“You’re not wrong, Squish,” I said. “It would explain quite a lot. I’m starting to question whether you guys have been telling me the truth about my extra spicy side though. Seeing it in Giana doesn’t seem very fun.”
“Not even in the same ballpark, gazelle,” Misha said.
Adrik held me tighter, saying quietly, “never compare yourself to anyone ever again. There’s no comparison.”
Before I could react to his words, Martin replied to Giana. “He says he needs a day or two to scope out the building and see what his options are. He said his guys can watch the building and find out if there’s any way in.”
“So, Ivan was right. This guy is pu ssy whipped. Clearly he’s not had enough of it,” Andrei said.
“She says she can’t wait much longer. She’s going to try to escape with or without him,” I said. “She’s acting like she’s in a dungeon. I mean, granted, she’s being held against her will, but she’s got everything she needs for f**k’s sake. Nobody’s chaining her to the f**king floor while they beat one of the people who mean the most to her in this world in the next room. While she hears everything.” My anger came on so suddenly and so strongly that it almost surprised me, but it was also mixed with fear. I wouldn’t let myself feel the fear when everything was happening. I knew I had to keep my wits about me, so I pushed al the fear down, but it was still there. Waiting to be acknowledged. It all came flooding back to me, overwhelming my anger. I immediately started to shake, even worse than I had days before when I was scared of being apart from Adrik.
He felt it right away, whispering to me to try to keep me calm. He took the phone from my hand and threw it on his desk. “Close your eyes, love. Listen to my voice. You’re safe. You’re with me. Nobody can hurt you here,” he said. He just repeated those words until he felt me take a breath and my body relax slightly. He turned me around in his lap so he could stand up with me in his arms. He walked us both to the couch, keeping me in his Jap. He kept repeating that I was safe and I was with him and that nobody could hurt me now. His hand ran up and down my back lightly, trying to calm the shaking.
I took a deep breath, lifting my head from his shoulder to look at him. I could tell from the look on his face that my eyes had changed. I shut my eyes again and rested my head on his shoulder again. Viktor’s phone beeped a few times. I heard one of the guys get up to get it. I felt Adrik shake his head, telling them to wait. We sat in silence for a few more minutes. I took another deep breath, looking at Adrik once more to see if my eyes had returned to normal yet. He smiled sweetly at me, nodding his head once. He reached up and put his palm against my cheek, his thumb rubbing gently back and forth.
I sighed once more, turning to look at the concerned faces looking back at me. I started to apologize, but Ivan cut me off. “That is never something you should apologize for, princess. You never let yourself feel the fear while everything was happening, but it doesn’t mean it went away,” he said.
“It’s important that you admit to yourself you were scared in that situation, Seph. We all were,” Stephen said.
“You were?” I asked, moving so I was sitting in between Adrik’s legs and leaning back against him so I could see everyone again. I pulled his arms around me, resting mine on top of his.
“Of course we were. How could we not be?” Andrei asked.
“Well, now that you ask it like that, I don’t know,” I said.
“Just because we’ve been in similar situations before doesn’t mean we weren’t all scared this was the first time we weren’t going to get to you in time,” Misha said.
“Having to be careful and patient when it came to looking for you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” Viktor said.
“We were all worried we would be able to get you both back,” Adrik said.
I smiled at them. “I was sure you guys would find us. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to hang on long enough for you to find us. Armando doesn’t know how to punch very well, but he’s strong and I was completely defenseless,” I said quietly, looking at the floor.
“You were worried about the one thing I was sure of,” Stephen said. “Once we found you, I knew you’d be able to hold on long enough for us to get you out. I’ve never met anyone as strong as you, Seph. I was more worried they would get rid of Ivan. Armando beating you was completely unexpected for me. I knew they needed you. I didn’t expect him to lose it.”
“I might’ve provoked that,” I said. “I’m mostly accountable for that.”
Adrik clicked his tongue, turning me so I would look at him again. “You bear none of the responsibility of that. I don’t care how angry he was about anything. He had no right to touch you,” he said. He was angry when he said it. I knew on some level he wasn’t angry with me, but it still surprised me enough that I felt a twinge of fear return and I tensed. He felt it, pulling me toward him. He whispered, “I’m sorry, Sephie. Keep your eyes closed again. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Viktor’s phone beeped again. Without raising my head or opening my eyes, I asked what was being said. “Martin is assuring her that he’s going to get her out, one way or another. He’s begging her not to try to escape on her own,” Viktor said.
“I can’t handle the back and forth between semi-smart Martin and du mb as f**k Martin. I’m getting whiplash,” I said. I felt Adrik laugh as he put his hand on my neck, pulling me up so I would look at him. He smiled, saying quietly so only I could hear, “green does mean sarcasm, it appears.” He pulled me to him, kissing me gently. He left his hand on my neck as I rested my head on his shoulder, my face buried in his neck once more.
Sephie
“She’s giving him a few days to get a plan together, but she said she’s tired of waiting. She says she can’t stay here any longer,” Viktor said.
“Jesus, she’s dramatic,” I said. “I mean, it’s not her fault, but seriously. Shut the f**k up already.”
They all laughed. “I’ll have the guys at the building try to find out whe’s watching the building. I’ll also put a few guys on Armando’s house. He only has a few guys there normally. They might’ve given up since we’ve had him.”
“I want to know who’s working for Martin. It does not make me happy if he has guys in my city,” Adrik said. “I want to wait to see if Martin is du mb enough to make a move against my building before telling Trino about all this.” He pulled me up so he could look at me again. “Do you think you can find the answer to that? Can Misha see if he’s planning on trying to use force to get Giana out?”
I thought for a second before answering. “I need to be around him or hear him to get something from him,” I said. I glanced at Misha. “Do you think we can find him and see what his plans are? We can use Bubba too. Maybe we’ll get sound again.”
“It’s worth a try,” he said.
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.