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

33. The Past

Through the bushes, Santiago stepped out. ”?Cómo estás, JoJo?”

Jolie was frozen as she watched Vincent”s cousin approach. Santiago was dressed in black on black, with a chain at his hip and four gold necklaces at his chest. He was heavyset, easily over two hundred, while he was her height.

Santiago pointed a fat finger. ”Was that who I think it was?”

There was no way he knew who Adrik was. There was no reason for him to know. ”Get off my property.”

”Or?” he challenged, stepping closer.

She sneered; she could smell the cigarettes and stale liquor from the ten-foot distance between them. Jolie turned from him.

”Hold on, mama. Don”t run away just yet.” Jolie didn”t want to stay, but she felt obligated, like she used to feel all the times her so-called friends talked crap about her. She was to blame for the loss of their star football player. There was no getting around the blame.

”Thought you knew better than to come back here. Guess my message didn”t get through.”

Jolie was already over his ridiculous threats. ”My family lives here. You think you scare me?”

”I think you”re a dumb bitch.”

”Great. Well, out of the two of us, I graduated high school, so…” Jolie moved for the house again, but Santiago had her wrist. She knocked him off, taking a step back. He smelled worse up close. ”Don”t touch me.”

”Or?” he challenged again with a cocky smirk. ”Vinny ain”t here, mama. And you”re to blame for that.”

”I wasn”t the one who robbed a bank.”

”But you are the one who told him how.”

Jolie clenched her teeth, unwilling to expose the guilt that fell into her gut.

”Never seen anyone take a plea deal so fast.”

”I didn”t know he was going to actually do it!” she fought desperately. All these years, no one listened. No one cared either. They assumed that she turned on Vincent to save her skin, and maybe there was some truth to that, but he set her up first. He used her first. Everyone seemed to forget about that one heartbreaking fact.

Had she gotten any sympathy? Did anyone come up to her and say what an ass Vincent was for what he did to her? Vincent took her future in his hands when he didn”t have any right to it. He nearly destroyed her life.

”I”m not the one you gotta convince, mama. If you come with me, my uncle would love to talk to you.”

She chuckled, a defense mechanism to hide the bubbling panic while she stepped back. Jolie had never met Vincent”s dad. In fact, Vincent never once spoke about him. ”I”m not going anywhere with you. Vincent told you to leave me alone.”

”You think he gives a fuck about you anymore? You left him to rot in prison for five years. Had to make sure you didn”t go to the parole hearing.”

The comment stayed with her. She had missed the parole hearing because of Adrik. Vincent was the furthest he’d ever been from her mind. She didn”t care what happened to him now. But Santiago”s comment meant something.

”You sent that person to my apartment, didn”t you?”

Santiago nodded, but anger twisted his lips. ”A friend of mine. Now fucking dead because of you.”

”What?” Jolie knitted her brows. ”What are you talking about?”

”Like you don”t know. Got friends in high places now, huh? Mixed up with those Russian bastards over in Tampa. Got yourself a nice setup, right, mama?”

Jolie ran a hand through her hair. Did Adrik do something? Would he go back on his word? ”He didn”t. He wouldn”t.” She looked at Santiago. ”You”re lying,” she determined. Adrik promised he would leave it to the cops. Not killing her attacker was the only reason she agreed to move into his house. He kept going on about being honest. Adrik wouldn”t lie.

But Santiago would.

”I always told Vinny to watch out for you. You were always too fucking smart while pretending to be dumb as fuck.”

Jolie shifted. She never liked Santiago, but she never believed he would hurt her. Now she knew better. Jolie backed up, moving further from the house. Santiago followed, smirking as he did so. He liked the fear in her eyes.

”Hafe says I got to leave you alone. But how will he find out, huh?”

Jolie sneered. ”You”d have to catch me first.” Jolie turned and ran to the car. The driver popped out of the vehicle, ignorant of what was going on, but rushed to open her door. She stared at Santiago from over the door, daring him to try. It was the first time she acknowledged the strength Adrik”s family had.

Santiago nodded, backing up and spitting on the ground. ”This ain”t the last of it, mama,” he promised.

The driver looked back at him. ”Who is this?”

”No one,” Jolie assured as she slipped into the car. She stared at him through the darkened window. Five years ago, Santiago was the loser everyone made fun of. He was the acne-covered wannabe, hanging around Vincent, if only to look more important than he was. Even with all the new piercings and tattoos, there was clearly no improvement.

But he did have the same spider tattoo as the man who attacked her in her apartment. He called them friends. Did that mean Santiago was in a gang? Adrik had mentioned the Toxins. Jolie wouldn”t be surprised if he got involved in that lifestyle. Santiago was always looking for more attention than he got. Jolie used to ask Vincent why he kept Santiago around, and she could hear his reply like he was right beside her. ”He”s like my bodyguard. Don”t worry, mama; he”s on our side.”

