*Adrik*
“Squish is right. I did not know holding back was an option,” she said.
Viktor walked in with Trino, who looked quite nervous. “Jefe, what’s going on?” he asked.
Before I could answer, Sephie said, “Trino, Martin is going to be killed. I can explain how I know, but I think you already have an idea of how I know. I’ve seen it. It’s going to be very violent and it’s going to be a very public declaration of war.”
Trino cursed in Spanish. “I told him that negotiations were pointless.”
“He’s there now, Trino. Have you talked to him since you’ve been in the city?” I asked.
“No, Jefe. I told him when I left to stay in Colombia since he wouldn’t come with me.”
“He didn’t listen. He’s in Mexico. You’re the only one that would be able to convince him to get out of there before they kill him. He still has a chance to escape, but not for long. He has to leave now,” Sephie said. She had an urgent edge to her voice that Trino heard. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then pulled his phone from his pocket. We listened to his conversation with Martin, but no one could understand it. It got heated, then ended with Trino clearly pleading with Martin. He took a moment to collect himself once the call ended, then looked to Sephie.
“Miha, you have the gift. My grandmother did too. I thought you might because you know too much,” he said, smiling at her. “You were right. He’s in Mexico. I told him what would happen if he stayed. I don’t know if he’s going to listen to me. He’s very stubborn.”
I glanced at Misha who was checking on the potential outcomes. He ran his hand up and down his arm to rub out the goosebumps. Sephie noticed, too. “He’ll listen,” she said. Trino sighed, clearly stressed about the entire situation.
“Even if he gets out, they’re still likely to declare war,” Ivan said. “Ricardo is using them as an army to try and overthrow Boss. You’re their reward for helping Ricardo.”
I recognized one or two of the curse words that came out of Trino’s mouth, since Sephie had clued me in on what they meant. She tried not to laugh, but she was always so amused at Trino’s tirades.
“Don’t worry. If it comes to that, we’ll help you stop it. We’re looking for ways to prevent it, though,” I said. Trino simply nodded his head.
He looked at Sephie, a sly smile evident on one side of his mouth. “My guys are all scared of you now, Miha. They’re going to struggle to be in the same room as you after they hear about this.”
While I hadn’t thought much about it the night before, I suddenly had a strong feeling of unease when it came to Trino’s guys being around Sephie.
Sephie shrugged her shoulders. “You can tell them I don’t pry, but they’re not going to listen. But make sure they understand what will happen to them if they think burning the witch is a thing that should be brought back. Feel free to embellish as much as you want on that one,” she said very seriously. I tensed at the thought, my anger unexpectantly rising to the surface. I knew she felt it as she took a step toward Trino. “Your guys or not, I will end them if they ever so much as think about coming after me because of this.”
I knew by the look on Trino’s face that her eyes were dark. He was completely shocked, as well as afraid. She was using it to her advantage. Just for emphasis, all the guys stood up and surrounded her as she stepped back to me. I felt Ivan’s protective bubble around us as he told Trino that it was best to stay with us, rather than against us. I felt Sephie’s hand on top of mine as I slid it around her waist, pulling her back against me.
Trino’s eyes were wide. He put his hands up, like he was worried something would happen. “No worries. That will never be a problem. I’ll take care of it myself if one of them even thinks of doing anything to harm you,” he said.
Sephie reached up and touched Ivan’s back, who was standing in front of her. I felt the bubble disappear as he turned to look at her. His face softened immediately when he looked at her so I knew she was smiling at him. He stepped out of the way so she could see Trino once more.
“I give you my word, it will not be a problem, Miha,” Trino said. Sephie simply nodded her head.
*Sephie*
“My guys are all scared of you now, Miha. They’re going to struggle to be in the same room as you after they hear about this,” Trino said.
I could feel Adrik’s tension, even though he knew that Trino’s guys were now scared of me as of the night before. As I thought about his words, a sudden thought popped into my head. I felt my anger rising to the surface quickly. “You can tell them I don’t pry, but they’re not going to listen. But make sure they understand what will happen to them if they think burning the witch is a thing that should be brought back. Feel free to embellish as much as you want on that one,” I said. As I said the words, I felt Adrik’s anger feeding into mine. I knew my eyes were going dark, if they weren’t already, but I didn’t care. I wanted Trino to see it. I wanted him to fear me. I wanted him to tell his guys to fear me. “Your guys or not, I will end them if they ever so much as think about coming after me because of this.”
