King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Two Hundred Seventy-Two

Stephen

We were in the penthouse going over the plan one last time before we left the building. Our nerves were on edge,

but Sephie’s more so than the rest of us. We were trying to reassure her as much as we could, but I knew that

adrenaline was going to prove useful once the chaos started. She could sho ot better than a majority of the guards

we had on staff. She was he ll in the ring. She also had six attack dogs ready to rip anyone apart that dared to look

at her the wrong way.

I found myself thinking about just how much she’d come to mean to me lately. I’d never been close to anyone my

entire life. I didn’t have many friends growing up. I was always the quiet kid. That carried over into my adult life.

When I figured out I was g ay, I retreated even further into my shell. It took me years to tell my parents. There

were members of my family that still didn’t know. It was much more accepted now, but my family was very

traditional. It was just easier to come up with reasons. why I wasn’t married with kids yet than it was to have the

conversation with them about the truth.

I had resigned myself to keeping that secret from the other guys forever. They were all alpha males. I expected

them to have a huge problem with it. I was worried they would see me as weak. My perspective changed when

Sephie came along. She was always unapologetically herself and the other guys loved her more because of it. It

took me a long time to warm up to her, simply because I was worried she would figure out my secret and tell the

others. But the more I tried to put distance between me and Sephie, the more she found ways to show me that

being myself was the best way to be. In her own special way, she coaxed me out of my own darkness that I’d put

myself in..

As it turns out, she did figure out my secret before the other guys, but she didn’t tell anyone. She even swore Adrik

to secrecy when she told him. She let me tell them in my own time. And they accepted me even more than they

already did once I told them. Secrets kept in the dark can destroy you, but secrets brought to the light have no

power over you anymore.

We were gearing up, almost ready to leave. I saw Viktor catch Sephie alone. It looked like he was giving her a pep

talk. He’d been worried about bringing her with us, as he ultimately felt responsible for all of us, all the time. But he

didn’t like the idea of leaving her behind, either. I was sure she was going to be an asset, so I was happy she was

coming along. Andrei was right, we’d all be worried about her if she wasn’t with us.

We knew our individual roles. Sephie was to stick with Ivan or Adrik if something was to happen to Ivan. The rest of

us would step in, when and if needed. Misha was certain that it was going to work out for the best. Our plan was

solid. Oscar had provided valuable information on how to make the original plan even better, so we were expecting

things to go smoothly.

We walked off the elevator toward the vehicles. We were taking a combination of SUVs and bikes, just in case we

needed options. It would also be more difficult to separate us if we had more vehicles. The dealers that were

helping us were going to meet us at Sephie’s old apartment. Chen had come to the building, with instructions on

how to get to the parking garage underneath the building without anyone seeing him. He was taking another SUV,

just to add more vehicles to the party. He was waiting on us when we exited the elevator.

“Who’s ready to have New Year’s celebrations early?” he asked as we got closer to him. He had a good sense of

humor, and like Sephie, tended to make jokes when he was nervous. We were all in mission mode, however. His

face fell when nobody laughed. “Right. Jokes later,” he said, clearing his throat.

Viktor had brought a few guys from the building security team on as well. They were all guys that had been working

for us for years. We’d used them before for various things. They knew how to handle themselves and we could trust

them. We knew that the two smaller warehouses should be easy to get to, but the warehouse at the docks was

covered with armed guards. Even with all the extra people, we were going to be outnumbered.

I had scouted the warehouse at the docks and found a suitable nest where I could even the playing field as much as

possible. They wouldn’t see us coming, hopefully.

The dealers were waiting at Sephie’s old apartment when we got there. The security detail guys had already gone

ahead to the two smaller warehouses to get eyes on them. We grabbed the dealers and went to the first

warehouse. Conversation was minimal. Our guys had earpieces, like usual, but the dealers didn’t.

We pulled up a few blocks from the first warehouse. This was the smallest of the warehouses. They were running

the operation 24/7, but there weren’t that many people in the warehouse. Only enough to make the brawn along

with a handful of guards and that was it. Our plan was to get the explosives attached to the building in strategic

spots and get out without being seen. Because this one was an easier job, only a few guys were needed to get

everything in place. Andrei and Oscar went with two other guys. The rest of us waited as backup if needed.

Before they left, Sephie had to hug Andrei. She was trying to be tough, but she couldn’t help herself. If anything, it

was motivation for him to make it back. While the rest of us didn’t have a romantic relationship with her like Adrik,

there was still a special relationship between her and the five of us. If ever there was unconditional love, Sephie

was it. She was something. special in our lives and not a single one of us wanted to give that up.

Andrei, Oscar, and the other two guys jogged toward the warehouse. It was approaching midnight, so we had the

cover of darkness to help conceal our movements. We could hear everything through the earpieces, but there

wasn’t much to listen to. Communication was kept to an absolute minimum.

It took maybe 20 minutes and the four guys were jogging back to us. We all chuckled when Sephie exhaled loudly

as soon as she saw Andrei come into view. Ivan put his arm around her shoulders, smiling down at her. It was nice

to have someone worried for your safety.

We loaded up quickly and dr ove to the second warehouse. It was much the same as the first. In and out with no

problems. We were ahead of schedule on our way to the warehouse at the docks.

I was going to set up in my nest, silently taking out as many of the guards around the perimeter as I could. When I

was scouting, I counted at least 10 that I could easily pick off. Once the first line of defense had been neutralized,

the rest of the guys were going to come in on foot. This warehouse was almost three times the size of the other

two. It was going to need. more explosives to bl ow completely. I could only cover one side of the warehouse from

above. Two sides were on the water. The third wasn’t accessible without announcing our presence. That made me

nervous. I liked having a better vantage point, but I’d covered worse. I would make this work. I found myself feeling

overly protective, not only of Sephie but of the other guys too. We really were a family. I was going to make sure we

all made it out.

It only took me a few minutes to get into position. “Ready.”

“Ready when you are,” Viktor said.