Page 2 of Embracing the Dark Side

Adrik’s wife and mother to his child, Katia, wasn’t the most pleasant woman Jolie ever encountered, but like Adrik, she imagined the woman needed a friend more than another enemy. Jolie hurried to get dressed—loose sweatpants and a tank top to help with the ache in her body—and then took Helina’s hand. She journeyed across her fairytale bedroom and knocked on the adjoining door. There was no answer. Jolie tried to open it, but it was locked.

Jolie didn’t want to leave the confines of the bedrooms. Adrik had explicitly told her to stay here for a good reason. Adrik’s father had found out they were dating. Yakov was a mass murderer and wanted in five countries, and if that wasn’t enough to fear such a man, Jolie didn’t know what was.

With a deep breath, Jolie went out into the hallway. To her surprise, there was a soldier outside Katia’s door. “Excuse me,” she said as she went up to him. “Is Katia in? Helina wants to see her.”

The soldier looked down at Helina and responded in Russian. It annoyed Jolie, being ignored, but it was common in this household. Being American made her less than, and there was no changing their minds.

“Miss Bell.” Jolie jumped, spooked by the strange voice, and she whipped around to face him. This guard was tall and young, with an earpiece tucked behind long brown hair. “My name is Vargo. I’ve been assigned to look after you.”

“Look after me?” Jolie repeated, blinking in confusion. She never felt important enough to be protected like this, and it made her nervous. Adrik feared backlash from his father, but in his own house? In front of people? Would Yakov be so daring?

Bringing her attention back to Helina, Jolie took the little girl’s hand and went to the staircase, with her bodyguard only feet behind her. There was a chaotic feeling as servants rushed about, decorating the entire first floor. All the living room and dining room furniture had been removed and replaced with round tables adorned in black tablecloths with tall blue centerpieces. Lights strung down against the walls, and curtains were festooned in the perfect places, setting a beautiful design. On the backwall, against the fireplace, was a long table, and a cake already sat in the center—four tiers with blue roses climbing up the sides and the number 28 in gold letters sitting on the top.

It was Adrik’s birthday today, and the party was going on despite the week’s craziness.

They climbed down the stairs, and Helina’s sadness was quickly replaced with excitement. She bounced around the chairs, touching everything the servants didn’t want her to. They followed her around, wiping off her fingerprints. None of them chided her, treating her instead like the precious princess she was. Jolie called for her and took her hand, leading her out.

The amount of servants was intimidating. Jolie weaved out of their way, making it to the kitchen, hoping for some food, but it was more cluttered, and she diverted them outside. Thankfully, Esfir, Helina’s caretaker, came to their rescue. The setup continued as Jolie sat by the pool eating her sandwich. The extravagance continued with round high tops in long black tablecloths, with candles in the center. The pool had electric floating lights. It was a ball, and Jolie doubted she had anything acceptable to wear.

“Uncle!”Helina bounced out of the chair and ran to him.

Adrik’s brother Alexei lifted Helina into his arms. He wore a T-shirt and jeans, an uncommon outfit. It shaped him in ways Jolie had to ignore. Alexei and Adrik were similar in looks, with their bright-blue eyes, strong jaws, long necks, and muscles, but Alexei was thicker everywhere, like a bodybuilder, while Adrik remained thin, like a surfer.

Jolie smiled lightly, purposely reducing her happiness. Alexei liked her in a romantic way, and she didn’t want to do anything to encourage it. She watched them speak to each other in Russian, and she admired how much love poured out of him. Alexei cherished Helina as if she were his own. He approached the table, greeting Jolie with a soft smile. “You’re still here?”

Jolie bowed her head. Yesterday, she gave their father her resignation. She was supposed to leave this morning.

Hoping to change the subject, Jolie asked, “Is Katia okay? She’s locked in her room.”

Alexei didn’t answer her, speaking to Helina once more before she quickly ran off to do his bidding.

As Alexei sat, he noticed a soldier off to the side. He leaned back in the chair, confused by it, but a servant interrupted, asking if he was hungry. Alexei waved him off, moving on. “Katia and Adrik had a bit of a fight yesterday.”

Alexei put it mildly because he didn’t know how much Jolie was aware of, but she cleared the air. “Because of Zinof?”

His eyes widened, and he processed the information. “Yes.”

Alexei wasn’t sure if his brother was going to reveal how he murdered Zinof just two floors beneath her. And he couldn’t believe Jolie still stuck around. Jolie’s innocence attracted him to her, and he was sure it was why his brother was so enraptured by her. Exposing Jolie to their world was a quick way to destroy what they cherished about her. He didn’t want Jolie to know about the violence they lived in.

But it isn’t my place, is it?Alexei kept quiet, clenching his teeth.

Jolie glanced at Katia’s bedroom, but the windows were not see-through. “What’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know,” Alexei admitted.

“Do Katia’s parents know?” Alexei shook his head, and Jolie leaned back in her chair. “That’s why Katia is being kept in her room.” Her stomach filled with unease. Jolie had been somewhat friends with Katia, and knowing she was suffering brought a bout of sympathy.

Alexei leaned in. “Katia admitted to setting up the shootout.”

Jolie’s eyes popped up. Jolie had been involved in that shootout. It had been inside the gas station beneath her apartment building where she was getting ice cream and Tylenol. Everything changed when bullets raced through the building, shattering condiments on the top shelves. She dived for Helina, a stranger at the time, hugging her close till the firing stopped.

Jolie naively pointed out, “Her daughter was in that shootout.”

Alexei nodded, his gaze falling to his lap. “She’s not allowed to see Helina. It will be hard, but that’s what Adrik decided, and I’m not fighting him on that.”

“Yeah, of course.” A hand went to her lips and tears burned the back of her eyes. “Poor Helina.”

Alexei said nothing. He felt the same sadness for his niece. He never liked Katia, but Helina loved her, and that was enough. The poor little girl would now be separated from her mother for as long as Adrik could manage it.

---