“What about his meeting with Ricardo this time?” Stephen asked.
“Um, let’s see. They talked about Ricardo needing to see a doctor for his knee. They talked about the weather, then they talked about how nice it would be to go to a tropical island because it’s getting colder here, then they talked about Ricardo needing to pick up his clothes from the cleaners. Oh, f**k me they’re talking in code aren’t they?” she said, putting her hand on her forehead as she realized what she’d been listening to.
We couldn’t help but chuckle at her. She really was tired. Normally she was very quick to catch on to such things. “It’s likely it was code, solnishko. Can you tell me exactly what they said?” I asked.
“I’m gonna need more coffee,” she said as she put the earphones back in and started the recording again. She started writing the conversation out right away.
Viktor came back with his computer to try and separate Giana’s voice from the others on the recording. She handed Stephen his phone back once she was done, then handed me the translation from the meeting with Ricardo. Ivan got up to move closer to me so he could read the translation as well. Andrei got up and made Sephie another cup of coffee while everyone was busy.
It didn’t take Viktor and Stephen long to get Giana’s voice separated from the others, so we could hear her more clearly. Sephie went to listen to what she previously couldn’t understand. “I was right on the first two. She asks when she can go back to Italy, then says it wasn’t her fault. She sounds angry on the last part. She says, “I’m not a child. You’re lucky I’m still here. The longer you leave me here, the more likely I’m going to disappear.”
“If she’s been a plant all along, she might be tired of the game. Armando has been using her, he may or may not have gotten her hooked on coke, and we all ha te her now, so maybe her plan to rob him is really her plan to get away from Armando and her family,” Stephen said.
I looked to Misha, to see if he had any thoughts on potential outcomes, but he was still so tired that there was little to no chance he’d be able to see anything. Sephie saw me look toward Misha, then saw the look on his face and giggled. “I don’t think it will work on her. Not with the level of hatred Misha has for her. That’s going to cloud the outcome,” she said, smiling at him. “She deserves whatever she gets,” Misha said flatly.
Ivan, who had been looking over Sephie’s translation from Armando and Ricardo’s conversation, said, “I think Stephen was right. The persona of Armando as a bumbling id iot is exactly the opposite of how he really is. He fooled all of us. Unless they’ve changed their codes, they’re talking about a hit on Trino, although I can’t tell who ordered the hit from what they said. They’re just discussing it.”
“Shit,” Sephie said. “Could they be referring to what happened last night? When did Keith record this one?” she asked Stephen.
He checked his phone. “It was before they got to Trino, so that adds up. They wouldn’t have known it was unsuccessful at this point,” he said.
I felt my own anger rising to the surface, but I immediately felt Sephie’s almost overtaking mine. I glanced to her, worried she was about to lose control, but once again, she looked completely calm. She looked to me, her eyes completely dark. “I know,” she said, indicating that she was in control and was aware her eyes were likely dark. “I’m still not over Dario’s comment about Sal and Armando fighting over me before you came back. I need a minute to be angry about that complete and utter bu Ilsh it, as well as being wrong about Armando.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her response. The guys did too. Stephen looked at her, completely straight-faced and said, “maybe your milkshake really does bring all the boys to the yard, Seph.” That was all it took to make her laugh and I felt her anger subside. When she looked at me again, her eyes were back to their normal three colors. I was becoming more and more impressed with her level of control of her anger. Her eyes only changed colors when she was a raging inferno internally, but from the outside, she looked completely calm and in control. I could only tell she was angry because I could feel it, not because she looked it. Other than her dark eyes. My Game Master was showing me how to increase my own anger to in sane levels while remaining in control of it. I felt her cool hand on my face, breaking me free from my thoughts. She searched my eyes for a moment, finding the answer to her silent question of what had me distracted, She just grinned at me, standing on her toes to kiss me. God, I love her.
