The Underworld Series, page 21
He led me to the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. “Where are we going?” I asked.
He smiled down at me, “You’ll see.”
When the elevator doors opened, he pulled me down the hallway, made one right turn, and stood in front of an apartment door. “Knock,” he said.
I knocked on the door, only to have Mr. Turner answer the door. “Mr. Turner!” I yelled, throwing my arms around his neck.
“Miss Sephie! I’m so happy to see you again!” he said, as he hugged me back.
“How? Why? You live here now?” I asked, confused. I hadn’t noticed that Adrik had stepped across the hallway and knocked on the door across the hall from Mr. Turner’s.
“He lives here now and so do I,” I heard a familiar voice from behind me say. I turned to find Ms. Jackson standing in her doorway. I rushed to her and gave her a hug as well. “Oh, Ms. Jackson! I’m so happy to see you!” I could feel the happy tears welling in my eyes at getting to see them both again, knowing they were both okay.
“Well, come in, child. Let me show you around,” Ms. Jackson said, grabbing my hand in hers. She looked at Adrik and Mr. Jackson. “You two might as well come too. It’ll be an open house.”
“But how, though?” I asked Ms. Jackson quietly as we walked through her apartment. Mr. Turner and Adrik chose to remain in her front room as she showed me the rest of her place.
“Do you believe me now that that man is in love with you?” she asked.
“He did this?”
She nodded her head. “He came to both of us, told us that you missed us, and asked if we would move here to be closer to you. He wants nothing more than for you to be happy, sweet girl.”
I stood still for a moment, in complete disbelief. “I can’t believe he did this for me.”
“Do you believe me now, child? He’ll give you the moon if you want it. That boy is in deep.”
I stared at her, knowing she was right, but still not able to quite believe it. She reached for my hand and patted it with her other hand. “You’re starting to believe it, but you’re also starting to feel the same for him, aren’t you?”
I nodded my head. “How could I not?”
“Smart girl. You offer him something that he’s never had before. He’ll die to protect it. To protect you. I was worried about you when you first left. I thought you’d gotten in over your head, but I couldn’t come up with a better solution. When he came to talk to me about coming here, I knew I was worrying about nothing.” She paused for a moment. “Does he know?”
I knew what she was asking. “I told him. He’s seen the scars. I even told him you stitched me up and everything you did for me. Ms. Jackson, he never looked at me differently. Not once.”
“Do you believe me now, child?” she asked, a small smile on her face.
I smiled at her, realizing she was helping me piece together everything. I hugged her. “I missed you.”
She hugged me back, “And I you, child.”
We walked back to the front of the apartment to find Adrik listening to Mr. Turner tell stories from his time at the hotel. Adrik probably knew most of the people Mr. Turner was talking about. I walked to Adrik. He opened his arm for me as I walked up. I stepped next to him, wrapping my arm around his waist as we stood listening to Mr. Turner’s story.
After he finished, Mr. Turner looked at me, smiling. “Miss Sephie, I don’t think you’ll be needing my services any longer.”
I laughed, forgetting that I used to ask Mr. Turner to find me the perfect man while he was at work. Adrik looked between me and Mr. Turner, a confused look on his face. “I used to ask Mr. Turner to please find me the perfect man while he was at work.”
Adrik’s face softened as he kissed my forehead. “Turns out I found him while I was at work,” I said, hugging him a little tighter. He looked at me, slightly surprised, but quickly masked it.
We spent more time talking to both Ms. Jackson and Mr. Turner. It was starting to get late for them, so we took our leave and went back upstairs. In the elevator, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out, looking at it.
“The guys are ordering Chinese. Sound good?”
“Yes, please!”
He responded to the text, putting his phone back in his pocket. He looked at me, like he was thinking about something. Finally, he said, “The perfect man? Really?” Then he added, “I’m far from perfect, solnishko. I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’ve not been a good man for most of my life.” He looked down at the floor.
“You’re perfect for me, Adrik. You’re good to me. You’re good to the people that matter to me. I know who you are. I knew when you walked into the restaurant that night, but when I look at you I see the good in you.” He looked at me, pulling me to him. “You say I’ve brought light into your life, and maybe that’s true, I don’t know. But you’ve made me less afraid of the dark and what’s found there.”
His lips crashed into mine. He reached over and stopped the elevator, pulling me tightly against him. His kiss was unrelenting, like he was desperate for me. Just when I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, he stopped with his lips still close to mine, his breath coming heavy. His eyes were closed, like he was trying to gain control of himself. I placed my hands on either side of his face, kissing him gently once more.
Without a word, he reached over and started the elevator again. He pulled me back to him, his thumbs tracing circles on my back as he held me close. I rested my head against his chest. We rode the rest of the way to his penthouse in silence, him holding me close.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sephie
The next day went by fast as I had more to do during the day to keep myself busy. I spent time with Ms. Jackson, along with Andrei, much to her amusement. I also got to spend time with Adrik in the middle of the day when he had a break in his schedule. I could get used to this kind of day.
