."

"I like her plan better too, doc. I think you should go with her plan," Adrik said seriously. Just for emphasis, every one of the guys stood up, arms crossed across their chests. They didn't say a word, but it was enough to make Dr. Williams understand.

"It's a good plan. We'll go with your plan. I'll have the nurse come get you right away," he said, leaving the room quickly.

Once the door closed behind him, I said. "I can't tell you how much I love you all right in this very moment."

"You'll heal faster at home, princess. I know you're making the best of it, but you're not happy here. That's going to delay you getting better," Ivan said.

"And you clearly need some real food to make you less cranky," Andrei said, grinning at me.

"I do. That's a real thing. I know you guys would like to go home as well. There's no reason you all should suffer just because I'm suffering," I said.

"Seph, we're not going anywhere without you. You know that. This was probably the best hospital stay we've ever had, if I'm being honest. You make everything better," Stephen said, his sweet smile stretched across his face.

The nurse came in to fetch me for the x-rays. Andrei and Misha got up to help me out of bed, which surprised the nurse. "Oh, that's handy," she said.

"Perks of being a princess," I said. They all laughed, but she couldn't tell that I wasn't serious. I didn't bother to elaborate either. I really am cranky.

Adrik stayed beside me, offering his arm for me to lean on as we walked slowly to the elevator. The guys insisted on coming with us as well, but stayed outside the x-ray room. Dr. Williams was there to take the x-rays of my lung to make sure there was no extra fluid after removing the chest tube. "Okay, so this is going to be uncomfortable because I have to move your arm, but I'll be as quick as possible. I need you to lay on the table. It'll give more support for your shoulder once I take it out of the sling," he said. Adrik picked me up without a word and gently set me on the table. He helped me lay down slowly before moving out of the way, so Dr. Williams could put me in the correct position for the x-ray.

When he released my arm from the sling and moved it away from my body, I had shooting pains in my shoulder, down to my hip. I wanted to scream, but I wanted to go home more, so I somehow managed to hold it in. When Dr. Williams walked away, there were tears streaming down my face. I held still while he took the x-rays. Adrik walked to the table after Dr. Williams was done, before he walked back out and wiped the tears from my face gently. He looked pained. He said, in Russian, "I felt that too. I know how much pain you're in." Dr. Williams came back to strap my arm in the sling once again. As soon as he moved it again, more shooting pain in my shoulder. This time, I heard Adrik inhale sharply. I was expecting it this time, so I was more prepared, but it didn't hurt any less. Once Dr. Williams was done, Adrik picked me up, the pained look still on his face. "I'm sorry," I said quietly in Russian. "I didn't mean to share that with you."

"What did I tell you about apologizing to me?" he said, carrying me out of the room. "I love you. All of you. All the time."

"I'll have the x-rays in a few minutes," Dr. Williams called after us. The guys looked worried when Adrik carried me out.

"What happened?" Ivan asked, clearly bristled.

"He had to move her arm. She's in severe pain. I don't know how she's been handling it. It would've crippled me," Adrik said, still in Russian.

"You can feel her pain now too?" Stephen asked.

"This was the first time," Adrik said as we got on the elevator to go back to my hospital room. "When he moved her arm, it was a severe shooting pain in my shoulder down to my hip."

"That's exactly what I felt," I said, chewing on my bottom lip. I hadn't been able to feel Adrik as strongly since I'd been in pain. It was like the pain was overtaking everything. When I was still paralyzed from whatever sedation they'd given me, I couldn't feel as much pain, so I could feel him more strongly. Ivan too. I just couldn't do anything about it because I couldn't move my own body.

"What's your pain level now, princess?" Ivan asked.

"She's definitely at a thirteen. Don't let her lie to you," Adrik said. "She can take her next dose of superprofen soon, but not soon enough." He looked down at me. "Are you sure you don't want to try something stronger now that you're going home?"

"I can manage. Ivan was right. It'll be better once I get home and can sleep for more than two hours at a time," I said.

"I can have the acupuncturist come to the penthouse today. It'll help with pain. At least that's what they tell me," Ivan said, winking at me. I smiled back at him, nodding my head.

"Do it. I want to get her home as soon as possible," Adrik said.

