Page 56 of Embracing the Dark Side

Vincent held his own pieces of the contract. He shook Boris' hand, thanking him, but her father was quick to disengage, grabbing Katia’s arm as Katia pulled on Helina’s hand.

Jolie got up in a panic. The knife fell to the floor, forgotten, and she raced after them. “Helina,” Jolie cried, dropping to her knees to hold on to the girl.

Helina patted the back of her head. “It’s okay. Mama will take care of me.” Jolie leaned back to memorize her face, every inch of her brow, her bright-blue eyes, and beautiful long curls. For a moment, the world stood still, and it was whole, and everything made sense.

Then Katia pulled her.“Let’s go!”And Helina slipped out of her fingers.

“I love you!”Jolie shouted after her.“I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Katia didn’t let up, pulling her out the door, and Helina shouted over her shoulder.“Love you, JoJo!”

A soldier shut the door, and Jolie was frozen in place. She stared blindly, shocked by the swiftness of her departure. She was left stranded on a deserted island, with only sharks in the water. All ships had sailed. No one wascoming to her rescue. She would die here, with only her memories for comfort.

“What the fuck happened?” Vincent ranted behind her. “Find out!” he screamed at his soldiers, and a dozen of them burst into random directions, bumping into each other. Vincent paused when he saw Jolie on the floor. She looked so tragic; it unnerved him. He squatted down in front of her. Tears dripped off her chin and he almost reached out. How she could be so broken up by a kid was ridiculous, but it was just like her. She wasn't meant for this lifestyle and as soon as he was able, he was going find a way to get her out. “Want me to find your cats?”

“Vinny!” Santiago came rushing into the living room, and Vincent popped to his feet. “They were released. The Morozovs.”

Jolie’s head twisted up.

“What?” Vincent bit. “How the fuck did they do that?”

Gunfire started in the background. Jolie’s head snapped around, listening. There were shouts and screams, and a burst of a grenade.

Jolie smiled.

Adrik was coming.

Chapter twenty-five

Loyalty

Jolie bolted for the back door, with the desperate thought that Adrik was right outside. She nearly reached the glass when Vincent snatched hold of her wrist and yanked her back. She smacked into the dinner table, falling to the floor. “Where the fuck you going?” He stepped up to her, and she pushed herself back, trying to get away. “He ain’t here for you, mami.” Vincent pointed to Santiago. “Block the door, get everyone that can’t shoot down in the cellar, and make sure my fucking kid is down there. Then let the dogs out; they should be nice and starved for some action.”

With a hand on his ear, Santiago gave orders, but then asked, “Should we let Mr. Stephanov through the gate?”

Vincent hesitated. That’s why they had left so quickly. They knew Adrik was coming. He should be pissed they didn’t tell him, but it didn’t matter. They signed the contract. He owned half of their family now, but that didn’t help him here. He should have enough people on the grounds to withstand any force Adrik could conjure up, which couldn’t be that much. Vincent owned his empire.

Gunfire was increasing every second they stood there. Shouts were everywhere, and a grenade vibrated theground. Vincent peeked out the window, searching for them. “Fucking asshole. Come to my home—he’s gonna fucking regret it. Ain’t no way he has enough power to take me on.”

Jolie gathered her legs under her, and her dress puffed out around her. The knife she dropped earlier was inches away from her feet. She could see it clearly from her spot on the floor, but it was hidden from Vincent. She didn’t know why she grabbed it, hiding it beneath the folds of her dress. The knife gave her courage, and she found herself laughing at him. “You think you had any control over his family? They were only waiting for Adrik to come back!”

“Shut up!” Vincent snatched her arm and tossed her on the couch.

Jolie wasn’t going to stop. She wanted him to know how truly fucked he was. All the feelings of anger and resentment were bursting forth. Her backbone was restored with Adrik’s presence. Even if he wasn’t here for her, Adrik gave her the ability to fight. “You want to know the difference between you and Adrik? He has real power. While you only pretend.”

“Vinny, shut her up and answer my fucking question. Should I let them through the gate?”

Jolie snickered. “You should run. It’s your only chance.”

Vincent stared down at her. All this time, he thought he could gain back her affection, but it wasn’t possible, was it? She was in too deep. “You think your man is so powerful, but I destroyed his family once. And I can do it again.” He turned to Santiago. “Let them out. They’ll owe me later. Does anyone have eyes on what’s out there?”

Santiago held a finger to his ear, relaying messages to the other soldiers before he answered Vincent’s question. “Thirty men from the north. They used a dump truck to get through the hedges.” He paused and listened. “Adrik’s men blocked the road. Mr. Stephanov is stuck, but he has backup coming. ETA five minutes.”

Vincent cursed, pulling out his gun from his waist. “He’s going for Helina. Fuck!” He paced for a moment, trying to think. “How many men do we have?”

“Forty, but they’ve already taken the north wall.” A bomb went off, shaking the ground, and Jolie gripped the couch to keep herself steady. Santiago announced, “That was the east. Vinny, I think we need to run.”

“We can’t fucking run. Our whole family is in the fucking basement. There’s no way he was able to build an army in the seconds it took for him to get released from jail. No, I can do this. Just let me think.”

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