Page 123 of Rise of the Queen

Viktor let Chen know that we had new information for the mayor once we were back at the penthouse. He knew to stop by in the morning to get it before going to the mayor’s house to get his crew started for the day.

“I think we should find a way to meet with the DA. Or at least get Andrei and Ivan to watch him and see if they can see anything on him,” Stephen said.

“I agree. I was thinking about that on the way back,” Viktor said. “I don’t know how easy it would be to meet with the DA though.”

“Maybe he needs his house renovated too,” I said, grinning.

“I think it would be a good idea to meet with the mayor in person as well, before we give him everything. What we have so far is promising, but I would feel better seeing him in person and having Sephie be able to see him speak,” Adrik said.

“We just need to be careful about who sees that happening. We don’t want Henry to catch on that we’re working with the mayor,” Ivan said.

“Well, apparently he’s not that quick since he didn’t notice that two of his police chiefs were meeting with the mayor in the same place where they met with him not two days prior,” I said. “We could meet with the mayor at the hotel and apparently no one but Mr. Turner would notice.”

Adrik chuckled. “You’re not wrong, solnishko. I’ll see if Neal can come up with a reason that we should meet with the mayor.”

“There’s that giant fundraiser for the hospital coming up in a few weeks. You usually don’t go, but maybe you should go thistime. The mayor will be there, as will the DA. As will Henry,” Viktor said.

Adrik could feel my moment of panic as I thought about going to another black-tie affair. I managed to get it mostly under control before he made it across the room to me. I sighed. “If any one of you so much as walks too far away from me while we’re there, I swear on all things holy, I will kill you,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

The guys stayed silent. They could feel my turmoil. They still struggled with guilt from the last time. I felt Adrik’s arms around me as he pulled me gently to him. He ran his hand through my hair, saying, “We don’t have to go, love. I hate those functions anyway. We can find another way to meet with the mayor. I don’t want to put you through that.”

I took a deep breath. “It’s really the easiest option. It might also be the fastest option. No one will think twice about you having a conversation with the mayor if you’re there,” I said, chewing on my lip. “Aren’t you the biggest donor to the hospital anyway? They’ll be happy you’re there. The mayor should thank you for being there, which is all the more reason for you to have a conversation with him.” I looked up at him. “I’ll be okay. You and Ivan need contacts though.”

Misha and Stephen both scoffed. “Why do you always have to ruin all the fun, gazelle?” Misha asked.

We arrived at the hotel where Mr. Turner worked to meet with Battista and his associates, once again like modern-day royalty. Vitaliy was with us, as were all his guys, minus the little flowers.I watched Ilya as he was working. He fit in perfectly with Vitaliy’s other guys. He was considerably younger than the rest of them, but he knew exactly what to do, exactly when to do it. They worked together like they’d been a team for years, rather than weeks. I caught his eye as we were walking up to the front door of the hotel; he smiled broadly at me, then went right back to boss mode. It made me happy to see him happy. His light had stayed just as bright as it was since Stephen scared off the darkness hanging around him.

Vitaliy’s other guys were almost happier to be rid of the little flowers than Vitaliy was. It meant they could come to dinner with him again. Apparently the way to all of these men’s hearts was through their stomachs.

As we approached the door to the hotel, we were greeted by Mr. Turner, who was just as happy as always to see us. I stepped away from Adrik to give Mr. Turner a hug before we continued inside. Battista was waiting on us in the empty restaurant, like usual. He was standing with three men this time. I couldn’t help but feel relief when I saw there was no woman with them. While the guys were usually very serious while they were working, I heard them all laugh quietly when they felt my relief at seeing Battista standing with only men.

“Not gonna lie, princess, I might’ve enjoyed watching you embarrass that woman the last time a little too much,”Ivan said silently.

Before I could answer him, Adrik responded,“Let it play out, Ivan. We both know she’s equal opportunity. If this guy deserves it, it’ll be just as glorious as the woman.”He looked down at me, smirking, as we continued the rest of the way to Battista.

“This is the first time I’ve regretted being able to hear both of your thoughts,”I said. I could hear both of them laughing in myhead, but outwardly, they looked as serious as ever. They were really getting good at this.

I caught Andrei’s eye as Battista was making the introductions with Vitaliy. He let me see what he saw when he looked at the men with Battista. I felt Misha’s nausea coming on, but I couldn’t tell which one it was from right away. I just knew it was one of them who was making Misha nauseous.

“Ivan? Anything?”I asked.

“Definitely. Short guy on the end. I saw it as we walked up. It’s stepped back though,”he said.

“Same guy Andrei pointed out. Misha confirms it too.”

Stephen and I had discussed our options before we came to the hotel. If there was a situation like we had with Ilya, where the demon wasn’t necessarily attached, we would signal to him to speak to see if he could scare it away. If the demon was already attached, it was going to be slightly more complicated. We would wait to reveal who he was until a little later. Since we didn’t have much experience, we were hoping to gain some knowledge on how they would react to us.

Battista motioned for Adrik to meet his associates. He didn’t let go of me as he went to greet them. The first two men were fine when he shook their hands. The last man, the one that everyone had pointed out, made Adrik feel nauseous when he shook his hand. Because he was still touching me, I could feel what he felt.

Ivan’s bubble went up around me as I went through the line, shaking everyone’s hands as well. I wasn’t worried about our eyes changing since we now all had contacts in, but this time was different. I knew our eyes were black, even without seeing them. It felt similar to the agitation we felt around Viktor, but stronger. Our demons were itchy.

Battista took my hand, flipping it over to kiss the back of it, as he always did. As he looked up, he raised an eyebrow, silentlyasking if there was anything to be worried about as everyone else moved toward the table. I nodded once, discreetly. He looked almost excited as we walked to the table.

The business associates of Battista had come to the city under the guise of investing in various projects throughout the city. None of these projects were real, but Adrik, Vitaliy, and Battista discussed them as if they were. I stayed quiet, watching everyone as they talked with each other. I felt nothing bad from two associates, but I could tell the third one was watching us just as carefully as we were watching him.

Andrei caught my eye, telling me that the guy was focused on me, Adrik, and Ivan.“He knows there’s something different about you three, but he can’t figure out what.”

“Ivan told me his demon stepped back when we first got here. Can you feel it?”I asked.

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