It had been a few days since meeting with Doug and Eric when Viktor walked into my office, followed closely by Ivan. “We just got word from Battista that Niko and Vito are coming back. They’ll be here in two days,” Viktor said.
“Is Battista still here?” I asked.
“No, he’s on his way back too, though. He said he’s bringing his friend, the arms dealer,” Ivan said, a mischievous grin on his face.
“We need to meet with the same leaders we met with before. Is Chen still the one setting that up?” I asked.
Viktor nodded. “He still won’t let me put him on the payroll for it, either.”
“I can take care of that. He thinks I’m overpaying him for his contractor work so he’s reluctant to take anything more. Truth be told, I’m not. He does fantastic work. I’ll just add to that. And have Neal hand his name out to a few more people,” I said. Chen was a good guy. I was grateful to have his help in all of this. I always took care of those who helped me.
“I’ll set it up right away. You want them here?” Viktor asked.
I thought for a moment. Last time we met with them, it was in my office. Something didn’t feel right about that this time, but I didn’t know what. I looked for Sephie, to ask her opinion on it.
“You have a question, “I heard her say to me as I was looking to see where she was.
“I do. We need to meet with the people who have organized the resistance against the bosses. Something doesn’t feel right about them coming here this time, though, “I told her.
She was quiet for a moment, then she said, “that’s because it’s not. They’re watching the building to see who comes in and out. We should meet somewhere else to protect them.”
Before I could answer her, I heard Misha’s voice, through her head, as well. “Same for me, Boss. Somewhere else is the way to go.”
“Thank you both,” I responded. I looked to Viktor and Ivan, saying, “apparently, they’re watching the building to see who comes in and out. I don’t want to put them in danger by coming here. We need to meet elsewhere.”
Viktor nodded, leaving to make the necessary arrangements while Ivan stayed in the office. “Do you want me to have them removed?” he asked.
“No. Leave them. We’ll make sure they don’t follow us, but if we remove them, Henry will know we know.” I couldn’t help but smile a little at the situation. “I think he still thinks he’s smarter than us,” I said.
“I know he thinks that. Wait until Stephen hears about this,” he said, laughing. “He’s gonna be so pis*ed.”
I laughed with him, looking forward to Stephen’s reaction when he learned that Herby was still trying to outmaneuver us. He was definitely looking forward to being able to break Henry. Stephen was so quiet most of the time, but much like Ivan, we wild occasionally find people that simply rubbed Stephen the wrong way. Henry was definitely one of those people. Henry had no idea what was coming for him. I found myself enjoying that fact more than I probably should.
Adrik
Sephie’s old apartment was proving to be more useful than I ever would’ve imagined it would be. I originally kept it in case she ever changed her mind. I knew she was never going to change her mind at this point, but I still kept her apartment for the convenience of an out of the way meeting spot when I needed one.
Chen met us downstairs. If nothing else, he was always early to every meeting he attended with us, proving once again that one could be professional no matter their profession. He was slightly taken aback, as Vitaliy and Battista were with us this time, which meant all of Vitaliy’s men were with us as well.
“You guys are multiplying. This must be serious,” Chen said as he walked up to us in the parking lot of the apartment building.
“Why use 6 Russians when 12 will do?” Sephie said, her mischievous grin on her face.
“Hey, you miscounted, pretty lady,” Boris said in his very thick Russian accent. Battista’s arms dealer turned out to be exactly who we thought it would be. Boris was so tough and crot*hety on first impressions that he made Vitaliy look like a nice guy.
“My bad. We have a baker’s dozen, Chen. Because one can never have too many Russians on their side when the s*it hits the fan,” Sephie said, grinning at Boris. Like all of the men in her life, she found a way to politely put Boris in his place when he tested her. Mostly polite. Afterward, he’s shown her nothing but respect.
“This maybe lesson your country don’t learn too well,” Boris said, laughing as he walked to join the rest of Vitaliy’s men, who were unloading weapons from the back of their vehicles.
Sephie and Chen looked at each other, trying not to laugh. “My entire life, I’ve beented that Russia is the enemy. Now I find out these people are just as crazy as we are, only much larger, Chen said thoughtfully.
“It’s the governments that are the enemy, Chen. Never the people,” I said, pulling Sephie with me toward the stairs to her old apartment. She looked at the building as we walked. I could feel her emotions as she remembered her life before she met ree.
“It always looks so run-down when I see it now. It never used to seem that bad to me when I lived here,” she told me as we followed Andrei up the stairs.
“When it’s all you have, you cherish it. It did its job. It got you through until you found me I told her.
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.