Chapter One Hundred

Chapter One Hundred

Adrik

I woke up the next morning before Sephie, which was becoming the norm. I wrapped my arm around her tighter, so she wouldn't move too fast, kissing her neck gently. She moaned quietly as she started to wake up. I felt her move her good arm on top of mine that was holding her. "What does it say about me that I'm kind of loving you holding me down all the time now?" she said, still fighting to wake up. She coughed quietly, holding her ribs.

"I'll keep that in mind, love," I said as I wrapped both arms tighter around her, pulling her back to me as close as possible. She surprised me by rolling onto her back without too much effort. She laughed quietly at the look of surprise on my face, only to cough once more. This was a new development that I was beginning to worry about.

"I like to see you," she said, smiling her sweet smile.

"You're making progress. I think the doctor will be pleased this afternoon," I said, leaning down to kiss her.

"I'd like it to go faster," she said. "There are still things I can't do that I would very much like to do." She cut her eyes over at me, chewing on her bottom lip. "And by that I mean you. I'd very much like to do you."

I caught myself just staring at her in wonderment. She always managed to make me laugh, no matter the situation, and she always managed to make me love her even more, no matter what she did. "It's only been two weeks, love. Let's not talk about how they've been the longest two weeks of my life," I said, grinning at her.

"You and me both," she said. "It would be so much easier if it weren't for my ribs. Those things are a major setback."

"It seems like the pain is less the past couple of days though?" I was still able to feel her pain clearly. While it was still very much present, it was more in the background the last couple of days.

She nodded her head. "You've helped." Her sweet smile once again threatened to stop my heart, as she reached over with her good hand to place her palm against my cheek. I'd been trying to take her pain and turn it into something more pleasurable for her more often. She was starting to get cranky, and rightfully so, because her body hurt so much. The acupuncture helped tremendously, but she was still getting frustrated that she was constantly in pain. Her brain wouldn't give her a break from it. It's exhausting to be in constant pain. She was starting to sleep even more than usual, to the point that she was only awake for a couple of hours each day. Even that made her cranky because she felt useless. Her appetite was completely gone, like it was after the attack on her and Misha, which meant she was losing weight again. Even with daily acupuncture, she was a mess.

The words of the acupuncturist were always in my head. "She needs you. She needs Ivan. And she needs the other four waiting outside." I readily admit it took me too long to figure out what to do, but it seemed like the last few days had finally given her some slight relief. She was showing signs of feeling more herself again, but she still had a long way to go.

"It took me too long to figure out what to do, but I'm glad it seems like it's helping," I said.

"It's helping. That's the important part."

The guys were waiting on us when we walked into the kitchen. They'd been stressed because Sephie had seemingly taken a turn for the worse over the last week, on top of everything else. She never took it out on any of us, but it still affected everyone to see her so cranky. And they were starting to miss her because she basically did nothing but sleep.

"Good morning, princess," Ivan said as she walked into the kitchen. She was in front of me, so I couldn't see her face, but I knew by the look on Ivan's face that she was smiling at him.

"Super Squish," she said as she walked to him. She looked around, noticing Stephen wasn't in the kitchen. "He's downstairs getting breakfast. He'll be right back," Ivan said before she could even ask. They'd banned her from trying to cook until she had the use of both arms. That was one reason why we think she took a turn for the worse. She was trying to do too much and suffered because of it. She wasn't happy with the ban, but she finally relented after every single one of us scolded her for arguing with us.

"How did you sleep, gazelle?" Misha asked as she made the rounds in the kitchen.

"Like I was dead," she said, laughing. Andrei handed her a cup of coffee, saying, "This will help bring you back to life."

Stephen walked back into the penthouse, clearly happy that she was awake. "How's your appetite this morning, Seph?" he asked. "I got you French toast this time. Maybe a sugar high is what you need," he said, grinning at her.

"That'll keep me awake for ten extra minutes today," she said sarcastically. She still hugged him and thanked him for remembering she loved French toast.

She picked at her breakfast, eating some of it, which was progress from the previous few days. She saved the rest of it for later, in case she got hungry again. Really, she was saving it for one of the guys. They would always eat her leftovers at some point.

