21. Two Years
Adrik took a seat at the breakfast table, with his coffee and cell phone. He scrolled with his thumb, searching for anything interesting in the news. Sometimes, the media was faster than his own people. It was because of the chain of command that kept information slow. Like the military, there were levels. The lowest soldier could only speak to the next in command, and so on and so forth. To the lower levels, he was a ghost, a figment of their nightmares, the god they worshiped, and the devil they feared.
That being said, news sometimes took time to pass through the ranks, making the media outlet the second-best thing.
He was searching for Katia”s brother.
Zinof Stephanov was the third-born son of the Stephanov family. He was insignificant, aside from being very protective of his younger sister. He had been against Katia”s marriage, even insulting them by refusing to come to the wedding.
And now, he tried to kill their daughter.
Zinof”s life was forfeited. He knew it, which was why he went underground.
The thing about guys like Zinof was they wanted attention and to feel important, which meant he wouldn”t hide for long. The ache for the spotlight would drive him to the surface. All Adrik had to do was pay attention to the tide.
”Good morning.”
Adrik snapped his head up as Jolie sat at the breakfast table. He was becoming desperate to see her. She was dressed in a tight maxi dress that exemplified her bust and the shape of her hips. It was a modest dress, but she looked amazing, nonetheless.
Six days had passed since he last saw her. He wanted to talk to her for no reason but to get her attention, but sneaking into Jolie”s room wasn”t as easy as he hoped. Katia had conveniently slept in Helina”s room last night, like a sentinel guarding Jolie”s door.
The fading bruise on her arm distracted him from her gaze. It was discolored now, lighter, but so clearly a handprint. A wave of disgust rolled through him, and he quickly turned away with a muffled, ”Good morning.” He put his attention back on his cell phone. Anything else would be questioned.
Finding Jolie”s attacker was another added weight, but this was more difficult. Adrik was using most of his force to find Zinof, and Alexei was in charge of it, so Gil was the only person currently searching for the man who had hurt Jolie. And Gil tended to get sidetracked with drugs and women.
Yakov joined the table and began speaking with Jolie about stupid shit. His father didn”t even mention the bruise, not caring about who would harm a woman. His attention was on shopping and inviting her to go out with Katia for dresses for the family dinner on Saturday. She was surprised she was invited and expressed excitement.
A smile pressed on his lips, and he covered it by leaning on his hand. Jolie didn”t know the kind of dinners they hosted. Adrik stuffed any humor down his throat and mumbled in Russian, ”She”s not ready, Papa.”
”Nonsense,” he replied in English. ”You want to go, yes?”
Adrik flicked his eyes toward her, and Jolie nodded with enthusiasm.
”Then, she shall come. I want to show off this girl who saved my granddaughter”s life. Katia! We were just talking about you.”
Adrik glanced at Jolie again, and her eyes touched his for a moment, but she bowed her head, leaning down to take a bite of food.
”Good things, I hope.” Katia rested her hands on the back of Adrik”s shoulders. He gripped her fingers and brought them to his lips, playing the role. She leaned down and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek. ”Good morning, my beast.”
Yakov smiled wide. ”This makes me happy. Even on a troubled ocean, come calm seas.”
It was the fourth morning they showed such nauseating affection, and Yakov was eating it up. But with Jolie at the table, he nervously fidgeted, hoping she didn”t take their actions seriously.
Katia walked around Yakov and kissed his cheek, too. He tapped her hand and waved for her to sit. ”I was telling Miss Bell that you would take her shopping for a fine dress. One to match you in beauty.”
”Of course, Papa.” Katia raved, turning to Jolie, ”Our dinners are extravagant but entertaining.”
Adrik flicked his narrowed eyes over his phone and met her condescending smile.
Katia continued, ”I would love to take out Jolie. Perhaps tomorrow.”
”Of course, of course.”
Alexei arrived, greeting them all a good morning. He took the chair beside Jolie, leaning in to get her to smile at him. ”Hey, I was hoping I”d see you.”
Jolie”s face reddened, but she enthusiastically greeted him. ”You work so much. I thought you would have more fun than this.”
Alexei chuckled. ”Nope, I oversee a lot of different things. Plus, I have to babysit my little brother.”
Jolie glanced at Adrik. He sat back with his arms crossed. ”You babysit me? Were you doing so two nights ago when I dragged your drunk ass out of a casino?”
Jolie put a hand over her mouth. She had never experienced sibling rivalry but knew how to spot it a mile away. It was similar to kindergarteners trying to top each other.
Alexei quickly changed the subject, asking Yakov, ”What time will Mama be here on Friday?”
”Four, but I”m sure she will want to rest. You”ll see her Saturday.”
Alexei moved in to whisper toward Jolie, ”You are going to love Mama. She”s over the top. One time, she…”
Adrik wasn”t listening as he watched his brother and Jolie. They were so comfortable around each other, like they were friends, yet Alexei had been just as busy this past week as far as he knew. They didn”t get any extra time together.
