The Dark Side: A Mafia Romance Thriller (Morozov Mafia Series Book 1)

24. Bowling

It took an hour for the driver to bring Jolie wherever Adrik decided for their ”non’-date. She thought for a moment she was actually going to see her parents until they passed the 1-4 interstate and kept heading north. She”d never been up toward Ocala. There were plenty of empty landscapes and cows. It was a different kind of pretty. If she ever had the ability to travel, she”d go north. She always wanted to see mountains and snow.

They pulled into a nearly empty parking lot with only one car, and Adrik leaned against his black Lexus. He looked incredibly sexy, wearing black shoes, light jeans, and a dark shirt. The shirt was tight around his chest and arms, amplifying the muscles. He pushed off the car and approached her door. She took a deep breath to calm her shaking.

Adrik held out his tattooed hand, and she took it. His grip was firm, and it caused sensations down her spine. ”I”m surprised,” he murmured as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. ”You know how to dress sexy.”

Her knees wobbled. She swallowed before she replied. ”I have many skills,” she quipped.

He led her to his car, and replied, ”I hope bowling is one.”

”Bowling?”

”I like to bowl.”

Jolie sat in his car on his leather seat. The interior was personalized with a dark blue. The car smelled like him, his cologne filling every nook. She wanted to drown in it.

Adrik sat beside her, starting the car. The engine vibrated like a purring tiger. He was clearly proud of his car, watching her expression as he revved the engine. She knew she had to compliment it. ”Pretty car.”

”Pretty? No. Fucking gorgeous.”

Jolie shifted, clenching her thighs tighter. She didn”t know what about him made her so turned on. Every word out of his mouth could ignite dirty thoughts. She never had this problem before. It was almost unfair how much he clouded her rational thoughts. She could forget the real reason she was here. She could forget how he”s a murderer. She could forget that he”s supposed to be evil.

But it wasn”t right.

He”s not a good man. No matter how he treats me. He kills for a living.

Jolie reached into her purse and clicked the pen. It made her nauseous. She didn”t want to do it, but her conscience told her she had to. ”You”ve been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. What do you do?”

Adrik shrugged. ”Boring shit.”

Adrik didn”t know how to talk about his work without lying. And one thing he was realizing was that he didn”t want to lie to her. He wanted to have someone to talk to without a wall up constantly. And as stupid as it sounded, he found himself trusting her.

Adrik looked at his hand on the steering wheel, once more searching for any sign of blood. He had come from the warehouse at the dock. The man who attacked Jolie had been left in handcuffs for over twenty-four hours. He had been lying in his own shit and piss. He was shivering and desperate, terribly dehydrated and hungry. At first, Adrik thought he had enough torture, but then the man spoke. Talking about Jolie, how she screamed and trembled. He made shit up, talking about fucking her and enjoying it.

The monster in Adrik, the one he tried so hard to conceal, seeped out of him. He had not been kind or gentle. He took the man”s hand and broke all five of his fingers one by one, enjoying every cry from his broken lips.

Torture wasn”t necessary, but Adrik enjoyed it like a hobby. He had gotten good over the years, learning how to extract the most pain. He found it humorous how some of the smallest actions can cause the biggest cries, like pulling fingernails or flaying skin. The speed at which it”s done causes the best reactions; slow and steady were the common denominators.

And by the time he was done, there was only blood and broken bones. It wasn”t until the end, till the man was already dead, that Adrik forgot to ask him why the Toxins had targeted Jolie.

Gil took him to a getaway house to shower and find clothes. He had barely managed to meet Jolie in time.

Now, guilt was burying him. He couldn”t be honest with her about what he did. She would never talk to him again.

”You”re always gone.”

”Yes. I own a few dozen businesses. I make my rounds throughout the month. I”ve been trying to update, but my father believes the old ways are best. Even though I made us more money.” Finances was one of the things he didn”t mind talking about, and he was eager to share with her the problems he was facing. It was something she would understand better anyway.

