Page 22 of Embracing the Dark Side

Jolie slipped to the floor with her legs straight out in front of her and her hands in her lap. The world felt broken, like the aftermath of an earthquake. She didn’t trust the ground beneath her, fearful that at any moment it would break apart and suck her down. She didn’t know how to recover, what to do next, what was expected of her. The only thing she could think of was Adrik’s face as he lay on the floor, pinning her as if he knew she was at fault for this.

Helina’s crying was pulling her from her stupor. She blinked and searched around. The crowd was clearing out. Condolences were given as they passed the grieving parents like a funeral procession. Katia stood behind them, holding Helina in her arms and rocking her. She dabbed her eyes with a napkin in a pathetic attempt at grief.

When the door finally closed, Yakov turned toward the guards and servants left behind. There was a split between them, Yakov’s soldiers on one side and Adrik’s on the other. The tension between them was shifting. Who did they listen to now that their leader was taken? But like every good soldier, it was all about who paid the most.

One by one, they turned their attention to Yakov.“I want an explanation. I don’t care who you have to kill, maim, torture. Find out what the police know.”The group scattered, most heading out the door while others pulled out their phones and dispersed throughout the house.

Katia nodded as if she was part of the team and shifted toward the stairs.

“Wait.”

Katia turned to him, keeping Helina tight in her arms.

Using her daughter as a shield,Jolie thought.

Yakov instructed,“You are to stay in your room till I call for you.”

“Adrik promised me I could go home.”

“Adrik isn’t here, and I promised you nothing.”

Katia was about to fight but was interrupted by a knock on the door. And if Jolie wasn’t watching her every move, she wouldn’t have caught the smile Katia quickly suppressed.

The door opened, and a voice called out, “Knock, knock! Is anybody home?”

Jolie’s mouth fell open as Vincent stepped in.

“Who are you?” Yakov asked.

A smirk shifted on Vincent’s lips, and like a tsunami crashing into the house, Vincent’s gang flooded into every nook and cranny, slipping into hallways and doorways. With guns in hand, fifty of them traveled through the house.

And then there was rapid gunfire.

Jolie clamped her hands over her ears, screaming as she lay on the floor. The gunshots vibrated the floor like thunder, a machine gun ripping through the walls and sending shards of glass and debris flying.

But it was quick. Over in seconds, not much longer than the shootout at Salem’s. Jolie didn’t move, didn’t open her eyes, reliving the trauma of the body she saw and the quiver of the little girl in her arms.

Helina.

Jolie whipped her head up, searching for her. She was whimpering in her mother’s arms, burying her face in Katia’s neck, with her grandparents wrapping their arms around both till the violence was over.

Vincent stood just a few feet away, with his hands behind his back, grinning. He scanned the room, pausing when he saw her. His smile faltered only briefly before he tore his attention from her. “Get them up,” Vincent ordered. “Get their phones and weapons.”

A team of soldiers bombarded the Morozov family. Tatianna, Yakov, Katia, and Helina were huddled into a circle but torn apart as the gang members patted them down and swiped any items they found, tossing them into a pile on the table. The shattered centerpieces crunched at their feet. Lights flickered, and ripped curtains waved like torn flags on a bloody battlefield.

“Who the fuck are you?” Yakov bit.

Vincent approached and stood in front of him. The silence forced all of Jolie’s attention on them as she waited for Vincent to give a reason for this massacre. Yakov was unafraid, daring almost, and for a moment, Jolie felt assured that there was nothing to worry about.

With a sudden jerk, Vincent had his gun against Yakov’s forehead and fired. Blood sprayed the tables behind him and his body slammed hard into the ground, bouncing before it was still.

Jolie jumped and scrambled to sit up, trying to push herself into the wall behind her. Tatianna screamed,falling on Yakov and calling his name. Her gut-wrenching wails echoed in the quiet, and Jolie squeezed her hands over her ears, trying to dull the painful sound.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Katia hissed.

The words broke through Jolie’s conscience, pulling her back to the surface. Katia stood unafraid and confident, almost like she was a part of Vincent’s team. She held Helina’s head against her shoulder, keeping her from seeing anything. “This wasn’t part of the arrangement.”

Dread doused Jolie. Katia had used her ex-boyfriend to take out Adrik’s family. In all the conversations Jolie and Kaita had, Katia only tried to get information out of her. There had been no desire for friendship the entire time. Jolie inadvertently helped destroy the Morozov line.

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