Page 67 of Embracing the Dark Side

“Adrik.” Gil’s voice was fading, and Adrik strained to hear him. “She left.”

Adrik didn’t have to guess who he was talking about. “Where’d Katia go?”

“Russia.”

“With Helina?”

“Yeah. They”—he paused and took a breath that turned into a groan—“just left. But it’s a trap. They set one up at Tampa International, but they went to Sarasota. Get her, Adrik. You can make it.”

It was information he wanted to trust but couldn’t. Even now, he didn’t know if Gil could be honest with him. But even if it was a risk, the reward would be Helina, right? A road sign for Sarasota was ahead. He could swerve on this road and head straight down to the airport.

When Adrik drove by it, he knew what he was doing. He was passing up a chance to get Helina to save Gil. He cursed as he continued straight. He couldn’t even call anyone to send to Sarasota, because he didn’t want to get off the phone with Gil. He feared he’d never hear from him again.

“You better fucking live so I canbeat the shit out of you.”

A soft, barely there chuckle, and then there was silence.

“Gil?” Adrik called out, staring at the phone. “Gil?”

A shaky breath came through the line. “I want to die, Adrik. Just let me die.”

The line clicked.

“Gil? Goddamn it!” Adrik was still five minutes away. He called 911 and gave them an address. They wanted to stay on the phone with him, but he clicked it off when he stopped in front of the abandoned mansion.

Adrik never wanted to come back here and had avoided it, but now he barreled through the front door, overlooking all the crap left behind. He had taken none of the furniture, nothing that Vincent had touched. Adrik took the stairs two at a time, bursting into Alexei’s room, but it was empty. He went to Katia’s room next and went straight to the windows. Down by the pool, Gil sat in one of the chairs.

Adrik jumped out the broken window, rolling on the rotten mattress, nearly tripping as he ran to him while an ambulance siren wailed in the background.

Chapter thirty-one

Use

Tatianna stood beside Adrik; her hands squeezed into his arm. She was supposed to be on her way to Russia, but Gil, in his dramatic suicide attempt, texted her ‘goodbye,’ and it ripped her off the plane. Adrik kept his arms crossed, staring down at Gil. The ventilator was the only sound, breathing in and out as he slept. They had gotten to him in time and were able to revive him, but an infection got to his heart too quickly and put him in cardiac arrest. Gil wouldn’t have made it if they hadn’t lived so close to a hospital. Now they were waiting for him to wake, but Adrik didn’t want to stay. Gil was no longer family, no longer important, and Adrik wouldn’t waste his time.

Adrik’s thoughts began to focus on his next step. He would give himself one week to get his affairs in order. It would provide Katia time to set up roadblocks or traps, but Adrik knew her well. Her ego would make her believe she was safer in Russia. She had plenty of allies there, but so did Adrik. His sisters were tangled up with four powerful politicians. They would be on equal ground instead of here, where she had lost all her footing when Vincent was destroyed.

But it wouldn’t be Katia Adrik would be fighting. It would be her father, Boris. The question had to be asked—why did he leave Tampa? He had a strong position here, powerful enough to take on Adrik’s family. It had to be a strategic move that Adrik needed to understand before he threw himself into the ring.

When Gil opened his eyes, Adrik left, leaving his mother gushing over him.

A text message told him Gil had revealed the truth about Katia’s whereabouts. There was a decoy sent to Tampa International while a private jet left from Sarasota. It was no redeemable measure in the least, and this pitiful suicide attempt gained him no points, either. Adrik would make Gil live for a very long time to mourn what he’d done. There was no escaping that.

Filip was waiting with the car, and Adrik dived in. Before the vehicle took off, Adrik stuck his pinky finger into a baggie of cocaine. The hit burned, and he rubbed his nose, but it was delicious and soothing. He waved the driver on, feeling a boost of energy. He’d already been going for nearly twenty-four hours and needed a few more to get through the night. Filip handed him a bottle of water, but Adrik ignored it. The man was too attentive, and though most of the time Adrik appreciated it, right now he found it only aggravating. He wasn’t a fucking child to be coddled. Adrik took another small bump to spite him and relaxed against the seat.

But he couldn’t rest.

With a phone in his hand, Adrik went right to work, designating who was going where. He needed to prepare the house in Russia and let his sisters know he was coming. His eldest sister, Luerna, would have to take care ofburying the bodies in the family plot. It was cruel, but Luerna would be able to handle it.

Adrik wasn’t as close to his sisters as Alexei and Gil had been. He never enjoyed chatter. He liked the quiet, but now, sitting in the car alone, staring at Alexei and Gil’s empty seats, the quiet had become a curse. It crept into his head breaking his concentrate. Names and numbers were overrun by memories, by could-haves and should-haves.

He curled his fist around his phone as a wave of overwhelming loss drowned him.

“There’s a party going on at the house.” Filip broke into his head, and Adrik snapped his eyes open. The door to pain slapped shut, and he went back to texting.

When he finally finished the last message, Adrik slipped the phone into his pocket and stared out the window. It was expected after a funeral to have a party, to get fucked up and move on. Adrik didn’t have time for such distractions, but with his father’s brother taking most of the control out of Adrik’s hands, he had little to say about it.

A party, as unwelcome as it was, had its benefits. If Adrik went back to his room, he’d only sink further into misery, and he was done being miserable. There were things that needed to happen, and the only way for it to get done was to keep moving. He couldn’t stand still anymore, even if that meant letting Alexei’s memory fade a bit from his mind.

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