"When do you meet with the police commissioner?" she asked, chasing around a bite of toast on her plate but not actually eating it.

"Tomorrow. I was waiting to see what Sal did before I met with him. He knows, loosely, what's happening, but I need to fill him in on everything," I said.

"Who had Sal running on the whiteboard and who had him staying?" she asked, smiling.

Sal had stayed in his house for days after Trino delivered Anthony and Lorenzo to him. Trino had his guys watching Sal the whole time. They could see him inside the house. Like Stephen said, if it wasn't Sal, it would've been heartbreaking. He was definitely in mourning. We were waiting to see what he was going to do next. Trino had offered to take care of Sal. "I'm still pissed he would try to go around me and make a deal with the Mexicans. I'll be happy to take care of him for you," he said.

"Be my guest, Trino," I had told him. One less thing I would have to worry about. We had guys watching Niko and Vito as well. Both paid visits to Sal while he was shut in his house. Both were shown Trino's special delivery. Both were now afraid for their own lives.

The people in those three areas of the city were still unhappy and threatening to revolt against the bosses. Even with being terrified for their own lives, they were still trying to collect the new taxes they'd imposed on their people. Massimo's underbosses were still trying to collect taxes in his area. The only quiet areas belonged to Dario and Armando.

Trino was proving to be invaluable to me during this entire situation. I had not expected him to come through the way he was. During one of the short windows when she was awake, I'd talked to Sephie about it.

"I'm not that surprised that he's proving to be as helpful as he is," she said. I looked at her skeptically. "He knows you trust actions more than words. Because he's very similar to you. You're going to need to return the favor when it comes to the Mexicans when this is over with in the city."

I could feel her worry starting to build, but she was trying to smile through it. "You shouldn't worry, love. Trino took care of them by himself last time. If we help him, it will be even faster," I said.

She tried to take as deep a breath as she could. "I know. I still worry. I can't help it." I could feel her frustration as I pulled her as close to me as possible. We were both missing the ability for me to hold her tightly.

That afternoon, Sephie had her two-week check-up with Dr. Williams. He wanted to take another x-ray of her lung, just to make sure everything was still functioning properly. We all went to the hospital with her.

"How's your breathing?" he asked.

"Still not what I'd like it to be, but it's okay," she said.

"Is it mostly your ribs? Are you feeling like you're not getting enough air?"

"Both, I think? I can't take a deep breath because of my ribs, so it feels like there's not enough air all the time," she said.

"Hmm. Let's get you x-rayed. I want to see what's going on in there."

He had to take her arm out of the sling to be able to see all of her lung. It was painful for her, but not like it was before she left the hospital. I stood to the side and tried to help her with the pain as much as I could. It worked better when I could touch her. She didn't have tears in her eyes this time when I walked back to the table she was lying on. I strapped her arm back in the sling and helped her sit up, so we could put my oversize sweatshirt back on her. At least she'd been staying warmer with the clothes we got her through all this.

Dr. Williams told us to wait in the exam room while he looked at her x-rays. He had a concerned look on his face when he walked back into the room.

"Have you been feeling fatigue lately, Sephie?" he asked, sitting on a stool in front of her.

"She's done nothing but sleep the past few days. She's only been awake a few hours each day," Ivan said. "Literally everything wears her out."

"She's also lost her appetite again like she did before when she took pain meds," Misha said.

"She was starting to breathe better after the first days of being at home, but now she's struggling to breathe again like she did when she was still in the hospital," Andrei said.

Dr. Williams looked to Sephie for confirmation of what they'd all just said. She simply nodded her head in agreement. "Any sharp pains in your chest?" he asked as he put a stethoscope on and listened to her breathing.

"Just my ribs."

"What about a rapid heart rate?" She shook her head no. He wheeled himself to the cabinet on the opposite side of the room, grabbing a needle and syringe. "You've got fluid building up in your lung again. I'm thinking you're in the beginning stages of pneumonia, but I want to run a blood test to make sure it's pneumonia." He looked at me, then to each of the guys. "Have you heard her wheezing again when she breathes?"

