King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine
Ivan
Sephie came to me the next morning in the gym. Everyone else was preoccupied with other things, so she snuck over to me, a look of worry on her face.
“I kind of fu cked it up with Massimo and Dario, didn’t I?” she said. I could see the look of genuine concern in her eyes.
I tried not to laugh at her, as I knew she was really worried. “No, princess. We just need to take extra precautions when it comes to you. Salvadori’s people are still actively looking for you and now I’th sure that Massimo’s people will be too. We just need to be more careful. You’re not to leave with any less than three of us, okay?” I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to offer some comfort, but also to make sure that she wasn’t going to argue with me either. She nodded her head, chewing on her bottom lip like she did when she would worry. “I think we also need to have a conversation about exactly what you know about all the other bosses, too. Especially Massimo. There have been a lot of perle after that man for a lot of years. If any one of them find out you know what you know, they could come for you too.”
“Awesome. Let’s just set the whole city onto me. I mean, go big or go home, right?”
I laughed, shaking my head at her. “You know we won’t let anything happen to you, princess. There’s a reason we work for your go ddamn prince and why no one ever gets close to him,” I said, asly smile on my face.
She grinned at me. “I’ve heard stories, yes.” Andrei called for her from across the gym. She smiled at me, turning to go. “My giant trainer beckons me to lift heavy sh it!” she said, as she jogged across the gym.
Her hip must be getting much better if she can handle more than walk.

After we were done in the gym and ready for the day, I caught Boss alone in his office. “I’d like to go have a conversation with Max about keeping his mo uth sh ut about Sephie. And not just because of Tori, either. This new situation with Massimo has me
a little worried.”
He looked at me with an intensity that I instantly recognized. He was just as worried about Massimo, but there was something else there. “That kid makes me so angry, but she still feels loyal to him, so I can’t tell you to have as serious of a conversation
with him as I’d like to,” he said.
Ah, there it is. This might be the first time I’ve seen him jealous.
I chuckled. “Listen, I’ve wanted to punch that kid since that night in the restaurant when he shook her too hard and then basically abandoned her for some mediocre woman at the bar.”
Adrik’s eyes went wide. “It’s not just me, then? I keep telling her that he’s an id iot. To the point that I’m actually starting to feel bad about it. He’s like her one friend her own age.”
“She’ll see him for how he really is in her own time, Boss. He was the only friend she had after a difficult time in her life. That kind of life experience can make you ignore things you shouldn’t just to keep from being completely alone. I understand her connection to him, but I don’t think it will last that much longer, nless he starts to realize what he’s doing to her every time he chooses another temporary woman over her.”
He looked lost in thought for a moment, but then smiled at me. “Sephie was right. You are wise beyond your years.” He laughed. then added. “She also said you just don’t want anyone to know it because you value your peace too much.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “She hasn’t been wrong yet, Boss.”
“Let me know how it goes with Max. Do you need anyone to go with you?” he asked, still smiling.
I shook my head no. “Andrei told me that he called them ‘trained killers’ when they saw him yesterday. He’s plenty scared of us and I can be very convincing when needed.”
He nodded his head. “Be as convincing as you need to be without hurting him.”
We’d had Max followed since the night we first met Sephie, just to make sure he stayed safe and that no one would try to get to her through him. We saw him try to hide her behind him in the parking lot that first night when Boss went back to give her money, so we knew there was at the very least a friendship there. Cioing back to give her money was Adrik’s excuse, anyway. He really just wanted to see her again. We all kniew it, but we all played along. We’d never seen him act like that around a woman before, so we were all somewhat fascinated by it.
I knew his schedule, so I knew where to find him. He’d be at the gym, then he’d go home, shower and change in time to get to work just before the happy hour crowd hit. I waited outside the gyn until he came out. I hated smoking, but it was a reasonable excuse to be standing outside, so I smoked a couple of cigarettes while I waited.