15. Bad Things
Jolie lay in bed, resting on her side to ease the ache in her ribcage. Her cats were curled around her as she stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the distance, across the bay, she could see the twinkling lights of the city of Tampa. It was indeed a different view from her apartment’s. The stone wall building beside her hadn”t been nearly so pretty.
There was a never-ending ache in her belly, and she didn”t know if it was fear or nerves. Or being in a strange place with no friends, cut off from the world. What was she allowed to do? Was she a prisoner here? Because so far, she felt like one. No one had come in to tell her what she was going to do. She had been left unsure if she was allowed to step out of her room.
And too afraid to figure it out.
It is fear.
The thought was a depressing one. How was Jolie planning on living if she was in a constant state of worry?
Jolie shifted, laying on her back, twisting her face in pain with every movement. The ceiling was even nicer than her whole apartment. How was that possible?
She knew this was a mistake, but what had been her other option? Adrik might have hurt someone or perhaps even killed them. He hadn”t given her a choice. He trapped her.
And that would be the kind of relationship we”d have.
Jolie knew Adrik”s type; she knew what they did, how they smelled sweet like roses only to ensnare you like a Venus flytrap, draining your life little by little till you no longer existed.
Her first boyfriend had been such a man. At one point, she felt so enraptured by him that she believed his happiness was more important than her own. It wasn”t until he robbed a bank that she realized he wasn”t a good man and she deserved better. Jolie turned her boyfriend into the police, and guilt swallowed her for years after. Only after leaving her small, judgmental town did she finally feel okay. And now here she was, once more put in a horrible position that would damage her.
Regret after regret piled on her like dirt on a grave.
A knock yanked her from a panic attack. She struggled to sit up, pain hindering her as she searched for the noise. It was the door that connected Helina”s room to hers. It was too late for Helina to be up, but then again, she had no idea what time that child went to bed. She hadn”t even been able to see her yet.
Jolie unlocked the door and peeked in, looking downward for her little form. Instead, she found a man”s legs. She snapped her eyes up, and Adrik was smiling at her in the dark. Jolie stepped back, running her hands through her hair subconsciously. She was in her panda pajamas, with panda socks, and couldn”t be more embarrassed.
”Hi,” Adrik greeted, dressed in jeans and a dark-gray Armani shirt.
”Hey,” she breathed out. How did he manage to look good in everything?
”Can I come in?”
”It”s your house.”
Jolie shifted through the room aimlessly. There was more than enough space to put between them, and she went over to the bed, standing on the opposite side. Aside from the lights outside the window lighting up the pool area, the room was dark. Jolie glanced toward her purse, sitting on the dresser. Could she get to it and turn on the listening device?
Adrik knelt down to greet her cats, an action that would have melted Jolie if she didn”t have walls in place. His fingers scratched their ears as they cried at him.
”Do you like everything?”
”Yes, thank you.” She crossed her arms, feeling betrayed by her cats.
Adrik rushed to the windows. ”Look.” He pressed a button, and the windows darkened, making the room black. ”Oh, shit,” he whispered, fumbling in the dark for the lamp nearby. ”Got it.” He flicked it on, exposing her face. He was surprised by her expression of anger. ”What?”
”Am I a prisoner here?”
His brows knitted. ”We had an agreement. I thought that was understood.”
”Yeah. You don”t kill anyone, and I move in. Do I need to worry about you killing me?”
Adrik slipped his hands in his pockets as he watched her. ”You can leave anytime you want.”
”Can I?”
”If you check your email, a contract was sent. Read it carefully. I have a lawyer if you want to talk to someone.”
”I”ll get my own lawyer.”
”If you can afford it.”
”Shut up; you don”t know how much money I have.”
Adrik gave her a side look as he shifted through the room.
”You saw my bank account.”
”I know everything, Jolie.”
”How is that fair? You know everything about me, and I know nothing about you. You like this power, don”t you? You like making people feel inferior.”