Jolie picked at her nails as doubt began to filter through her head. She fell for Vincent”s charms so quickly, and here she was, doing the same thing for Adrik”s. Were they the same person, just a few years apart? Adrik was the older, more mature version of who Vincent would become.

She hadn”t learned a thing. ”Oh, God, I am so freaking dumb.” She sighed.

When Jolie returned to her room at the Morozov residence, completely exhausted and ready for a long nap, a hairdresser and makeup artist were waiting outside her bedroom. Jolie tried to say ”no thanks,” but it wasn”t a choice. There were six hours till the party, and she couldn”t understand why they were starting so freaking early. Until she realized all that they had to do.

Now her hair was curled and pinned to the top of her head, her makeup was flawless, they managed to cover up the bruise on her arm, and her nails were perfectly cut and painted. Hours of work and Jolie despised her reflection. She looked fake. Jolie attempted to rub at it, but it was frozen on her cheeks with some type of super glue.

The dress she wore was too exposing. She didn”t know how much Katia spent, but the fact that it was a designer dress meant it was over a hundred dollars. She didn”t want to insult the woman by removing it, but it was too much change. Her face and hair and now her clothes? She couldn”t handle it. She needed a piece of herself, or she”d go insane.

Jolie removed the dress and grabbed a simple peach-colored halter dress that went down to her feet. She kept her plain black heels, hoping that would somehow abate. But now her face and hair didn”t match the type of outfit she had on. The upper part of her was ready for the Grammy”s while the lower part was ready for wine country. Imposter syndrome kicked in. She didn”t look like the kind of girl that hung on the arm of a mafia boss.

Because I”m not.

Katia”s dress was staring at her from the bed. Should she try harder? Try to fit the mold?

A knock on the door interrupted her decision, and she whipped it open with aggravation. She blinked in surprise when Alexei stood in front of her. He wore a perfectly cut maroon suit, with a crisp white undershirt and pocket square. The only thing destroying his natural good looks were the bruises on his face. A hand went to her lips, a sound escaping her. Up close, it was worse than she thought.

Alexei smiled, his eyes running down her outfit. ”You look amazing.” Her look of concern didn”t fade, so he touched his face to acknowledge the bruises. ”I”m fine. Got in a brawl with someone. You should see the other guy.”

His attempt at humor forced her to move on. She dropped her hand, smiling. ”Did he insult your brother?”

His brows knitted, and he playfully wondered, ”What makes you say that?”

”You”d do anything for him. Even take on someone bigger than you.”

Alexei bowed his head, a slight heat coming to his cheeks. It filled him with pride to know she could see it. ”I would,” he whispered. Using her words, he reiterated, ”Even step aside for a girl.”

When Jolie made the connection, her eyes widened.

”Can I come in?” Alexei didn”t wait for an invitation; he stepped in and closed the door behind him. She took a few steps back and struggled to speak, but he interrupted, holding out a small back phone. ”This is for you. You and Adrik will be able to communicate without worrying about my father. Delete all your messages every time you talk, and leave it in your safe.” Alexei walked over to her closet and pulled back her door. In the far corner was a black box that wasn”t there before. ”Make the code longer than six numbers and tell no one.”

Jolie blinked, processing everything he was saying. ”You”re helping us?”

”Just like you said, I”d do anything for my brother. My loyalty lies with him. So, I feel I should warn you. If you hurt him—” He hesitated. Threatening her felt unnatural and wrong. ”Just don”t,” he finished. Alexei took a breath, ”Ready?”

”For?”

”I asked to escort you to dinner.”

Jolie uneasily shifted on her foot, ”But people might get the wrong idea.”

He nodded. ”That”s the point. Whatever takes the attention away from Adrik. And I”ll remind you, you can”t look at him, can”t talk to him. It”s better if you don”t go near him.” With that, Alexei moved to the door and waited with his arm out to her.

Will it always be like this? Will Adrik and I never be able to be together in public? Or just until his father is out of the way?

Jolie took a deep breath and took Alexei”s thick arm. ”You smell good,” she complimented, hoping to break the tension. If there was any tension. She didn”t want things to be weird between them, but she was unsure how to be friends with him. He threatened to kill her but asked her out.

What if Mally was lying?

The thought would have never crossed her mind, but Mally could have lied as effortlessly as Santiago did. She trusted people without really looking at their credentials. Jolie thought about asking Alexei. Would he know what happened to the member of the Toxins? Would he admit to talking about killing her? How honest were members of the Mafia?