King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Three Hundred Thirty

Sephie

“How much work do you have today? Can we go for a walk or do you want me to drag one of the guys with me instead?” I asked Adrik as we were walking down the stairs.

“I will go with you, but you need a jacket,” he said, stopping me from walking down another step. He pulled me back toward the bedroom once more to get the jacket that I hadn’t thought about.

“I like where this is going, too,” I said, grinning at him. I heard him curse under his breath as we walked back up the stairs.

“You are not making this easy on me,” he said, shaking his head.

Once downstairs, I realized that it’d been so long since we were at the house that there likely wasn’t very much food there. “Can I send someone to get groceries?” I asked Adrik as we walked into the kitchen.

“You can do whatever you like, solnishko,” he said, following me to the kitchen island.

“What about me cooking? Am I still banned from that? You guys said I was banned until I had use of both arms again.” I held up my left arm. “I can use it again, so the ban should be lifted, right?”

He smiled at me. “Only if you let us help you,” he said.

“Deal.” I said, right as Stephen walked into the kitchen.

“What kind of deals are being made?” he asked.

“I can cook now as long as I let you guys help me,” I announced.

“Oh, Viktor is going to be so happy. VIKTOR!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, which made me jump and laugh at the same time. All of the guys came rushing toward the kitchen like something was definitely wrong. Ivan and Andrei had their guns drawn, even. Stephen was standing there quietly waiting on them.

they saw Adrik

can cook again,” Stephen said, his sly smile stretching across his

deep belly laugh filled the kitchen as he walked over to me and picked me up in a bear hug. “This really is the best

to help her, since she’s still not 100%, but somehow I don’t

said. I couldn’t stop smiling at how happy they were about this new development. I made a quick grocery list, handing it to Viktor. I knew this was one task he would happily take care of. Adrik announced that we were going for a walk and would be back shortly. Once we were outside and alone, he was still laughing at Viktor’s reaction. “He really does love it love it

his language,” I said, grabbing Adrik’s hand as we walked.

you mean?”

that your schedule is always taken care of, that the building is secure, the vehicles are taken care of, food is ordered, he does everything. It’s how he shows his love. Me cooking for you guys is that for him. It’s the way I show my love for all of you, but it’s his language. He understands it, without anyone having to say the words. The other guys love it too, just as you do, but for Viktor, it’s silent recognition of everything he does for

always taken care of. He’s so good at it that sometimes I forget he does it all,” Adrik said.

what he wants. He wants it all to appear effortless and mostly it is, because he’s set the systems in place for it to

me. “I think Trino is right. You know too much,” he said, grinning at

going.” I said, my own grin stretching across my face.

Your insights are always fascinating.”

child were killed. He spends more time than he’ll ever admit thinking about what could have been and the almost life he lived. In the beginning, it was painful to think about. Now, he’s healed enough that it’s more curiosity to think about what might have been. Coming home at the end of the day to a home-cooked meal helps him complete

you about this,

I didn’t know about his wife and child until that night that they all found out I can’t have kids. That’s the only time he’s mentioned her around me. I haven’t asked either. I really do try not to pry in anyone’s head, but I’ve picked

a few moments in silence. He was thoughtful about what I’d just told

there. I think that’s why I pick up on it, but I don’t feel like he’s still struggling with feel

think you’ve ever seen Viktor get truly angry, but he almost lost his grip on sanity for a while there. He was consumed by revenge, which as you know eventually led to his landing himself in the Syrian prison. Honestly, it was a suicide mission for him. He didn’t expect to live through it. We’d tried to talk him out of it. We thought we had talked him out of it, but he left in the middle of the night without a word to the rest of us. Ivan was pi ssed. It almost ruined their friendship completely.

I asked. Viktor and Ivan seemed very close. I

use, Ivan has very strong opinions on suicide. Very strong. He told Viktor if he ever thought about doing

also, partly

though. He doesn’t understand the he ll that Viktor was in after having lost his wife and his unborn child. He’s gotten closer to understanding it since you came into our lives. Ivan had a conversation with me about it shortly after we got back from Italy. He said he owed Viktor an apology because he was starting to understand how he felt after his wife was killed. He said what happened on the plane over, when you didn’t recognize him and then when you were in your nightmare and kept yelling for me, then him, gave him a glimpse someone

I had that much of a negative effect on