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I busied myself in the kitchen, first pulling my wild, previously slept in hair into a bun on top of my head, then I set about making coffee.
“Are you hungry, Viktor? I can make breakfast too. I don’t even know what time it is right now, but it’s always bacon time in this house. Can Andrei come inside too, or do I need to make his to go?”
“No, please, Miss Sephie, that is not necessary.”
“Um, hello. Saved my life. Least I can do. We’ve been over this, Viktor. Don’t argue with me. You won’t win.”
He laughed, shaking his head. He just said one word, “Ryzhiy.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for a translation.
He chuckled. “Redhead,” he responded.
“Damn skippy. Now how do you take your coffee? With the crushed-up bones of your enemies? Or without?”
This time, he slapped the counter he laughed so hard. He threw his head back and cackled.
“You are a funny woman, Miss Sephie.”
“It’s a gift.”
I set a coffee cup in front of him, along with milk and sugar, so he could make it the way he wanted.
“Are you going to call Andrei to come up here too? Or do I have to make you follow me out to the parking lot to deliver his coffee?”
“I will call him.”
“Smart man, Viktor. Smart man,” I said as I winked at him and set about getting the pans needed to cook breakfast.
In seemingly no time at all, there was a knock on my front door. Viktor immediately stood up from the bar at the kitchen counter where he was sitting. His hand instinctively going to his gun at his hip. He held his other hand up to me, indicating that I should stay where I was and to be quiet. For a moment, I struggled to breathe, wondering if it was someone other than Andrei at my door.
Viktor looked through the peep hole and opened the door, visibly relaxing as the door opened to reveal his equally sized cohort.
“Hi, Andrei,” I said from the kitchen, as he walked into my apartment.
“Good morning, Miss Sephie. Thank you for your hospitality,” he said in an even thicker Russian accent than the one Viktor had.
“It’s nothing. It’s the least I could do. You guys were so kind to me last night,” I said as they both took a seat at the kitchen bar. I set a coffee cup down in front of Andrei and noticed that both of them seemed to be…blushing? Of course, I doubled down.
“Max told me what you did to Anthony last night.” I reached out and grabbed one of Viktor’s hands and one of Andrei’s hands, giving them both a squeeze. “Thank you.”
They both turned as red as my hair. I smiled at both of them and quickly turned around so I wouldn’t laugh at how flushed their cheeks were. You’d think they’d never been touched by a girl before.
I grabbed the coffee and filled both of their cups along with mine to help ease the awkwardness of the moment. As I stood sipping my coffee, waiting for my soul to return to my body, and relishing the warmth on my very sore throat, I cocked my head to the side and asked, “So…why are you two guarding me exactly? I mean, I’m not complaining, but I’m also confused as to why you’re here.”
They both exchanged a quick, uneasy glance and Viktor cleared his throat. He said, “Um, Miss Sephie, we are following orders. Boss was very clear that we were not to let you out of our sight.”
“Boss? You mean Mr. Lord King Boss Adrik?”
This time, it was Andrei that looked in surprise at Viktor. He asked Viktor a question in Russian. Viktor replied, his eyes now almost as wide as Andrei’s were. Andrei ran his hands through his dirty blond hair, clearly surprised by whatever information he just learned. I cleared my throat to remind them that they were in my kitchen, and I was still waiting on an answer.
“Mr. Lord King Boss?” they both said in unison.
I laughed at myself for saying the quiet part out loud yet again.
“Um, yeah. I didn’t know who your boss was until last night and I didn’t know what to call him, so I came up with the title Lord King Boss. I mean, it’s authoritative. Strong. Monarchial, if you will. I feel like he should use it freely.”
They both looked at me with their mouths open, too stunned to reply.