When he was done for the day, he asked, “Would you like to go see your friend Max tonight? Is he working? We can go to the restaurant.”
“Really? You would go there with me?”
“Of course. You haven’t seen him in a week. You should go to see him.”
“Oh, thank you! He’s going to be so surprised!” I said, hugging his neck.
We walked into the restaurant, with Viktor and Andrei in front, Adrik and I in the middle, and Ivan, Misha, and Stephen bringing up the rear. Max looked up from the bar when Viktor and Andrei stepped inside the door, vaguely recognizing them but not seeing me behind them yet. When Adrik and I stepped forward, Max saw me and literally jumped over the bar to run to me.
Out of habit, all five bodyguards stepped closer, essentially boxing us in, using their bodies as shields. I laughed and tapped Viktor on the shoulder. “It’s Max. He won’t hurt me.”
“Sorry, sestrichka. Habit,” he said, stepping aside.
I stretched up and kissed his cheek. “No need to be sorry. Thank you for being so damn good at your job,” I said as I stepped around him to get to Max. He hugged me tight, exclaiming, “I missed you SO much!”
Once he released me, Adrik caught my arm, whispering in my ear. “We’ll be right over here. Go, catch up.” They all turned to sit at a table close to the door, where they could clearly see the bar and the front door.
I walked with Max back to the bar, so he could get back to work. I got plenty of looks from his fan club as we came back. They had all witnessed Max jumping over the bar to get to me. He pulled me behind the bar, so he could talk to me as he kept working.
“Where have you been, gingersnap?”
“Um, somewhere safe. I’m not far from here now, though, so we can hang out again.”
He turned his back to the customers at the bar, so they wouldn’t hear him. “Are you okay? Like for real? They didn’t kidnap you or anything?”
I laughed. “I mean, it depends on your definition of kidnap, I guess. I’m fine, Maximus. More than fine. I’m great.”
He looked at me, skeptically at first, but he could see the happiness on my face, so he relaxed. “Okay, well, give me the safe word at any point if you need to.”
“Max, I don’t think I’ll be saying ‘Saskatchewan’ anytime soon.”
“You just said it! You’re in trouble, I knew it!”
I laughed, pushing him away from me. As he went back to making drinks, I stepped beside him, leaning into his shoulder. “I missed you, Max.”
“It’s because of my face, isn’t it?” He slammed an ice cube into a glass. “Dammit, these devastatingly good looks are a curse!”
My cheeks were beginning to hurt from laughing so much after just a short time with Max. I would periodically glance to Adrik. He was always watching me with his sexy smirk on his face. I watched one of the waitresses try desperately to get his attention a few times. She would lean over the table, giving him a full view down her shirt. He never took his eyes off me. He would respond to her with what looked like one-word answers, but he wouldn’t look at her. She finally turned so I could see her face. I recognized her.
“Hey, that’s Kim working the front of house tonight, right?” I asked Max.
“Yes. And let me tell you, I’m still mad at you for not being here because I’ve had to work with that in your absence.”
“That good, huh? She’s throwing herself at my boyfriend currently. I can’t imagine what you’ve had to go through.”
“Oh, she’s a piece of work for sure. I told her that she needed to take wingman lessons from you. She’s cock-blocked me so many times I lost count.”
“Ouch. How are you handling the dry spell? Do you need me to find you a deserving chick tonight?”
He grabbed me exuberantly by both shoulders, shaking me hard for dramatic effect, and looked me in the eyes, “Dear God, YES.”
He let go and I happened to glance in Adrik’s direction. He and Ivan were both standing, like they were headed my way. I shook my head and smiled at them. Adrik nodded and sat down, but Ivan glared at Max while cracking his knuckles, which made me laugh even more.
“Max, you realize I have five trained killers over there watching your every move, right?”
He dropped the glass in his hand on the bar. Luckily, it was empty. “Um, no. I did not realize that.” He reached over and started to pet my head while looking at the guys and smiling awkwardly.
I swatted his hand away. “Keep that up and no wingman for you, which is a shame, really, because that brunette at the end of the bar in the blue shirt will give you her number if you smile at her one more time.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said, quickly turning in the brunette’s direction.
As he walked away, Adrik walked up to the bar and sat down, without me seeing him. One of Max’s fan club members noticed him and immediately moved next to him. When she got up to move, I looked up, seeing him at the bar. She sat next to him, her hand on his shoulder, and asked him if she could buy him a drink. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me. I got a glass and filled it with water, taking it to him. I set it down in front of him, looking at her. “He’s not much of a drinker.”
She gave me a funny look. He took the water, drank half of it, then set it back down. I picked it up and finished the rest of it. He never took his eyes off me. She looked at him, then to me, then back to him. She scoffed loudly and moved farther away from him, looking toward Max instead.
He winked at me and motioned for me to come around the bar to him. I happily obliged. He turned in his chair and opened his arms as I walked around the bar. I stepped in between his legs as his arms went around me.
