“That’s why you called him that,” Vitaliy said, making the connection.
“She can feel the difference between me and Andrei as well,” Misha said. “She said Andrei’s is calm and controlled, but deadly. She said mine amps up the f**kery, which I’m totally here for.” He grinned mischievously at Vitaliy.
Vitaliy thought for a few moments. “I keep thinking I can’t be more impressed by her and she just keeps proving me wrong.”
I laughed. “I say that almost daily, Vitaliy.”
I checked on Andrei and Sephie before leaving to go downstairs to the office. They were both sound asleep on the couch. I caught myself wondering if she waited until today so Andrei could sleep too. He’d been busy the last few days. It wouldn’t surprise me if she knew he was also exhausted.
Ivan and Viktor walked into my office a few hours later. “Mr. Turner does have a tail that isn’t one of ours. Just one guy. We had our guys watch him. to see who he reports to,” Viktor said.
“I’m guessing it’s the police chief that saw Mr. Turner walk into the building. Our guys said this guy was terrible at his job. Our guys have been on Mr Turner for months and he still hasn’t caught on, but this guy was on him for a couple days and was made. The police always think they’re on top of their game,” Ivan said, shaking his head.
“I need to have a conversation with Henry,” I said. “That information we got from the journalist about Ricardo ties him up into a very neat package. I’d like to not f**k that up. Have you heard anything more from the journalist about the mayor?” I asked Viktor.
He shook his head no. “He seemed to think it would be quick work, but I think he overestimated his sleuthing skills. We’ve found a few things, but they’re circumstantial at best.”
I nodded. “Keep looking. Maybe ask for an update from him. Might help him along. Chen seemed to really enjoy lying to that guy, so he’ll be ready to meet him again when we need him,” I said. “Set up a meeting with Henry, in the evening, I want Sephie there when I talk to him.”
They both nodded and walked out of the office. I leaned back in my chair, exhaling. The hardest part of all of this was the waiting. Waiting to collect information, waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to reveal itself, waiting for the next betrayal. I was getting impatient. That didn’t bode well for everyone against me right now.
Sephie
I could hear Andrei snoring when I finally woke up. He was louder than Adrik, so I knew who I was sleeping on before I even opened my eyes. I would’ve been able to tell even if he wasn’t snoring. I wasn’t warm enough. It was almost warm enough, but not Adrik’s perfect warmth.
I opened my eyes, looking outside to try to get a feel for how late in the day it was. It was definitely afternoon, judging by the dim winter sunlight coming through the windows. I picked my head up to look at Andrei. He was pretty adorable when he slept. He was handsome anyway, but he had a boyish innocence to his face when he slept. I found myself watching him sleep for a few moments, enjoying his peacefulness.
He probably needed this extra sleep as much as I did. I hadn’t thought about it before now, but he had a new level unlocked between the match with Vitaliy’s men and what happened at the hotel. He was probably exhausted. I needed to check on Misha and Ivan to see how those two were doing after the last couple of days’ festivities.
I tried to get up as quietly as I could, but his giant arms were still wrapped around me. I knew he was trying to ensure maximum warmth as I slept. Poor guy must be having a heat stroke with me on top of him plus a blanket. He felt me trying to quietly move his arms and he woke up.
“I’m so glad you finally did this, spider monkey. I was exhausted too. You’re my favorite,” he said, letting go of me to rub his face in his hands.
I laughed. “i was just thinking about that. You got a new level unlocked. It always makes me exhausted when it happens. Are Misha and Ivan just as exhausted as you?”
“I think they’re okay. Boss said he’s never seen it affect Ivan this morning when he moved you out here.”
I thought for a minute. He was right. It had never affected Ivan the same way it did everyone else. “Huh. I never noticed, but you’re right. I knew he was a superhuman!” I said, laughing as I got of the couch and Andrei. I stood up to stretch, my joints popping like normal.
Andrei stood up next to me, looking at his phone that had been on the coffee table. He opened it and started typing. “I know if I’m this hungry, you are too. I’ll have someone pick up Vinny’s for us.”
“Bubba, how much longer are you going to make me wait to marry me? I mean, seriously. Stop toying with me already,” I said. He grinned at me. He’d finally gotten over his nervousness with me teasing him about marrying me.
He pulled me to him, once again wrapping his arms around me, holding me to his chest. “I love you, spider monkey. But not like that,” he said laughing.
I stepped back from him, feigning outrage. I clutched my chest. “It hurts, Bubba. It hurts right here,” I said, pretending my heart was breaking. When I looked up at him, he looked surprised. “Green really does mean sarcasm,” he said, smiling at me. I smiled at him, but the sadness from the night before came back. He picked up on it immediately. It seemed like Andrei was very quickly becoming very sensitive to my subtle mood changes, just like Ivan. He was almost as good as Adrik, especially considering it hadn’t been happening very long for him. “Don’t be sad, spider monkey. It changes nothing. It was just shocking last night when we saw the white eyes. Boss was right. They’re scarier than your demon eyes. We just didn’t know what to him, his strong arms holding me tightly. “Nobody is going to be uncomfortable around you because of it.” he said, pulling me back to
I sighed, nodding my head, but didn’t say anything. He was quiet for a few moments, then added, “all of this is strange for all of us, but we’ve had you to help us through it. You’ve had to deal with everything on your own for so long that it’s going to feel scary to share with us, but you’re the reason I can do what I can do now. I saw you doing it so easily and it gave me courage to try.”
I remembered what the acupuncturist had told me about Andrei. I laughed quietly. I looked up at him. “Nobody thought you were going to figure it out this lifetime. You’re the youngest out of all of us,” I said.
He looked confused. “I’m older than Misha, spider monkey.”
I smiled at him. “Your body is older than Misha, but his soul is older than yours. Your soul is the youngest.” I thought for a minute, then added, “which really just goes to show how smart and capable you are. You surprised everyone.”
“How do you know this?”
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.