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Sephie looked at me, not as surprised as I thought she would be, and said, “That’s what landed you in a Syrian prison, isn’t it?”
The other guys just looked at her with the surprise that I expected from her. I nodded my head. “I ended the cycle of vengeance, but I was so focused on ending it that I got sloppy and got caught.”
“And you’ve been struggling with the guilt ever since she was killed, which is why you pour yourself into making sure we’re all safe, as well as making sure we have everything we need always,” she said.
I could feel the tears welling even more in my eyes. I nodded as she walked toward me. She slid her arm around my shoulders, saying quietly, “Papa Bear, you’re the best security master there is. You take care of everything like no one else and if you decide in the future to give it another try, you’re going to make the most amazing father. In the meantime, you can keep practicing on us.”
I felt the tears fall as I thought about what could have been. My life would look very differently if my wife were still alive. I’m not sure I would be at the same place I’m at now. I’d come to terms with it years ago, but I still had moments where it was almost like I was missing the life that would’ve happened. Even though I didn’t know what it would’ve been like. Or if I still would have been with my wife. We were young and got married probably before either of us were really ready. There are so many what ifs that I used to obsess over. I’d finally come to a point where I put that almost life to rest, but occasionally, like now, I would remember the life that didn’t happen.
Sephie hugged my shoulders tighter, just offering her comfort for a moment. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her in for a hug as I tried to get control of myself. “I know you’re still going to worry sometimes, but you can feel confident in knowing that you’re doing a fantastic job of keeping us all safe,” she said.
I’m still not entirely sure how she knows exactly the thing that we all need to hear, at exactly the moment that we need to hear it, but she’s quite possibly psychic. I was so driven to constantly make sure every detail was always taken care of, for fear of something slipping through the cracks and someone getting hurt. Since Sephie had come into our lives, I had many sleepless nights trying to find the holes in my security that allowed the attacks to happen. I was constantly worried about it. Each attack on her was a blow to my confidence. I’d been mentally spiraling out of control because I thought the same thing that had happened to my wife was inevitably going to happen to Sephie and there would be nothing I could do about it.
I tried to hide it the best I could around everyone else, but Sephie notices everything. Of course, she would notice this too.
“I’m beginning to think you’re psychic, sestrichka,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. She kissed my cheek, squeezing my shoulders once more.
“Nah, I’m just that weirdo that notices everything,” she said, giving me her wide smile that always made the room a little brighter whenever I saw it.
“I’m still getting you a crystal ball for Christmas,” I said, smiling at her.
“YES! I can side-hustle the shit out of that. I’ll read your palms too,” she said, throwing her arms up in the air like she’d just won a prize.
She had impeccable timing with her silliness. She always knew when we needed a break from serious matters and she would always do or say something hilarious to make us all laugh, effectively making us forget for a moment the gravity of a situation.
She walked back to Adrik, who opened his arm for her to step into. It’s like she fit perfectly next to him, like they were made for each other. He kissed her temple, pulling her closer. He was so different around Sephie. For the better, really. In his younger days he was more of an asshole to the girls he would date. It always seemed like he was trying to get away from them. He was never outright mean to them, but he never thought about them the way he does Sephie. He’s consumed with Sephie.
I knew he was in love that very first night at the restaurant when we walked outside the restaurant to find her after Anthony had smacked her ass so hard. After Adrik ripped Anthony a new one in front of everyone, he got up and walked to the back of the restaurant. He walked through the kitchen, like he owned the place. One of the cooks tried to stop him, but Adrik just glared at him. He was imposing in his own right. He was just as tall as the rest of us and only slightly smaller. I think he stayed leaner because it was easier to find suits that fit him that way.
As soon as he told Sephie his name, I knew she was the one. He never told anyone his name. He’d had girlfriends that he dated for a year or more that still don’t know his name. He knew Sephie for under two hours and he told her his name.