"No wheezing. She's coughing again occasionally though. Usually when she tries to talk too much," Andrei said.

"It's becoming more frequent," I said.

Dr. Williams took blood from Sephie's right arm, then stood up. "I'm going to put a rush on this, so we'll know for sure whether this is pneumonia. I can send her home with antibiotics, but that's not going to make her stomach any happier. If the antibiotics don't begin to resolve it, she's going to need to be admitted again," he said as he stepped out of the room.

She had tears in her eyes when I looked down at her. "I don't want to go back to the hospital," she said quietly. I pulled her to me, so her head was resting on my shoulder as I wiped away the tears. She closed her eyes, leaning on me. "I'm so tired of this," she said so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.

The guys were quiet, not knowing what to say, but clearly worried about her. Sephie sat quietly beside me, with her head on my shoulder until the doctor returned. I thought she might've fallen asleep, but she heard him come in the room and lifted her head from my shoulder.

"The good news is it's pneumonia. That's also the bad news. I'm going to send you home with antibiotics for now, but I want to see you again in seven days to make sure it's not getting worse. If you start to have trouble breathing at any point, you need to come straight here. Your lung is still healing and this could cause it to collapse again." He looked at all of us, saying, "If you hear her start wheezing again, or she has any sharp pains in her chest, her pulse starts racing, she starts turning blue, or has shortness of breath, bring her here." We all nodded. "The antibiotics will be easier to handle if you can eat something when you take them. Yogurt is usually a good choice, if you can't manage anything else," he said, looking back to Sephie. She nodded her head. "On the bright side, your bones look like they're healing well. How's your shoulder feel?"

"It's not as painful when I take it out of the sling now. It still hurts, just less," she said.

"That will continue to get better. Your ribs look good, but they always take the longest to heal because they're constantly being moved." He looked at Ivan. "Seven days, bring her back. Don't miss a dose between now and then. We hopefully caught this early enough that it won't progress into something worse that means she has to come back here. Let her rest as much as she needs, but stay diligent about her antibiotics."

"We'll take care of her," Ivan said. The doctor stood up to leave the room. I helped Sephie stand up, then reached down and picked her up. I could feel her exhaustion. She didn't protest, she just wrapped her good arm around my shoulders and rested her head against my shoulder and neck as we left the hospital.

She was asleep before we made it back to the penthouse. Once we walked in the door, I walked to one of the couches with her. She didn't even wake up when I pulled her from the backseat. Viktor read the prescription on the antibiotics. "It says she needs to take this every eight hours until she's out of pills," he said, taking out two pills from the bottle.

"At least we know she'll be awake three times a day now," Misha said as he was looking through the refrigerator. He grabbed a carton of yogurt and a spoon and walked them over to me. Andrei had gotten a glass and was filling it with water for her.

She was still sound asleep in my arms. "Sephie, love, you need to wake up," I said, brushing my hand across her cheek. She started to eventually stir, then opened her eyes. She looked momentarily confused before saying, "I fell asleep again, huh?"

"You were out almost before we left the hospital, princess," Ivan said, softly.

"You need to take your first dose of antibiotics, gazelle. Then you can go back to sleep if you want to," Misha said, grinning at her.

She made the move to sit up slowly. I helped her, but she was getting stronger on her own. "I wouldn't exactly say that I want to go back to sleep, but that seems to be all I can manage right now," she said, taking the pills from Viktor and the glass of water from Andrei.

"Here's yogurt, so the antibiotics don't upset your stomach. You don't need any more reasons to not eat right now," Misha said, handing her the carton. She turned up her nose at the yogurt, which made Misha sit on the coffee table in front of her. "Don't make me do the airplane trick to get you to eat this. Because I will." He was trying to look at her sternly, but he couldn't keep his smile hidden. He ended up laughing, which made her laugh. "Come on, just a few bites and then I'll go away," he said.

She groaned quietly, but ate a few bites before handing it back to Misha, who finished it. We all looked at him as he ate the rest of it. "What? Who doesn't love yogurt? It's cherry flavor too. This is the best kind."

