7. Guest
Chapter seven
Guest
It was only an hour into the party, and Adrik was already at his limit. He excused himself from a circle of family, and when a servant walked by with a tray, Adrik snatched up the glass of whiskey. It was becoming increasingly apparent that the only way he was going to get through tonight was to be horribly drunk. He pulled out his phone, hoping for a text from Jolie, but there was nothing. Adrik was about to write something when Gil came to his side. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and downed the rest of his drink.
Gil approached with a limp. “As much as I love a good party, you should take it easy.” He pulled out a blunt. “Here, this is better than getting smashed.”
Adrik didn’t take it. He didn’t want to talk to Gil, no matter how their mother wanted them to make up. According to her, family could get away with anything and be forgiven, but Adrik didn’t work like that.
Gil lit up the blunt anyway and took a pull from it. “What do you want, Adrik? You want me to beg?"
“Just shut up.” A servant refilled his drink and set an ashtray in front of them.
Gil shook his head. “I told Mama you’d be like this. She tried anyway. At least pretend for her sake. ”
“I’m sick of pretending.” Adrik gripped the table. All around him, he saw people like Gil, who wanted his approval while going behind his back. They were blood-thirsty, like vampires at a human carnival. They acted good enough until no one was looking, and then they sank their teeth into their victim. “I can’t fucking stand this shit. These bullshit parties.”
“Shh,” Gil chastised, glancing around them. “Come on, just a few hours more.” Forcing the bud between Adrik’s lips, Gil sighed with relief when his brother took a deep inhale and held it. “Where’s Helina?” he asked, hoping the mention of his daughter would calm his brother.
“Watching a movie with Esfir. Too many sick fucks here. If any one of them told me how beautiful she was, I’d cut their eyes out. Fucking pedophiles.”
“Shh, shut it.” Gil laughed, waving. “Bad batch of Molly,” he excused as other people walked by. Gil leaned into his ear. “Dude, we’ll destroy a trafficking ring tomorrow, but right now, they are your people, and you can’t be saying shit like that. Alexei!” Gil called, waving him over.
Adrik snapped his head up as Alexei and Jolie walked up to the table, arm in arm. He straightened, feeling the crushing anxiety die away as he caught Jolie's gaze. She tried to keep her eyes down, semi-hiding behind Alexei, knowing her place could not be at the table. Her hand slid from Alexei, and tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear.
“Help me,” Gil specifically said in English. “Adrik’s freaking out.”
Embarrassed to be called out in front of Jolie, Adrik snapped, “I’m not freaking out. I’m fine.” He took a sip of his drink, continuing to stare at her from over the rim of his glass. The chaos of his thoughts dissipated, and instead his focus was on Jolie and if she was wearing panties. He should have pulled them off her back in her room. Her cheeks reddened more every moment as she tried to avoid his gaze but failed. The heat in her eyes set fire to his cock. Thank God for the table in front of him.
“There you are.” Katia approached the table, stepping beside Adrik. She slipped her arm through his, and Adrik’s arousal deflated like a popped balloon. She focused all her attention on him, if only to ignore Gil. In Russian, she hissed with a smile. “Don’t insult me by flirting so obviously. It’s bad enough I have to put up with your shit after you murdered my brother.”
Adrik broke from Jolie to lean into his estranged wife. It appeared seductive enough, with his fingertips grazing the back of her spine. His gaze, however, was on Gil. His brother dismissed himself from the table. No matter what Gil said, he was not over Katia. “Be careful,” Adrik murmured into Katia’s ear. “Planning to kill your own daughter is a hangable offense in Russia.”
Katia ground her teeth and said nothing. Adrik wanted to feel superior, and though he managed to outmaneuver her at times, she would never crumble and surrender. There were always tricks up her sleeve. “ Didn't tell daddy yet, did you? Coward." Before he could reply, Katia smiled. "Right on time.” She lifted her arm, waving. “Vinny.”
Jolie knitted her brows. Her ex-boyfriend, Vincent, was sometimes called Vinny. She glanced behind her and watched, with wide eyes and an open mouth, as a man approached the table. He was dressed in a tan suit, and a gold chain swayed with every step he took closer. His tanned skin was riddled with tattoos along his cheek and forehead, with a piercing through his eyebrow and lip. Jolie pressed a hand against her lips. She knew his face from anywhere, despite the years that separated them.
Oh, my God, it’s him.
Vincent had his attention on Katia and didn’t see her. He stepped up to the table on the other side of Alexei and held out his hand to Katia. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Katia took his hand with a brilliant smile. It was the final piece of her revenge. Though it hadn’t gone all to plan, it still felt good when she managed to get ahead. Adrik would never see it coming. It was the deserved payback for killing the man she loved.
“Everyone.” Katia glanced at Jolie specifically, and her shock was like icing on the cake. “Meet Vincent Ortez, a.k.a. Vinny. He is the leader of the Toxins.”