Dr. Williams came to the hospital room shortly after we returned. "Your lung looks good. The blood that was there was completely drained with your chest tube, so you don't need to worry about blood clots. Your ribs have stayed in place as well. It actually helps that your arm is secured to your waist. It provides a layer of protection and stability for your ribs right now. I see no reason to keep you here any longer," he said. Like you had a choice, Doc.

I tried to smile as sweetly as possible at him, but I was still in pain. "Thanks, Doc," I said.

"I'll have a nurse bring a chair, so you can leave," he said.

"Save her the trip. I don't need it," I said. He started to argue with me, but I just looked at him, then looked at all the guys standing around me. "You really think they'd let me leave here in a wheelchair? They'd be more likely to fight over who gets to carry me out of here. Let's not be dumb, Doc."

His expression was one of amusement and embarrassment. "Right. Come back in two weeks, so I can check the progress of your shoulder and arm. I'll have the nurse bring you a sleeve for your cast, so you can shower. Keep the sling on as much as possible. Only out of it for a shower and that's it. Your shoulder was completely out of the socket. You need to keep it immobile for a few weeks to let the soft tissue heal," he said, leaving the room.

Viktor and Stephen went to pull the vehicles around, so we could leave. I had to admit that even though I was still in pain, I was suddenly very happy to be leaving.

"It's too early for Vinny's, but there will be a real breakfast for us soon after we get home," Viktor said as Adrik helped me into the backseat.

"Viktor, have I mentioned how much I love you lately?" I said, catching his eye in the rearview mirror. Even though I could only see part of his face, I could tell that I'd just made him melt.

I felt a sense of relief wash over me once we walked into the penthouse. It was nice to be home. Anywhere with Adrik felt like home, but this penthouse and the house both felt like they were just as much my space now as Adrik's. I smiled to myself thinking about how happy I was to be home again.

As soon as we walked into the penthouse, Andrei walked to the kitchen to make coffee. "We haven't had good coffee in so long. It's been so long, spider monkey," he said dramatically.

Adrik checked his watch. "That works out well. You can take your superprofen. The caffeine will help it take effect quicker."

Viktor's phone beeped. "Food is here. I'll be right back," he said.

"I'm so happy right now," I said. My stomach growled loudly, just for emphasis.

We were quieter than usual as everyone ate and guzzled as much good coffee as humanly possible. I knew the guys were at a clear disadvantage since I could basically sleep whenever I wanted to, but they needed to get back to work. They were going to need all the coffee today.

"How's Dario?" I asked, still slowly finishing my food. Breathing was still laborious, so everything I did was much slower than usual.

"The guards on him say he's been quiet, but that he seems happy. He's always grateful when they give him anything. He says to thank Boss all the time. He's been asking if he can have an update occasionally. I think he wants to know when he can leave," Viktor said.

"I would like to know how he knew about Armando's first wife. And why he didn't tell anybody that Sal was trafficking girls," I said.

"We can talk to him again soon. I don't like the thought of bringing him out during the day. He's well-hidden and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want Armando to see that we have Dario. Yet," Adrik said. "I'd like to have another discussion with Armando before he sees Dario."

"And by ‘discussion' you mean you're going to make him wish he jumped off the roof when I told him to?" I said. I couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at that thought.

"To put it mildly, yes," Adrik said, a small smile on his lips.

"Okay, well, don't hurt your knuckles too much. I'm in no shape to take care of you very well right now. Only one of us is allowed to be hurt at a time," I said. When he looked at me, I felt that pull in my chest that he gets when he thinks about how much he loves me. I winked at him. "Do you think he'll tell you anymore about Ricardo?" I asked.

"We'll see. I'm curious to see how he reacts. I think he'll be different with me than he was with you. He clearly thought he had the upper hand with you, although it still stuns me that he thought he was smarter than you. He's always pretended to defer to me. Never once argued with anything I've told him. I don't know if that was an act or if there's legitimate fear there, but I intend to find out," Adrik said.

"I love a good mystery," I said, putting the last bite of bacon in my mouth.

Ivan's phone beeped. He took it out, looking at the text. "The acupuncturist can be here this afternoon, princess."

"Good. Did you tell her you need it too?" I asked.

"I did not," he said. "I'm fine. You took the worst of it this time."

