18. Partners
Chapter eighteen
Partners
They came for him in the middle of the night. A guard unlocked his cell, and the noise woke Adrik and the kid on the bottom bunk. The boy was a new recruit and had a shank in his hand, ready to prove his worth. The guard disregarded him. “Bony wants to see you.”
Jumping down, Adrik put a hand on the kid’s shoulder. The boy was nineteen, with no tattoos yet, but Adrik could see the potential in him. “Stay here.”
Adrik followed the guard down the darkened hallway. Eyes peered at him through bars, but he ignored it. Others put out two fingers in salute. He had ten people now under his belt, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the white population fell under his regime. He never cared about race, but here in jail, it mattered. They deluded themselves into thinking that skin color protected them. Little did they acknowledge that Death was colorblind.
Down in the open arena, in a spotlight, sat Bony at a table with four other men around him. Adrik typically didn’t deal with Black gangs, and he didn’t know what kind of decorum he would find. Every race had its own particular cultural habits that needed to be respected. To say he wasn’t a little nervous wouldn’t have been true, but he revealed nothing, keeping his face blank and his back straight. He was relieved when he saw Alexei walking down the hall.
“Took long enough,” Alexei griped. He walked with a limp; a stab wound to his calf earlier this week made it difficult to walk. “Fucking bullshit, making us wait.” Alexei’s attitude was sinking the longer they were here. Beating someone up daily, though a great way to relieve stress, affected his temperament.
Adrik took the lead, and they approached the table. There were six men, three on each side. He waited till Bony gestured for him to sit down. Alexei kept back, watching any movement from the others, almost daring them to shift so he could beat the shit out of them.
“Your brother is a good fighter,” Bony said, with a Haitian accent. “And your presents have been much appreciated. But I am confused about what you want. You and I both know you are going to get out soon enough. Why not be patient?”
“I need help.” The words were like glass on Adrik's tongue, but he was short on pride currently.
Bony took a cigarette out of his case and offered one to Adrik. Though he hated smoking, to deny it would be insulting, so Adrik took it. A soldier approached, and Alexei flinched, but Adrik held up a hand to relax him. The soldier lit his cigarette.
Bony sucked in the smoke and blew it up above their heads. “What will you do for this help?”
Adrik already knew all of Bony’s layout. He owned much to the south of Orlando, but all leaders wanted the same thing.
More. More of everything.
“I will assist you in taking over Orlando. ”
His brows went up, and he looked over his shoulder to his second—a large, fat man. Bony smiled and cackled. “What makes you think I need you?”
“You have struggled with expansion for two years because of the street gangs. I know how to get them in line.” Bony took in a long drag as he thought about it, but Adrik didn’t wait for a response. He knew he already snagged the man’s interest. “What do you know of the Toxins?”
Bony nodded, blowing out smoke before he answered. “Everything. I have been battling with them for several years. Frank, the leader, is a stubborn man. And I know the son has recently come for you. He is a fly with very little power, taking control over something he cannot possibly handle. How such an insignificant man got the best of you is a curious thing.”
Adrik was giving that ‘fly’ no credit. “He partnered with Katia Stephanov.”
There was hesitation until it clicked, and then there was humor. “Your wife.”
It was another nail to Adrik’s coffin, another way to make him look unworthy of his bloodline. A woman bested him. If he somehow recovered from this takeover, he’d never live down the embarrassment. “Katia protects him to protect our daughter, who he has in his possession. He may be nothing, but he controls everything.”
A small, little chuckle annoyed Adrik. “You have gotten yourself into a terrible rut. Could this be the end of the Morozov line? Your father is dead. You and your brother are in jail. The other is on the FBI’s Most Wanted. If I were an opportunist, I might see how weakened you are and set my own after all you have. ”
There was no convincing someone not to destroy. So Adrik did not waste his breath. Instead, he waited for the man to see that even cast out, there was no end to what Adrik could do. If he had hit rock bottom, there was nowhere to go but up.
“Thank goodness, I am not stupid.” Bony smiled, and Adrik found himself smirking in return. “All I have is yours. But my reach is limited. Your family owned every clan and gang within a fifty-mile radius of Tampa. There is an uprising. Clans that have worked together for a decade are now enemies. There has been much blood in the streets. Even Boris Stephanov struggles to control it.”
Adrik knew that would happen. It was one of the reasons he stayed with Katia as long as he had. His family was fracturing at the core, and if he didn’t get out soon, he didn’t know what would be left. But there was a silver lining. Katia's family was suffering as well.
Adrik crushed the butt of his cigarette, blowing out the smoke. “I know the gangs to talk to. I need a group to get into my house. I need to get my daughter out.”
Alexei spoke behind him. “And Jolie.”