Adrik
I had Sephie call Chen before we moved down to my office for my schedule to begin that day. We had also decided last night that we were going to move quickly on shutting down the brawn operations, as well as grabbing Dr. Moretti. Those two things needed to happen at once. After that, I was going to move against the bosses that were in the city before they had a chance to realize what had happened.
I’d been quiet up to this point on purpose. It made me look weak and unsure of making a move against the other bosses. I was trying to lull them into a false sense of security. It was exactly the opposite of what my father would have done. My father was brutal in his rule. He made rash decisions and unleashed chaos quickly. He was effective only because he’s a smart man, but he was more like a tyrant than a king.
I took a different approach. I gave my opponents time and enough rope to hang themselves usually. I wanted to know their plans. All of their plans, because when I ended them, I didn’t want to have to deal with tying up any loose ends. I had ended complete family lines before. When I made a move, it was utterly devastating. But it was focused devastation. With my father, there was always plenty of collateral damage. I always tried to keep that to a minimum. Innocent people didn’t need to get hurt in the process.
It was time to unleash my own brand of chaos on the other bosses. We’d decided days ago on how to hit the three brawn operations in the city. We needed the help of the dealers, though. It was a large enough operation that we couldn’t do it ourselves. Not if we wanted it to happen simultaneously, anyway. We decided it was best to recruit the dealers to help us, especially with the two smaller warehouses that were producing brawn. Now, we needed to fill them in on the plan.
“Sephie, you’re calling early, my girl. Should I be happy you’re thinking of me so early or worried you’re delivering bad news?” Chen asked when he answered the phone.
Sephie laughed. “I guess it depends on your definition of bad news, Chen.”
“What’s up, my girl?” he asked as he was laughing at her response.
“We need to set up another meeting with Gus and DJ. We’re going to need help taking out the warehouses,” she said. “We also need to move quickly. Do you think you can get them to the same place tonight? Sorry for the late notice, but things are escalating.”
“Oh, we heard about the attempt on Trino. Gus called him for something else and found out about it last night. I’ve been expecting you to call, actually. I can get them both there tonight. In the absence of Smith and Chucky, there’s been a new guy that’s stepped up to help. He’s one of Trino’s dealers. Do you want him too or just Gus and DJ?”
“Bring the new guy, please. I need to meet him. It’s likely okay if he belongs to Trino, but I want to make sure,” she said.
“I think you’ll be alright with him. He’s like Gus’s number 2 guy, but I’ll make sure he’s there too. See you and your gigantic security force tonight, my girl,” he said.
“Thanks, Chen. You’re the best,” she said, as she ended the call. She looked slightly apprehensive as she gave Viktor his phone back. “I’m nervous about new people now,” she said, chewing her bottom lip.
“Don’t be nervous, spider monkey. You still have one of the highest success rates I’ve ever seen when it comes to figuring people out. Armando is a special case. Don’t dwell on that one,” Andre said as he stretched his massive arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. She sighed, looking up at him. She was upset with herself for being wrong about Armando. She looked tiny standing next to Andrei. “Thanks, Bubba. It wasn’t just Armando, though. Andy, too. I was wrong on two of the most important players in this,” she said. Misha, who was on his third cup of coffee, was finally starting to act like a human again. He looked at her, almost like he was angry with her. “Now is not the time to start doubting yourself, gazelle. You’ve been right more times than you’ve been wrong. And, technically, you weren’t completely wrong on Andy. You never gave him the okay all the way. There’s a reason those two were in your blind spot. We just have to figure out what your blind spot is so we can correct it going forward. But this doubting yourself shit stops right now.”
We all turned and looked at him, surprised with the tone that he took with her. If it wasn’t Misha, I might’ve been angry with him. However, I knew she needed to hear what he said. Andrei, always the protective older brother, pulled her closer to him, but he agreed with Misha. “He’s right, Sephie. You can’t start doubting yourself now. We need you.”
“You two are no longer allowed to hang out with Ivan. I like to be able to argue with you and it irritates me when I can’t,” she said, grumpily.
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.