Page 79 of The Dark Side

After last night, Adrik spent all day thinking about their words to each other. The one conclusion he came to was she was too good for him. She deserved more than he could give her. And though he wanted to try, there were certain things he knew he couldn’t give. One of them was marriage. As long as Katia was alive, he was bound to her. And there was no killing the mother of his child.

Adrik took the cigar from between his lips and set it on the ashtray.“I’m thinking of getting rid of her.”

“What?”Alexei paused.“No. There’s no need to kill her.”

Adrik tossed a poker chip to the center of the pile.“Did I say that?”

“I never know with you.”

When Adrik lost his hand, he tossed the cards, glancing once more at the clock. 11:45 p.m. He didn’t know if it was a lost cause if Jolie had returned to her room, too shocked to handle it. He almost felt resentful. His world wasn’t apple picking and scrapbooking. If they were going to attempt to be together, it was something she would have to accept. And he didn’t know yet if she was capable of it.

“I’m done,” he announced in English. “Party’s over.” There was a look toward him, incredulous gawking as they paused whatever they were doing. While it was true he never ended a party before three, it didn’t stop him. “Get out,” he shouted with a little more demand. There were whispers as they slowly gathered their things.

Alexei tried to keep the peace, “He just lost twenty grand. He’s a little moody.” A small collective chuckle eased the tension.

Adrik didn’t care about their upset. This was his house, and he could kick them out whenever he wanted, but he allowed his brother to ease their tempers. Drunks and druggies tend to have attitudes when you take away their free supply.

Gil gathered the chips, stacking them with a grin,“You are always trying to piss someone off.”

“What do I care?”Adrik provoked. He was pissed at Jolie for the judgment he saw riddled on her face. Picking a fight was probably for the best, so he didn’t go look for her and say things he shouldn’t.

“Don’t get an attitude with me. I’ve had to deal with your wife all day. I was a fucking escort today.”

Adrik’s brows knitted. Only low-level guards did shit like that. Not something his adoptive brother was supposed to be doing.“Why?”

“Filling in. Your dad went out to meet with some people, and we were short-staffed.”

Adrik shifted his gaze to Alexei, accusing,“You gave him a guard job?”

Alexei held up his hand.“I didn’t. I was in bed all day. Dad must have scheduled it. We’ve been short-staffed for a while. He might not have had a choice.”

“Then hire people. Isn’t that your job? Maybe if you weren’t focused on this fucking teacher, you would have noticed a problem. He is family. He doesn’t do bitch work.”

“Watch your fucking tone,”Alexei bit back.“I don’t need your shit right now.”

Anyone hanging around began to panic and swiftly moved to whatever exit they could find. Gil sat nervously, darting his eyes between the two brothers before he reached out.“Adrik, it’s fine. I didn’t mind it.”

Adrik ground his teeth, tapping his fingers on the green velvet of the table. He knew he was overreacting. He was pissed about his father, about his mother’s awkwardness, about not being good enough for the one girl he wanted. Everything was piling on, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he snapped.

“That teacher, by the way”—Gil grinned, avoiding Adrik’s eyes, talking to Alexei—“got some nice legs. The girls were trying on dresses. Think you’re gonna like the one she picked. I know I did.”

Adrik straightened his head, glaring at Gil, but the guy knew what he was doing.

“I asked her to Mom’s dinner,”Alexei revealed casually, as if it wasn’t a big fucking deal.

“Oh, yeah?” Gil laughed, eyeing Adrik and enjoying his brother’s reaction.“That’s fucking hilarious.”

Adrik never wanted to shoot Gil in the face so badly.

“Gil!” Two girls stood in the doorway, their long hair hanging over the shoulder, with their boobs nearly out of their shirts. “We’re lonely.”

Gil smirked and stood. “There’s enough for all of us.”

Alexei got up. “Gonna head to bed.”

“Alexei, do you ever just fuck to fuck?”

“It’s funny you ask that. How many STDs have you had?”

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