Embracing the Dark Side (Morozov Mafia #2)

10. Surprise

Chapter ten

Surprise

They were gathering everyone together to sing Happy Birthday . Jolie breathed out a heavy sigh. Too much stress was at this damn birthday party. Where was the fun? Didn’t they have anyone to make animal balloons or give out cotton candy?

You’re at a mafia party, girl, not a five-year-old’s My Little Pony birthday. It would be nice, though, to eat some cotton candy. Perhaps for Adrik’s next birthday, she could put something together. She giggled, imagining Adrik’s expression when she brought in a bounce house. Knowing him as she did, he wouldn’t get on it, but she and Helina would have a blast.

Jolie followed the crowd into the house, standing in the back next to the staircase. Vargo was ten feet away, trying to appear less stalkerish, but everyone knew what he was there for. When a couple of teenage boys tried to approach, he shifted closer. They glanced at him before shrugging and shoving each other to get away. She got some pleasure out of that.

The front door wasn’t far from her, and she wondered if she should take Gil’s advice. She was clearly out of her league. Her stupid comparison to a fluffy cat lingered in her head. It wasn't far from the truth. She felt just as skittish and ready to claw her way out.

Adrik stood before his birthday cake. Helina was in his arms as the servants lit the candles. They sparkled, and Helina clapped, earning a great smile from him as he watched her excitement. His parents, Yakov and Tatianna, stood next to him, instructing everyone to sing Happy Birthday , but their Russian version was far from anything she had ever heard. She enjoyed it, nonetheless. Adrik was the center of her world. And through the distance, for only a moment, he met her gaze, and it meant everything. She would endure it all just to be near him. A grin stretched on her face. The future was unpredictable, but she was ready for it.

Alexei came through a doorway, and Jolie was happy to finally see him, but his look of terror kept her in place. Her smile drifted as Alexei weaved through the crowd and latched onto Adrik’s shoulder. Alexei whispered in his ear, and as if time slowed, the light on Adrik's face slipped away.

“We have to go,” Alexei ordered, his voice billowing through the crowd as he pulled on Adrik’s arm. The song abruptly ended.

“Go?” Yakov questioned, outraged by Alexei’s antics. “We are having a party," he hissed. "Stop making a scene."

Alexei turned his attention to the crowd. “Adrik, Gil, and I have been charged with murder.”

All chatter died away.

“What?” his mother questioned.

Alexei specified, “Niklos Agapov’s murder.”

Jolie flung her eyes to Katia. The woman stood, just as shocked and afraid as everyone else, but Jolie didn’t buy it. It was nearly six years since Adrik killed her secret lover. Why now, unless it was a strategic plan? What if that had been what she told Gil? She let him go before the police came.

“We have to go.” Alexei pulled his brother.

“Hurry!” Yakov hollered, pushing his son.

Adrik kissed Helina on the cheek and whispered sweet words into her ear as he slowly passed her off to his mother. Then, all the softness dissolved from him, and he followed Alexei to the front door. Jolie stepped off the stairs to run to him, needing at least one moment to say goodbye or beg to go with him or—she didn’t know what she would do.

There was pounding on the door, and the room paused like a breath inhale. “This is the police,” a voice sounded from behind it. “The place is surrounded!” The doors burst open with such mighty force they smacked into the walls. Black and yellow suits of the FBI in bulletproof vests pooled into the room, with rifles at eye level, ready, and prepared to shoot. Jolie pressed her back against the wall, frozen in place.

Agent Mally came up the middle. In a brilliant FBI vest, she looked every bit satisfied and smug. She held up a piece of paper. “Adrik, Alexei, and Gil Morozov, stay where you are.” Her dark eyes rested on Alexei and Adrik standing before her, and the words she’d been dying to say for years finally sprung forth. “Arrest them.”

The brothers stood straight with their heads up, eyeing the officers as they approached. The police twisted their hands behind their backs, but the little resistance they gave awarded them a baton to the back, dropping them both to the ground. Screams of outrage followed. Tatianna and Yakov bellowed orders no one listened to. There were too many cops and too many guns. No one would risk their own safety.

Mally stood at the head of Adrik. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Niklos Agapov,” she told him. Then she noticed she was missing a brother. “Search the premises. Gillian Morozov was spotted near the pool.” A team of agents filtered through the crowd.

With his cheek pressed against the floor, Adrik found Jolie as they tightened the handcuffs over his wrists. He wanted to say something to her, to reassure her that this was only temporary, as dramatic as it was. The fear and worry on her face increased the rage in his chest. Someone had betrayed him, but it wouldn’t take him too long to find out who. Not many people were around from that time in his life. The evidence they had couldn’t be enough to get him sentenced.

But he worried about other things. Without him, what protection did Jolie have against his father?

Yakov approached. “Do you have a warrant for coming onto my property?”

Mally handed him the paper. “It should have your name, but I’ll settle for your degenerate offspring.”

The officers pulled the boys to their feet.

Yakov ripped the paper in two and came to his sons, touching their cheeks. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out. This will be over in the morning.”

Mally smiled. “I doubt that. After this, I’m sure I’ll find less resistance to finally charge you with terrorism and human trafficking. Get your affairs in order, Mr. Morozov.”

Yakov ignored her as he concentrated on Adrik. “Say nothing, and you’ll be fine. ”

Adrik ground his teeth, meeting his father’s gaze. “Tell me you didn’t do this.”

Yakov’s face was bright with surprise, and he clenched Adrik’s cheek tighter. “This was not me.”

Adrik had to believe it. This didn’t fit Yakov’s methods. He wanted Adrik to obey, not spend a lifetime in jail. “If anything happens to her, I will never forgive you.” The words were seeded with a threat. Yakov glanced at Jolie to the side, and Adrik did as well. Would she know to run? He wanted to reach for her, but the officers pushed him toward the door.

Alexei turned to his mother, and she clung to him as much as she could. She whispered reassurance, but he wasn’t sure there was a way out of this one. Alexei caught Jolie’s eye just before he was pushed through the doorway. He tried to give a smile, but she dropped her gaze from him before she saw it.

Detective Mally looked around the room, approving. “Beautiful decorations. Must have been a good party. Look at all these people.” She pointed to some, dropping names, impressed at the turnout of politicians and lawyers. Mally couldn’t believe her luck. It would allow her to look into their connections and spot any weaknesses she could exploit. This win would catapult her in her career. She’d be known as the agent that destroyed a mafia family. Finally, ten years later, her promise was fulfilled.

Mally noticed Jolie, and her smile only widened. “Anyone with information on Gillian Morozov will be rewarded!” She slammed the door, leaving behind chaos.