Embracing the Dark Side (Morozov Mafia #2)

15. Jail

Chapter fifteen

Jail

“Yakov Morozov, the head of a mafia family here in Tampa, was found dead earlier this morning in the Tampa Bay Harbor. No witnesses to the crime, but suspects include his sons: Adrik, Alexei, and Gillian Morozov. Two of the sons have been arrested, and a warrant is out for the adoptive son, Gillian. Yakov Morozov was known for drug trafficking and his connection with a dozen other illegal operations. The FBI is on the scene.”

Adrik walked with his hands cuffed in front of him. The chains connected down to his feet only allowed him to take small steps at a time. He could feel the eyes of everyone he passed. The guards and the prisoners quieted down to whisper to each other. He kept his head straight and his back stiff and made eye contact with no one. They were searching for weakness. But they wouldn’t find any.

Adrik had been arrested once before when he was twelve. After hearing about his brother being bullied at lunch, Adrik found the guys that had done it in a bathroom, smoking cigarettes. He walked in, and though the three of them were taller, bigger, and probably stronger, it hadn’t stopped him. Pain was a fun thing back then. Being hurt only made him angrier. The more hits, the more revenge he wanted. By the end of it, he was bleeding from the face and fractured a couple of fingers. But he had won, and that was all that mattered.

Adrik remembered how the police had brought him to a windowless room. The officers were cruel, trying to get him to admit to things. They promised he’d be imprisoned for years. They told him how men in jail would use him as a mattress. They poked and prodded, and Adrik had just sat there.

Then his father walked in, a beaming smile on his face and his arms wide. He laughed. “My boy!” Adrik could still hear the pride in Yakov’s voice.

Adrik had been put in a private cell, far from the regular populace. He wasn’t allowed to go to lunch with the rest of the inmates or have recreational time. As a high-value prisoner, they kept him by himself. So, when the door opened, and the light from the afternoon sun shined in, it nearly blinded him. He tried to cover his eyes, but his chains wouldn’t let him. The guard pushed him forward, and he stumbled out into the courtyard.

Sitting at a picnic table were his lawyer and a stranger. Why they were brought to this clandestine location didn’t make sense until the stranger stood up and approached. Adrik almost didn’t notice, and if not for the limp, he wouldn’t have made the connection. “Gil?” Gil now had a newly shaved head, a fake tattoo of a tiger on his face, and a well-done, full black beard. He looked bizarre, but certainly different. Gil hugged him, but Adrik stared impassively over his shoulder into nothingness. He was now officially the head of the Morozov line. Any feelings he had were to be suppressed and locked tightly away. There would be no tears. There would be no grief. The only emotion he was allowed to express was anger .

“I’m gonna get you out,” Gil promised. “Give me some time.”

The door popped open behind Adrik, and he turned to see. Alexei hid his face from the light, but relief poured over him when he found his brothers there. “What the hell are you wearing?” Alexei sneered as Gil went to him. The brothers embraced, and a little weakness escaped Alexei as Gil rubbed his back, sorry about Papa.

Gil gestured to the table, bringing them over. Alexei and Adrik sat side by side as Gil sat with the lawyer. Though all they wanted to discuss was their next steps to get out, Alexei interrupted, “What happened to Papa?”

Gil chewed his lip. “We need to focus on one thing at a time.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Gil picked at his ear, looking anywhere else but the boys staring back at him. “After you were arrested”—he paused, taking a breath—“Vincent Ortez came into the house and shot him point-blank in the head.”

As Adrik stared, empty and frozen, Alexei banged on the table, cursed, and cried.

“We don’t have time for this,” Gil said. “I’m sorry. Grieve later. Please listen to what needs to happen, okay?”

Adrik turned his attention to the lawyer, and quickly, the old man told them the dos and don’ts of their stay. They couldn’t kill anyone, and they couldn’t attack guards, but everything else was fair game. Take the weak ones, make them obedient, and pay off everyone else. The lawyer handed them two packs of cigarettes, two baggies of cocaine, a bottle of Oxy, and a knife. “It cost me to get these to you, Mr. Morozov. But I trust there will be no trouble with my salary.”

Adrik shook his head. There was always more money somewhere.

Then their lawyer spoke about how he planned to get them off. The evidence Agent Mally had could be the real deal, but that evidence would have to make it through a fire, one that was going to happen next week.

“What about Morgan?” Alexei wondered. “We have the Chief of Tampa Police on our payroll for a reason.”

“You aren’t in his jurisdiction. And we don’t want to use him with the FBI involved, or they might look into him.”

Alexei flexed his fingers, wanting to punch his way back home. “How long do you think we’ll stay here?” Alexei wondered.

“I’m gonna need time to make everything happen without being suspicious. I estimate it will be three weeks to two months. I have to postpone your court date for as long as possible. One of the main things I will concentrate on is learning about Agent Mally. I need to discredit her somehow. She’s brought a shitload of allegations.”

Alexei sneered. “What about the family? We can’t both be in here for that long.”

“They won’t let you make bail. Mally got a new judge; he’s trying to act tough and won’t take a bribe, just like your warden. I advise you not to piss him off. That said, the family is currently in someone else’s hold.”

Adrik snapped his eyes up. “What does that mean?”

Gil shifted, and Adrik’s gaze flipped to him. “I’m not blood. I have no claim. Uncle Yefim would be next in line for the family. As much as it sucks, he’s our only saving grace. But”—he paused and shifted—“Katia is trying to take control.”

Alexei piteously laughed. “Katia? ”

Adrik said nothing. She could try to do whatever she wanted. She wasn’t going to succeed. That meant his biggest contender would be his uncle. Would Yefim give back control when Adrik got out?

