King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Six

Adrik

“Are we taking bets on whether Chen is going to pi ss himself tonight?” Stephen asked as we were preparing to go to Sephie’s old apartment to meet with the dealers in charge.

“I think he’s ruined at least three pairs of pants since he had to talk to Boss the other day,” Ivan said. We all got a little too much enjoyment out of Chen’s fear.

“You guys better be nice to him. He’s helped us out,” Sephie said, trying to make sure they weren’t going to haze him in some way during the meeting.

“We’re always nice, princess,” Ivan said, pretending to be offended.

Stephen left first, with two other guys, to set up across the street from the apartment building. They had good vantage points and could see everyone coming and going. I did not like surprises, especially when Sephie was involved. It helped to ease my worry to see Stephen growing closer to Sephie. I knew he would do whatever was necessary to make sure she was protected. She’d helped him come out of his shell over the past few months. Like Ivan, he was so much funnier after having been around Sephie. I was convinced we’d all laughed more since Sephie showed up than we had our entire lives. I never wanted it to end.

On the elevator down to the parking garage, I pulled Sephie closer. She looked up at me, her eyes smiling at me. “You stay close to either me or Ivan the entire time, got it?” She smiled her sweet smile up at me, causing my heart to skip in my chest.

“I promise,” she said. She’d told us all over the weekend, a couple of times even, that she was eternally grateful to all of us for making her feel safe. It was a feeling she’d been missing in her life since her m om had died. She said she never realized how much she had missed it until she had us to make her feel safe once again. I could see it plainly on every guy’s face that they would do whatever it took to make sure she always felt safe with us, in any situation.

She stood on her toes, her lips finding mine. It was these little moments, the ones that seemed insignificant, that I found myself enjoying more and more. These moments made me think I’d never get enough of her, never get tired of her, never want to be without her.

We pulled into the parking lot of Sephie’s old apartment building. We were early, but Chen was already there. Sephie giggled. “Stephen, you might be right. He might pi ss himself tonight,” she said. She knew that even though he wasn’t physically with us. he could hear us through his earpiece..

“Stephen said he was here even before they got here. He’s worried. He’s been checking outside constantly,” Ivan said. “If he’s only worried about Boss, that’s one thing. But if he’s worried about something else, I don’t like it.”

to him. If he’s checking outside, he’s probably looking for

to her to get out of the vehicle. She put her hand in mine, climbing out. I pulled her to me, looking at her seriously, “with Ivan. Then bring him up. I’d like to speak to him before everyone else gets here.” I leaned down and kissed her

gently.

done,” she said,

on the small of her back, directing her toward Chen’s apartment. I caught Misha’s eye, “go with them,” I said nodding toward Ivan and Sephie. He couldn’t keep

me. Sephie’s old apartment was

furniture was still there. I kept the apartment in the beginning, just in case she ever decided she didn’t want to be with me and wanted to go back. I knew

conversation with Chen through the earpieces. Poor guy was terrified to meet me. Sephie was trying to calm his nerves before they came upstairs. She eventually got him calm enough to come up. His eyes went wide when

part of this? Because I feel inadequate,” Chen said to Sephie. He tried to say it quietly, but we

done us a huge favor by gathering information

but he shook my hand firmly, looking me in the eye. That was a good sign. He was trying to be bold.

Uh, happy to help, sir,” he

other dealers? I’m not worried about Trino’s guy. He’ll take

statement about Trino. He looked at Sephie. “You told me the Colombian was a nice

I greatly appreciate. Just don’t cross him or he’ll use that dramatic flair in ways you don’t want to see,” Sephie said.

Trino’s guy. He’s the one that the other dealers defer to, so he’s kind of in charge of everything. The other

said, “shi t” at the same time. I could see Ivan bristle. Chen was about

Chucky. Is he an older guy? Is he a dealer or a pimp?” Ivan asked. His voice had an edge to it, but I could tell he was trying to rein in his intimidation as much as

tense. I waited for

about that guy. The other two dealers are good, as far as I can tell, but I