Adrik took the man’s hand with hesitation. Vincent was dressed well in his Armani suit, but the tattoos on his face were prison wear. The clear symbols of gang hierarchy on his cheek. Typically, lower-ranking leaders weren’t invited to these gatherings.
Alexei questioned, “I thought the leader of the Toxins was Frank?”
“Frank’s my father,” Vincent answered. “Now that I’m out of prison, I’ve taken over. So, I guess I got you to thank for that.”
“Oh?” Adrik looked at Katia.
She smiled warmly, ignoring his gaze. “Glad you could make it.” Then her attention drifted. “Jolie, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
The name sparked surprise in Vincent’s face. He leaned around Alexei and found her standing there. “JoJo?” he questioned.
Jolie sheepishly smiled. Five years ago, Vincent was the love of her life. The first boy to give her attention, to make her feel desirable. He had the bad-boy vibe that every good girl sought. But then he had robbed a bank. She was the reason he had been thrown into jail for the last five years. What could she possibly have to say? Vincent had never replied to her letters, and she had received nothing from him for that entire period of time. Since she met Adrik, he hadn’t been a thought in her head. Except to think about all the mistreatment she suffered while she dated him and how much better Adrik was.
Jolie realized she hadn’t said anything yet. “Hey.”
Adrik took a sip of his drink, flicking his eyes between them. Having Jolie’s ex-boyfriend show up wasn’t a coincidence. Katia did this to spur him into action, but he would not be moved. Perhaps jealousy ruled him when he was younger, but being older gave him the confidence to not be intimidated by a past lover. Jolie was his. His cum still dripped from her pussy.
What bothered him more was Katia’s intentions.
“Why are you here?” Adrik asked with little decorum. It was pointless of a gang leader so far down the totem pole to be here. They didn’t understand the game played by the rich. Gangs were pieces, meant to be thrown out if proved no longer useful.
Vincent moved his hazel gaze to Adrik. “I thought you and I could have a talk.”
Adrik swirled his drink, uninterested. “About what, exactly?”
“Why you felt the need to cancel our orders, trying to get the Garcias and my gang to fight?”
Adrik drowned the rest of his whiskey, catching Alexei’s wide eyes. His brother understood, at least, the audacity this prick had to bring up things like that here. This was why the uneducated weren’t supposed to come to these parties.
“Let’s table the business talk,” Katia interjected. “I’m interested in why you called our tutor ‘JoJo.’ Do you know each other?”
Jolie had always given Katia the benefit of the doubt, but there was no making excuses for this. She had intentionally found out about Vincent and invited him here, if only to bother Adrik and ruin his birthday. How could Jolie learn to protect herself from people like Katia? Because the chances were in Adrik's life, there would be more just like her.
“It’s nothing,” Vincent answered. “We knew each other in high school.” He scratched his temple, exposing the family ring on his finger, with a fake little chuckle on his lips. “I figured you’d be in the Peace Corps or something.”
Katia shook her head with a broad smile. “What a small world.”
Adrik wrapped a firm hand around Katia’s biceps. “Excuse us.”
Katia struggled slightly against his hold. “Why don’t you two catch up?” She stumbled as Adrik yanked her, and she cursed at him, her heels clicking hard against the pavement. “Better hurry.” Katia glanced over her shoulder to the two of them talking. “They look pretty friendly.”
Adrik pulled her behind a cabana, and though it was dark, stringed lights made it visible to see them. “You got him out of prison?”
She shrugged. “Wasn’t too hard.”
“You have no right to deal with my affairs.”
“Oh, relax. I thought I was doing something nice for your new girlfriend. She talked about him all the time. ”
“You think I am the same man I was five years ago?” When she refused to answer, Adrik gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him. “Your life is in my hands, Katia. Don’t mistake my mercy for forgiveness.”
“I’ve been behaving.” She gritted her teeth. “ Six more hours, and you promised I could go home.”
“I did. But then your parents decided not to come. Where are they, Katia?”
She stuttered. Such a believable action that Adrik would have bought it if he trusted anything she did. “I don’t know,” she protested. “I haven’t been able to talk to them all day because you won’t let me use the phone.”
Adrik studied her face. What was it about her that he wanted to believe her? Was it because she was the mother of his child? Because he had loved her once? Or was she that good at acting? Adrik pushed her away from him, and she stumbled on her feet, but so quickly, she righted herself with a smile, glancing about and ignoring the curious gazes from the lounge chairs as she went back inside.
Alexei caught his eye, and Adrik nudged his head, bringing him over. “Katia’s planning something. Find out what it is.” Alexei didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled out his phone and began to work. Adrik’s gaze landed on Jolie. Her ex leaned into whisper something in her ear. It was time for this street urchin to return to the gutter where he belonged.