16. Test
Chapter sixteen
Test
“Ready or not, here I come!” Jolie turned away from the wall, searching the bedroom for Helina. Her cats lingered at her feet, trying to figure out their role in this game. They meowed and followed as Jolie knelt down, looking under the bed. The cats ran under it, searching, but they returned with nothing.
She could hear Helina giggling in the closet but went into her bedroom, nonetheless, and then into Katia’s. The cats ran at crazy speeds, chasing each other through the rooms, scratching at furniture, and hissing at each other. “Play nice,” Jolie chastised before she finally whipped open Helina’s closet and found the little girl laughing in a large pile of all her dresses. “Look at this mess!” Jolie squealed. “Clean. Clean,” she ordered in Russian.
Helina moaned, and grumbled, “Okay, alright. Relax.”
It took ten minutes, an activity to help pass the slowness of time. Jolie glanced at the clock, disappointed that it was only 10 a.m. “Eat?” Jolie asked. She was learning easy, one-word sentences in Russian, but her accent wasn’t perfect, and Helina questioned her with an odd face.
They sat on the bed with a tray of eggs and bacon, staring silently into space. The blank screen of the TV called to them, but it would be too easy to waste time just watching movies. The first two days had been wasted already. She didn’t want to slip into that depression again. They had started a routine, and now they needed to stick with it.
Jolie jumped up as soon as they finished and instructed them to start their workout. Helina wasn’t nearly as dedicated as she was to keeping fit. The child didn’t know how easy it was to become lazy, weak, and miserable. They started with jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups. But like usual, Helina gave up at this point and played with her dolls while Jolie built up a sweat. Her abs burned, her thighs ached, but she continued pressing forward.
Seven days, she chanted. Seven days without Adrik, kidnapped and tucked in this room. She didn’t know what she was waiting for. No one was coming. No one could. She’d have to find a way out. But there were so many people in this house.
Jolie took a shower in her bedroom and dried her hair, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the pool. There were twenty-three men and seven women. Like a frat house, beer cans and liquor bottles decorated the property. The servants could barely keep up with the work, but one was out there now with a plastic garbage bag, trying to clean.
Their voices were unheard from up here. The windows didn’t open except for one. In Katia’s room, there was an emergency escape hatch, but from its appearance, once pulled, the glass wall would give way and shatter on the ground. The amount of noise it would make ruined any potential ideas of escape.
Jolie rejoined Helina in her room. The little girl sat on the bed, flipping pages of a children’s book, and Jolie slid in beside her. “Alexei.” She pointed. Jolie’s brows knitted as she stared at the cartoon image on the page. There was a resemblance; the cartoon had black hair and bright-blue eyes, but Jolie just thought Helina was using her imagination, missing her uncle. More people in Helina’s life were absent. Her heart ached for the little girl. Jolie prayed that her presence meant something, even if it was small.
Helina got up, gathered a few more books, and laid them on the bed. “Alexei.”
Jolie leaned over them. It was the same-looking character in all the books. They were in Russian, and Helina tried to explain the series. Flipping through the book, an image of the author was on the back page: a pink-haired woman.
Melissa .
An ache developed in Jolie’s chest. She wished she had talked to Alexei more instead of being afraid of his advances. She wanted his friendship and his sense of humor. She missed his laugh terribly. If given the chance, she would run to him now.
I have to get out of here.
Jolie paced. She walked into her room and noticed everyone still at the pool. What if she walked right out the front door? Would anyone notice? It ignited hope. She was going to try. Jolie took Helina’s hand and went out the bedroom door, looking both ways down the hall. No one stood there. Jolie eased Helina out even as the little girl protested, pulling at her hand, but Jolie gave a stern jolt, and Helina pressed into her side, defeated.
Jolie put her hand on the banister overlooking the living room. There was a ridiculous mess left behind, full of beer bottles and cigarette butts. Only servants lingered, attempting to clean. Esfir glanced up and narrowed her eyes. She flicked her hand, mouthing ‘shoo’ but the temptation was too great. The pathway to the front door was clear.
“Going somewhere?”
Jolie spun on her foot to find Vincent leaning against the doorway in jeans and a tank top. He had taken over Alexei’s room. Behind him, she could see a woman passed out on a messy bed. Vincent lit a cigarette as he stared at her.
