“None of this is your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for. You’ve done nothing but keep me safe and take care of me,” I said, hugging him closer and inhaling his intoxicating scent. We stood in silence for a moment, until the buzzing of his phone interrupted the silence. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the kitchen with him.
He glanced at his phone, looking to me. “Ivan. Would you like to answer?”
I shook my head, placing my hand on my stomach again. I still felt like I was going to pu ke. He raised his eyebrow, clicking his tongue. As he talked to Ivan, I sat the on the kitchen counter, hoping my queasy stomach would settle down. He set his phone down and stepped between my legs. His hand cupped my face, concern all over his face. “I don’t like this, solnishko. Do you need to see the doctor again? I can call my personal doctor to come here, so you won’t have to leave.”
I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. “No, I don’t think there’s anything they can do for me. I don’t think there’s much a person can do for a concussion, other than wait it out. I think this is from the st upid pain pill. I don’t want to take another one of those.”
Before he could respond, I heard the guys walking into the penthouse. Ivan walked in the kitchen, looking somewhat concerned. “Princess, you look terrible.”
“I feel terrible, Grumplestiltskin,” I said with my eyes still closed, still enjoying Adrik’s warm touch against my face.
Viktor had walked in behind Ivan. He stood against the opposite counter, his arms folded across his broad chest. “You hit your head harder than you thought. You have another headache?”
“Not right now. I did last night. I took a pain pill to make it go away and I think that’s why I feel like sh it now.”
Ivan clicked his tongue. I opened my eyes to see him nod his head to Adrik, who stepped to the side. Ivan stood in front of me and took my hand in his. He motioned for Adrik to look, then he squeezed a spot in between my thumb and forefinger. Initially it hurt, but the longer he squeezed, the better my head felt. I looked at him, my eyes wide. He smirked at me, then moved to a spot just below my wrist, showing Adrik the new spot. This one took a little longer, but as he held the pressure there, my stomach started to feel better and the nausea slowly passed. I looked up at him, my mo uth hanging open in shock. “How did you do that?”
He smiled at me. Winking, he said, “you’re not the only one that ha tes doctors and taking pills.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Don’t tell Andrei, but you’re my favorite now.” I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
He looked at Adrik and said, “I can show you more spots to help her. Some on her foot too. Acupuncture will help her get relief.”
“Whatever she needs. I can have someone come here for acupuncture every day if she needs it. Whatever makes her feel better and not have to sleep for days at a time. It’s getting boring without her,” he said winking at me.
Viktor laughed from across the kitchen. “We all tried to hang out with Tori, since she’s here this weekend. It’s not the same. Not the same at all.”
I put my hands over my mo uth. “Oh no! Is Bubba okay? Is he in trouble now? Do we need to save him?” Viktor chuckled. “When is he not in trouble?”
“Harsh. But fair. She is wound much tighter than I thought she was going to be. I’m somewhat regretting facilitating that arrangement,” I said. Ivan had taken my other arm and was pressing on the acupuncture points on that arm to help give me more relief as we talked. Adrik watched him closely, like he was taking me ntal notes. I thought for moment, then added, “it is a unique situation that you guys are in, though. It’s a lot for someone to walk into.”
Ivan looked down at me, changing the pressure point to the one below my wrist. “You did just fine.”
I smiled up at him. “Because I embrace the chaos.”
He laughed. He let go of my arm. “Better?” he asked as he stepped away.
I patted my stomach. “So much better. I feel like I can eat soon. Maybe.”
Adrik returned to stand beside me, his arm around my waist. He kissed my cheek. “I’m so happy you feel better, solnishko.” He looked genuinely relieved. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. “I will get you acupuncture. Whatever helps your appetite. You’re too bony now,” he said poking my hip bone. “You’re going to start bruising me. I’m very delicate.” He smiled down at me, kissing me quickly. “You’re the reason I have to wear a dress in public, so you did this to yourself.”
Ivan said, “hey hey hey, no fighting you two. You sound like Andrei and Tori. We need one couple that’s happy.”
I laughed, pulling Adrik in front of me. I turned him to face Viktor and Ivan so he could still talk to them and hung my arms over his shoulders, resting my chin on his shoulder. He grabbed both my hands and held them in his. “Have you met me, Ivan? Don’t you know by now that I’m rarely serious?”
Adrik
Sephie managed to eat a little bit, after Ivan showed me the pressure points to help give her relief. I was hopeful that she would be able to get some sleep without having to take another pill. I’ve been worried about her since the attack. She’s so strong, but she hasn’t been completely herself yet. I hated seeing her in pain in any way. Of course, she was still fun to be around and always looking after everyone else, but we could all tell that she was having to make an effort to be that way. Normally, it came so naturally. Now, she was having to force it.
At least now I had a way to get her some relief. I felt like I could do something finally. I’ve felt mostly useless throughout this whole situation, which drives me crazy. It only adds to my frustration with everything that’s going on with Salvadori and Anthony. Salvadori had tried his best to get the other bosses to turn against me. There were six bosses under me. Salvadori managed to take two to his side, but the other three came to me immediately when Salvadori approached them. This showed me they were loyal to me.
I was working on ways to get more information from Sicily on Anthony and Lorenzo. One of the bosses that was loyal to me, Armando, had extensive family in Italy. His family was powerful in Italy, as well as in the city. He was helping to set up an information network from Sicily. We had gotten bits and pieces of information so far. Nothing substantial, but information takes time to collect.
It looked like Salvadori wanted to start a war in the city. I was trying to avoid that, at all costs. The people of the city didn’t need to be involved in this petty dispute. I would take the fight to Sicily and strike first before I would let Salvadori unleash chaos on the city like he was planning.
I looked down at Sephie, sleeping soundly on my chest. I ran my hand through her hair lightly. She loved it anytime my hands were in her hair, even in her sleep. It would make her snuggle into me, sometimes making the cutest little cooing noises as she slept. It was one of my favorite things to do when she was sleeping. It made me smile every time.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.