Adrik bowed his head. He hadn’t told Alexei what Gil had said. Part of the reason was because he didn’t want to face it or say it out loud. But the other part of it was Adrik didn’t want to hear how stupid he had been. After Jolie moved in, he never suspected her of any lie. She had weaseled her way in, like a worm in mud, finding every cranny that was weak and vulnerable till she buried into him too deep for him to dig out.
“Who’s this?” Bony asked.
“My daughter’s tutor.”
“To get someone inside is a big risk. But I will see what I can do. Give me names, and I will find them for you.” A piece of paper and pen were set before him, and Adrik scribbled several names. He never knew who would turn against him, but these people had proven themselves before and he hoped they would again. With all these promises he was making, he’d have to keep a fucking list. He hated feeling indebted to anyone, but his pride was worth sacrificing.
Walking back to the cells, Adrik felt relief for the first time. But he could only imagine what his father would have said. He would have been disappointed in how long it took Adrik to secure his place here. His father would have been out weeks ago.
Perhaps that’s why he didn’t miss Yakov as much as he thought he would.
Before being separated from Alexei, Adrik glanced at the guard behind them. “Let me talk to my brother.” There was hesitation, but he had no choice. The guard gave them two minutes before walking away. Adrik fell against the wall. “This is taking too long. If I don’t move faster, there will be nothing left.”
Alexei sighed and propped up next to Adrik, whispering, “You are doing what you can.”
“We should have never gotten to this point. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been distracted, if I hadn’t—” He clenched his teeth, tapping a fist against the wall. “I should have gotten rid of her.”
“Katia—”
“Not Katia.”
It took Alexei a moment to realize who he was talking about. “Jolie.”
Adrik nodded, and finally revealed, “She was working with the FBI.”
“What?” Alexei huffed with a laugh. “There’s no way. ”
Adrik hung his head, staring at his feet. “She was an informant. The pen Papa found was hers. Gil told me everything.”
“Gil hates her,” Alexei nearly shouted. “I don’t believe it, and I can’t believe you do either. Don’t you love this girl?”
“That doesn’t fucking matter. She was lying to me.”
Alexei continued to shake his head in disbelief. “It sounds ridiculous. And before you write her off, I think you should talk to her. I mean, she left everything, Adrik. She gave up her life—”
Adrik pushed off the wall. “You are just infatuated with her. You can’t see it, because you don’t want to. But I’m not so fucking stupid—”
“Fuck you.”
Adrik spun on his foot to leave, but Alexei wasn’t finished, snatching his arm and forcing him back around. “Stupid would be to let this girl go because of a goddamn rumor. You’ll never find someone like her again.”
Adrik shoved him. “What the fuck, Alexei? Are you in love with her?”
Alexei backstepped like he’d been struck. A lie was on his lips, and he was ready to deny it, but he didn’t lie to his brother. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does!” Adrik yelled. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Adrik knew Alexei had a crush, but being in love with her was a whole different thing. How was this happening? First Gil fell for Katia, and now Alexei fell for Jolie? What the fuck was going on? He trusted both of them more anyone else in the world. How could they do this?
Alexei stumbled back, limping, leaning on the wall for support. He was ashamed of it. It was a problem; he knew. Being in love with his brother’s girl wasn’t the best thing for their relationship, but Alexei never intended to let it come between them.
But it could, couldn’t it?
“I haven’t—” Alexei struggled to explain. “I’m not gonna go after her, if that’s what you think.”
Adrik couldn’t respond. He had exiled Gil for the same damn thing. What was he supposed to do now? This could destroy them; didn’t Alexei see that? It was a bomb between them, waiting to go off. All it would take would be one touch, one word, to ignite it.
Alexei saw the accusation in his brother’s eyes, as if he were already guilty. And perhaps, in Alexei’s private thoughts, he was. He knew Jolie didn’t belong with a man like Adrik. Adrik would eventually fuck up too much for her to stick around. He’d hurt her past the point of no return.
Am I waiting for it?
Adrik paced in front of him, every muscle in his arms tense and ready for a fight, but Alexei stayed back. He didn’t want this to be physical. There was no doubt in his head that he couldn’t beat Adrik into the ground, but that would only shatter the fragile glass beneath them.
Alexei had to say something. He wanted his brother to protect Jolie, to love her as she deserved to be loved. And the only way to do that was to awaken his brother’s competitive drive. He wanted Adrik to fight. Jolie was in love with him. And just like Alexei had always done everything to help his brother, now he wanted to do everything he possibly could to keep her safe. “If you don’t fight for her, I will.”
Adrik punched him hard, and Alexei fell back against the wall. He kept his hands at his side, fisting them, but he stayed put. Adrik watched him and wanted him to fight back, but when he didn’t, Adrik fled the cell.
Alexei slipped to the floor. He had given up so much in his life for his family. He didn’t know how much longer he could continue to sacrifice. When they got out of this prison, something would have to change. He’d have to start living for himself, or he’d lose it.
For now, Alexei could only escape by mentally disappearing. He pulled out a bag of white powder and dipped his finger inside.