18. Contract
Jolie sat on her bed, scared and confused. Katia kicked her out of the room after she fought with Adrik. Not knowing Russian was becoming a huge inhibitor. She was gonna have to make an effort to learn.
If I”m choosing to stay, which still hasn”t been decided.
Jolie stared at the clock. It was nine in the morning—when she was supposed to start her new job.
This isn”t working.
Jolie took the pen out of her pocket. It was still activated. ”I need to see you,” she spoke into it. ”I want to get out. I”m gonna go for a run. Find me.” She rushed through her drawers, searching for her yoga pants, and slipped them on, changing out of her dress. She found her running shoes in the closet. Everything was lined up nicely. Someone had come through her room again to clean what was already cleaned. Her bed was made. Her dirty clothes were gone. Everything she had touched had been put back at a precise angle.
She couldn”t live like this. There was no privacy. Nothing went unnoticed.
Jolie slipped the pen into her sports bra. No way was she going to leave it behind.
To her surprise, there wasn”t a problem with her walking about. The house was quiet, aside from the servants dusting, sweeping, and washing the floor. Jolie went out the front door and stood on the steps, stretching, looking all around, searching for an exit out of the compound. A driver was standing next to a black Lexus, waiting for her, but when she jogged down the steps and turned left, he stared after her in confusion. She set off into a run, going down the elongated driveway till she reached the gate, waiting for it to open. An intercom came on, and Russian flowed through the speaker. She could only guess what they were asking.
”I”m going for a run,” she said into the stone pillar. ”I”m allowed to leave,” she put out there, more of a reminder to herself than them. She blew a breath of relief when the gates opened.
Running down the sidewalk, the neighborhood was for billionaires, every house as lovely and massive as the last. The street was done in cobblestone. The trees and grass were trimmed and aligned. She didn”t have any idea where she was, but she kept running, hoping to find something familiar.
Another runner was coming toward her, and she tried to move out of their way. They tried to move out of her way simultaneously, and they bumped into each other. ”Sorry.”
”Go to Starbucks.”
”What?”
The woman bent down to tie her shoe that was already tied. ”Starbucks.” Then she bit, ”Keep moving!” And the stranger got back up and raced away.
Jolie forced her feet forward. Would it be a good idea to follow such an instruction? Maybe it was a trap? Or perhaps it was Agent Mally.
Jolie found Starbucks on the corner and went into it with a bit of hesitancy. Mally wasn”t around, and without knowing what else to do, she ordered a coffee. When her name was called, she grabbed her cup, only to find a message written on the cardboard. ”Go to the bathroom.”
Finding all this clandestine activity over the top and kind of funny, Jolie suppressed her smile as she went into the restroom.
Agent Mally stood there with a finger on her lips, like Adrik had done the first time he came to her house. She waved a wand over her body, down to her feet, but when the only sound came from the pen, Mally stood up. ”He still trusts you.”
”Was all this necessary?”
”Yes. And the fact you can”t see that just tells me you”re in over your head.”
Jolie narrowed her eyes. The only reason she was there was because of the damn cop. ”Of course, I am!” Jolie snapped. ”I don”t want to be here at all. I want to get out.”
”It”s too late. It would be too obvious.”
Jolie nearly broke. ”I don”t care! It”s scary there.”
”Jolie, all you have to do is get Adrik to say he killed someone. That”s it.”
”That”s harder than you think. He watches what he says all the time.”
Mally leaned against the counter, and casually said, ”Maybe find a way to make him relax.”
The insinuation wasn”t lost, and Jolie”s mouth dropped open. ”I”m not a freaking hooker.”
”He likes you, and you like him. Nothing wrong with getting to know each other better.”
Jolie couldn”t believe her audacity. She wasn”t at all what she perceived FBI agents to be. She thought they would be all for protecting people like Jolie. Not trying to get her into terrible danger.
”I”m not doing this. I want out. I want protection.”