“We just wanted to get out of the room.”
Vincent shook his head, more impressed by her ability to make up lies on the spot. “Not a good idea.” He closed the door behind him and then gestured to follow him.
With her hands on Helina’s shoulders, Jolie pushed them back down the hall. She knew the attempt had been pitiable, but she was still disappointed.
Vincent opened their bedroom door and waited. Jolie pushed Helina through, but as she went to go in herself, Vincent put a gentle hand on her arm. He closed the door with his other hand, separating them from Helina. After scanning her up and down, Vincent said, “Don’t come out of your room looking like this. Too many assholes here.”
His on-again-off-again care was screwing her up mentally. Jolie wished he’d pick a freaking side.
Vincent blew smoke to the left of her before he asked, “What do you know about Katia?”
“She’s crazy.”
A dry laugh formed into a cough. Vincent ran his hand through his black hair. “Yeah, I’m figuring that out. When she came to me, suggesting I take out the head of the Morozov mafia, I thought she was fucking insane. But she had everything figured out, and I thought, ‘Why not?’ But Katia failed to understand that I didn’t need her help. I can run this town by my-fucking-self. If she wants to start a war, I can fucking meet her.”
“What did she do?”
“She hired the B2R. Crazy-ass fucking thugs. She’s trying to tear my empire apart.”
“Your stolen empire.”
Vincent was quiet, staring off, ignoring her jibe. “You want to know what your man was into, Jolie? You ever question how he makes so much money?”
“No, because he isn’t my man.”
He chuckled, shrugging. “Sure. Gotta wonder why a woman like you, all goody two shoes and shit, takes money from anyone in the Mafia. Ignorance doesn’t make you innocent, mami.”
Jolie didn’t want those words to reach her, but they did. She ignored everything Adrik was doing and spun it to make it seem like it wasn’t as bad, or he was doing it because he had to. But even in war, soldiers commit war crimes. There was no innocence.
“I’m just getting the layout of everything they had their greedy fucking hands in. It’s their fault the ghetto is only getting bigger. They give us scraps while they have full-course meals. Look at this fucking place.” Vincent flung his hand to the hallway. “My family lives in a shithole while they live like kings. But what I intend to do is spread the wealth a bit more. I’m gonna bleed this empire dry. Take from all these greedy fucks.”
The comment brought a small, sad smile to her lips because it reminded her of his boyish dreams. “Like Robin Hood?”
Vincent found himself humored by such a statement. “Yeah. I’m fucking Robin Hood. Want to be my Lady Marian?” He held out his hand and was relieved by her laughter. “So you still got a sense of humor, JoJo. That’s good to know.” Vincent leaned back against the wall, staring at his feet.
Jolie shifted. She didn’t want to see any soft side to him. It was bad enough she had to see him like this—all tatted up and pierced, destroying his naturally good looks. He let his hair grow long, and the black tendrils invaded his eyes, which was a silly thing to do because his eyes were his best attribute.
“I gotta move faster. I should be in full control by now. It’s been a week already.”
“What are you planning?”
“A bunch of different shit. It’s about setting things up like football. I have to control where everyone goes and look for the best shot to get ahead. I can do it. I just have to move smarter.”
Jolie bowed her head. She hated to admit it, but his words brought up memories she didn’t want to relive. “You sound like yourself a little bit.”
Vincent popped his head up, surprised by her statement. He studied her, and it made her nervous. “Did you miss me at all?”
Jolie curled into herself. “Of course, Vincent. I went years missing you. And hating you.”
He chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, same.” He tongued his lip ring, watching her. “I, uh, kind of did something back then. You’re gonna find out sooner or later, but uh, in prison, there was a really pretty nurse.” He shifted on his feet, running his hand through his hair. “So, got a four-year-old.”
“You have a kid?” Jolie found herself smiling at the thought .
He nodded, relieved by her response. “A boy. Lorenzo.”
“What? Do you have a picture?”
Vincent quickly took out his phone and showed her a dozen photos. “He stays with my stepmom most of the time. I don’t want him around this stuff.”
“Oh, my God, he looks just like you. Where’s the mom?”
The way he snapped off the phone and shoved it in his pocket told her it was a bad question. “She didn’t want anything to do with him. She tried to abort him, but I gave her a bunch of money, and once he was born, she took off. Said she never wanted to be a mother.”