When Trino saw my eyes, he had energetically taken a step back. His feet never moved, but he shrunk back from me. I took a step toward him, just to drive my point home, as I spoke. The guys didn’t say a word, they just moved to surround me and Adrik. Trino was roughly my height, so they all towered over him. They took advantage of this and cranked up the intimidation factor as high as it would go. I could feel Adrik’s anger feeding into mine, even though he was behind me. I knew the stare he was giving Trino. He would’ve been ready to rip Trino apart if I said the word at that moment. Any of them would have.
Ivan stepped in front of me, putting his body in between me and Trino. I felt his protective bubble go up around me, which also fed into my anger. I could hear Ivan tell Trino, “it’s best if you’re with us, rather than against us.” I could vaguely hear Trino’s response, but it was difficult to understand his words with Ivan’s bubble of protection around me. I stepped back against Adrik, his hand on my waist. I put my hand on top of his, hoping to calm us both down slightly.
I noticed that when I moved, the guys moved as well. They didn’t need to see me, but they knew exactly where I was. When I took a step back against Adrik, Ivan closed the distance between us, staying directly in front of me. I smiled, knowing he took his job very seriously. His anger was also feeding mine. I reached out and put my hand on his back, trying to calm him as well. He turned to look at me and I felt his bubble slowly disappear. He saw me smiling at him and his face immediately softened.
“Message received,” I said quietly to all of them in Russian. They all relaxed, but didn’t move.
“I give you my word, it will not be a problem, Miha,” Trino said. I simply nodded. Whatever had given me the idea in the first place was in the background now. *I want to know if Misha or Andrei got anything from that*.
Trino stayed in the penthouse for a few minutes longer, but eventually took his leave. He promised to keep us updated on whether Martin took his advice and left Mexico or not.
Once he was gone, I looked to Adrik, smiling. He raised his eyebrow, then kissed me gently. “It was different again,” he said. He looked to Ivan, asking, “can you feel her anger yet?”
“I did that time. It was unreal. I’ve only been that angry a handful of times and it’s always resulted in someone else dying,” he said.
I laughed. “I could feel both of you. You were both feeding into my anger, which is why I think it was so strong. But I can tell the difference.”
“How so?” Ivan asked.
I thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain what I felt. “It’s like two different functions, I think.” I paused, trying to find the words. It suddenly hit me. I looked at Ivan, “you’re the shield.” Then I looked at Adrik, “and you’re the sword.”
Adrik smiled at me. “I think I understand, but explain.”
“Your anger is beside me, looking for direction, if you will. Like all I would’ve had to do is point at Trino and you would’ve ripped him apart. But your anger is a part of me, moving through me. An extension. Just like mine is a part of you. Ivan’s is different. It’s broader and it’s focused outward. Away from me. His fire burns just as hot, but it’s directed away from me, where yours is not. His anger feels like a barrier in front of me. Your anger is always with me. A part of me,” I said.
“I caught a glimpse of your eyes, princess. They’re still getting darker when it happens. I’m surprised Trino didn’t piss himself,” Ivan said.
“I saw them change this morning,” Adrik said. “She was looking at me as they changed back to normal. I’ve never seen anything so amazing.” He turned me so he could look in my eyes. He was still completely mesmerized. I reached up and kissed him gently.
“Did you get anything when Trino told me his guys were scared of me now?” I asked Andrei and Misha.
“I got a quick hit of nausea, gazelle. I don’t know about which one, or ones, but it wasn’t good. I’m glad you said something, because I was going to if you didn’t. It’s definitely not Trino, but one of his guys is going to have a problem with this,” Misha said.
“Same as last night for me, spider monkey. You get more details than I do, but I knew the potential for there to be a problem is there,” Andrei said.
“I think you scared Trino enough that he’ll either keep this to himself or he’ll keep his guys away from you from now on,” Stephen said. “I’ve never seen him so shocked as when you threatened him. That’s going to haunt him for a while.”
“Good. That was the point,” I said, grinning. “Who’s hungry?”
They all laughed. “It’s good to have you back, sestrichka,” Viktor said, shaking his head.