I pulled her back against me once more. "Do you want to go lie down in bed, love? Or stay out here with all of us?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't want to be alone, but I don't want to keep you trapped on the couch with me either. You guys are gonna have to come up with babysitting shifts. Rotate duties," she said, smiling.

I couldn't help but laugh. We'd already discussed that on the ride back from the hospital. She leaned her head back to try and look at me. "Let me guess, you already discussed that option?"

"Maybe," I said, grinning down at her.

She pulled my arms around her tighter. I immediately felt her mood shift and knew she was going to apologize for keeping me away from work for the last two weeks. "Don't think about apologizing, Sephie."

"I like it much better when you guys don't scold me so much," she said. I could hear her smiling, so I knew she was teasing.

"Then maybe don't apologize so much for stuff you shouldn't apologize for," Andrei said from the kitchen. I did not expect that from him and couldn't contain my laughter. Thankfully, neither could Sephie.

"I'm regretting that pinky swear right about now," she said quietly, so only I could hear.

"He's not wrong, love. And you know he's not wrong," I said with my lips against her ear, brushing my facial hair against her cheek and neck.

"That's why it hurts right here," she said dramatically, pointing to her chest, right over her heart.

The following afternoon, I had a meeting with the police commissioner. Sephie and I had discussed her being there for the meeting before she went back to the doctor and found out she had pneumonia. I wanted her to stay in the penthouse, but she was trying to convince me that she could still make it.

"I slept the entire night and half the day already. I can manage to stay awake for at least an hour while you meet with him. You said you wanted me there to make sure he wasn't hiding anything. I can still do that. I don't even have to talk," she said.

Ivan looked between her and I. "Boss, as much as I hate to agree with her right now, I think she's right. If we're going to try to pin everything on Ricardo, we need to make sure that Henry is with us. It's probably going to mean that she'll sleep until tomorrow, but we kind of need her for this meeting."

"That's why Squish is my favorite," she said, crossing her one useful arm across her chest for emphasis.

I had to admit that I also agreed with Ivan, but I hated the thought of putting Sephie through the meeting when I knew she didn't feel well. She had taken a turn for the worse because she was trying to do too much too soon. I was worried this would set her back even further.

"He's coming here, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, nobody liked the idea of Boss going to the police precinct," Viktor said.

"I can't argue with that either. Then I just have to go downstairs for like an hour. Two at most. Then right back up here to pass out again for days on end. At least let me have a change of scenery for the two hours I'm awake right now," she said.

I sighed. "You tell me if you start to feel tired or worse, got it?" I looked at her as sternly as possible, which wasn't much.

"I promise," she said. "I'll just give Ivan the signal. He can carry me back up here without you having to stop your meeting." She paused for a moment, grinning. "Just as long as you promise me you'll make up some fantastical excuse as to why I had to leave. I will also accept something nonsensical, like ‘no one can escape their destiny.''

"That makes me want to take you out of the middle of the meeting whether you need to leave or not, princess," Ivan said, laughing.

"Do antibiotics usually work this fast? Because it seems like you're feeling a little better already, Seph," Stephen said.

"I'm not sure, but whatever keeps me from having to go back to the hospital, I'm all for," she said.

Before we went down to my office for the meeting with the police commissioner, I had a few moments alone with Sephie while I helped her change into something other than my sweatshirt and a pair of leggings.

"I hope nothing is riding on me looking extra professional today," she said, grinning at me as I cut the sleeve off one of her long-sleeve shirts so she could wear it.

"I would really worry about the state of the world if it was," I said, smirking at her. As much as I hated to admit it, I was happy she was going to be in the meeting with me. I was still worried about her, but I couldn't deny that I valued her opinion of Henry. I'd always had a good relationship with him, but after everything that had happened, I was questioning every single working relationship I had. I wouldn't trust anyone that didn't get the okay from Sephie first.

"How long have you known Henry?" she asked as I helped her pull on a pair of jeans. She was getting much better at putting her leggings on, but the jeans were tighter and proving to be difficult for her with only one arm and broken ribs.

