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“I will always be here. Waiting for you.”
I had almost the same reaction to those words as I did the first time she told me she loved me. With everything that was going on with having her meet Trino, finding out more details about Sal’s plan, along with watching her stand up to Mike, I was worried that she was going to reconsider wanting to be with me if she saw the side of me that really could burn the city to the ground to teach the other bosses a lesson. She was such an incredible woman. And the best part was that I think we were only just now beginning to see glimpses of what she was truly capable of. There was more in there that she hadn’t discovered yet. I was fearful that she would change her mind after seeing my dark side fully exposed.
Of course, she knew my dark side was there, even though it had been quiet since meeting her. She notices everything. Of course, she noticed it. And she loves me more because of it.
I inhaled deeply. I felt her snuggle into me more, making her cooing noises when she was happily sleeping. I held her tightly for a few more minutes. I would give anything to stay on the couch with her for the entire day, but I needed to speak to Trino this morning.
I carefully got up from the couch and picked her up. I was sure she would wake up when I moved her, but as soon as I placed her on the bed, she rolled over and curled up, still sound asleep. I covered her up, knowing she would know I was gone when she woke up with the covers on her. I got ready as quietly as I could, but still secretly hoped she would wake up.
I left her a note as usual and closed the blinds part of the way in the bedroom, so she could sleep as long as she needed. It seemed like she needed a day every so often to sleep until noon. I wished I could stay with her.
I met Viktor and Ivan in my office. Both were surprised as usual that Sephie wasn’t with me. “I might’ve kept her up too late last night. She didn’t wake up this morning when I got up.”
They both looked at me, smirking. Viktor pulled his phone from his pocket, typed in a message, then put it back. He knew the routine and was already sending one of the guys up to wait on her to wake up. On paper, it seemed like such a silly thing to do. She was protected up there. No one could get to that floor without my approval and there were two armed guards posted outside my door always. But I still needed to know that one of the guys would be there when she woke up, if I couldn’t.
I looked to Ivan. “Do you know any jewelers in the city?”
His coy smile crept across his face. “Depends on what you’re looking for, but I know of a couple that might fit the bill.”
“I want a ring designed for Sephie,” I said as I looked at both of them. I walked to my desk. “Close the door.” They both looked at me, surprised. I only ever asked for the door to be shut on very serious matters. Viktor closed the door, then they both sat down in front of my desk.
“What’s going on, Boss?” Ivan asked. “Did something happen last night?” He had a look of worry on his face, but I could also see his temper just under the surface. He had become extremely protective of Sephie since he was in the hospital. I think he would take me out if he thought I had wronged her. I couldn’t help but smile.
“No. Well, yes. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I got up. I thought maybe pacing around the penthouse would make me relax enough I could go back to sleep. I’ve been worried that she’ll look at me differently if she sees the other side of me. The side that my father used as his personal assassin when I was younger. It’s why I’ve been hesitant to really put an end to this whole situation with the bosses,” I said, sitting in my chair. I ran my hand through my hair. “Ever since the ball and how horribly that plan turned out, I’ve been terrified of losing her.”
Ivan spoke first. “Um, Boss, I’m fairly certain she knows that side of you exists already.”
I laughed, looking at Viktor. “I think you were right last night when you said she might be psychic. I haven’t said a word to her about my father or that I was worried about turning into him. She nailed it after thirty seconds of looking at me in the middle of the night. And then, of course, proceeded to tell me exactly what I needed to hear.” They both smiled, knowing how spot-on she could be when it really counted. I sighed. “In the course of that conversation, I got an idea of the ring I want to give her. I have a rough sketch in my head, but I need to talk to a jeweler to see if it’s possible.”
“Usually, anything is possible for the right price,” Viktor said with a smile on his face.
Ivan, now curious, asked, “What’s the idea?”
“I compared her to a diamond, but she said she would only compare herself to a diamond if it were black. She said to match her soul. We all know she has the whitest soul of anyone on the planet, but it’s still funny.” I grabbed a pen and roughly sketched out my thoughts to show them. “One large black diamond, like her soul, with five smaller diamonds surrounding it, since you’re all basically a package deal.”
Ivan chuckled. “Make the smaller ones red.” I raised an eyebrow at him. I liked the idea, but I wanted to know his reasoning behind it. He laughed again, “I can’t tell you that without sounding like a completely crazy person to you both, but just trust me. Figure out a way to work in smaller red and even white diamonds. She’ll get it.”
I nodded my head. I knew he and Sephie shared something that the rest of us couldn’t necessarily understand. I didn’t need to know everything. Just knowing it would make her happy was all I needed to know.
“You can find someone that can work this out?” I asked Ivan.
He nodded his head. “Right away.”
My phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. It was Trino. I put him on speaker, so they could hear the conversation as well. “Trino, what did you find?”
“Jefe, none of my dealers know anything about this. Either they’re planning on replacing the supply without telling the dealers or they know which dealers are mine and have avoided telling them. Do you have any other dealers that you can talk to without raising too much suspicion?” he asked.
I looked to both Viktor and Ivan. Neither had an answer right away. “We’ll find someone,” I said. “What about Anthony and Lorenzo? Still there?”
“Si, Jefe. They’ve got a renewed sense of hope since I met with them yesterday,” he said, laughing. “Now that they know you’re alive, they’re being slightly more aggressive with their offer. It still doesn’t come close to yours, but it’s fun to make them work for this.”
“What about Dario and Massimo?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Jefe. Your woman is a gift from the angels.” He paused. “She was exactly right about both of them. I think Dario might need a psych ward before this is all over. I met with them separately. I told them both that I knew they had my nephew killed. Dario immediately went on the defense, telling me everything he knew about what happened, where they dumped him, and he threw Massimo all the way under the bus. I’ve seen fear before, but that man is terrified of Massimo. Dario asked me if I could protect him. There’s something deeper there.”
“Feel free to find out as much as you can on what else Dario knows. What did Massimo do when you told him?”
He laughed. “He threw Dario under the bus and tried to blame everything on him. Sephie was right. He is a truly evil man. He kept his cool during the entire conversation.”