“Wow. That’s crazy. I—” Jolie stopped herself from going down memory lane. There were so many times she thought about what their kids would be like. She was innocent in that way. Thinking in high school she met the love of her life. She was ready to marry him, to sacrifice all that she was for him.
Like I’m doing now? The thought drifted in her head, and she blew it away. This was different. Adrik was worth her sacrifice. Vincent had been a mistake.
“I’m happy for you.”
“What about you? I can’t believe you don’t have any kids.”
She shrugged, falling against the wall. “Every guy I met ghosted me in a week. And I never felt what I felt for…” Jolie clamped her lips shut.
“For me?” Vincent grinned, leaning like she was just inches apart. “I am hard to match.” He winked.
Jolie found herself smiling, but she broke it, dropping her head, staring at her feet. Vincent always had charm; there was never denying that. But all his inadequacies were as bold as the tattoos on his face.
“Can you be honest with me for a minute?” Vincent asked. “What was with you and Adrik, JoJo? Were you trying to date him or something? It doesn’t matter. I just need to know.” He was giving her the opportunity to be truthful. It was a test, one he wanted her to pass.
Jolie pushed out a very disgusted, “No.”
“I saw the way he looked at you.”
“He’s married.”
“To a psycho. I’m sure he played the field.”
“Well, not with me.”
There was hesitation before he nodded. Disappointment was heavy, but he wasn’t surprised. “Remember the first time we skipped school?”
The subject change confused her, but she replied thoughtlessly, “You mean, the time you forced me to miss my class?”
Vincent gave a wicked grin and nodded. “The principal happened to catch us in the grocery store. You remember what you said?” When she shook her head, he answered his own question. “You told her we were there for a class project, for”—he tried to word it in her manner—“a collective analysis of the consumer and how it relates to their…” He threw his hand in the air, unable to remember.
Jolie finished, “To the societal norm.”
Vincent smiled at her and leaned into whisper. “I remember how good of a liar you are.”
Jolie’s momentary happiness drifted as she met his gaze. Fear made her swallow, and she murmured, “I’m not lying. ”
Vincent wanted to believe her. He hoped she told the truth and giving her a phone wouldn’t be detrimental to his plans. But he worried what her parents would do if they didn’t hear from her soon. Vincent had no choice. He held up a phone between their limited space. “Here.”
“What’s this?”
“We’re gonna try to rebuild our trust. I’m giving you a phone so you can only speak to your parents. If the police show up at my door," he paused allowing her to think of all the terrible things he would do. "Don’t make me regret it.”
Jolie nodded and gently took the phone out of his hand, trying not to feel the weight of his stare. “Thank you.”
Vincent didn’t move away. There was so much of her that he remembered. All the moments he replayed in his head during his time away. And here she was, still appearing like the girl he fell in love with. His hand rose, and he was surprised to see her flinch. After so many days together, didn’t she feel anything that he did? His finger rested on her cheek, tracing down her jaw. “I went five years with only you in my head.”
She shook her head, but Vincent gripped her jaw, forcing her to stop. If Jolie would only let him back in, she’d feel the love she used to have for him.
“I tried to hate you. But I couldn’t.” He leaned down, kissing her with a harshness that nearly bruised her.
Jolie shoved him hard, horrified, as she backed away.
Vincent licked his lips and chuckled. There was no one around to see it, which made her lucky but still stupid, because all it did was verify that she was lying to him. If there was no one else on her mind, she would have been back in his arms by now. “I’m just playing with you, mami.” He stepped around her. “I don’t want no dry-ass hairy pussy.”
Jolie dived into the room and shut the door. She pressed the lock, and then her hands enveloped her face. The fear had turned into terror and then humiliation. He knew things about her that she could never erase. He could manipulate and use her and make her think there’s still a decent bone in his body. He was dangerous. If she didn’t harden herself against him, he’d derail her.
She fell to her butt, curling her legs into her chest, with the phone pressed against her heart. Helina and the cats came to her, and she held them tight. Her solace came from their love. She ran her fingers through Helina's hair, kissing her forehead. The comfort Helina provided was heavenly. They needed each other. "Let's do some schoolwork!"
Helina groaned.