Page 59 of Rise of the Queen

“You’ll see,” I said, a smirk on my face.

He scoffed. “Now Battista is going to want to stay here longer. He drags me to so many lunches,” he said, rolling his eyes.

I chuckled. “You’ve already stayed much longer than you’d planned anyway. What’s a little longer?”

Chapter Twenty-One

Sephie

Stephen had been nervous mostof the day. I couldn’t say I blamed him, either. When the time finally came to leave for the hotel, he looked like he might back out. “What if I tell them I’m sick?” he asked.

“You can tell them you’re sick. You don’t have to see them this time, but you’re also just pushing off the inevitable. They’re going to keep coming back every few years. You’ll keep having this same reaction every few years too. Or, you can go tonight, let us back you up, and see that your sisters are not as scary as you remember,” I said. “And maybe get some enjoyment out of me punching them. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll go.” He slid his arm around my shoulders. “Thank you,” he said, quiet enough that only I could hear.

“We’re all here for you, Yoden. Vlad would be here too, but he got caught up at customs. I keep telling him to make different shipping arrangements for himself but he never listens.”

He laughed again. “He is very stubborn,” he said, as he shook his head.

We purposely arrived early so that we would already be at the restaurant when his sisters arrived. They were noticeably shocked that we were the only ones there. We were waiting for them at the front of the restaurant, to make it easier for us to be closer to Stephen when he had to see them. To them, it looked like we were all enjoying a drink before dinner. In reality, we were all sipping on water, waiting for their unraveling, as Misha put it.

“Is the restaurant open?” one of his sisters asked. I didn’t know their names. Much like Vitaliy’s men, I didn’t want to know their names.

“No, we had it closed,” Stephen said.

“Why?” she asked.

“To make it easier.”

“Easier for what?”

“For me to be here. For him to be here. And for him to be here,” Adrik said, pointing to Vitaliy and Battista. While Adrik was capable of coming across as friendly, he was not putting one ounce of effort into it with these three. He had his intimidation factor up as high as it would go when he addressed her.

“Oh,” was all she said. The other two sisters stayed quiet, but I could already feel their displeasure at being spoken to that way. Clearly, they had no idea who Adrik was.

When they walked in, Ivan had glanced at them. I watched him as he watched them. I saw the look of surprise flash across his face as he looked at one of them in particular. I had a feeling I knew what he saw and I also had a feeling that it was the middle sister that he was looking at. I caught his eye, raising my eyebrow at him. He discreetly pointed out the one he saw something on and shook his head no discreetly. He was in much better control this time than he was when we met Battista’s associate, but I still pushed a little of my anger to him for goodmeasure. I was trying to keep it to low levels for now, as I left my contacts at home. I didn’t want my eyes changing just yet. Ivan was getting so sensitive to my moods that he still felt it. He gave me a sly wink in appreciation.

Stephen introduced everyone quickly, but I still didn’t pay attention to their names. I would never care to know their names. I only cared that this was the only time I ever had to see them.

As we sat down, his sisters seemed pleasant enough, but I could easily tell it was all an act. I caught Andrei’s eyes go wide a few times as he caught some of their thoughts as well. Rude didn’t even begin to describe what they were thinking. One of them, I’m guessing the youngest, was completely disrespectful in her thoughts about literally every single one of the guys. Her mind was so far in the gutter as soon as she laid eyes on them that it wasn’t even funny. I would say her panties were wet as soon as she saw so many men, but she wasn’t wearing any. The other one, the one whom Ivan singled out, who I’m guessing was most likely the middle sister, was just nasty and unpleasant all the way around. The audacity of her thoughts might have been impressive if she were anyone else. The third one, who I’m guessing was the oldest, wasn’t quite as bad as the other two, but she wasn’t much better either. Just quieter.

But they all wore fake smiles and had fake manners at the beginning of dinner. I was sure it wouldn’t last. Once the initial awkwardness wore off, we all started talking and laughing like normal. Vitaliy knew enough of what was going on that he asked plenty of questions to keep the conversation going, as did Battista. I could tell that Battista was catching my eyes changing just enough that he thought he might be noticing something, but he wasn’t sure. We kept the conversation light, so they hadn’tgone dark, but I was sure they’d switched from blue to green to normal a few times.

We were also speaking English, so Battista could understand the conversation. I caught the sisters conversing among themselves a few times in Russian, but I wasn’t close enough that I could understand them. We finally told a story that involved Stephen’s greatness. He really had saved everyone’s asses, but I might’ve fawned over him and maybe embellished just a bit. The guys knew what was happening. They all backed me up. It was exactly what was needed.

I saw the middle sister get quiet, her face turning sour. I watched Ivan as he looked at her. It was plainly on his face that he wasn’t seeing her face any longer. I very quietly pointed it out to Stephen, who could also plainly see it on Ivan’s face that something had changed with her. She said something quietly to the youngest sister, but loud enough that the rest of us heard her speaking. She said it in Russian, thinking I wouldn’t be able to understand her.

I kindly asked her in English to repeat herself. She did. In Russian. She said she knew I was lying because there was no way Stephen could ever do anything right. I caught Stephen shrinking back beside me. I knew he was reliving her insults as a kid. I kept my fake smile plastered on my face, as I asked her in Russian to please tell me of her accomplishments that were better than saving everyone’s lives.

I could feel the excitement of the rest of the guys as they knew what was about to happen. It almost made me laugh. I had to admit that I was looking forward to it as well.

Her face fell slightly, when she learned I could speak Russian, but she doubled down. “I don’t need to tell you anything. Silence is better than lies.”

This bitch.

I was working hard to keep my eyes from changing. It wasn’t time yet. Not yet.

“So, let me see if I have this straight,” I said, in English once again, so Battista could understand. “You think that there’s no possible way your brother could’ve accomplished even half of what we’ve been talking about tonight?” She stayed silent, but she didn’t object. “Well, that stands to reason then, that you think this because you feel superior to him in some way. If you feel superior to him, then it must mean you have accomplishments that overshadow his, yet you can’t seem to come up with a single one to wow us with. Yet, I’m the one lying here?”