Ivan moved closer to Dario. “What makes you think that Sal won’t know where to find you?” His voice had more of an edge to it this time, but he was still trying to be as calm as he could be.
I have property around the world. I can move from place to place. I bought each place under a different name. The people in each town know me as a different person. It’s virtually impossible to follow me from place to place. Sal isn’t smart enough to link it all together.” He paused, like he was lost in thought again. He looked at Ivan, then looked at Adrik. “I want out. I’ve lost so much because of this life. I just want to be left alone. You will never hear from me again if you let me leave.” He sighed, looking at the floor. He knew that people rarely got out of this life alive. He knew more than most, as well, which made him dangerous. It also put him in danger.
Adrik looked down at me, his eyes searching mine. I was still angry, but I was trying to control it. Instead of waiting for my opinion, he said, “I don’t have a problem with you getting out, but I can’t let you leave until I’ve taken care of the other bosses. You’ll be safe here. No one knows you’re here. You’ll be protected until this is over, then you can leave, but not before. If you try to leave, my men will have orders to kill you. Understood?”
Dario nodded his head. He looked to the floor, almost like he was defeated, but then his eyes shot back to Adrik. “Wait, you’ll really let me leave once this is over?” Adrik nodded his head. “You can leave, with the understanding that if I ever hear of you trying to move against me, you’ll be swiftly dealt with. If you want to disappear, I won’t stand in the way of that. It’s time you had something to look forward to in life, Dario. You can leave once this is over,” he said. I glanced down at Dario. There were tears in his eyes.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know if it means I can leave. Right now, I don’t even care that there’s a chance you’ll kill me after I tell you everything. You’ve given me hope that there’s a chance I can get. I haven’t had hope since my parents died,” he said, quietly.
“As long as you stay loyal to me, you have my word that no harm will come to you. You’ll be able to leave. Betray me and I will kill you, Adrik said flatly. “You’ll protect me until this is over?” Darlo asked.
“It won’t be the most luxurious of accommodations, but we have somewhere to hide you that no one knows about. You’ll be here, You’ll have guards. You’ll have everything you need until this is over,” Viktor said. tears that were threatening to fall were now flowing down the old man’s face. He looked relieved. Haunted, but relieved.
“Thank you,” he said, looking at Adrik and me. Adrik simply nodded his head toward Dario, while he pulled me a little closer, holding me just a little tighter.
Sephie
Viktor and Ivan left with Dario to get him set up in a room, where he would stay until we were sure it was safe for him to leave. I knew they had holding cells on the other side of the floor. It’s where Andy currently was. But apparently, there was another set of “rooms” that even 1 didn’t know about. Dario would remain there, completely out of sight of anyone who came to this floor. Armando knew about the holding cells where Andy was, but he didn’t know about the ones where they were taking Dario.
Once Viktor and Ivan were back in the office, we decided to move to the penthouse. Suddenly, we weren’t completely comfortable having a conversation in the office anymore. We wanted as much privacy as possible. No one was allowed at the penthouse without permission from Adrik, which meant we were the only ones that ever went up there. It helped ease my mind that we always had guards outside the door, as well. It was looking like us against the world,
“Trino needs to know that Sal and Armando have been working together,” Ivan said as we walked toward the kitchen. I might as well make dinner while we talked. It would help me stay calm and I’d grown to love being able to take care of the guys. They meant everything to me. Being able to feed them was a small way of showing them just how much.
“Agreed,” Adrik said. He caught my arm as I was walking to the refrigerator, pulling me back to him. “Let’s call him first. I don’t think this can wait,” he said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. We all stood close so that we could hear the conversation. I felt myself getting nervous. The feeling got worse with each ring. Trino wasn’t picking up. Trino always picked up. Something wasn’t right.
I glanced at Misha, who had that faraway look in his eye. When he came back to the present, he glanced at me. He looked worried, but not as worried as I felt. “Something’s happening, but it doesn’t feel like it’s all bad,” Misha said.
I walked to Misha, grabbing his hand. “Did you see anything specific or you just have a general feeling?” As soon as he looked down at me, I could see what he saw. This is new. I know my eyes went wide, just as his did. He saw Trino, in trouble, but he also saw him get out unharmed.
“How did you just do that, gazelle?” Misha asked, completely shocked.
“Do what?” everyone asked at once. We glanced at the other guys, who looked worried, but curious.
“She just looked in my head and saw what I saw,” Misha said. He was still holding my hand tightly, like he was afraid to let go.
“What did you see?” Ivan asked. I could hear their voices. I was present for the conversation, but it was also like I wasn’t totally there. I was still watching Trino somehow. Misha kept glancing at me. He knew I was still watching because he could still see it too. I felt Adrik step closer to me, but he was apprehensive about touching me. I could feel that he didn’t want to interrupt whatever the he II was happening. I felt Misha grab my other hand and hold it tightly as well.
I was watching Trino trying to get out of his house. He was under heavy gunfire. His men were deadly, but they were outnumbered. Martin was with him, too. I could see outside the house. I could see the men that had surrounded the house.
“Where’s Massimo, Anthony, and Lorenzo?” I asked in my head. I didn’t think I said it out loud, but Misha answered me. “He keeps them at a different location,” he said. I surveyed the scene again. There was a way to get out at the back of the house, but they were going to need help getting there. There were sections to the house. Trino, Martin, and their men had made it as far back as they could, but they were cut off from the exit. “They need help,” I thought. As soon as I had that thought, there was an explosion that made me jump. I still felt Misha’s hands gripping mine tightly and I heard him say, “no, don’t. She’s okay, just startled.”
The explosion was exactly what Trino and his guys needed to make a quick exit. The explosion put a barrier between them and the men that were trying to get to them. I could see them make it safely to their exit, not wasting any time. They ran down hill, to waiting vehicles. Once they were in the vehicles, speeding away, everything went blank and I could see Misha standing in front of me again. He was still holding both of my hands tightly in his. I looked up at him, mostly confused at what just happened. His expression mirrored what I felt.
“What the fu ck was that?” I asked. Misha laughed at me. “I was hoping you’d know, gazelle,” he said. “I feel like you just hijacked my brain.”
I felt Adrik’s hand on my back, no longer apprehensive to break whatever spell I was under. Now I felt his concern. “Solnishko…” he said, tentatively.
“I’m okay. Pretty sure, anyway. Trino’s okay, too. But if you really want to fu ck with his head, send him a text telling him to call you when he makes it to safety,” I said, giggling. Misha pulled me to him, hugging me tightly. “You’re a little bit evil, gazelle.”
I stepped back from Misha, looking at the very surprised and very concerned faces of the guys. Adrik pulled me to him, a questioning look on his face. “I have no idea what just happened, but I saw Trino under attack, basically. They had him. surrounded in his house. Then there was an explosion and they maile it out. You saw all that too, didn’t you?” I asked Misha.
He nodded his head. “But you left out the part where you caused the explosion,” he said grinning at me.
“I did no such thing,” I said.
“I saw it, gazelle. You clearly said, ‘they need help’ and then then kitchen exploded.”
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.