Page 50 of Rise of the Queen

“He didn’t call it an aura. He said there’s a glow to certain people. He sees it on the acupuncturist. I didn’t tell you, but she works with my dad. And probably your mom, now that I think about it. She told me. Andrei and I were talking about my reaction to their shock at seeing my eyes when we woke up today. He said I was the reason he can do what he can do now and that’s when I told him he was the youngest and that nobody expected him to figure it out in this lifetime. He asked me how I knew. I didn’t say anything about the acupuncturist and he said it was her. He can see a different ‘glow’ about her than the restof us.” She moved to get off my lap, stretching her back and lying down next to me. “Of course, I was curious to know if he saw it on anyone else. He said he sees it now on Ivan, since the first kidnapping attempt when he almost died. He didn’t notice it on him before that happened, but that makes sense. He also sees it on you and me. But he doesn’t see it all the time on us, where he does on the acupuncturist. He said he doesn’t walk around looking at glowing people all day, either. It must only come up sometimes for him, but he said he’s seen it since he was a kid.”

I thought for a minute. “What if it’s the opposite of what Ivan can see? Ivan sees the evil, Andrei sees the good. That might be why it’s not around us all the time. We’re both, but the acupuncturist is only good.”

“That would make sense. I want to talk to him about it more. It’s best to ease into those conversations with him right now. He’s still a little overwhelmed with everything. He’s handling it well, but it’s a lot for him,” she said.

“It really cuts into his cheeseburger thoughts,” I said. Sephie’s laughter was music to my ears, effectively making me forget the stress of the day.

Chapter Seventeen

Sephie

The next afternoon, we wereall on our way to the hotel where Mr. Turner worked, to meet with Battista once again. “You’re sure that woman won’t be with him this time?” I had asked Vitaliy as we were leaving.

He chuckled. “No, she will no longer be an issue, malishka.”

“Um, do I want to know what that means?”

“Battista told me he got into an argument with her over her behavior at the last meeting. He told her she embarrassed him and he refused to do business with such an inconsiderate person. She threatened to destroy him, which was what he was wanting to happen. It will be her who is destroyed. He just needed a reason,” Vitaliy said.

“Remind me to stay on his good side,” I said.

Vitaliy laughed loudly. “You never have to worry about that. Battista is a smart man. He knows there’s something about you that’s different. He knows of my ability. He suspects it in Adrik. He’s almost certain you have something that can prove to be very beneficial to him, should he ever need it. He will keep you close, malishka.”

“I mean, no pressure.”

We walked to the front door of the hotel, again like modern-day royalty with so many heavily armed guards. Mr. Turner was happy to see us as always. “Miss Sephie, I’m so happy I get to see you again so soon,” he said as I stepped away from everyone to give him a hug.

“How are things today, Mr. Turner? Good? Uneventful?”

“It’s a fine day, Miss Sephie. A fine day. Made better since I get to see you,” he said. His grandfatherly smile stretched across his face.

“You’re my favorite, Mr. Turner,” I said as he opened the door for us to walk inside. This time, Vitaliy wasn’t surprised at me talking to Mr. Turner, but he did have a small smile across his face as we walked inside. I stepped closer to him and said quietly, “You’re being a cheeseball, old man. Tighten up before Battista sees you.”

I was not prepared for the laughter that came out of that man as we were walking to the restaurant. The guys were all shocked, but most of all, Adrik was completely taken aback at his father losing his composure in public. I just shrugged my shoulders and tucked myself into Adrik’s side as we continued on our way. The guys silently closed in around us to keep me as out of sight as possible.

Battista was waiting on us in an empty restaurant, but this time, only the male associate who was with him before was present. No woman to be found. I found myself completely relieved that she would not be there, more for Ivan’s sake than anything else.

Battista greeted Vitaliy and Adrik warmly. This time, Adrik didn’t let go of me when he went to greet him. Battista’s attention quickly shifted to me. He took my hand, turning it over to kiss the back of it, just like he’d done before. “Sephie, I still cannot thank you enough. You have no idea what a gift you’ve given me,” he said to me in Italian.

“Well, if I knew you took this much pleasure in destroying deserving people, I wouldn’t have waited so long to expose her. Next time, give me warning that’s what you want. I’ll make it quick. You won’t have to wait,” I responded. Both Vitaliy and Battista laughed, exchanging a quick glance between each other.

Battista motioned toward the tables. “Come, let us discuss business,” he said. As we walked to the table, Adrik searched my eyes, wanting a translation. He laughed quietly when he found his answer. He pulled the chair out for me, leaning down to kiss my cheek after I sat down.

After everyone was seated, Battista spoke English. He spoke it quite well. I wasn’t sure whether I should be irritated with Vitaliy or impressed. “So. You’re looking for information on the mayor as well as the police commissioner?” he asked Adrik.

Adrik nodded his head. “We think the commissioner is framing the mayor so he can get rid of him and take his spot. We thought the mayor was in Sal’s pocket, but now it looks like the commissioner is the one in his pocket. He has quite a bit of information on Ricardo too. Enough to put him away for a very long time. He could use that information against me, however. That’s what we think he’s planning on doing. We’re trying to figure out if the mayor is an ally.”

“If the mayor is an ally, he will help get rid of Ricardo then?” Battista asked.

“Possibly, yes. The information is there, but he’s going to need help since his police commissioner is dirty. It’s likely most ofthe police chiefs are too. We don’t even know about the DA yet. But aside from all that, the information is good against Ricardo. It makes it look like he’s the one who’s been running the city behind the scenes. Which ironically is what he’s been trying to do for years, apparently,” Adrik said.

“And what if the mayor is dirty, along with everyone else?” Battista asked.

“Then Ricardo dies, along with Sal,” I said flatly.

Battista looked at me for a moment, his hand on his chin. He looked at Vitaliy and said in Italian, “I really like her.” He looked back at Adrik, saying, “I will get you the information you need on the mayor. I can look into the rest of them as well. I’ve heard very little about Sal and Ricardo since they’ve been in Italy. It’s almost like they’re hiding. Niko and Vito are still with them. I do know that for sure.” He sighed. “There are very influential people around the world who would be willing to help you get rid of Ricardo De Luca. He’s greatly disliked by very powerful people. They’ll have no problems also getting rid of anyone who’s aligned with him if they know he’s going down for sure.”

“I have no problem erasing Sal from history. I have a feeling that Ricardo has been behind much of what Sal has done recently, which means I have no problem with also erasing him from history,” Adrik said, his anger clearly visible.