"He's been commissioner for almost four years now. The mayor appointed him when he was elected. They're basically both running for re-election. If the mayor is re-elected, then Henry stays in. His position isn't guaranteed if a new mayor is elected," I said.

"So, this deal with Ricardo would look good for the mayor and would help him get elected for a second term?"

"That's what we're hoping they'll think. There are some people in the city that know about me and can recognize me, but there are many that have no idea I exist. They just know that things are not good in their area and want a solution. If the mayor can package this up as a sweeping reform on crime, the people will gladly vote him in for a second term," I said, helping her with her shirt as well. I gathered her hair up and lifted it off her neck, so I could kiss the back of her neck. "Are you sure you're going to be warm enough in just this?"

She handed me her sling, so I could help her strap her arm back in. "I'm trying to be cold on purpose. It'll help keep me awake," she said, grinning at me. I clicked my tongue at her, to which she responded by making her eyes go dark.

I cursed under my breath. "That is not playing fair," I said as I pulled her as tight against me as I could. I leaned down and kissed her passionately, trying to make her knees go weak. My tongue didn't give her the choice to deny me entry into her mouth. Not that she would have anyway. Even though I was trying to make her knees go weak, I was still fighting against my desire to completely devour her. When I felt her falter, I deepened the kiss for a moment more until she moaned not so quietly against my lips.

She stepped back from me, a little more out of breath than I thought she would be. "You win," she said, still trying to catch her breath. It took her longer to catch her breath than it should have, which worried me. "I'm okay," she said in between breaths. "Just let me sit for a second." I helped her to the edge of the bed, kneeling in front of her. She didn't let go of my arm while she worked to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry, solnishko. I didn't mean for this to happen. What can I do?"

She grinned at me. "I started it." She looked down at my worried expression, her smile widening. "I'm okay. I promise. It's just difficult to catch my breath right now," she said, her palm resting against my cheek. "Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the hell out of that though."

I cursed under my breath again, standing in front of her. "Can you walk? I can carry you downstairs. I think I should carry you after I almost made you pass out," I said, pulling her up in front of me. I didn't wait for her to argue, I just bent down and scooped her up. "I'll be happy when you can eat again. You're getting skinny again. You're going to be all sharp soon," I said as I walked us down the hallway.

The guys were all somewhat concerned when I carried her out of the bedroom. "It's okay. I might've gotten carried away and almost made her pass out. The least I can do is carry her while she catches her breath," I said, somewhat sheepishly. I heard several chuckles behind us while we walked to the door. Sephie hid her face against my neck, so she wouldn't have to see them grinning at me.

The police commissioner was prompt, walking into my office exactly on time. "Henry," I said, as I stood to shake his hand. Viktor, who had escorted him up, stayed by the door after he closed it. The rest of the guys were already in the office. Henry looked to all of them, nodding. He spotted Sephie behind me. She was already on the cabinet behind my desk. "You must be Sephie. I've heard quite a bit about you," he said, smiling warmly at her.

She slowly started to get off the cabinet. Ivan saw her and went to help her stand up. She walked over slowly, extending her hand to Henry. "I don't know what you've heard, but hopefully it's not all bad."

"Quite the contrary. Vinny's happens to be one of my favorite places for lunch. Both he and his wife can't say enough good things about you. Or him, for that matter," he said, gesturing toward me.

She smiled widely at the mention of Vinny and Anna. "They're wonderful people. My stomach is in a long-term relationship with his sandwich shop."

Henry laughed. I motioned for him to sit while I helped Sephie back up on the cabinet behind my desk. I tried to move a chair there for her, but she said she preferred to sit on the cabinet. She said most people forgot she was back there, so she could watch them without them being completely aware she was doing so.

"So, tell me, what's this important that we actually needed to meet in person?" Henry asked.

"I know you're aware of some of what's been happening, but you need to know the full story. I also have somewhat of a solution for the situation that I think you and the mayor will be happy with," I said.

"I know about the brawn situation and the doctor finally being captured, both of which I'm grateful to you for taking care of. I've been hearing rumors of some of the bosses raising taxes in their areas of the city. Does it have to do with that?"

