Page 14 of Rise of the Queen

“I can’t say for sure, really. It’s changed. It started with a gut instinct. I would know that a plan was going to go horribly wrong. It’s developed into me being able to see things as they happen for other people. But it can change, depending on decisions made or not made. It’s not an absolute,” Misha said.

“And she helped you?” Vitaliy asked. He was curious how everything worked.

Misha nodded his head. “Boss called her the Game Master. She shows you your potential when you’re ready. She also helps make everything clear for me. I can see more details when she helps.” Misha looked at Trino. “It happened the night the Mexicans tried to kill you. When you didn’t answer when Boss called, Sephie knew something was wrong. I was checking to see what I could find and she grabbed my hand. That’s when we saw you under attack. We could see the way out, but knew you needed a diversion. That’s when Sephie made the kitchen blow up so you could get out.”

Trino laughed. “I knew there was no logical explanation for that kitchen to blow the way it did. You know the entire house blew once we were out, right?”

“What? I made sure you had plenty of time to get away,” I said. I still had a hard time believing I was the one who made those explosions happen, but now was not the time to argue that point.

Trino cursed in Spanish, which always made me laugh. “Now I understand you telling my guy that you saved his life.”

Vitaliy, now even more curious, looked to Andrei. “And what of you?”

Andrei, who still wasn’t completely comfortable with his newfound ability looked a bit like a deer in the headlights when Vitaliy wanted to know what he could do. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Bubba’s like me. He can pick up on things people need said, but won’t. He notices more than most people do too.”

“And how long have you had this?” Vitaliy asked.

“Not very long at all. It just started happening. I’m still not very good at it,” Andrei said.

“You’re very good at it, Bubba. You just don’t trust yourself, and you have a bad habit of comparing yourself to me, who’s been doing it much longer,” I said.

“Andrei has a really good track record so far. He’s also my backup for when Sephie doesn’t want to tell me things because she thinks she’s bothering me,” Adrik said, holding me a little tighter.

“That’s a very good skill to have. Women can be … complicated,” Vitaliy said, giving me a sly smirk as I narrowed my eyes at him. Adrik laughed quietly at our exchange. “You have a unique advantage that I never had when I was in charge of the city. Your mother was right. You’re going to realize everything I could not,” he said, looking at Adrik.

“I still haven’t figured out how it’s all going to work. I just know that with Sephie and these five, it’s definitely possible. I’m not going to stop until all the bosses are dead,” Adrik said.

“Save Dario,” I said.

“Why him?” Vitaliy asked.

“His brain is completely broken. He wants out. He wants to disappear. He’s given us very useful information. I told him I’d let him go once this is over and the other bosses are taken care of,” Adrik said.

“And what’s your opinion of that plan?” Vitaliy asked me.

“I agree. Dario has been mentally tortured by Massimo and Sal for his entire life. He’s completely lost his entire family because of them. He has nothing. He wants nothing, except to be left alone. There’s an overwhelming sadness to that man because of everything he’s been through,” I said.

“I always suspected that Massimo was really the one in control between those two. They always made it seem like Dario was in charge, but no one could ever prove it was Massimo,” Vitaliy said.

“Sephie did,” Ivan said.

Vitaliy looked surprised, yet again. “How?”

“She speaks Italian, too, but the bosses never caught on that she could understand their conversations. She said when the bosses would meet at the restaurant she used to work at, occasionally Massimo and Dario would stay after to have their own meeting after everyone else left. She would hang around and listen because they never considered her anything above a servant. Since they were speaking Italian in front of her, they also spoke very freely. Sephie knows where Massimo buried all the bodies, literally and figuratively,” Ivan said.

“You speak Italian?” Vitaliy asked.

I responded, in Italian, telling him that I did understand it better than I spoke it, but he likely wouldn’t know the difference. It was his turn to surprise me when he responded back to me in Italian, telling me that I spoke it just fine and that he could, in fact, tell the difference. I felt my cheeks blush as he caught me being a shit. He laughed loudly.

“One reason I handed everything over to my son when I did was so that I wouldn’t need to learn Spanish as well. The Colombians and the Mexicans were not big players yet when I was running the city. Now, they are. It’s beneficial to know what your associates are saying about you,” Vitaliy said in English.

“Guess I’m learning Spanish now, too,” I said, laughing.

Trino laughed, “I know a guy.”

“And what of the dealers in the city? Where do their allegiances lie?” Vitaliy asked.

“All my dealers are loyal to Jefe and will remain so if they wish to keep existing,” Trino said.