Page 60 of Embracing the Dark Side

Gil raised the weapon, and Adrik’s brows knitted in confusion. He fired. Adrik flinched, but no sound of a bullet struck the car or the ground. But the bullet had to have gone somewhere.

Alexei had shifted, just a few inches, coming between them, and now he turned to Adrik, his gaze searching for him in terrible fear. His mouth opened, and together, their eyes lowered to his chest. Bright-red blood poured down his shirt.

“Alexei!” Adrik lurched forward, but his soldiers were yanking him by the arms. He screamed when Alexei dropped to his knees, but with every push, Adrik was overpowered, and he was shoved into the car. A soldier kept him pinned as he banged on the window, watching Alexei fall as a wave of enemies overtook him.

Chapter twenty-seven

Forgiveness

Jolie stared out the window, tears dripping from her face. She suppressed her sobs with a hand over her mouth, barely breathing, barely thinking. Adrik sat beside her with his head in his hands. His grief had been loud and overwhelming, but now he was quiet, and it was terrifying. She didn’t reach out. She didn’t know what he needed from her, but something told her to stay back.

They entered a community with big golden gates and traveled down a brick road. Mansions were spread out on one-acre properties, with short driveways leading up to five-car garages. Their house was made of dark brick and white trimming, recently built, and well cared for.

Jolie stumbled, barely able to move her legs as she entered the house. Adrik was stone, a wall, and he walked with a stiff back.

“Adrik? Alexei? Gil?” Tatianna called down the hall. She walked swiftly, and Jolie fell against the wall when Tatianna’s attention landed on Adrik’s face. “What’s happened?”

When Adrik didn’t answer, a soldier whispered in her ear. She shook her head first, looking at Adrik. “Where’s my son, Adrik? Where’s Alexei?” Her knees weakened, and she fell against the soldier, but then she pushed himaway and attacked Adrik, screaming, “Where’s Alexei? Bring me my son!” She smacked his chest, pushing him. “Bring me my son!”

Jolie’s heart broke, and she ran down the hall to find a room to hide in, shutting the door behind her. There was a bed. It didn’t matter who it belonged to; she threw herself on it and finally allowed herself to cry without holding anything back. It was everything she had held in for the past six weeks. It was losing Helina, and Alexei. It was losing a love that could have been—that would have been—if Vincent hadn’t come back into her life. She mourned for the woman she had been and for the woman she now was.

Jolie didn’t know how long she lay there before someone knocked on her door. She was surprised to see a man wearing a white coat and a medical bag. He came in, uninvited and uncommunicative, motioning for her to sit. He stitched up the wound across her cheek while belittling her in Russian (Jolie assumed.) Thankfully after he finished, a female nurse, who spoke English, came in shortly after and explained that Adrik had ordered a physical examination. Jolie thought it was unnecessary, but 'Mr. Morozov insists' kept coming out of the nurse'smouth. To gain back his trust, Jolie did everything they asked, even when they went on to perform a rape exam. It devastated her that Adrik was scared she had been assaulted. She wanted to run up to him right now and tell her she was okay despite the trauma she suffered.

Or maybe he thinks I was screwing around.

“Now we need you to pee in a cup and if you aren’t pregnant, we’ll talk about birth control.”

Jolie numbly nodded and went to the bathroom. After the test came back negative, Jolie settled on a shot that she would need every three months to keep from getting pregnant. She didn’t have the mentally capacity to remember to take a pill every day.

With her strength depleted, Jolie went back to sleep, and before she knew it, it was daylight. The sun had risen, and it was a new day, full of broken dreams. She didn’t want to face it, but she had to get up and use the bathroom. Jolie held her broken glasses against her face and sat up.

Boxes stacked against the wall. Though she wasn’t sure if they had been there before, they said her name. She tentatively shifted through them and found all her clothes that had been abandoned in the house. And then her cat Tae-Tae jumped up on the box and meowed in her face. “Oh, my god.” She whimpered, and the tears began again. She swept Tae-Tae in her arms, rubbing her face against his furry body. “Ming?” she called out, searching. “Ming? Tut, tut, tut.” But as the seconds passed, she concluded that Ming was missing. The pain was shoveled under everything else. “I’m so happy I have you.” Her legs gave out from emotional exhaustion, and she sat against the box, simply petting her cat, allowing him to give her some relief from the pain.

A knock on her door brought in a servant. He bowed to her. “Hello, ma’am, I’m David. I will be your personal servant. As soon as someone is available, they will hang your things.” He set a breakfast tray on the dresser. “I believe this is the correct prescription?” David handed her a box of contacts. Jolie’s heart ached when they were dropped in her palm. How did Adrik do it? How did he care so well? “A new pair of glasses should arrive in a few days. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“How’s Adrik?”

“Mr. Morozov has left the compound.”

She nodded, and her gaze drifted. Jolie never had a sibling; it was something in her life she always craved, a sibling to know her better than she knew herself. Adrik and Alexei had been as close as siblings get. She couldn’t imagine what Adrik was feeling.

When she remained silent, David bowed and moved to the door.

“Wait,” she called. Jolie didn’t know why she felt the need to ask, but it came out before she could stop it. “Are you American?”

“I am, ma’am.”

Jolie thanked him and waited till he left.

It meant something, didn’t it? Even though Adrik found out she had been working with the FBI, he hadn’t shut her out, not yet. He was wrapped in grief and couldn’t take the time to deal with her, but somewhere in the back of his head, he cared.

Nausea popped up in her. How could she betray a man like him? He was more affectionate and loving than she could possibly imagine. He deserved someone to take care of him. Why hadn’t that been her? Why hadn’t she revealed what Mally wanted from day one?

Jolie hated herself. She didn’t deserve any of his kindness. She kicked a box, wanting to drive a stake through her own heart.

Time was a terrible thing. To pass it, Jolie showered and dressed in her beloved panda pajamas, emptied all her boxes, and put away her things as the silence dragged on. She was disappointed to know that, out of everything that was lost, the hot-pink dildo Adrik had bought her had made it through the move. She sat with it in her hands, lost in memory. It was so long ago and yet still fresh in her mind, because, despite the craziness of it, she had been the happiest during that time. Meeting Adrik had sparked a fire that she didn’t want to quell. Even acknowledging how dangerous his life was, she found herself enraptured by it.

Six weeks living with Vincent had made her realize the kind of love she was striving for. Vincent asked her, and Jolie had thought it a few times, but what made Adrik and Vincent different? Was she going after the same kind of man she had in her teenage years? But now that answer was so clear. Being with Vincent was like being on a carnival ride, one with no seatbelts. The kind that broke down too often, and it wasn't reliable. But being withAdrik was like being at a theme park with a giant roller coaster that felt secure and safe. There was still risk of being hurt, but it was rare and it made her throw all caution to the wind. Yes, they were similar. But Adrik was in a league of his own.

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