Adrik sat, resting his ankle on his knee as he folded his hands in his lap. ”Why am I in charge of people”s feelings? If you feel inferior, perhaps it is a problem within you.”
”Screw you. Why are you here?” She cackled. ”How many times am I gonna ask you that?”
”I wanted to see you.”
The simple reason smacked her like a semi, silencing her. She folded her arms over her chest, unsure where to lead with that. She didn”t want to be unfriendly while he was being nice.
Jolie caved a little. ”You come off as a stalker, you know that?”
Adrik cackled. ”Yes. I”m sure I do. It”s for my protection and has nothing to do with you.”
”My bank account is for your protection?”
”When people are desperate to pay rent, they become dangerous.”
”I wasn”t desperate.”
”I know.”
Jolie didn”t know why that made her feel good. But it didn”t disregard the fact that he invaded her privacy when he could have just asked.
”Will you sit with me?”
Jolie was hesitant for obvious reasons. She didn”t want to be his friend. She didn”t want to get closer. She needed the distance to remind her of the destruction he could cause. But yet, her feet moved of their own accord. She took a deep breath and sat, nearly crying out from the pain.
Adrik observed her, curling a fist against the armrest. Her pain was a thorn in him that needed to be eradicated, and the only way to get it out was revenge. Any moment now, someone would text him and let him know that the culprit was caught. And from there, Adrik could have his vengeance.
”I can get you some pain pills.”
”Tylenol is fine.”
”That doesn”t do shit for a broken rib.”
Jolie was adamant. ”I don”t want anything.”
Adrik chewed the inside of his cheek. Her pride was frustrating. She stared at the dark windows that now reflected them in the panels. He wanted to break into her walls, but perhaps it was better that she remained distant. It kept him in reality. ”I want to go over how things will be here.”
Jolie mumbled, ”I”m sure Esfir will give me the rundown. I”ll just use Google Translate.”
”What I have to say is different.”
Jolie glanced toward him. His countenance altered, like his words caused a burden on him that he didn”t want to deal with.
”I brought you here to teach my daughter. To be a friend to her. To help shield her from the world I live in. This alone is a problem for my family. My father would have put a gun in her hands on her first birthday if he had his way. The Mafia is indoctrinated. It is grooming to create carelessness for life. I do not want that for Helina. It is why I keep her here in the United States. Katia, my wife, and my parents want me to send her to my uncle in Russia, and I will not do it. So, thank you for agreeing to come here. I am forceful when I shouldn”t be. But I am a spoiled man. I get what I want.”
Jolie scoffed, rolling her eyes.
”Why do you do this?” He rolled his eyes, copying her dramatically, making Jolie hide a cackle behind her hand. He smiled. ”I am honest, if nothing else.”
”You”re full of yourself.”
”No. I am proud. And rightly so.”
Jolie positioned herself to face him. ”You want honesty?”
”Yes. I beg for it.”
”I”m scared of you.”
Adrik played with a ruby ring on his finger, twisting it. It was a good thing to be scared of, and usually, a bit of fear was precisely what Adrik wanted. Even his brothers had a tiny shred of apprehension in them. But from her, it was annoying. ”Fear is good. It will keep you wise. But respect is better. Respect me, and you will have no reason to fear me.”
”And you will do the same? Respect me?”
”Have I not shown respect?”
”Going through my things is not respectful.”
Adrik shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She was laying into him like a mom catching their teen kid sneaking out. It wasn”t like he didn”t want to talk, but he was hoping for this conversation to be going in a different direction. He had come late at night to her bedroom. There was always a bit of hope that their situation would change to a more horizontal position.
But that is not going to happen.Adrik reminded himself, even if she looked amazingly sexy with her messy hair and awkward pajamas. What woman could rock panda socks?
”My men were helping you move. I personally have gone through nothing.”
”Not the point,” Jolie sneered.
