King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Three

Sephie

Adrik had stood up from his desk and pulled me up from my chair to go outside for a bit before the sun went down. We both needed a break, but I had the idea about Ricardo and wanted to ask before I forgot. “Come, we’ll resume this later,” Adrik said as he pulled me from his office. We stopped at the closet so I could grab a jacket, then continued downstairs. He held my hand in his, his fingers laced through mine.

As soon as we were outside and mostly alone, I felt the stress melt away. I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. “I needed this break,” I said.

“Me too. You’re the best excuse for getting me out of the office,” he said. “Especially now that I can feel what you’re feeling more. I know when you’re getting stressed. I can ignore my own stress, but I’m incapable of ignoring yours. I want to make it stop as soon as I feel it.”

I moved closer to him, my other arm holding on to his arm as we walked hand-in-hand. “I do love that you’re so protective of me. It might seem over the top to someone else, but I completely lost the feeling of safety when I lived with my uncle. Even after I got away from him, I never really got it back. That feeling of constantly being on edge, constantly looking over my shoulder, or waiting for the next attack to happen never went away until I met you.” He let go of my hand so he could put his arm around me. He stopped, pulling me closer to him. “It’s kind of si lly when I think about it. I know I can survive things most people wouldn’t, because I’ve done it. I’m still here. But the hypervigilance gets exhausting after a while. You’ve brought peace back to my life and now I never want to be without it again,” I said.

He inhaled sharply. “Sephie, I never want you to worry. About anything. You’re a very big reason that I made the decision to get rid of the other bosses. I don’t want to have to constantly worry about one of them trying to hurt you to get to me. I want you and Misha to be able to run through the city again without worrying you’re going to be attacked. I want to be able to walk to Vinny’s to get you your favorite sandwich in the middle of the day without worrying someone is going to try and grab you. I want you to always know that you’re completely safe with me. And if I’m not with you, I want you to know you’re completely safe with whichever one of the guys is with you.”

“Or three,” I said, laughing.

“Or three. Safety in numbers, solnishko,” he said, laughing with me.

waist, resting my head on his chest. His arms held me tight against him, causing

you, Sephie. More than anything.” he said, kissing

moved everything downstairs. They were spread out on the couches when Adrik and I came back as the sun was setting. I had a feeling they did it so they could be closer to the kitchen. They’d all grown to love me cooking for them, especially now that I was trying to make more traditional Russian dishes, but it felt like they enjoyed helping just as much as they enjoyed eating. I never had to wash a dish when they were around and they were always willing to jump in and help. It gave us a

walked in. “Your idea that Ricardo is the missing link between the other bosses and Armando seems

ready to help and we could all still discuss the day’s topic of choice. “It looks like Armando has deals with Niko and Vito as well. The only names I’m not seeing

varying sizes with everyone. Except maybe Dario and Massimo, but that

a solid one,” Ivan said. “Now the

has all of them down there against

my hips as he stood behind me. “But

fix that,” I said as I pulled

be one of many reasons why I love you so much,” he

were cleaning up after dinner, Adrik called Trino. He put him on speaker so we could all hear the conversation. I had hopped on the counter, so he was standing in between my legs, but

“I’m beginning to get used to these frequent calls. It makes me feel loved, if I’m

chuckled. “You might change your mind after you hear what I’m about to

tell me that Armando has turned against you and now he’s coming down here to meet with me also?” he asked. His tone was jovial, like that was the