*Sephie*
When Viktor came out from Stephen helping him one more time, he looked remarkably better. He’d looked better each time Stephen had helped him, but it looked like he was finally relaxed and happy this time. The rest of us were in the back room, on the couches, being ridiculous about something when they walked in.
“Papa Bear, you look much better this time,” I said, smiling at him. The smile I got in return was enough to tell us all everything we needed to know.
“Even I can tell you feel better now and I don’t usually pay attention,” Misha said.
“I think I got it all this time,” Stephen said. “I was somewhat concerned for my effectivity the other two times.”
“He’s been holding on to it for a long time. You could’ve asked for a boost, like with Sergei,” I said.
“I know. Maybe I wanted to see if I could do it on my own,” Stephen said, grinning at me.
“Independent. I’ll allow it,” I said.
“Okay, who has Andrei next or Stephen next?” Misha asked.
We all looked at both Andrei and Stephen. That was a tougher decision to make than I would’ve thought. They were both progressing at rapid rates. Andrei has had his gift for longer, but Stephen jumped in with both feet once he discovered his. It could go either way.
“My money is on Andrei,” Ivan said. Adrik agreed with him.
“I’m going with Stephen,” I said, which shocked everyone. “I know it should technically be Andrei that gets it next, but he’s been more cautious about his gift the entire time. I also think he’s more worried about controlling his anger when it happens, so it’s going to take him longer. Stephen has more experience with that. I think he’s going to be more willing to take that leap much sooner than Bubba,” I said.
“You know that feeling that I assume one has when they’re a kid and their parents tell them they’re proud of them? That’s what I’m feeling right now,” Stephen said, his uncharacteristic smile stretching across his face.
“She’s not wrong, Stephen. I agree with her. My money is on you, too,” Andrei said.
*“Apologies for snooping, but I noticed your uneasiness when I told Misha to get angrier. I’ll show you what I showed him when you’re ready. You’ll be just fine, Bubba,”* I said to him silently.
*“I know you’ll help. I’m more worried about not breaking anything. The few times it’s happened, I’ve always smashed something. Or someone. That’s what I’m most worried about,”* he told me.
*“We won’t let that happen. But now you have to wait until Stephen figures it out so we’ll win the bet pool,”* I said to him. I could hear him laughing along with me in my head, but neither of us gave any outward signs we were having this conversation. I did have to admit to enjoying my little private conversations with all of them probably more than I should.
We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying spending time together. They all got up and followed me to the kitchen while I started dinner. They all chipped in to help when needed, but continued on with the conversation.
Viktor’s phone beeped. He pulled it from his pocket, chuckling as he read the message. “It’s Trino. He wants to know if I can help him find a security team. He said he’s not having the luck he thought he was going to.”
“At least he can admit he was wrong,” Adrik said, laughing.
“We do need to figure out how we’re going to tell him about everything,” Ivan said.
“Let’s just spring it on him. Let’s wait until Stephen and Andrei can switch their eyes too and then just all show up one day like that. I feel like that’s the best plan,” I said, trying not to laugh.
Misha, who was standing next to me helping, looked at me. “It’s like you took the words right out of my mouth, gazelle,” he said, his handsome smile beaming at me.
Adrik laughed. “As much as I would like to see that, I think we are going to need slightly more tact than that. But let’s keep that shelved. I’m sure there’s someone we’ll be able to use it on at some point.”
Misha glanced at me, then looked to Adrik. “Are we soulmates now too? Did that just happen? Because I feel like it did.”
I elbowed Misha in the ribs. “I don’t share.” They all erupted into laughter as I finished up dinner.
I felt Adrik’s warm hands around my waist as everyone helped themselves to food. He was watching everyone with me. *“I might love it when you get possessive,”* he told me.
*“I might love you,”* I responded, turning toward him. I was still laughing about the exchange as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I turned around, leaning back against him once more as we watched everyone laughing and eating.
*“We definitely needed this,”* he said.
*“I agree. I’m glad we stayed one more night. We need to be better about coming here more regularly. I have a feeling once Trino gets security set up, it’s going to get chaotic real quick.”*
He sighed. *“I think you’re right. We’re going to need to come up with a plan for everything. It all needs to happen quickly, so we don’t miss our chance at Ricardo and Martin.”*
I pulled his arms around me a little tighter. *“We’ll think about that tomorrow. Let’s enjoy tonight,”* I said.
--
Trino stopped by the office toward the end of the day so Viktor could start going over setting up a security team for him. He had Chris and Keith show up as well so they could meet Trino and talk about their options.
It’d been a few weeks since any of us had seen Trino. He had plenty of his own people in the city. We were all sure he preferred them to having to listen to Russian any more than absolutely necessary.
Gus and Oscar were with him when he arrived. He also surprised me by bringing a woman with him. I was with Andrei and Misha at their desks when Viktor stepped off the elevator with all of them. They felt my surprise, immediately turning to see.
“He brought her for your approval,” Andrei said. He could barely contain his grin.
I thought for a minute. “This could actually prove useful to us if she’s not Trino-worthy. It’ll give him a first-hand look at what we can do now,” I said. “I mean, I hope she’s a nice girl and all. Just saying. I’m not hoping we have to expose her darker side.”
Misha laughed. “I mean, I am. Not even gonna try to pretend I’m not.”
I cut my eyes over at him. “I do love your love of the fuckery, Misha.”
“It’s my best quality.”
Viktor took Trino and the other three into the conference room. Chris and Keith arrived shortly after, also joining them in the conference room. The elevator doors dinged once more, signaling Ivan’s arrival. He immediately locked eyes with me once the doors opened.
Andrei chuckled. “He feels the fuckery.”
Misha and I were still laughing when Ivan walked over. “What are you three getting into? Because I want to be a part of it,” he said in Russian as he walked up.
I discreetly nodded toward the conference room. He turned to look, seeing the newest member of Trino’s posse. “That is unexpected,” he said.
“Can you see anything on her?” I asked. I tried to sound innocent, but it failed. It failed miserably.
Ivan laughed. “Now I understand.” He studied her for a few minutes. “I don’t see anything yet, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing there.”
“Sephie is pretending to hope that nothing is there. I don’t give a fuck. I want there to be something there,” Misha said.
“I’m Team Misha on this one. I would love it if there was something there. I haven’t gotten to intimidate a love interest in a very long time,” Ivan said. Misha just held his hand up so Ivan could high-five him.
I looked at both of them as sternly as I could muster. “Only if there’s a reason. Trino’s very lonely. He just lost his mother. He needs someone to console him,” I said. “Just not if she’s a legit demon,” I added, grinning at both of them.