“The Stephanovs are trying to destroy us in the upheaval. They’ve taken back the harbor.”

It was a blow to the Morozov family, and Adrik closed his eyes. He didn’t understand how it had gotten here. Just last night, everything was falling perfectly in his hands. And now, twenty hours later, he could lose it all.

“Where’s my daughter?”

Gil bowed his head. “Vincent has her.”

Adrik’s shield was breaking. He swallowed hard, his lips twisting. He dug his nails into his thigh to channel the panic.

Alexei asked, “And Jolie?”

“He has her, too.”

Adrik stood and walked away, squeezing his fists and trying to breathe, but his world was crumbling. The walls in front of him were mocking him. Everything about his life was fracturing around him, and these fucking walls remained impenetrable. Gil went to him, hands on his shoulders, and all Adrik could do was shake his head. He begged Gil silently, begged him to fix it, to get him out. He wouldn’t stay sane otherwise. He’d break in here; he knew it.

“I got you, okay? I have a spy inside. The girls are fine. He’s taking care of them.”

“They’re not his to care for.”

“I know. I know, brother. I’ll try a rescue mission, okay?”

Adrik took hard breaths through his nose, but he concentrated on Gil. There was no one else outside that he trusted. All his sisters were in Russia. They had no strength here. His uncles would be all about themselves. This would be their chance to supersede power without killing. It was what every family member wished for.

Adrik would have to rely on Gil, and though the man wasn’t the best at these types of things, Gil never gave up. He was stubborn like that. Adrik forced his mind to the business. If the business survived, the family did. He spoke Russian, fearing the guards might be listening. “The low-level gangs will be the first to fall off. Let them. They can kill each other for all I care. It is the families we have to concern ourselves with. Uncle Yefim must keep their allegiances, or we’ll drown. Use the B2R to threaten. Pay them whatever they want, so long as they remain loyal to the family.”

“The B2R will start wars,” Alexei intervened.

“We are already at war,” Adrik shot back. “Do you want revenge, Alexei? Or are you relieved Papa is dead so he doesn’t hurt your feelings anymore?”

Alexei turned on him, and with Gil between them, he would have knocked Adrik on his ass. “Watch how you fucking talk to me.”

“Enough,” Gil snapped. “You two are in this together. Cut your little dick-waving bullshit.”

“Fuck you,” Adrik nipped. “You wanted him dead, too.”

“Just fucking stop, Adrik,” Alexei ordered. “Can’t suck up to a dead man.”

Gil once more pushed them apart with more aggravation. “What the fuck is with you two? Is this because of Snow White? Huh?” He snapped his head between them, waiting. “You’re letting a girl come between you?”

“He started it,” Alexei pointed out .

Gil rubbed his face, sighing. “We need you to focus, Adrik. Our lives depend on you. We are on your side. And just because Yakov wasn’t my father doesn’t mean he didn’t mean anything to me.”

“Time’s up!” the guard hollered from the doorway.

Adrik’s heart kick-started. He didn’t want to be separated from his brothers. Despite all the rage in him, he needed them. Gil wrapped arms around both their shoulders, and their foreheads came together. He closed his eyes and took this moment of solace. It would be the only one he’d have for a while.

When they separated, it was painful. Alexei looked back at him, going in the opposite direction, and Adrik didn’t turn away till he was out of sight.

At his cell, the guard left him with his chains on. Adrik looked around, waiting for where he went, perhaps forgetting the keys. “Can you hurry up?” he said, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness of his jail cell.

Crisp footsteps came around the corner. An old man dressed in a pantsuit stood bravely in his doorway. His hands were in his pockets, and he smiled. “Adrik Morozov. What an honor.”

Adrik never saw the man before, but he knew who he was. “Warden,” he greeted.

“Where you been?”

“Scenic tour.”

“Right. How much did they pay to get in?”

Adrik didn’t answer.

“Well, I’m going to do a little update with my guards. So, it might be your last visit for a while.”

“I doubt it.” Adrik smirked.

The Warden moved into the room, walking around his cell like it was interesting. “You are my first celebrity. And I mean to impress. But I always thought it was funny to keep shitheads like you away from the general populace. Why should I protect you when you have probably hurt a lot of people? What sense does that make?”

Adrik didn’t move, not an inch. If the Warden meant to threaten him, Adrik wouldn’t let it work. There were pros and cons to being put with the rest of the inmates. Adrik was confident he could make either work in his favor. “How much do you make in a year?” Adrik asked.

The Warden laughed. “Why do you want to know? You want to bribe me?”

Adrik ground his teeth. The Warden was a lost cause; his lawyer had already warned him, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t try. “I’ll give you triple.”

The Warden stood in front of him. “All your assets are frozen. You don’t have anything anymore. A king no longer.”

“I have twenty different names, with twenty different accounts and twenty different socials. And all of those names make more money than you. A king is still king, even without a throne.”

“You think you’re so smart. Everyone is wrapped around your finger, aren’t they? Probably since the time you were a fucking baby in diapers. Sorry to tell you, you don’t own this world. I do. That’s a lesson you’re gonna have to learn the hard way.”

The Warden walked out of the room and turned to him. Then a single gesture brought in five guards, with their batons at their sides.

Adrik tilted his head to the side. “This is how you want to play it, then?”

He smiled. “I think so, yes.”

“Do you know the one thing I’ve learned about people?”

“What’s that?”

“They all have their price.”

“Not me.”

“When I find it, you are gonna be working for me. And how you proceed from here is how I’ll repay you.”

“You have wonderful threats,” he patronized. “I’ll keep that in mind as you writhe on the floor.” The Warden turned his back, and the batons lifted in the air.