*Adrik*
We all turned to look at her, not entirely sure what she meant. She looked at all of us, like she was trying to get us to understand what she meant, silently. “Oh, you’re gonna make me say it? For real?” she said, her cheeks slowing turning red as we kept looking at her. She sighed. “He’s got a tiny dick. There, I said it.” I raised an eyebrow, demanding more of an explanation. She clearly saw my anger rise to the surface quickly, which made her shrink back from me slightly. “He, uh, pressed himself against me when he was choking me in the hallway that night in the restaurant,” she said quietly. She quickly looked at the floor, her hands starting to fidget.
I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her to me. I kissed her temple. Trino looked surprised. “He did what to you?” he asked.
I held Sephie tighter, answering for her. “At the last meeting at the restaurant that Sephie used to work at, Anthony dared to lay his hands on Sephie in the meeting. He saw my anger when it happened. It was the first time I’d seen Sephie, but I knew I loved her from the first moment. Anthony caught her in the hallway alone later and tried to touch her, but she resisted. He choked her. Viktor and Andrei pulled him off her and beat him senseless.” I could feel my anger threatening to take over. Sephie, of course, felt it. She reached over and grabbed my other hand, holding it with both of hers. Her fingers lightly fidgeting with mine.
“And you didn’t kill him right there?” Trino asked, shocked.
“I wanted to, but I still had an ounce of respect for his father, Salvadori, at the time. I wish I would have now. We might not be in this mess now,” I said, sighing.
Armando spoke up. “I’m really beginning to question whether he needs the other bosses at all, at this point. I say get rid of all of them. Ghost can run the city on his own.”
Sephie looked up at me, somewhat surprised. I don’t think she’d thought of that option yet. “It makes sense. The city loves you,” she said, pulling her knees up so her feet were on the couch. She leaned her legs in my lap.
“They have their rightful King and Queen. What more do they need?” Trino said, smiling.
--
“Please tell me you have a sister that loves Colombian men,” Trino said, after Sephie had given her insightful opinion on how to separate Dario and Massimo using the information she had just given him.
“Sorry to disappoint. I’m an only child. But I can offer my vetting services if you’d like me to interview potential girlfriends for you,” she said, laughing.
Armando shifted in his seat. “I can vouch for her professional skills. I’m going to pay her to be at as many of my important meetings as possible.”
Trino still looked like he was both lost in thought and also completely captivated by Sephie when Viktor walked into the room. He looked directly at me. “Boss, we’ve got a problem.” I felt Sephie sit up a little straighter next to me, all of us waiting for Viktor to elaborate. “I just heard from Andy. One, he needs us to get him out. Two, he said he can fill us in on Salvadori’s plan. He wouldn’t say much over the phone, but he said he saw it with his own eyes and it has the potential to be very bad.”
My mind was busy thinking through possibilities when Sephie asked, “who’s Andy?”
“He’s one of Sal’s most trusted men. He’s the one that informed Boss about Anthony’s extracurricular activities. He’s been giving us information when he can, but Sal is on to him now. Sal’s been suspecting something for a few months. Andy has been able to placate him, but he started asking too many questions about the details of the plan and he thinks Sal has caught on to him. He knows Andy is feeding info either to Boss or Armando at this point. Neither of which is good for Andy,” Viktor said.
“Where’s Misha?” Sephie asked, before I could.
“I think he’s outside. I’ll go fetch him,” Viktor said. Before he left the room, Sephie added, “Ivan too, please.”
I chuckled, causing her to look at me. “You read my mind again, solnishko. I don’t know why it surprises me at this point, but it still occasionally does.”
Misha and Ivan walked into the room, followed by Viktor, Andrei, and Stephen. Misha immediately looked to me. “Viktor told me. Leaving Andy with Sal is a very bad idea. We have to get him out. It won’t end well for him if we don’t.”
I nodded, not surprised in the least at that conclusion. I looked at Viktor, “where is Andy now?”
“He’s laying low, but he’s still in the city. He said Sal is having him watched right now, so he has to be careful,” Viktor said.
I looked between Viktor and Ivan. “How many of you will it take to get him out safely?”
Ivan spoke up. “There’s no way to know without knowing how many guys Sal has on him. It’s completely dependent on that.”
“I made a call already to have someone try to find out how many guys are on Andy,” Viktor said.
“How far is he from the penthouse? Can he get himself there?” Sephie asked.
Viktor shook his head. “I’m not sure. I’m also not sure I want whoever is following him to know he’s going straight to Boss’s building. That’s going to bring extra attention there.”
She smiled sweetly at Viktor. “This is why you’re the Russian security master.” He gave her a half smile and winked at her.
Misha looked at me, “I think it’s better that Andy isn’t obviously linked to us right now. I have a bad feeling about anyone knowing it’s us that gets him out.”
“How do you guys get him out without anyone knowing it’s you then? It’s not like you giants blend into a crowd,” Sephie said. She then added, “and don’t tell me you’re going to ask nicely.”
We all laughed. Ivan said, “we have our ways, princess,” giving her a wink and a coy smile.
We were quiet for a few moments, all contemplating the best course of action. I finally said, “we’ll go back. If he can tell us exactly what Sal is planning, maybe we can stop it before it happens. Viktor, can the pilot be ready to leave this afternoon?”
He pulled his phone from his pocket, stepping out of the room to find that answer. I looked to Trino and Martin. “While I hate to cut this short, it appears we are needed elsewhere.”
They both nodded in understanding. Trino said, “I can keep Anthony and Lorenzo busy as long as possible, but from what my people are saying, those two are starting to get restless. Dario and Massimo haven’t caught on to the game yet. And with everything that Sephie told me, I’m going to enjoy meeting with those two now.”
Viktor walked back into the room. “We’ll be ready to leave at 4, Boss.”