”Then, show him that.”

”He doesn”t listen.”

Jolie frowned. ”That must be frustrating.”

”Very. He never listens. It”s why my brother and my father do not get along. I”ve learned to deal with it. My father won”t be around forever. I just have to wait.”

Jolie joked, ”Why not get rid of him?”

Adrik snapped his head toward her, but seeing her smile, he realized she was playing around. Little did she know that he thought about it more than he wanted to admit. ”Funny.”

She shrugged. ”I told you I have many skills.”

”I would love to learn more of these ”skills.” Can I have a breakdown of your talents?”

Jolie loved the banter and fell into it naturally. ”Well, we”ve covered a sense of humor and how to dress.”

”And an excessive reader.”

”Excessive sounds negative.”

”But accurate.”

Jolie shrugged. There was no denying that.

Their witty back-and-forth continued as they got to the bowling alley. Jolie wasn”t used to someone opening her door, and he sat her back in the car to make her wait for him to do it for her. It was another addition to her attraction. He was checking every box, and she hated it.

Adrik tried to get her to drink, but she refused again, so he bought her a Coke instead, setting it on the table. He hooked up the bowling lanes as she tied on her shoes. She wasn”t blind to the two men in the back against the wall. They stood out like sore thumbs, and people passed them with skeptical gazes. ”Do you always need protection?”

Adrik glanced behind him. ”I don”t even know they are there most of the time. You”ll get used to them. Dima” —he pointed to the one on the right—”has been with me since we were kids.”

Jolie met Dima”s cold, empty stare. Though he was a beefy guy, he didn”t bring her any sense of relief. ”But why do you need them?”

Adrik shrugged, fitting his fingers into the ball. ”Never know. Now, I should warn you. I”m good.”

”Is it possible for you to be bad at something?”

Adrik thought for a moment. ”No.”

She giggled as he grinned.

Wings and pizza were put on the table, and Adrik”s vodka and soda never went empty for long. Jolie was sure there was no waiter here, yet whatever she wanted was provided without her having to go up to the counter.

Jolie went for a ball, and Adrik stepped behind her. She tried to suppress her smile. ”What are you doing?”

He leaned over her shoulder, his lips near his skin. ”I said I had things to teach you.” He took her hand in his. ”Now your fingers,” he whispered as he slipped them slowly into the hole, ”should go in like this.”

Jolie giggled, full of embarrassment, the insinuation too obvious to be ignored. ”Oh, my God.”

”Don”t be ashamed. Everyone does it.” He positioned her finger and poked it into the hole till she was laughing so badly she fell against him. He chuckled, watching how she hid her face. ”It”s better when it”s wet.”

She dived away from him, collapsing into a chair.

”What?” He called after her, joining her at the table. ”I was helping.”

Jolie kept giggling, her face as red as a tomato. Her stomach twisted, and she couldn”t will herself to eat another bite, so she sucked on her straw.

”Is that a skill?” Adrik wondered. ”Sucking?”

Jolie choked and spat, slapping a hand over her mouth too late. The spit had flown.

Adrik took a napkin and wiped a few sprinkles off his face.

”Can you stop with this?”

”With what?” he asked innocently.

”Talking like that?”

”About sex?” He popped a fry into his mouth. ”Say the word. Sex.”

”No. I don”t want to.”

”You scared?”

”I”m not scared.”

”You sound scared.”

”You sound scared.”

Adrik eyed her, and she bowed her head, ashamed of her childish reaction. Jolie didn”t have many conversations about sex and definitely never joked about it. The whole thing made her super uncomfortable as much as it turned her on. She turned her attention to the game, noticing his score was nearly over two hundred, and she was almost breaking eighty.

Adrik allowed the change of subject. ”Think I won.”

”Oh, you think?”

He smirked. The movement caused her to remember Alexei. Should she tell him what happened with his brother? She didn”t want to come between them, but that sentence sounded so egotistical. Like she could come between brothers.

