Page 205 of Rise of the Queen

“Martin is going after innocent people,” Misha said. “Women, children, no one is safe from him at the moment. Right now, it’s directed at the people of Colombia, but it looks like he has the people of Mexico next on his list.”

“It doesn’t make sense. Why would he go after the people?” Andrei asked. Even his demon was livid. He still looked completely calm, however. He might’ve been the only one out of us, besides Viktor who did look calm. The rest of us were very clearly angry.

“Insurance,” Sephie said. “He knows the people helped Trino in his rise to power. If he terrorizes them, they’ll be less likely to help Trino overthrow him again because they’ll be exhausted trying to survive him.”

I could feel her nausea coming through her anger.“Come here,”I told her. She walked quickly to me, not meeting my gaze. She just put her head on my chest and held onto me as tightly as she could for a few minutes.

“That doesn’t exactly explain why the Mexicans are scared of him though. I would think that would piss them off and make them go after him,” Ivan said.

“That’s because you did not see the statements he’s making,” Misha said. He looked just as troubled as Sephie felt. I glanced at Stephen, who had gotten his anger under control. He nodded once, walking to Misha. He didn’t even ask; he just grabbed his hand to help him clear what he’d just witnessed.

Viktor walked over after Stephen was done. “We’re going to start being more proactive about this. This needs to happen before you guys go looking for anything pertaining to Martin or Ricardo. I think it will help,” he said, putting his hand on Misha’s shoulder, lighting his aura up for all of us to see. We could clearly see the dark spot as we saw Kostya float down and land in Viktor’s hand.

As Viktor and Kostya fixed Misha, Stephen walked to Sephie. He didn’t bother making her move from my arms. He just took one of her hands, quietly helping her release the bad she’d just witnessed. I could feel her instant relief as Stephen helped her open everything back up. It wasn’t as bad as when we helped Battista with his associate, but I could still feel her struggling with what to do with everything she’d just seen.

She sighed, her body relaxing as Stephen finished and Viktor took his place. He didn’t make her move either, he just held the same hand that Stephen had. She had a dark spot almost in the same spot as Misha when Viktor lit her up. Kostya fixed it quickly, once again making her feel lighter.

She inhaled deeply. She didn’t move from my chest, but she said, “Martin is using religion as a weapon right now. His demon is making a mockery of every religious symbol Spanish people hold dear. I think that’s why the Mexicans are scared of him. They likely don’t know he’s legit possessed by a demon, but they probably suspect it given his actions.” She glanced at Misha, who looked lighter again as well, but both were still troubled with what they’d witnessed. “I do find it ironic that the Mexicans, who are known for being some of the cruelest cartels in the world, are scared of Martin right now.”

Misha looked at Ivan. “That should tell you all you need to know about why the Mexicans are scared of him.”

“Maybe we need to adjust our plans and take care of Martin first,” Andrei said. “If innocent people are dying, we shouldn’t leave him for last.”

“Agreed,” Ivan said.

“I also agree. I want to find out what Trino knows. We’ll meet him tomorrow night. I’m not sure he knows the extent of what’s happening. He didn’t seem to think it was as urgent as it is,” I said. “That could turn out to be a bigger problem, if the people he has keeping an eye on Martin aren’t giving him the full truth.”

We moved to the back room to the couches to finish our discussion of what to do about our plans. I pulled Sephie into my lap, leaning her back against me. She felt better, but she was still quiet after she and Misha had found Martin.

“Is the mayor ready for Dr. Moretti?” Ivan asked.

“Yeah. He said he’s ready to hold a press conference announcing his arrest. He’s the first domino. He can be linked to Sal, who can be linked to Henry, who can be linked to the switch-hitting representative. The only thing I’m uncertain of is how Sal and Ricardo are going to react to finding out he’s in police custody. I’m hoping that most of the underbosses have been taken care of today, which will be a very obvious sign that Sal and Ricardo are no longer welcome in the city. By anyone,” I said.

“Has Battista gotten the information on what kind of demon Sal made a deal with? Do we know how to deal with him?” Stephen asked.

I shook my head. “I haven’t heard anything on it yet. It sounded like his psychic that he’s been using gets information sporadically from whatever she’s using.”

“I kind of want to know what she’s using to get information. Not that we don’t have alternative means of getting information,but it seems weird,” Sephie said. “I also understand that I have no grounds to call anyone else weird.”

Viktor’s deep laugh filled the room. “Kostya said you are a little weird, but it’s part of your charm.” I could feel Sephie’s happiness at hearing his laugh. The more things returned to normal between Viktor and the rest of us, the happier she got about it. I didn’t even have to ask him to help Misha and Sephie tonight. He just stepped up and did it. It was nice to see.

“He’s not allowed to use words like that. He’s grounded,” Sephie said, crossing her arms across her chest.

Viktor laughed once more, adding, “You might feel better once you know that the deal Sal made is not to the same level as Ricardo or Martin. Stephen will be effective with Niko, Vito, and Sal. Boss will be needed for Ricardo and Martin. He also says we need to be prepared for what will happen when Boss takes care of Ricardo and Martin, but it’s not time yet.” He looked at all of our puzzled faces with a sympathetic, knowing look of his own. “Yeah, trust me. I hate the cryptic messages as much as anyone. Little shit won’t budge though. Doesn’t matter how I try to get more info out of him.”

“He apparently takes after his old man,” Ivan said seriously, causing Viktor’s deep belly laugh to fill the room once more.

“I can’t say I haven’t been thinking about what is going to happen when Boss sends Ricardo and Martin to Hell. I have questions,” Stephen said.

“I think we all do. The main one being, how the fuck do I even do it,” I said, trying not to laugh.

Sephie wrapped my arms around her waist tighter, hugging my arms to her. She could feel my frustration over everything. “I think like most things that have happened with us, it’s going to be something that likely just happens exactly when we need it to happen. Or else you get a visit from someone who explainsit to you before it happens. We seem to have enough extra help around us that everything falls into place exactly when it’s meant to.”

We were all quiet for a few moments, contemplating the unknown that we were facing. It was Andrei who broke the silence. “Can someone explain what the difference is between when Stephen is needed and when Boss is needed? I’m still really fuzzy on that detail.”

Sephie snapped her fingers, pointing at him. “Same, Bubba. Same.”

They all looked to me like I should have this answer. “Bold of you all to assume I’d have that answer,” I said, smirking at them. Sephie laughed softly, leaning her head back against my shoulder so she could look at me.

---