The next afternoon, I was in Adrik’s office while he finished up work. I had a book, stretched out on the couch. I could see Adrik peek at me now and then while he was working. He loved it when his schedule was clear and I would come to his office while he worked, just so he could be near me. I had to admit to loving it as well. I always worried I was going to distract insisted that I was the best distraction there was whether I was there or not. He admitted to his mind wandering more when I wasn’t there and he couldn’t see me.
Andy stuck his head in the office door, knocking on the door frame lightly. We both looked toward the door. “Do you have minutes, Boss?” Adrik nodded his head, then glanced at me as Andy walked into the office. Adrik was surprised to see him which meant he was unsure of what was about to come out of Andy’s mouth. I understood his look and quietly got up from couch, taking my usual spot behind Adrik’s desk so I could see Andy as he talked to Adrik. the office
Adrik stayed quiet, as usual, Andy sat across from Adrik’s desk. He looked a little nervous, but the last time be had been intense for him. “I was hoping to discuss something with you, sir. I’m not 100% sure on i yet, but I’ve also run in somewhat of a dead end on it now. I think it’s important enough that you know.”
I was now curious what he was going to tell us. I could feel Adrik’s anger start to rise. He hated surprises. Andy glanced at Adrik, then to me. He took a deep breath and continued, “I overheard Mike on the phone a few times. Once the night they got me out, once after I was moved here. I don’t know for sure who he was talking to, but he used a code that I’ve heard Anthony use for years.”
I stood up and grabbed Adrik’s phone from his desk, calling Viktor. I let it ring, then ended the call. They were all in the office within seconds. Andy went pale when they all walked in. “Don’t worry, Andy. I just want them to hear this as well. Tell the what you just told us.” He looked at the guys, who were still standing, and repeated what he’d just told us. He was still nervous, but he was trying to keep himself composed.
“What’s the code?” Ivan asked.
“It’s one word. Anthony got it from an old movie when he was younger and he’s been obsessed with it ever since. He always wanted to be the stereotypical gangster you see in movies. He has all his guys call him sicario’ when they talk to him,” Andy said.
I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. I stumbled backward toward the cabinet to catch myself. I was immediately back in the ring with Mike, right before I kicked him the last time.
“Do you want to adjust your opinion of me yet?
“Fu ck you, wh ore.”
Then that last word he said to me. The one I almost didn’t hear. “Sicario.”
My mind was racing. Why would he say that? Why would he basically be telling me he was working for Anthony? Why would Andy be telling us this now? Why not earlier? Was Andy also working for Anthony? I felt my anger rising to the surface as I tried to make sense of who we could trust and who we couldn’t.
I didn’t hear Adrik get up from his chair. I was snapped back to reality when I felt his arm around my waist. I looked up at hin He was clearly concerned. “Are you okay? What’s going on? Talk to me.” I glanced quickly at Andy, who was still nervous, but appeared to be concerned as well. The guys were all still standing, but they’d moved to surround Andy.
I responded in Russian. I wasn’t sure we could trust Andy at this point, and it was making me angry. “That’s the last word he said to me in the ring. I doubt any of you heard it. I almost didn’t hear it because he was having trouble talking and he mumbled it. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I thought he was calling me a hitman.”
“Why would he call you a hitman, gazelle?” Misha asked, still in Russian.
“That’s what that word means, my adorable Russian guardian. I didn’t think anything of it then. But why would Andy be tellin us this now? Why not earlier? Why does he sit on this information before telling us?” I asked. Adrik’s anger was also starting rise to the surface, but he was running his hand over my back, trying to keep himself calm.
WW
Ivan, who was also clearly angry, looked to Andy, asking in English, “why are you just telling us this now?” He might’ve had a threatening edge to his voice that may have made Andy clench a little
Sephie
“I was trying to catch Mike talking to Anthony again so I could confirm it, but I haven’t seen him around for a few days. I know Armando was gone over the weekend, so I figured he was with them, but I haven’t seen Mike since they got back. I’m worried he went back to Anthony. And if I’m being honest, you guys always seem like you want to ki Il me anytime I give you Information,” Andy said, running his hand through his hair.
“And yet, you’re still alive. It’s like magic, really.” I said, crossing my arms across my chest. “Don’t be a pu ssy, Andy. You’ve been in this world long enough, for fu ck’s sake. They saved your a ss, gave you a safe place to live, and everything you need. If they wanted to kill you, you would’ve been dead a long time ago. Cut the bullshit.”
Adrik cleared his throat quietly beside me and I knew it was because he was trying not to laugh. I felt his hand slip under my shirt, his thumb tracing circles on the bare skin of my back.
Andy looked to me, surprised at my words. He thought for a moment. Ivan was losing patience and said, “you realize if she’s losing patience with you that mine was gone before I even walked into the office. It’s in your best interest that you start talking.”
Andy started to say something, then stopped himself. He took a deep breath, then said. “I was trying to work it into a job here. Either with your security or Armando’s. I knew if I could catch Mike working for Anthony, it would look good for me and you’d be more willing to trust me, so I waited to try and get hard proof, But then I haven’t seen him for a few days, so I got worried.”
I looked at Viktor to gauge his reaction. The look on his face said he was not the least bit interested in hiring Andy at this moment. He said, in Russian, “he’s not working for us. I can talk to Armando and see if he wants him.”
“Only after all this is over. Not before,” Adrik said. Viktor nodded his head in agreement. Adrik glanced down at me, like he was asking my opinion on it as well.
“I don’t trust him. It was shaky at best before this, but this would’ve been good information to have weeks ago,” I said.
Adrik looked at Andy. In English, he said, “next time you have information that directly affects us, you tell us right away. We’ll consider the job after all this is over. Until then, nothing changes,” I could feel Adrik’s anger, but I could also feel that he was trying to contain it. It was almost like I could feel him struggling against it. Each time it happened, I could feel more than the time before. It felt almost like I could feel what he was feeling in his body and it was mirrored in mine.
Andy nodded and took his leave quickly. As we watched him walk out of the office, I turned toward Adrik, putting my hands on his chest. I could feel his anger fade away as he looked at me. I felt the calm returr as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled up at him. “That was different,” I 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.