"Fine. I will tell her then," I said. I wasn't angry with him, but I wanted to mess with him just to see what would happen. He started to argue with me, but I looked at him, trying to make my eyes go as dark as possible. I wasn't sure how to do it, but since he'd told me they changed so quickly in the hospital, I wanted to see if I could control when it happened. The look on his face told me I was getting control of it. I didn't let him suffer for very long before I laughed weakly at him and tried to change them back to normal.

"You were trying to control it that time, weren't you?" Ivan asked. I nodded my head, still smiling at him. "That's impressive. It worked."

I suddenly felt Adrik's desire for me come on very strongly. I could tell he was trying to hold it back because I was in no shape for, well, anything, but I knew he was thinking about me changing my eyes the next time we had sex. I felt my cheeks flush.

"Do you have enough energy for a shower, solnishko?" Adrik asked. He sounded innocent enough, but I knew he was struggling to hold it together in front of everyone.

"I think so. But that means I'll probably sleep for like four hours after. Everything is exhausting right now," I said, trying to hide the grin I knew was growing on my face.

"Let's get you cleaned up, then you can sleep until your acupuncture," he said. He looked at the guys. "You guys should get cleaned up as well. Come back when you're done. I want to see what else we can find on Ricardo and Lorenzo before tonight." Everyone's head nodded in agreement. They set about cleaning up the kitchen as Adrik picked me up, carrying me to bedroom.

Once the door was closed, I grinned at him. "You're so excited for my new trick, aren't you?"

He exhaled loudly. "You have no idea, solnishko."

The shower was much more painful than I was hoping because of my arm being out of the sling. I tried to hold it against me as much as I could, which helped, but I was glad I had Adrik to help me. It was so painful I ended up in tears by the end of the shower. I was trying to hold everything in, so I didn't push any of the pain to him. While I really enjoyed sharing everything else with him, sharing my pain with him didn't seem fair.

As he was helping me get dressed before putting my arm back in the sling, he had a smirk on his face. "What are you not telling me?" I asked, watching him.

"The more you try to hold everything in, the easier it is for me to feel it. I know you're trying to avoid pushing your pain on to me, but the more you fight letting it go, the easier it is for me to feel. I know how excruciating that shower was for you just now," he said. I was still only in a bra and panties. He had my sling in his hand as he stood in front of me. He gently moved my still wet hair from my face and leaned down to press his lips to mine.

"Dammit," I said. "That did not go how I planned."

He laughed as he started to wrap the sling around my waist. "I did warn you before, you know," he said, dramatically, mimicking Misha. "It's not fair that you only share the good parts with me. Now I can hold you to that." He looked extra proud of himself at being able to get around my weak defense system.

For just a moment, my pain subsided and the warmth that I normally feel when thinking about him spread through my body. He felt it too, looking at me somewhat surprised as he strapped my arm back into the sling. "I didn't realize how much I would miss that feeling," he said as he stepped closer to me. He put both hands gently on either side of my face and leaned down to kiss me. Where he had been extra gentle in the hospital, like he was afraid to hurt me, he let himself go slightly. The kiss started gentle, but he sucked my bottom lip in between his, his teeth grazing my lip. The pain in my body retreated once again and I could feel nothing but him. The warm sensation traveling over my entire body was met with the pull in my chest toward him as he deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring my mouth gently. I held onto his arm that was still holding my face like he was worried I would break, moaning softly. It felt amazing to have a pain-free moment.

When he stopped the kiss, I kept my eyes closed. The pain was still gone. I was worried that if I opened my eyes, it would come crashing back. I heard him laugh quietly. "Are you okay, solnishko?"

I finally opened my eyes slowly. "You took all the pain away just now. How did you do that?" I asked quietly.

"It worked?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it's coming back slowly, but not as fast as I thought it would. What did you do?"

"I remembered when you were hurt after the ball, you told me that when we had sex it made your pain go away. I don't think you're in any shape for that much right now, but that doesn't mean I can't think about it," he said, his devilish grin on his face.

"Devious. I like it. I'll allow it," I said, smiling widely at him. He had moved to pick up my leggings and stopped when he saw my smile.

"I should do that more. Your light just got brighter again," he said.

"Yes, please."