Page 167 of Rise of the Queen

Trino sighed, then cursed in Spanish. I don’t know why his cursing tirades always made me laugh, but they did. I think it only served to increase his anger each time, but I just couldn’t help myself. He finally said, “He’s still trying to take over while I’ve been gone. There are some pendejos that are working with him now, but some have stayed loyal to me. There are more that have stayed loyal to me in my network than are working with him, which is advantageous to their survival rate.”

“And what of the Mexicans?” I asked.

A devilish grin stretched across Trino’s face. “That’s where it gets really good. Since he switched sides, they’re trying to work with him again. But now he won’t work with them. My people tell me he’s severed ties with Sal and Ricardo. Something about him not getting payment he was owed. He’s dumb enough to think he can take over everything on his own.”

We couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re the reason he didn’t get that payment. We put her on a plane with a new ID so no one could find her,” Ivan said.

Emilia’s eyes went wide. “You’re talking about him getting paid with a girl?”

I laughed. “It was not our idea. We’re the ones who stopped it. Her godfather was the one who arranged it, for the record. We’re very pro not using any humans as payment for anything.”

Trino cursed again. “Giana was the payment? Really?” he asked.

We all nodded. “Martin wanted in on Lorenzo’s human trafficking. He threatened to kidnap and sell her if she didn’t obey. She was payment for something happening in the city, but we never got that detail. She’s safe now. As long as she’s smart, no one will ever find her,” Adrik said.

Trino sat in stunned silence for a few moments, clearly shocked that Martin was capable of such things. He finally looked at Adrik, anger clearly visible on his face. “I’m going to enjoy killing him.”

Adrik felt me tense, but he just chuckled. “Yeah, so about that. It’s slightly more complicated than that.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Adrik hesitated, not sure how to answer without just spilling everything right now. I squeezed his arms, answering for him. I said, in Italian, “Remember those times we saved you from dying and then that one time my eyes went black in front of you?”

Trino nodded, saying, “That is not something I could easily forget.”

“The answer is connected to all of that. It’s much bigger than you know. Much, much bigger. We don’t know how much you want us to say in front of … everyone,” I said, glancing quickly at Emilia.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“Worse than you could ever imagine,” I said.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he considered his options. He glanced toward Chris and Keith, asking, “Do they know?”

“Not yet. We’ve been trying to come up with a way to break it to you slowly, but that’s one of the tests they have to pass to be your security. Your previous security team almost met with an untimely end because of their issues regarding me,” I said.

He scoffed. “You would’ve done me a favor, honestly.” He looked at Gus, then Oscar, then glanced at Chris and Keith one more time. Finally, he looked at Emilia. He looked back to me. “She’s passed your approval process so far, Miha?” I nodded. “Good. We’ll see how she does in the advanced round,” he said, leaning back and sliding his arm around her shoulders.

“You’re sure?” I asked him in English.

“Miha, I owe you my life. You’re the reason I got to see my mother one last time. Whatever you’re about to tell me, pales in comparison to those two things,” Trino answered in English.

“Oh boy,” I said, getting up to close the office door.

As I walked to the door, I quickly updated the guys on my conversation. Ivan grinned as he got up and went to Adrik’s bathroom to take his contacts out. I could feel the excitement from all of them. They were looking forward to the shock they were about to deliver.

When I returned to the couch, Adrik stood up, pulling me with him to the bathroom. We walked in as Ivan walked out. It took just a minute to take our contacts out and then we sat down with everyone once again. Since Misha’s eyes had only changed once so far, he hadn’t gotten contacts yet.

Andrei quietly leaned over and explained what was happening to Viktor, in Russian, so Chris who was sitting close by wouldn’t understand.

As Adrik pulled me back into his lap, he said, “It started with Sephie and her ability to know things she shouldn’t necessarily know. Not just the conversations in Italian. She knew details about the other bosses that most people would’ve missed. Over time, that ability grew. She started reading my mind very early on in our relationship, as well as all of the guys. It seemed like the stronger the connection got with her, the more she was able to do. Then Misha’s ability to see the outcome of a plan morphed into being able to see you under attack the night the Mexicans came for you. One by one, we’ve each discovered a gift that we have that nobody else does. It sounds somewhat crazy, but you’ve seen the result of it several times now.”

“It’s why I’m sitting here right now, Jefe,” Trino said.

“It is, but it’s much more than just that,” Adrik said. He squeezed me just a little tighter, glancing at Ivan. “Martin and Ricardo have both made deals to get further ahead in this lifetime.”

“What kind of deal?” Trino asked.

“Deals that have eternal consequences,” I said. I knew my eyes had switched to black without needing to see anyone else’s. I saw the surprise on Trino’s face, followed quickly by the sheer terror as he looked at Adrik’s and Ivan’s black eyes. I glanced over at Misha. His eyes now changed with ours as well.

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