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

36. Discovered

Jolie hid in her room. She had seen Gil and Katia making out, and now she didn”t know what to do. There was no doubt in her mind that Adrik didn”t know his brother was moving in on his wife. But was it her place to say anything? Would Adrik believe her?

For hours, she held the phone in her hands, pacing till the exhaustion of the night before pulled her to the bed. Knowing that Katia and Gil were betraying him while she was working for the FBI felt too much for one person.

Jolie was so ready to point out Adrik”s flaws, calling him Ted Bundy and recognizing all his alpha male tendencies, because she didn”t want to face hers. She had lied to him. She was partnered with the FBI and didn”t know how to escape it. What was she going to say to him? Because eventually, she was gonna have to tell him. There was no way around it.

I”ll lose him.

The panic only increased from there because not only would Adrik abandon her, but how would he get revenge? She was playing with fire and was delusional enough to think she wouldn”t get burned.

Jolie turned her head to Tae-Tae. ”I have to tell him.” A soft whimper escaped his throat.

Jolie”s door burst open, and she sat up, clenching the blankets as soldiers clambered into her room. It was the middle of the night, but they ripped her blankets away and grabbed her arms, pulling her to her feet. ”What”s going on?”

They shouted in Russian, with rifles in their hands.

Jolie swung her head around, watching three other men ransack her closet and dresser drawers. They dragged her out of the room. ”Stop! Please,” she begged, digging her feet into the carpet, but they ignored her, yanking her along.

She was relieved when she saw Katia in the same position, her arms in their grips, being hauled down the hallway. She spewed foreign curses and then noticed Jolie over her shoulder.

”Don”t fight them,” Katia instructed. ”They are Yakov”s pigs.”

Adrik”s father was doing this. Was this because Alexei showed her interest? But why take Katia? No, it was something else. Something more terrifying.

Down the stairs, a lineup of servants was on their knees; they were the last two to join. The soldiers dropped them on the floor side by side, and Jolie gripped Katia”s hand desperately.

”It”s alright,” Katia soothed, holding her.

Servants shivered and kept their heads to the ground, but not Katia; her back was straight, waiting impatiently for Yakov to come through the door. The soldiers stayed stiff in front of them, with their rifles pointed at the floor, and when they walked by Jolie, she buried her face into her knees, unable to hide her tremor.

Dressed in a black suit and with a cigar in hand, Yakov strolled into the room.

”What do you think you”re doing?” Katia barked. ”Adrik will tear you apart for doing this to me, old man.”

Yakov put his cigar between his teeth, disregarding her as he stepped inches from a servant”s hand. Jolie had nowhere near the confidence Katia had. She was a beast of a woman, and Jolie”s respect for her soared.

”Adrik will forgive me,” Yakov declared. ”You, however, I doubt.”

”I”ve done nothing,”Katia spat.

Yakov made a sound in his throat as he strolled the line. He stood before Jolie now, and her eyes widened, staring at her reflection in his shiny black shoes. ”What about you, American? Do you have a secret you”re hiding?”

Jolie shook her head, too afraid to speak, to move.

When his feet drifted, she let out the breath she was holding, which also triggered her tears. She rubbed her face, trying to take strength from Katia, but she was shaking like a seizure and couldn”t stop.

”Shh, it”s alright.” Katia squeezed her hand. ”You”ve done nothing. You know that. He needs proof for whatever he is claiming.”

”Proof,” Yakov quipped, ”I have.”

Jolie was too terrified to look up, but Katia revealed what it was. ”A pen?” she cackled. ”What proof is this?”

A pen.

A pen.

Jolie”s eyes dilated. A wave of nausea crawled up her belly, and she put a hand over her mouth to quell it.

In Russian, Yakov explained what he found. Katia whispered in her ear. ”This pen has a listening device. FBI. Found in the servants” quarters. He”s gonna question all of us.”

Jolie”s body went cold. There was no way she would survive this. She wasn”t a liar. She wasn”t a spy. She was a freaking teacher. She shouldn”t be here. She risked everything because of a stupid boy.

Katia ground her teeth. ”You dare insult me this way? I am your daughter-in-law.”

Yakov smiled, and gently assured, ”Which is why you will be questioned last. I hope there will be no need, sweet one. Now, let”s begin.” He motioned to the first servant, and though the man struggled to his feet, the soldiers had no problem giving him encouragement by smacking him in the face and shoving him forward.

Jolie winced and shuddered. They were being hurt because of her. Because she had been so stupid to put the pen in a freaking garbage can. All the precautions Agent Mally and Adrik had taken, and she had ignored it, thinking they were overexaggerating.

They took the servant around the corner under the stairs. Jolie had thought it was an odd place for a coat closet, and now she found out what it was.

Only a second later there was a sharp smack and scream. Jolie buried her face into Katia, and the woman held her close. ”It”s alright. You”ll be alright.”