“Are you having a good time, solnishko?” I nodded. He kissed my lips. “Good. But I missed you. It’s been too long since I kissed you. I needed to rectify that.”
I smiled, leaning in to kiss his lips again. His hands roamed over my back and my ass. “I won’t be much longer,” I said, peeking toward Max who was still talking to the brunette at the end of the bar. “Max is closing on tonight’s conquest as we speak. I’ll be forgotten soon,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I’m happy you got to see your friend, but he is not a smart man, solnishko. Not if he chooses her over you,” he said, kissing me again. I smiled against his lips.
“I think we should leave. I’ll tell Max goodbye,” I said. I suddenly wanted nothing more than to be alone with Adrik, away from prying eyes.
“You’re sure? You can stay as long as you wish,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m positive. Give me a few minutes to say bye to him and we can go?”
“Your wish is my command, solnishko.”
I said my goodbyes to Max, promising to hang out with him outside of work soon. I walked toward the door, where all six men were waiting for me. Nothing awkward about this at all. I caught sight of Kim, still trying to get Adrik’s attention somehow. I decided to have some fun. I walked right up to him, kissing him passionately. He bent down and lifted me off the floor and walked out the door behind Viktor and Andrei, with the other three following us, his lips still on mine. When we got outside, he set me down, smiling down at me. “You’re a savage.”
“I mean, she had it coming. I saw her throwing herself at you all night,” I said, grabbing his hand as we walked through the parking lot. “But I also saw that you never looked at her.” I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Because you are my sun, Persephone.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Misha
Three Months Later
“Are we taking the usual route, Boss?” I asked Sephie as we both stretched for our morning run. Since I’d been running with her regularly now, I was able to keep up with her better. She was still faster than I was. I did make the mistake of testing that out a few weeks ago and I still regret it. I’m not sure my ego will ever recover.
“I think so. I like being able to see Mr. Turner at work on the way back here.”
“You got it. You’re sure you don’t want to eat something before we go?” I asked. She had been doing fasted cardio in the morning, trying to lose a few pounds. I didn’t see where those pounds were that she needed to lose, but I knew better than to argue with a woman over these matters.
“I’m sure. It’s not as bad as it sounds. And there’s that damn gala, ball, extravaganza thing coming up in a few weeks. I have to like wear a dress for that and I hate wearing dresses and being in public. Everyone stares. I’ll be damned if they can say I’m fat while they’re all staring at me.”
I laughed, shaking my head. I always found it funny that men were constantly trying to be bigger while women were constantly trying to be smaller.
“You will look great, gazelle. And just think about all the sandwiches from Vinny’s that you’ll be able to eat after it’s over.”
“Someone should warn that poor man. He’s going to go bankrupt feeding me after that event,” she said, a very serious look on her face. She could definitely pack the food away, especially for a girl. It was one of the things we all loved about her. She was always down for a food run whenever we got to stay with her. She always worked out with us too. She was practically one of us.
We finished stretching and set out on our usual route. Over the past couple of months, we’d all settled into somewhat of a routine. It was so much easier with her at the penthouse. We didn’t have to fight over who got to stay with her. We would take turns throughout the day and we each had found unique things that we did with her. I would run with her, Andrei was basically her trainer now, Ivan was teaching her how to drive defensively, Viktor was teaching her how to defend herself, and Stephen was teaching her how to shoot. She took an interest in each of us as an individual and at this point, she likely knew more about each of us than Adrik did, even though we’d been with him much longer. We all had demons from the past and in her own way, she was helping us deal with that. She was always there to make everything more fun.
Woman’s touch, I suppose. She was different from any woman any of us had known before. We all loved her and loved being around her. She would come hang out with us if Adrik had a late meeting or needed to work late.
As we ran, I was silently grateful we were back at the penthouse and not at the house. She always wanted to take the long way around the lake when we were at the house, and I would suffer every time. The route we took through the city wasn’t nearly as long. I still had some improvements to work on before I could easily keep up with her on the long runs.
We neared the last leg of our route, the hotel that Mr. Turner worked at coming into view as we ran down the street. Only a few more blocks to go now.
We passed by the hotel, stopping briefly to say “good morning” to Mr. Turner. As we left the hotel and continued on our way, I got a bad feeling. I made sure to keep an eye on Sephie beside me while trying to weave in and out of pedestrian traffic. There were suddenly a lot of people on the sidewalks. I was just about to stop her so I could keep her closer to me when I felt someone try to tackle me from my left side. Just as I was pushed to the side, I heard her scream behind me.
Shit. They’re going to try and grab her.
The man that tackled me was still trying to get me to the ground but couldn’t. He still had his arms around mine. I still had full use of my legs and I was taller than him, so I was using that to my advantage. He had pushed me closer to the buildings, so I turned and shoved him into the building as hard as I could. The shock of the impact made him loosen his grip enough that I could get my arms free. I elbowed him in the face, causing him to stumble. I looked to find Sephie. She was fighting with her attacker. The guy that had tackled me was coming back for more. He looked like he wasn’t completely with it somehow. His eyes were having trouble focusing.
