Page 79 of Embracing the Dark Side

Adrik went to the back wall where a worktable full of torture tools sat. But he bypassed all that for the drawer on the left and sighed with relief upon finding a bag of snow. He dug his pinky finger in and pressed it against his nose. It burned, but the familiarity of it brought him relief. In a minute, all his pain would be gone, and there’d be no more sadness.

“Adrik—”

“I told you once”—Adrik slammed the drawer shut and dusted off any leftover white powder before he turned around—“that the only way I control my people is through fear. If they don’t fear me, they’ll have the audacity to touch what is mine.” Adrik walked up to Vincent. “Did you touch her?”

Vincent panted from fear alone. He was nearly hyperventilating, struggling to come up with an answer. “JoJo, get out of here. Get away from him.”

Adrik gripped Vincent’s jaw. “You haven’t answered my question.”

“No, you fuck. I didn’t touch her.”

Jolie whimpered. “Adrik, please, I want to go.”

Adrik stepped back. He thought of going. Of turning around and taking her far from here, because she shouldn’t be here. This wasn’t her world. She was a fish on land, an angel in hell, and she wouldn’t survive if he kept her much longer. But that was the point. He couldn’t trust her, but he couldn’t turn her out, because of his fucking brother. Because of stupid, pointless love.

But if she ran, who could blame him?

Adrik shifted and gave a small wave.

Filip took hold of Jolie’s arms and pushed her forward. She twisted and tried to get out, but his hold only tightened. “No, no, stop, stop, please.” Adrik grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her as they both stood in front of Vincent. She shivered in Adrik’s arms, and if he could feel anything other than rage, he’d give in to her request and let her go. But without his brothers, without his father, Adrik lost the man he was. And now something else was taking control. Revenge consumed rational thought,devouring any trace of it in his subconscious. And it only left the shadows of his mind.

“Knife,” Adrik demanded, and Filip held it out. “Grab it.”

Jolie whimpered and protested, but he took hold of the back of her hand, forcing her fingers to wrap around the hilt. “Adrik, stop this, please.”

How many times had he heard someone beg? It was a chorus amplified by dozens of voices.

“Did he touch you?”

Jolie’s face knitted in agony as she met Vincent’s eyes. She had already told Adrik Vincent had touched her. She couldn’t lie now, not when she was trying to gain back his trust. But to say it broke her heart. “Yes.” She suppressed an apology on quivering lips.

Vincent struggled against the confines of his chains. Fresh blood dripped down. “It’s okay, JoJo. It’s okay. I know it’s not you.”

Adrik was in her ear. “I want you to draw the knife everywhere he touched you.” Adrik raised it, her hand trembling as the tip of the blade rested on Vincent’s skin. “Make him regret it.”

“Please,” she begged. “Don’t do this.”

Adrik nuzzled her neck. “You want me to trust you again?” He rested a kiss on her skin, and whispered with a hiss, “Then you have to earn it.”

Jolie couldn’t move. She was shaking so badly, it hurt. Her chest ached and her breathing staggered. Panic was washing over her, and she begged her body to pass out, to have a heart attack, anything to get her out of this. But she couldn’t lie. She couldn’t pretend. It was too much risk. She was already losing Adrik. She couldn’t further provoke him.

But shouldn’t I want to lose him? How can I live like this?

“This isn’t you, Adrik.” Jolie justified. “You wouldn’t do this to me. Please. I know you’re hurting, but please stop this.”

Adrik tightened his hold on her hand and slashed Vincent’s skin. Jolie jumped, gasped, and cried as a fresh wound bled.

Vincent panted heavily through his nose, gritting his teeth. “I warned you, JoJo. I told you he was a monster. I’d never do this to you.”

“Did he touch you here?” Adrik directed the knife to Vincent’s chest. Jolie shook her head. Moving further down, he dragged the knife against Vincent's urine-stained shorts. “Here?”

“No. Nowhere else.”

"How did he know you shaved your pussy for me?" Adrik pressed his forehead against Jolie's temple, waiting for an answer. The question was bothering him from the phone call in jail. If she hadn't been raped, if she wasn't fucking him, what would be the reason for him to know such an intimidate detail? What lie was she going to create?

Jolie swallowed, forcing an explanation. "Santiago made me undress."

She was lucky. Adrik remembered something like that in the report he received. "Santiago?" Adrik turned his attention to Vincent. "I thought you were the leader."

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