King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter One Hundred Seventy-Four
Viktor
She walked back to Adrik, who opened his arm for her to step into. It’s like she fit perfectly next to him, like they were made for each other. He kissed her temple pulling her closer. He was so different around Sephie. For the better, really. In his younger days he was more of an as shole to the girls he would date. It always seemed like he was trying to get away from them. He was never outright mean to them, but he never thought about them the way he does Sephie. He’s consumed with Sephie.
I knew he was in love that very first night at the restaurant when we walked outside the restaurant to find her after Anthony had smacked her a ss so hard. After Adrik ripped Anthony a new one in front of everyone, he got up and walked to the back of the restaurant. He walked through the kitchen, like he owned the place. One of the cooks tried to stop him, but Adrik just glared at him. He was imposing in his own right. He was just as tall as the rest of us and only slightly smaller. I think he stayed leaner because it was easier to find suits that fit him that way.
As soon as he told Sephie his name, I knew she was the one. He never told anyone his name. He’d had girlfriends that he dated for a year or more that still don’t know his name. He knew Sephie for under two hours and he told her his name.

I saw what he saw in her the next morning at her apartment. She was so funny, but so genuinely concerned that we were taken care of, even though her neck was a shade of purple that I’d never seen on a human and she was hoarse from Anthony trying to crush her windpipe. I knew she was special and that Adrik would do whatever it took to keep her around for a very long time. Once he made his mind up on something, there was usually no going back.
We were all grateful that she was in our lives and that he had seen her for who she is right away that night so many months ago. She’d changed him for the better, but she’d also changed all of us. There was no doubt that we would do whatever it took to make sure she was always safe and always looked after, no matter what happened.
Adrik kissed her temple again, then said, “I need to call Trino. I want to see if Anthony and Lorenzo are still down there or if they got tired of waiting and left.” He walked away from the kitchen to make his phone call.
Sephie started to wash the dishes from dinner as she asked, “how did it go with Team America? Did they pass the test?”
I chuckled. “They did. Mostly. They’re still getting used to working with each other. It takes a while to learn how each guy operates in situations. Stephen really did save Keith’s a ss.”
She looked to Stephen, her eyebrow raised. He just shrugged his shoulders. “It was an honest mistake, but I fixed it.”
“He said the wrong code word, huh? He said mayonnaise instead of whatever code you guys gave him, didn’t he?” she said, grinning. Stephen laughed, just shaking his head at her. “So, that’s one for Team Russia, zero for Team America because you saved his a ss? I feel like this should make it to the wh ite board, along with the bet pool for Armando and Giana. We should have a running tally of how many times you guys have to save their as ses before they get their sh it together.”
More laughter from all of us. Most women would’ve avoided this conversation. They would’ve avoided training with us, learning how to defend themselves, learning how to sh oot. Not Sephie. She poured herself into training with us. I laughed to myself as I remembered her telling me early on that the more she trained, the more she could eat. She was starting to get good enough that she killed more of Massimo’s guys that day they tried to grab her than the rest of us. It helped me worry about her less. It also made me wish I had taught my wife a few things. She might’ve had more of a fighting chance.
Adrik walked back into the kitchen. We all looked expectantly at him, wondering what he had found out from Trina. “Trino met with Anthony and Lorenzo today, just to keep them down there a little longer, to help us out. He tried to get more information out of them on what their plan is, as well. Dario and Massimo are still waiting, but he assured me Massimo will no longer be a problem once he meets with him.”