Chapter Three Hundred Twenty
Sephte
That evening, once everyone in the office had gone home for the day, Trino and his guys stopped by. Gus and Oscar were with him, but Chen was absent this time. “He’s working on a contractor job. He said it was really important and he wants it to be perfect, so he couldn’t get away when we told him we were coming here tonight,” Gus said when I asked where he was, I smiled, knowing it was one of Adrik’s projects that he was working on.
“Miha, you look much better this time,” Trino said when he walked into Adhik’s office. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. It’s still too slow, but better,” I said. I’d still been coughing occasionally when I talked. The cough sounded ho rrible, even though I was feeling
better.
Trino cursed in Spanish when he heard my cough. “She got pneumonia after she got home from the hospital. The doctor said it’s common after your lung collapses,” Ivan said as he helped me onto the cabinet behind Adrik’s desk.
“Dios mio, Miha. How are you still functioning?” he asked.
I laughed. “Ask them. I haven’t been lately. I’ve done nothing but sleep for like an entire week.”
Trino looked at Adrik, who nodded his head in confirmation. “Armando has had to suffer greatly because I’ve been bored without her,” he said, his sly
smirk on his face.
“I fully support this, Jefe,” Trino said.
“What did you find at Sal’s house?” Adrik asked.
Trino took a deep breath and blew it out loudly. He was clearly frustrated. “We found a tunnel underneath his house. That’s how they got out without my guys seeing anything, which is advantageous for my guys. I was ready to ki ll them if they’d fallen asleep and missed Sal leaving.”
“We just don’t know exactly when they left. They could be anywhere by now,” Gus said.
“They’re not anywhere. They’re in Italy,” I said.
“And they left in the middle of the night a day and a half ago,” Ivan said.
“Along with Niko and Vito at some point, as well,” Viktor added.
“How do you know they’re in Italy, Miha?” Trino asked skeptically.
“It’s the most obvious choice. There’s a very high likelihood that’s where Ricardo is as well. Sal is likely running to him for direction now that Lorenzo is dead. Niko and Vito are simply running after their master as well,” I said. Trino looked at me thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything. I caught Andrei’s eye. He was trying not to smile.
“Who’s Ricardo?” Gus asked.
“We think he’s really the one that’s behind this coup. He’s been working with Lorenzo for years, but he also has a relationship with the other bosses as well. He’s the one that’s been pulling Armando’s strings behind the scenes. Likely since he was still an underboss. He’s been using a fake name this entire time. It was likely Ricardo that instructed him on what name to use to keep from raising suspicion with the other bosses, as well as my father,”
Adrik said.
Oscar laughed quietly. “Italians are so dramatic,” he said quietly.
“You are not wrong, Oscar,” I said.
“What are you thinking, Jefe? Are you going after them?” Trino asked.
Adrik thought for a few moments before answering. I knew he was torn about his answer, because of me. Were I not in the condition I was currently In, he would be much more willing to follow them to Italy and to end this all as quickly as possible. But given that travel likely wouldn’t agree with me very well right now, he was hesitant to follow them.
“They can come to me. I’m not going anywhere with Sephie in this condition,” he said, firmly.
“Do you think they’ll be back?” Oscar asked.
“I do. Ricardo is apparently obsessed with me,” Adrik said, smirking. “Armando said Ricardo has been trying to overtake me for years, from both sides
of the business.”
“Your greatness irritates those not on your level, Jefe,” Trino said. All the guys looked at me. Even Adrik turned his chair so he could see me out of the corner of his eye. Trino noticed, giving me a questioning look.
“I said almost the exact same thing earlier, Trino. Great minds think alike,” I said smiling at him. I motioned for Ivan to help me off the cabinet. I walked to Adrik, wanting to sit on his lap. Instead of staying at his desk, he stood up, pulling me to one of the couches. He helped me sit in his lap and lean back against him; my legs crossed in between his.
Adrik put his lips close to my ear, asking quietly in Russian, “are you tired, solnishko? Do you need to go back upstairs?”
“No, I’m okay. I was cold,” I said, pulling his arm around me tighter. I could feel the low vibration of his quiet laugh as he brushed my cheek lightly with his facial hair.
“How is the situation with the Mexicans, Trino?” Ivan asked.
“They got word of what happened to Anthony and Lorenzo, so they’ve been quiet so far. They still remember what I did when I took over in Colombia, Trino said.
“I wouldn’t put it past Sal and Ricardo to keep in contact with them. They’re going to need help to make this happen, if that’s what they’re still trying to do,” I said, leaning my head back against Adrik’s shoulder.
Trino looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. He started to ask a question, then stopped himself, then decided to ask it anyway. “Miha, how do you always know what you know? You’ve been with Jefe for such a short time and yet you know this business better than men who’ve grown up in it. You’re a very smart woman, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve literally never met anyone who knows the things you know after such a short time.”
I felt Adrik hold me a little tighter as we all contemplated how to answer Trino. It was Stephen that spoke first. “Sephie has a very unique ability to understand human psychology. Because of it, she can predict what people will do in certain situations.”
Trino shook his head, like he wanted to believe Stephen, but he wasn’t sure he did. “It’s something else, for sure,” he said. “Is this why Armando took you? Surely he knows how unique you are.”
I scoffed. “That’s a complicated answer, Trino.”
“How so?”
I could feel my anger starting to rise at the thought of Armando thinking he ever had a chance with me, but I tried to keep it under control, while making sure my eyes stayed normal. I took as deep a breath as I could. “When the bosses would meet at the restaurant I used to work at, Armando would stay after sometimes and help me clean up. He would ask me questions about my life, but I always got the impression that he was trying to set me up with his son, who is close to my age. According to Dario, that was not the case at all. Apparently, both Armando and Sal had been eyeing me when Ghost came back. Dario thought they were going to get into a fight over me, but then I met Ghost and that option was taken off the table. I think it’s why Sal was going to sell me off to the highest bidder when they took me. He’s still pi ssed. Armando, too.”
Ivan, who was sitting across from me and Adrik, said quickly in Russian, “blink, princess.”
“Shi t,” I said, under my breath, closing my eyes for a second. I managed to cough to hopefully distract anyone who might’ve seen them. I opened them, looking to Ivan first. He nodded discreetly and winked at me.
“Sephie thinks they’d put Armando into a bit of a leadership role while I was away. I think he and Sal had started to think they could run the city,
either together or separately. The night I met Sephie was the night they recruited all the bosses to try to overthrow me. We’re still trying to find out how much of a role Ricardo has been playing this entire time. He seems to have more influence than he should for someone who isn’t a boss,” Adrik said.
“We think he might have the mayor in his pocket as well,” Ivan said.
Trino made a gesture like he was spitting. “Politicians. They’re all the same. They can all be bought for the right price.”