Mally crossed her arms, ”You aren”t getting it. You haven”t done anything for us. If you want protection, then get Adrik to talk. Get Yakov to talk. Get Alexei to talk.”
Jolie had never wanted to punch anyone in the face, but the more Mally spoke, the more Jolie could feel her fist ball up. Jolie asked, ”What about breakfast?”
”Nothing we can use. Alexei spoke about killing you.”
Her shock pierced through her throat. ”He what?”
”These aren”t normal people, Jolie. It”s what I”m trying to show you. They get by because they start off nice. They start off by handing out money or gifts. They lure you in, and by the time you realize what”s wrong, it”s too late to get out. Thousands and thousands of people fall prey to them every year.”
Alexei apologized for putting a gun to her head and then talked about killing her in another language. How much of him was real? She”d have to be careful around him. He was easy to talk to and came off like a friend, but he was far from it. It was disappointing to learn. But it helped Jolie solidify her role. She needed to get Adrik to admit to something so she could get out.
”I don”t know how to flirt,” Jolie admitted. ”I haven”t had much practice.”
”YouTube has got everything nowadays. I”m sure you can find a way. And be careful with that pen. If they find it on you, I don”t know if I”ll be able to help.”
Jolie”s mouth fell open at the admittance. Mally told her from the first day that she could protect her, and now she”s claiming she can”t. How was Mally any different from Alexei?
Jolie leaned against the counter after Mally left. She”d dug herself into a hole she didn”t know how to escape. She felt just as trapped as she did when she was a teenager. She had gone to her parents and relied on them to guide her. But here, she knew that wasn”t possible. Her parents couldn”t help her now. She was a big girl. She”d have to figure it out on her own.
As Jolie finished her late morning jog, she returned to the front gates, only to find it overrun by men in black suits. They were searching for someone.
This is for me, isn’t it?
Mally”s warning about the pen was fresh in her mind, and she dug into her bra, removing it. But she didn”t know what to do with it. There was a bush beside her, and in a moment of terror, she flung it into the trees. Then regretted it. She was about to reach for it when one of the guards noticed her, and she heard their Russian call. ”Crap,” she cursed as they approached.
The beast of a man spoke into a walkie-talkie before he greeted her in a harsh accent, ”Miss Bell, please follow me.”
”Am I in trouble?”
He took ahold of her bicep roughly, and she stumbled beside him, intimidated by his strength. There was a bunch of people walking around, teenagers and adults alike. They glared at her as they passed, murmuring in their rough language and spitting at the floor.
The man brought her into the house and down a hallway. Stepping from white marble flooring onto dark mahogany wood floors made her heart drop. She felt like she was descending into hell. ”I”m sorry. I just went for a run,” she pathetically whimpered as he pushed her toward double wooden doors. The soldier pushed them open and pulled her to the center of the room, only to abandon her there. The doors shutting vibrated in her chest.
Jolie hugged herself. The room was every bit of an office belonging to an ancient vampire king. It smelt of cigarettes and stale liquor. She wondered if he stowed bodies in the floor-to-ceiling wooden cabinets. Dead animals on the walls might as well be human carcasses. Her animal rights activist badge was burning against her chest. The terror transformed into anger.
What kind of man hurts these creatures just for the thrill?
Yakov came from a different door, greeting her with a pleasant enough smile. However, she couldn”t take the ick off her lips as she watched him. He poured himself a drink, ”Welcome back.”
”I just went for a run.”
Yakov smiled, cackled lightly, and nodded. He took up his small glass and moved from his desk to a sitting area beside a massive fish tank. There were beautiful fish inside, exotic and colorful.
More than likely illegal.
”Sit. Chat with me. Tell me about yourself.”
Hesitantly, she stepped up to the red leather high-backed chair. As silly as it sounded, she was searching for a weapon. Would Yakov have one on his person? Would one be in the floorboards or behind the walls for easy access? Jolie sat. Yakov stared at her in wait, and finally, she focused on him, remembering his last comment, ”I”m from Orlando. I moved here to help inner city kids.”
