King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

399
Adrik
Sephie was right. Stephen did look lighter. He was always the quiet one. His brain never shu t off though. He was constantly
analyzing everything and everyone around him. We finally saw him relax. Really, truly relax. He wasn’t on guard. He wasn’t
waiting for something to happen. He was just present. And happy.
Vitaliy had remained at the restaurant with Battista while we left. When he got back to the penthouse, we were all still discussing
what had happened, but the conversation was turning more light-hearted. The guys were telling Sephie how effective her demon
eyes were to the normal person.
“I’m pretty impressed they didn’t pi ss themselves, spider monkey. Your eyes were as black as I’ve ever seen them. And you just
sprung it on them. Your eyes were normal, then you looked down as you stood up and holy shi t, they were black, Andrei said,
laughing.
“Not gonna lie, I’ve kind of missed them,” Ivan said.
Stephen snapped his fingers, pointing at Ivan. “Same.”
Vitaliy walked in with Aleksei. We could tell he was eager to ask more questions. Mostly, he wanted to know how she had such
control over her eyes.
“I kind of don’t. I’ve been wearing contacts around you since I met you. My eyes have a mind of their own and change without
me knowing sometimes. I got contacts so I wouldn’t scare you,” she said.
“Change to black on their own?” Vitaliy asked.
“No, the black is the one that I can control the most,” she said. She closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, they were
just as black as they had been at the restaurant. I couldn’t help but laugh at Vitaliy’s shocked expression when he saw them. I
walked to her, wrapping my arm around her waist.
“That’s not even the scariest one, Vitaliy. But it is very effective,” I said. She locked up at me and I watched the black fade into
the background as the blue took over. I smiled at her, pointing back toward my father. She looked at him and I explained that
blue meant she loved me. He stood up to get a closer look.

“Your eyes normally have that blue color, but where are the other two colors?” he asked.
“That’s how it started. The brown took over the other two and turned dark. Then the other two colors started taking over for
different emotions. The only one that’s completely different is when she’s scared,” I said. “It’s the only emotion she struggles to
contain.”
Vitaliy was clearly impressed. “Battista was completely in awe. He wouldn’t shu t up after you left, honestly.” He looked slightly
amused, but also slightly perturbed. “He’ll do anything you need him to do from now on. He just asks that you help him with your
unique set of skills when he needs
them.”
I could feel Sephie’s slight bit of worry. “How often is he going to need them?”
Vitaliy chuckled. “He won’t take advantage. He’s a very capable businessman in his own right, but he occasionally runs into
people he needs help with. That woman being one of them. He said he has more information on the mayor, as well. He would
like to meet again tomorrow. Only at his house this
time.”
“Why his house? Why not the zoo?” Sephie asked, trying to hide her smile.
Vitaliy laughed. “It’s going to be a very interesting discussion, sladkaya. It’s not meant for everyone to hear.”
We arrived at Battista’s house the following afternoon. We were all somewhat on edge, as we didn’t know quite what i house
instead of the restaurant, but Vitally assured us it would be fine. He still only brought Aleksel with him, just as he Stephen’s
sisters, which I found odd.
l
ect from meeting at his
before with
We were shown to a large study. The woman who showed us to the room informed us Battista had gotten a phone call right
before we arrived. He was finishing up and would be in shortly, We were all quiet as we waited on him.

He walked in, obviously rushed, a few minutes later. “My apologies. Unexpected phone call, but it pertains to what I’m about to
tell you, so I needed to take it,” Battista said, getting right to business. He looked at me and Sephie, then to Vitaliy, who had a bit
of an unreadable smirk on his face. “You still haven’t said a word to them about any of it, have you?” Battista asked Vitaliy.
Vitaliy grunted. “No, I haven’t. You explain it better anyway. You know more than I do.”
I immediately felt Sephie stiffen, as well as saw each one of the guys sit up a little straighter. We did not like surprises.
Battista noticed the shift in mood in the room. He waved his hand flippantly in front of him. “No one is in danger. At least not yet.
But this conversation might be difficult to believe,” he said. He looked at me, as he started to explain. “You’re aware your father
has very powerful contacts around the world?” he asked. I nodded. He inhaled deeply, contemplating how to phrase what he was
about to say. “They’re more powerful than you might think. Some of them are fighting wars that normal people know nothing
about. There are dark forces that are vying for the destruction of humanity. There’s a small group of us that are fighting against
that. We have a few people, with gifts like your father, who are helping, but I’ve never met so many gifted people in one place
until Vitaliy brought you to me.” He looked at all the guys. “I’m aware that you all have gifts as well, but I don’t know specifics. I
know she’s trying to keep the focus on her to protect you all, but I saw the subtle signs that you’re helping her.”
“What do you want from us?” I asked. I didn’t have a bad feeling about this, but I still pulled Sephie closer to me after hearing
what Battista said.
“It’s not what we want from you. It’s more what we’d like to give you. We want to help. You don’t realize how dangerous Ricardo
De Luca is. Or the Colombian,” he snapped his fingers, like he couldn’t remember a name.
“Martin,” Sephie said. Battista pointed to her, silently grateful for the assist. “They’ve both made deals with everlasting
consequences, haven’t they?” she asked.
Battista looked at her, wide-eyed. “You know?”
“Not everything. Just that those two are the keys to all of this that’s going on.”