I saw what he saw in her the next morning at her apartment. She was so funny, but so genuinely concerned that we were taken care of, even though her neck was a shade of purple that I’d never seen on a human and she was hoarse from Anthony trying to crush her windpipe. I knew she was special and that Adrik would do whatever it took to keep her around for a very long time. Once he made his mind up on something, there was usually no going back.
We were all grateful that she was in our lives and that he had seen her for who she is right away that night so many months ago. She’d changed him for the better, but she’d also changed all of us. There was no doubt that we would do whatever it took to make sure she was always safe and always looked after, no matter what happened.
Adrik kissed her temple again, then said, “I need to call Trino. I want to see if Anthony and Lorenzo are still down there or if they got tired of waiting and left.” He walked away from the kitchen to make his phone call.
Sephie started to wash the dishes from dinner as she asked, “How did it go with Team America? Did they pass the test?”
I chuckled. “They did. Mostly. They’re still getting used to working with each other. It takes a while to learn how each guy operates in situations. Stephen really did save Keith’s ass.”
She looked to Stephen, her eyebrow raised. He just shrugged his shoulders. “It was an honest mistake, but I fixed it.”
“He said the wrong code word, huh? He said mayonnaise instead of whatever code you guys gave him, didn’t he?” she said, grinning. Stephen laughed, just shaking his head at her. “So, that’s one for Team Russia, zero for Team America because you saved his ass? I feel like this should make it to the white board, along with the bet pool for Armando and Giana. We should have a running tally of how many times you guys have to save their asses before they get their shit together.”
More laughter from all of us. Most women would’ve avoided this conversation. They would’ve avoided training with us, learning how to defend themselves, learning how to shoot. Not Sephie. She poured herself into training with us. I laughed to myself as I remembered her telling me early on that the more she trained, the more she could eat. She was starting to get good enough that she killed more of Massimo’s guys that day they tried to grab her than the rest of us. It helped me worry about her less. It also made me wish I had taught my wife a few things. She might’ve had more of a fighting chance.
Adrik walked back into the kitchen. We all looked expectantly at him, wondering what he had found out from Trino. “Trino met with Anthony and Lorenzo today, just to keep them down there a little longer, to help us out. He tried to get more information out of them on what their plan is as well. Dario and Massimo are still waiting, but he assured me Massimo will no longer be a problem once he meets with him.”
“What other info did he get from Tony and Enzo?” Ivan asked.
“We have time. Not much time, but we have time. They’re still working on producing enough brawn to completely replace the supply. Then they have to distribute it. They conveniently left out the part where they were replacing the entire supply with it when talking to Trino. Many of the dealers in the city are loyal to him. That’s how he gets his information on the bosses. He’s making calls to find out if they’ve been approached or not,” Adrik said.
“What if they’re just going to replace the product and not tell the dealers? Maybe they don’t know. Didn’t Andy say they were trying to package it like other drugs?” Sephie asked. She was a smart girl, who caught on very quickly. It used to surprise me in the beginning that she could catch on as quickly as she does, but now I’ve come to expect it from her. Adrik walked back to her, standing beside her as she continued to clean up from dinner. We all noticed how he couldn’t stand to be apart from her. It was like there was an imaginary force pulling them to each other at all times. He had to be next to her, but he was also fine with her goofing around with all of us. It was like they were in orbit around each other. Each one could leave, but they always came back to each other. He was always confident she would come back to him, so he never minded when she would leave to show affection to one of us.
“That’s a possibility. Trino said he would check with his dealers and get back to me as soon as he knew something,” Adrik said. She turned the water in the sink off, grabbing a towel to dry her hands as she moved closer to him.
She looked lost in thought for a moment, then grinned and looked at Ivan. “We also need to add potential outcomes for Dario and Massimo to the white board. I vote on some dramatic ending for Massimo, like Trino lights him on fire and throws him off a cliff. I feel like Trino has a flair for the dramatic.”