”That”s wonderful. I”ve built four schools downtown, and I pay for after-school programs for over two thousand kids. Teachers are in desperate need.”
Jolie shouldn”t be shocked. Mally told her they were generous. But still, she was impressed. ”Wow.”
”I”ve been lucky. I am fifth-generation wealth. I haven”t had to scrimp and save. But I appreciate those who do.”
”Wish you were that generous to the animals,” she smiled, hoping it came across as playful, yet still wanting to get the point across that she was disgusted by his collection.
His expression tightened, and she wished she could take it back.
Yakov looked around the room, loving every trophy like they were his kids.
Jolie interrupted his reverie. ”I didn”t know I couldn”t leave.”
”You can leave, but please, make sure there is a guard with you next time. The world is dangerous, Miss Bell, and you are now part of this family. We can”t have you hurt on our watch.”
Jolie nodded, pretty sure he could care less about her safety. ”Um, can I go?”
”How”s Agent Mally?”
Jolie was drenched in terror, and her body went cold. There was no trying to save face; she could feel the look on her features, the shock, the worry, the fear. She struggled to speak and make an excuse, but what could she say? No lie was good enough.
Yakov eyed her proudly. Emotions were easy to manipulate, and now, he”s got her right where he wanted her. Fearing him.
The problem with many people was the lack of self-awareness. They believed no one was watching. But eyes were everywhere. Especially now in the time of technology. It was so much easier to find a rat in the sewer. And there was no doubt in his mind Jolie was vermin sniffing for a scrap of rotted meat. Women typically were the worst of them. Men at least had pride and dignity, whereas women tended to give up such things only to get what they wanted. It made them tricky but not impossible to figure out.
”My son feels gratitude toward you. And I am thankful as well. If not for you, I would have had to plan a funeral for my granddaughter last week. So, tell me about your conversation with Agent Mally the other day, and we will be even.”
Jolie clenched her teeth. ”The other day,” he said. Which meant he wasn”t talking about her meetup at Starbucks. He didn”t know. Jolie swallowed and relaxed in her chair. ”She told me you were dangerous.”
He smiled, taking a sip. ”She”s not always wrong.”
”She told me to stay away from you.”
”And why haven”t you taken this wise advice?”
She could lie here, and he might see through it. Or she could tell the truth, and he”ll see what she wants him to see. ”I need money.”
Yakov sucked on his tongue, observing her with the same intense stare as his sons”. Now she knew where they got it from. It was less intimidating. ”Money,” he said, chuckling. ”Now I understand you. Now we can work on our friendship.”
Jolie didn”t like that. She nervously twittered, wishing she had the recorder. She felt suddenly unprotected and in the eyesight of a dangerous beast.
”I”ll keep you in mind for jobs.”
She vehemently shook her head. ”I am not… I”m—I like honest work.”
His big brushy brows knitted, asking, ”Do you? Yet you are willing to take money from me?”
She stuttered. She unknowingly backed herself into a hole.
”We all start off honest, sweet girl.”
Yakov took this time to eye her up and down. She wore a training outfit that she more than likely got from Walmart. ”Eat, Pray, Run” was written on her shirt, summarizing everything he needed to know about her. Now that he thought about it, he doubted a job would ever come his way for someone like her. ”And my sons are of no interest to you?”
”No,” she answered too quickly, and nervousness spewed from her.
He nodded, pretending to believe her. ”Good. You were hired as a tutor, and that is what you will do. Anything else will violate your contract, and I will turn you out faster than I gutted that lion.” Yakov paused, enjoying the apprehension on her face, and then added, ”You understand, Miss Bell?”
She swallowed and nodded. ”Yes. Yes, sir,” she corrected, and he liked that immensely. Even wild boars could be trained if struck with enough fear. With a dismissive wave, Jolie bolted out of the room and didn”t breathe again until she was safe in her room.