King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Eight

Adrik

Once Trino and I ended the call, we all stood in stunned silence for a few moments. Not only had Dario dropped heavy information on us, but Sephie and Misha had seen what happened to Trino, seemingly as it was happening. How?

Sephie was still standing next to me, tucked into my side like she was made for that spot. I had a tight hold of her, feeling even more protective than usual of her. I’d lost count of how many times I’d told her that she was the most amazing woman I’d ever known, but she continued to raise the bar on that standard. I found myself curious to see what else she could do.

I glanced at Misha, who was still stunned at what had happened. He had his hands on his hips and was staring at the floor in front of him like he wasn’t sure what to do or say.

“Misha, how does your gut instinct usually work? Can you normally see things as they happen?” I asked him.

He snapped back to reality when I called his name. He looked to me, then to Sephie, then back to me. “I get snapshots of what’s going to happen, but it’s like still pictures. When Sephie was holding my hands, it was a full-on movie. In real-time, apparently.” He still looked stunned and almost baffled at what had happened. We all were, really.

I looked down at Sephie, who looked back at me. “Don’t look at me. I have no explanation,” she said. She looked just as stunned as Misha did.

I caught Ivan’s eye, then looked back at Misha. “If I’ve learned anything from Sephie, it’s that she shows you what your potential is,” I said. “She shows you how to get to the next level, if you will. Think of her like the Game Master.”

at me, smiling. “Calling me the Game Master implies I know what the he ll this game is that’s happening with all of us. I’m in the dark just

could tell you were anxious before Boss called Trino. It got worse when he didn’t answer. It got worse still when Misha had the same reaction. You know more than you think you do, Sephie,” Andrei said. Sephie looked at Andrei, but didn’t know how to respond. She was chewing on her bottom lip; her hands were

time when she was talking to Dario, too,” Ivan said. Stephen nodded beside him. “I did too,” he said.

anger rise quickly at the mention of the conversation with Dario, but she had it under control just as

calm to me. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. I got hit with a sudden feeling of panic that I knew wasn’t mine. When she opened her eyes and looked to me for confirmation they were

she asked quietly. Her feeling of panic was growing. She was an expert at controlling her anger, but her fear was clearly a different story. She was losing control quickly. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tight against me. She clung to me like I was her

the opposite. I think it’s your hero origin story. We may not know what happened just now, but you’re doing what you always do- making sure that people you care about are taken care of. That’s hero behavior,” Ivan said. She took a deep breath, but didn’t loosen her grip on me. Her face was

asked her, trying to coax her head away from my chest. Not that I minded her body pressed against mine. I just didn’t want her to be scared.

was slowly disappearing. She turned so she could look at Misha, but she kept my arms wrapped tightly

It’s why you’re so good at pushing me and training me to be better and why I’m constantly reminding you of how awesome you are.” Andrei’s wide smile stretched across his face. She looked at Stephen and said, “Yoden, I was supposed to show you how much better life can be when you just decide to be yourself.” Stephen’s cheeks blushed, as he ran his hand through his hair. “And Papa Bear,” she said, looking at Viktor. “I was supposed to help you get your confidence back. You do a very good job of hiding it from everyone else, but I know how debilitating it was becoming for you since you lost your wife.” Viktor looked at her, smiling. She really had helped him feel much more confident since she’d come into our lives. I hadn’t noticed it much before Sephie, but Viktor was back to the way he was when I

when

lifetimes. I don’t think any of you are surprised by that,” she said, laughing. “I don’t know how many lifetimes I’ve spent with the rest of you, but Ivan gets the role of my protector in each one. He proved he was ready the day Sal’s guys tried to grab me when he used his body to shield me from the impact of the truck that hit us.” She had put her arms around his waist as she was talking, with her head resting on

he meets in his one extremely long lifetime,” Misha said. The smile that Sephie gave him was enough to make

that you’re as much of a dork as I am,

came along. You brought it to the surface,” Andrei said, laughing. “Just like you did