Page 46 of Embracing the Dark Side

“How’d you do it?” she questioned Adrik.

No doubt she planned to blame him for global warming or the presidential election. Two interests he couldn’t give a fuck about.

Mally approached and sat down beside him, facing him. He remained staring at his lawyer, his look saying, ‘You gonna do something?’ but the lawyer shrugged, unable to stop her. She was technically allowed to visitAdrik, and as long as the lawyer was present, she could say anything she wanted.

It dawned on him he could ask Mally if Jolie was working with her. But the question was stagnant in his throat. He didn’t want to know the answer. He feared it.

“The fire,” Mally went on. “A stupid electrical outlet gone bad. A whole fucking street. Three people died. Millions of dollars in damages. And my office, destroyed.”

Adrik blandly responded, “I’m sorry for your luck.”

“All the evidence I had against you. Ten years’ worth. Ten years of my life, gone.”

Adrik had to fight a smile on that one. It was the first good news he had had in a long time.

Seeing Mally’s smile out of the corner of his eye threw him off. “Twenty years ago, that might have been enough. But with the invention of the internet, all my notes, emails, and videos—I still have everything I need to take you and your family down.”

Adrik finally turned to her. He wanted to reach out and squeeze her throat, listen to her sputter and cough, and feel the dig of her nails into his hand. Instead, he remained still, frozen almost. “Did you get Jolie to work for you?”

The way her eyes widened and her pupils dilated was all he needed. Adrik stood, separating himself from her before he lashed out and fucked himself. He went to the door, standing at the wall, wanting to escape, but it was locked, and the guard simply stood there.

“Jolie is innocent,” Mally rushed out. “I used her, and I shouldn’t have. But if you hurt her—”

Adrik spun on his foot. “You’ll what? Throw me in jail for murder? Collaborate with another drug dealer and my wife to destroy my family? What, Agent?” He waited for her to deny it, but the truth was in her silence.

Mally clenched her teeth. “She didn’t give me anything worth using.”

“And that makes a difference, does it? To whom? Because to me, a liar is still a fucking liar.” Adrik turned back to the door and pounded his fist on it. He needed to get out before he said something that could incriminate him.

Mally didn’t dare approach, but guilt about Jolie’s current situation kept her talking. “Jolie stopped working for me because she was lusting after you. She’s a naive girl, but that’s her only flaw. I’m trying to get her out of the house. I know she’s not safe where she is. But if she goes missing, I will work to the end of my life to see you pay for it.”

“How long do you think that will be?” Adrik turned just enough to make eye contact. “The end of your life? Just curious.”

The subtle message didn’t affect her. She’d heard worse from his father, and he still failed to kill her. “I am very healthy and plan to live decades more, Mr. Morozov. Bringing you down has been my biggest achievement. And I will be there on judgment day when the jury comes back unanimous and sends you and your brothers away for life.”

Adrik despised her confidence. Katia had given her indisputable proof, and without some divine intervention, there was a high probability that he would go to prison. But he wasn’t about to let her have the final say. “How’s it out there?” he asked, offhand, as he stepped toward her. “You sleeping better at night, with me off the streets?” Her smile slipped from her lips, and Adrik kept going. “Is Vincent doing a better job? Has the violence gone away? Has the death toll vanished? Have all the drugsdisappeared? Have the hookers gone home to make an honest living? Has everyone turned in their guns?”

Mally clenched her teeth but conceded. “No.”

“No.” Adrik looked away, a bitter smile on his lips. “I have never been your problem, Agent.” Adrik stared down at her. “I’ve always been your solution. But now you must learn the hard way. Enjoy the turf wars. I know I will.”

The door finally pulled open, and Adrik dived into the arms of a guard, who directed him back to the main area. He was going to explode. He needed to scream, to hurt someone, to make someone feel as bad as he did. Instead, he headed toward his brother’s cell. Sharing these thoughts would be humiliating and challenging, but he needed his brother. He rarely exposed how he felt—words were weak to what he was feeling—but with no option to do the violence he craved, he’d have to talk, like a fucking fool. It would be the only way to figure a path out of the mental chaos in his head.

Ten feet in front of him, Alexei and another man slapped hands, and as they pulled away, a little baggie full of white powder was spotted. Adrik kept approaching till Alexei’s eyes landed on him. “Adrik—”

Adrik slammed his fist into the supplier, knocking him to the floor. Even though he had only one good arm, nothing was gonna stop him from beating the shit out of this fucker. Alexei screamed at him to stop, but there was no stopping him. It was everything he was feeling finally being unleashed. The betrayal he felt by Jolie, and how he almost gave her everything he was. And underneath, in the suppressed box of his heart, was the loss of his father and the approval he’d never gotten. Adrik kicked the stranger in his ribs, once, twice, three times beforebending over him and wailing on his face. It numbed the pain, but it wasn’t enough. Adrik needed more. Blood splattered from a broken nose, and the man cried out, but Adrik was deaf as he hit him again and again.

Alexei grabbed his shoulder, desperate to stop him. Adrik swung around and punched him hard before turning his attention back to the writhing scumbag on the floor. He pounded a foot into his ribs one more time, and then guards were on him. A baton slammed on his back, but it only infuriated him more. He was done letting these fucking assholes take out their marital problems on him. He turned just in time to stop a full swing, but he forgot about his fractured arm, and the pain shot through him like electricity. Adrik fell to his knees, gripping his arm, and the guards took the moment of weakness as a sign to go all out. A hit to the face rendered him nearly unconscious. He could hear his brother screaming. It barely registered when Alexei jumped on one of the guards. Adrik blinked slowly, staring at the swollen and bloody face of his victim, only realizing too late he fucked up.

Chapter twenty-one

Escape

Jolie snapped open her eyes. Panic was the first thing pooling into her chest, as if her heart had popped and all the blood was filling her chest cavity. She looked around the room, gripping the knife that she now slept with under her pillow and glanced around the room. It was five in the morning and still dark outside, but the fear of Santiago or anyone really, coming into her room and assaulting her had plagued her nightmares. But the room was silent and still, and she dropped back on the bed with a heavy sigh. Ming and Tae-Tae lay curled against her, and a hand dropped on their furs. It was the only form of relaxation that existed here. Jolie looked over her shoulder, and Helina was sleeping soundly, curled into a stuffed animal. Her fingers danced along Helina’s beautiful blonde curls.

Thunder rumbled and vibrated the bed. Ming and Tae-Tae popped their heads up, looking around. Without windows, Jolie couldn’t tell if it was raining outside. The room was soundproof, and noises were muffled. Something as light as the sound of rainwouldn’t penetrate the thick walls. Another rumble got the cats up and they darted under the bed.

Jolie sat up and slipped on her glasses before she went to the door and pressed her ear against it. Even then, it was soundless. Tentatively, Jolie opened it a crack, and a rush of screams bombarded her. A soldier ran down the hall, shooting as he went. Thepop-pop-popjolted her senses, and she slammed the door shut.

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