I nodded. "It's larger than that. The bosses made a move to overthrow me. Lorenzo has been looking for a way back to the city. The attempted coup was his way back. Salvadori was behind most of it, although every single boss is guilty of going along with it."

"Which means what for the other bosses? That can't be sitting well with you."

"It's not. It means I'm getting rid of all of them. Lorenzo is already taken care of. Armando, Dario, and Massimo are too. The other three will be shortly."

Henry thought for a moment. "Are you replacing them then?"

"Not exactly. I don't need them. I've never needed them."

Henry's jaw tensed as he considered what this meant for the city. I heard Sephie say quietly in Russian, "He thinks that's too much power for one person. He's worried you'll become a tyrant."

"There's another player behind the bosses as well. I have enough evidence that makes it look like he's the one that's been running the city for years so that he can easily be tried and jailed, making it appear as though you and the mayor are being extremely tough on crime. Once the other bosses are taken care of, the increased taxes they've imposed go away. I've never been a fan of high taxes. The people know that. I would much rather they keep their money and invest it back in their community. That will become the norm once I take care of the bosses. I continue to run the city behind the scenes as I've been doing for the past ten years. Crime returns to the lower rates. Everything goes back to the way it was a couple years ago before the bosses started to get greedy. I have plenty of money. I don't see a reason to needlessly raise taxes on hard-working people. That won't change."

"This other player—who is it?"

"Ricardo De Luca."

"No shit?" Henry said, clearly shocked.

"You know him?"

"He's been slipping out of our grasp for years now. He was instrumental in setting up a pipeline for Lorenzo's human trafficking before your father banished him. He resurfaced years later as a supposed legitimate businessman. One of my detectives has been watching his deals with Armando in the city. We could never get him on anything substantial, so there was never a reason to look further into his finances, etc.," he said.

"Until now," Ivan said. He stood up and handed Henry the stack of papers that the journalist had given Chen.

"Where did you get this?" Henry asked, looking through the pages. "Holy shit. This is what we've been wanting to find."

"The source wishes to remain anonymous. I will say, however, that he's a very thorough source. You'll find everything you need there to make an arrest," I said.

Henry continued to look through the papers, but eventually stopped. He looked up to me. "I need to talk to the mayor, of course. I can't make this decision on my own. Although, it's going to be difficult for him to ignore Ricardo once he sees this. You've always been great at working with us instead of against us. The people of the city are happy that you stopped the brawn operation. The media had a field day with that one. Those who know you love you. Those who don't know you loved the peace you brought when you took over."

"None of that will change," I said.

He stood up, which meant I stood up as well. He still looked thoughtful. Ivan moved to help Sephie stand up, so she could stand beside me. She asked quietly, "The mayor is getting money from the other bosses, isn't he?"

Henry's jaw dropped. "How…?"

"Lucky guess. You genuinely want to work with us, but you're nervous about something. It's not anything on our end. We just gift-wrapped a guaranteed re-election for the mayor, which would mean another appointment for you. The only reason that would come into question is if he's getting money from the other bosses. If his loyalties lie with them, he's going to want to come after us rather than Ricardo. You're caught in the middle and you're wondering which side to choose," she said.

Henry sat back down, still stunned that she knew what she knew. "No one knows about the mayor for sure. He's done a great job of keeping it very discreet, but there was a hefty amount of money pumped into his campaign from a non-existent corporation. Since he took office, he's had unexplainable influxes of cash several times. The problem is, we can never prove anything."

"Who's running against him in this election? Maybe this information needs to go to that person instead," Ivan said.

"I think that candidate is even worse than the current mayor," Henry said.

"What about you?" Sephie asked.

Henry looked up at her, not understanding what she meant. "What about me?"

"You run for mayor. You expose the current mayor and the other candidate in your campaign. We get rid of the other bosses. The city thrives. Seems simple to me," she said.

She made a great point. Henry was well-liked, both among the police as well as the people of the city. He'd started great programs during his time as commissioner.

"But I … I wouldn't know the first thing about being a mayor," he said.

"And you really think the current mayor did? They're called advisors for a reason, Henry," she said, smiling at him.