"Fucking great, brother."
Matei glances at me, then back at Adrian.
"Have you heard?" I ask quietly.
Matei nods. "Yes. All of it."
He pauses and then looks at Adrian.
"I don't know where your thoughts are right now, brother, but you know none of us knew."
Adrian turns slowly, his eyes locking onto Matei's.
"I never for a moment thought otherwise. It's him I want to speak to."
Matei nods.
"Well, whatever you do," he says, taking a deep breath, "I'm here with you."
The two of them share a look. It's something I can't quite name.
Then Matei turns to me.
"I'll leave you two for now," he says softly. "I just wanted to see you. Say hello and let you know I'm here. I'll let you know when he arrives."
He opens the door and steps out, and then it's just us again.
I walk over to Adrian, wrapping my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek against his back.
He grabs my hand and gently rubs it with his finger.
And we both just stand there, waiting for whatever is about to happen.
32
ADRIAN
The sun has set and Elena and I are still in the office when suddenly my phone buzzes in my pocket.
I pull it out and the screen lights up with a single line of text from Lucian.
He just passed the main gates.
I stare at the words for a moment, the knot in my stomach tightening. Then I look up at Elena, who's sitting on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. She's been quiet for the last hour, lost in her own thoughts.
"He's here," I say.
Her head snaps up, eyes wide.
I pocket the phone and reach behind me with my right hand, adjusting the gun tucked into the waistband of my pants.
"Come stand behind me," I tell her.
Elena blinks and then narrows her eyes at me.
"Why?"
I look at her, really look at her, and force a small wink.