”I wanted to let you know,” she began tentatively. ”Your brother asked me out today.”

Adrik paused in his movements. ”He did?” He sat back. ”And what did you say?”

”That I was busy.”

Adrik nodded, taking a fry and twisting it between his fingers. He didn”t think his brother was going to do it. But then again, it”s been a couple of weeks. He finally gathered up the courage.

”Then he asked me to dinner for your mother”s arrival.”

His brows rose. A date was one thing. Going with her to a family event was another matter altogether. To be so bold wasn”t a characteristically normal thing for Alexei to be.

”He likes you.” Adrik accepted it despite how much he hated it. ”How do you feel about him?”

Her brows knitted. The question was like a slap in the face. Here she was, going on a date with him, knowing full well his father wouldn”t like it, and he dared to think she felt something for his brother? And then to ask her about it?

But when has she ever been vocal about her feelings for Adrik? She barely wanted to admit it to herself. Was it so impossible for him to be unsure of how she felt? How could she say it without actually saying it?

His attention shifted from her to behind her, and his facial features altered dangerously. She was so confused by it she turned around to look. A pack of men with tattoos was standing in the middle of the foyer, a frightening bunch of bikers. They were all looking at Adrik.

Adrik”s two guards approached him and whispered something in his ear. Adrik nodded and stood. ”We have to go.”

Jolie glanced at the board. ”We have two rounds left.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along anyway. ”But my shoes!”

Adrik kept a tight grip on her hand as they approached the group. He maneuvered her behind him, keeping her nearly flushed against his back. As they got closer, she noticed the guns at their hips. She stopped fighting after that and tucked into his shoulders. Her thoughts went right to the pen. Should she call for help? Or did Adrik know what he was doing? She clenched her fingers around his shirt, holding his hand tighter. Jolie put her life in his hands.

Adrik kept his head high, moving toward them, moving through them. They parted, keeping their narrowed gazes on him as he passed by, going through the exit. He pulled Jolie forward, putting her in front of him and pushing her to the car.

”Russian,” one of the men called.

Adrik spun around, but Jolie clung to his backside, desperate to keep him from attacking.

The man wore a thick leather jacket over his body-building muscles. He was nearly fifty, with a thick beard stretching down to his belly button. ”Leave the girl.”

Adrik snickered. ”Not happening.”

”Hey, girl,” the biker called.

Adrik glanced behind him, watching as she peeked out.

”You need help?”

Jolie shook her head.

The biker”s gaze dipped to her arm. ”He do that to you?”

She looked at her bruise. The light from the alley shined on it. She shook her head, but there was skepticism in his eyes as he analyzed Adrik. ”You know pussies hit women.”

Adrik clenched his fist.

The biker stepped forward, while the rest of his pack kept their distance. ”What are you doing out here?”

”Just wanted to bowl.”

”Far from the nest. Your kind isn”t welcome here. But she can stay.”

Adrik bit, ”Keep her out of your mouth, or we are going to have a problem.”

”She know what you are? A Russian bitch?”

Jolie felt the insult and came to his defense. ”I”m with him.”

The man spat on the floor, and his friends sneered at her. ”Then, you betray your homeland. No more than a Putin whore.”

Adrik flinched, but he stayed put, with Jolie digging her nails into his back. He was outnumbered and too far from home. A hand at his side motioned for his two guards to take their hands off their guns. He wasn”t going to start anything. They were right. He shouldn”t have come here. But there were only so many places he could go with Jolie that his father wouldn”t discover.

”We”re done,” Adrik announced, turning and directing Jolie into the car. He shut it and faced the biker one more time. ”You made your master proud. Go tell Benny what a great job you did. He might give you a treat.”

Adrik ignored the curses and the threats. They were full of it. They couldn”t touch him without permission, and it was clear they weren”t given that kind of leeway. He got into his car, revved the engine more than necessary, and sped off.