Her audacity was humorous, and he hid his smile behind a finger, playing with his lips. He didn”t know whether she was completely devoid of feeling or, more logical than he hoped, that she didn”t find him attractive or desire him in any way. She did not indicate that she would fall for his charms if he tried.
Could he try?
Not yet. She is injured and too skeptical of me.
It was the long game, then.
No game.Adrik sighed in frustration, hating the argument going on inside his head. She was off-limits. He brought her here specifically for his daughter. Not to dangle fruit in front of his face like in the Garden of Eden.
”You met Katia?” He brought her up to remind himself that another woman would not be tolerated.
”Yes. She”s beautiful.”
Adrik sighed. ”She is.”
”Are you working on your marriage?”
Adrik didn”t know if she was asking as a friend or from a different desire. But he took it as a sign. ”No. There is no working on it.”
”Then, why not get divorced?” The words came out faster than Jolie meant for them to, and then she bowed her head. ”I”m sorry. That”s none of my business.”
Her reddened cheeks humored him and reassured Adrik she had some interest in him.
”Our marriage is connected to a treaty for our families. If we divorce, the treaty ends, and there will be much bloodshed. To avoid it, we pretend.”
”That sucks. I”m sorry.”
Her sympathy was a salve. No one had said that before. ”I am, too.”
Adrik had wanted his marriage to work. He wanted a relationship like his parents, but Katia had destroyed it from ever happening.
Is that what I see in Jolie? The wife I should have had?
But it was a stupid thing to think because she was American. She was too sweet, too innocent. She would break if she knew even a fraction of what he”d done for his family. He should send her away now.
But he was a selfish man.
”You said you know nothing about me. Has Google not answered your questions?”
”It”s like looking at a blueprint of a house,” she replied. ”It”s an outline and not all that you are.”
Adrik could only stare at her, with a finger against his temple. Her innocence was everything he needed in his life. His daughter brought him happiness, but there was always a hole inside him that was missing. And Jolie was too close to finding it.
Adrik stood up. ”I”ll leave you.”
”Oh. Okay,” she stammered.
When Adrik heard her slight disappointment, he almost sat back down. He”d gladly spend the rest of the night here in her presence, but he knew how bad that would be.
Adrik went to the side door, turning toward her. She approached with her arms across her chest to hide her breasts. She truly hated bras, it seemed. Something they had in common. ”I came through my daughter”s room for a reason. You and I do not know each other. Do not talk to me unless I talk to you first.”
”Are you serious?”
”If my father thinks you and I are fucking, he”ll try to get rid of you.”
Fear spread on her face. ”What?”
Adrik cackled, resting a hand on her arm, incapable of resisting touching her when she was so close. ”Do not worry. We are not fucking.”
She cringed and yanked out of his grip. ”No, we”re not.”
The way her cheeks reddened in the light provoked him. ”I have a question.”
”How is there possibly anything that you don”t know?”
His smile grew. ”You aren”t going to like this question.”
”Say it already.”
”I overheard my men talking about your belongings.”
Jolie hid her face. ”Oh, God. I already know. Not every woman wears thongs, okay? It”s not like I go out to the club or anything.”
Adrik knitted his brows with a grin. ”So, granny panties are a thing?”
She pushed him. ”Shut up.” Jolie grabbed the door, shoving him through it. He was laughing every inch.
”But wait, wait, that is not my question.”
Jolie pressed her forehead against the door.
”You don’t have a boyfriend, and yet, there were no devices—” Jolie slammed the door in his face, humiliated.
Then the door popped back open, and Adrik was there again. ”I feel this will work. You teach my daughter. And I teach you.”
”Teach me what?”
Adrik gripped her arm and pulled her close till his lips were on her ear. ”Bad things.” He heard her quick intake of breath and bit his lip to stop himself from tasting her skin. He let his nose tickle the hairs on her skin and felt the shiver it induced. A smirk twisted on his lips. He yanked himself away and shut the door behind him.