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I caught myself just staring at her in wonderment. She always managed to make me laugh, no matter the situation, and she always managed to make me love her even more, no matter what she did. “It’s only been two weeks, love. Let’s not talk about how they’ve been the longest two weeks of my life,” I said, grinning at her.
“You and me both,” she said. “It would be so much easier if it weren’t for my ribs. Those things are a major setback.”
“It seems like the pain is less the past couple of days though?” I was still able to feel her pain clearly. While it was still very much present, it was more in the background the last couple of days.
She nodded her head. “You’ve helped.” Her sweet smile once again threatened to stop my heart, as she reached over with her good hand to place her palm against my cheek. I’d been trying to take her pain and turn it into something more pleasurable for her more often. She was starting to get cranky, and rightfully so, because her body hurt so much. The acupuncture helped tremendously, but she was still getting frustrated that she was constantly in pain. Her brain wouldn’t give her a break from it. It’s exhausting to be in constant pain. She was starting to sleep even more than usual, to the point that she was only awake for a couple of hours each day. Even that made her cranky because she felt useless. Her appetite was completely gone, like it was after the attack on her and Misha, which meant she was losing weight again. Even with daily acupuncture, she was a mess.
The words of the acupuncturist were always in my head. “She needs you. She needs Ivan. And she needs the other four waiting outside.” I readily admit it took me too long to figure out what to do, but it seemed like the last few days had finally given her some slight relief. She was showing signs of feeling more herself again, but she still had a long way to go.
“It took me too long to figure out what to do, but I’m glad it seems like it’s helping,” I said.
“It’s helping. That’s the important part.”
The guys were waiting on us when we walked into the kitchen. They’d been stressed because Sephie had seemingly taken a turn for the worse over the last week, on top of everything else. She never took it out on any of us, but it still affected everyone to see her so cranky. And they were starting to miss her because she basically did nothing but sleep.
“Good morning, princess,” Ivan said as she walked into the kitchen. She was in front of me, so I couldn’t see her face, but I knew by the look on Ivan’s face that she was smiling at him.
“Super Squish,” she said as she walked to him. She looked around, noticing Stephen wasn’t in the kitchen. “He’s downstairs getting breakfast. He’ll be right back,” Ivan said before she could even ask. They’d banned her from trying to cook until she had the use of both arms. That was one reason why we think she took a turn for the worse. She was trying to do too much and suffered because of it. She wasn’t happy with the ban, but she finally relented after every single one of us scolded her for arguing with us.
“How did you sleep, gazelle?” Misha asked as she made the rounds in the kitchen.
“Like I was dead,” she said, laughing. Andrei handed her a cup of coffee, saying, “This will help bring you back to life.”
Stephen walked back into the penthouse, clearly happy that she was awake. “How’s your appetite this morning, Seph?” he asked. “I got you French toast this time. Maybe a sugar high is what you need,” he said, grinning at her.
“That’ll keep me awake for ten extra minutes today,” she said sarcastically. She still hugged him and thanked him for remembering she loved French toast.
She picked at her breakfast, eating some of it, which was progress from the previous few days. She saved the rest of it for later, in case she got hungry again. Really, she was saving it for one of the guys. They would always eat her leftovers at some point.
“When do you meet with the police commissioner?” she asked, chasing around a bite of toast on her plate but not actually eating it.
“Tomorrow. I was waiting to see what Sal did before I met with him. He knows, loosely, what’s happening, but I need to fill him in on everything,” I said.
“Who had Sal running on the whiteboard and who had him staying?” she asked, smiling.
Sal had stayed in his house for days after Trino delivered Anthony and Lorenzo to him. Trino had his guys watching Sal the whole time. They could see him inside the house. Like Stephen said, if it wasn’t Sal, it would’ve been heartbreaking. He was definitely in mourning. We were waiting to see what he was going to do next. Trino had offered to take care of Sal. “I’m still pissed he would try to go around me and make a deal with the Mexicans. I’ll be happy to take care of him for you,” he said.
“Be my guest, Trino,” I had told him. One less thing I would have to worry about. We had guys watching Niko and Vito as well. Both paid visits to Sal while he was shut in his house. Both were shown Trino’s special delivery. Both were now afraid for their own lives.
The people in those three areas of the city were still unhappy and threatening to revolt against the bosses. Even with being terrified for their own lives, they were still trying to collect the new taxes they’d imposed on their people. Massimo’s underbosses were still trying to collect taxes in his area. The only quiet areas belonged to Dario and Armando.
Trino was proving to be invaluable to me during this entire situation. I had not expected him to come through the way he was. During one of the short windows when she was awake, I’d talked to Sephie about it.
“I’m not that surprised that he’s proving to be as helpful as he is,” she said. I looked at her skeptically. “He knows you trust actions more than words. Because he’s very similar to you. You’re going to need to return the favor when it comes to the Mexicans when this is over with in the city.”
I could feel her worry starting to build, but she was trying to smile through it. “You shouldn’t worry, love. Trino took care of them by himself last time. If we help him, it will be even faster,” I said.
She tried to take as deep a breath as she could. “I know. I still worry. I can’t help it.” I could feel her frustration as I pulled her as close to me as possible. We were both missing the ability for me to hold her tightly.
That afternoon, Sephie had her two-week check-up with Dr. Williams. He wanted to take another x-ray of her lung, just to make sure everything was still functioning properly. We all went to the hospital with her.
“How’s your breathing?” he asked.
“Still not what I’d like it to be, but it’s okay,” she said.
“Is it mostly your ribs? Are you feeling like you’re not getting enough air?”
“Both, I think? I can’t take a deep breath because of my ribs, so it feels like there’s not enough air all the time,” she said.