But they also didn”t have a wall between them like he had with Jolie. Alexei could hit on her in front of their father without risking her life.
It was a depressing thought. But Adrik had to keep his distance. It was better for both of them. And if she fell for his brother, he”d have to accept it and move on.
It didn”t stop Adrik from doing what he could to keep them apart. ”Perhaps it is a good chance for Alexei to meet someone.”
Yakov glanced at his son and shrugged. ”Can”t rush love.”
Love,his father said, like it”s a realistic goal in their world.
For Alexei, he was allowed to be picky and wait around for it because he was no longer heir to their father”s empire.
Katia whispered, hiding her teasing smile, ”He does seem smitten with our teacher, doesn”t he?”
Adrik glared at her from across the table, and she hid a giggle behind her hand.
Alexei glanced at them angrily. ”I”m just trying to make her feel welcome.”
Yakov scoffed, taking a sip of his coffee. ”Even Alexei wouldn”t be dumb enough to go for an American.”
The insult was straightforward, and the warning was blatant. Adrik felt guilty for bringing it up. He didn”t like his father taking potshots at his brother. Despite being younger, Adrik protected Alexei against his father since they were kids. Alexei had a softer heart than most, and it always irked his father.
”But you”re right,”Yakov said, decided, setting down his mug. ”We must introduce him to someone.”
”What?”Alexei straightened.
”Katia, you know some women. Bring them.”
”Of course,” Katia smiled lovingly to hide her humor.
Alexei sneered. ”I”m good meeting girls on my own.”
”It”s just for options, son,”Yakov assured. ”I want more grandchildren. God knows your sisters are working hard, and Katia and Adrik are doing their part. You have to pull your weight at some point.”
Another jab agitated Alexei. He excused himself abruptly, and Jolie, having no idea what was going on, looked after him in bewilderment.
”He”s fine,” Katia reassured Jolie. ”What kind of dress are you thinking of?”
Adrik moved to follow his brother, but his father stopped him.
”You haven”t finished your breakfast.”
”I”m not hungry.”
Yakov looked up at him. ”I haven”t finished mine.”
Clenching his teeth, Adrik plopped back down and concentrated on his cell phone. It was this controlling attitude that Adrik had followed his whole life that had him bucking in his restraints. He was tired of being leashed. He was so close to the finish line. Only two more years till his father claimed he would retire, and Adrik would take over the company. Two more years to follow every rule and unspoken law, and then he was free.
If I kill him, I could be free tomorrow.
It”s a distant, unthinkable thought, yet it waved in the back of his mind like a white flag on a body-filled field.
Killing parents was against the Mafia code, and he”d be shunned. But if he could make it look like someone else did it, he could get away with it. The problem was trusting someone with such a task. Failure couldn”t be an option, because the ramifications would be too terrifying to think of. Who had enough confidence to believe they could kill a king?
As soon as Yakov took the last bite of his toast, Adrik excused himself from the table.
He found Alexei in the gym at the punching bag. His hands were wrapped in thick tape, and he was railing on the bag with his right arm, keeping his left back. His injured arm was healing but couldn”t withstand punching just yet. The person holding the bag was struggling to keep it still. When Alexei took a small break, Adrik dismissed the help and took hold of it.
Alexei paused at the sight of him. He rubbed the sweat from his brow and adjusted the tape. The words in Alexei”s mind weren”t something he could share, but he struggled to keep them to himself. There was a dark place inside him Alexei was worried that Adrik wouldn”t approve of. He hit the bag once, twice before he huffed, ”I don”t know how much longer I can put up with him.”
”I know.”
”He acts like I”m choosing to be alone when he forced me to shove Melissa out of my life.”
Adrik kept quiet. He hadn”t known about what happened between him and Melissa. Alexei had been infatuated with the anime oddball for years, and then suddenly, she was gone. Alexei said he broke up with her and got drunk for a few days before he went back to work. That was the extent of the conversation.
But as Adrik thought about it, after Melissa was gone, two months later, Alexei gave up his seat as heir.
”When we were younger—” Alexei took up a bottle of water, swallowing some before he questioned, ”Did you ever think about leaving?”
Adrik had always wanted to be better than his father. He couldn”t do that if he ran away. He knew where his place was. The only way to protect his brother, to help this family, was to be the one to lead it. Adrik shook his head.
”I almost left a dozen times.”
”He”d find you, Alexei. You know that.”
Alexei distantly nodded. He knew there was no escape. But he hoped by now things would be different. He didn”t want to have his pride taken from him daily. He didn”t want to be forced to live the way his father wanted. He was nearly twenty-nine-years old, but life hadn”t changed all that much from when he was a ten-year-old helpless boy.
”Two more years,”Alexei murmured, lightly hitting the punching bag. He met his brother”s eyes, hoping he”d find something there. A silent request to do what they both wanted.
But Adrik only whispered, ”Two more years.”