Jolie cried ridiculously into her lap, grimacing with every horrible sound. She pressed a hand against her ear, but it was pointless. She could feel it in her soul, their pain.

Fear kept her still; fear swallowed her, made her heavy, unable to dig up any courage and admit it belonged to her, but how long could she sit here and let all these people get hurt because of her? Ten innocent servants waited for her to admit she owned the pen.

What kind of person am I?

The front door opened, and for a moment, Jolie prayed it was Adrik coming to her rescue, but instead, it was Gil. He limped with a cane, skipping toward them in desperation. He went to Yakov”s side, speaking in Russian. He glanced at them, at Jolie, at Katia. A hidden hand out to them to let them know he was there to help.

”Yakov does this because Adrik is out of the house,” Katia whispered to her. ”He will be punished for it.”

It didn”t matter, did it? This was too much already.

Yakov waved a hand, disregarding whatever Gil was saying, but Gil was not about to be ignored. He got out his phone and quickly dialed a number.

Jolie curled into a ball, watching with wide wet eyes. Her body trembled. It brought her back to the grocery store, where she curled up with Helina, squeezing her little body as bullets sprayed the air above them. For some reason, she found none of that confidence here. Perhaps without a child to focus on, she collapsed into a puddle of pathetic-ness. Or maybe it”s because the pen belonged to her, and it”s only a matter of time before they find that out, and she”d be killed.

Gil handed the phone to Yakov.

”Adrik,” Yakov greeted. He listened intently for a minute before replying, ”The American and your wife will be questioned like everyone else. Threaten me as you see fit.” He clicked off the phone and handed it back to Gil.

Yakov sighed and took a seat. He lit up his cigar, glancing toward them, but said nothing. There was worry on his brow. Whatever threat Adrik had given him was enough for him to question his moves but not enough to stop him.

”Miss Bell,” Yakov called, and her eyes flipped toward him like a frightened animal. ”You went into the hallway yesterday morning for a phone call. Am I wrong?”

Jolie shook her head.

”And, Katia, you were seen back there. What was your purpose?”

Katia didn”t falter. ”None of your business. It doesn”t matter where I go, because this is my house. Adrik lets you live here out of kindness, but that kindness can end in moments.”

Yakov chuckled bitterly. ”You think my son would choose you over me?”

”I believe he already has.”

He cackled again, patronizing her, smoking his cigar with enjoyment. ”We see things very differently.”

”Yes, we do, like how I see an old man at the end of his reign, grasping at straws to stay in power. Adrik has been a king without a crown for years. Push him, and he will snatch it off your head before he throws you over a cliff.”

Yakov did not like that. His smile slipped from his lips, and all playful banter died in his eyes.

The door under the stairs opened, and the servant was dragged out. There was no fight left as blood dripped from his back and face. His eyes and lips were swollen; nothing resembled the person who had entered. They dropped his body like a stuffed trash bag.

”Take Katia next.”

”You fucking dirty old man,”she cursed.

The soldiers came for her, and Jolie grasped her arm, but they pushed her down. Jolie cried for her, curling tighter, pressing her face against the floor.

”No marks on her face. She has a party to attend.”

”Yakov,” Gil called, approaching. ”I beg you not to do this. As my father, as my mentor. Please do not do this.”

Yakov took a drag of his cigar and looked like he was contemplating his decision. Katia stood in the arms of the guards, and they waited. Then he flicked his hand.

Jolie felt her resolve cave. They would find out it was her no matter what. She couldn”t let anyone come out the way that servant did. His injuries would follow her forever. The guilt would be too much, and she”d cave. So, before all that could happen, she needed to speak.

”It was mine,”Gil broke out, stopping the soldiers.

Jolie hesitated. She didn”t understand what they were saying, but something had happened, and the words clogged her throat.

Yakov rolled his eyes. ”I don”t believe you.”

”Adrik interrupted a shipment of spyware to the Secret Service. Pens, pendants, earpieces, buttons, even things to put on the bottom of our shoes. I had the pen on me when I met Katia in the hallway to talk to her about Adrik”s party. She asked if I had a pen, and I gave it to her.”

”It didn”t work,”Katia murmured, latching on to the story.

Gil pointed out, ”Which is why she must have thrown it away.”

Yakov listened, but there was much doubt in his face. ”Why did you have the pen on you?”

”I had a meeting with the Toxins an hour before. They speak Spanish, and I wanted to make sure they weren”t double-crossing me.”

”If”—Yakov emphasized the word—”what you say is true, then you”d have another one. Let me see it.”

There was a hesitation that Yakov took as a sign. He waved again to the soldiers to take Katia into the room, but once more, Gil persisted. He shouted to one of the guards, and they ran out of the house.

Yakov snapped his fingers, and an ashtray was put in the palm of his hand. He worked all the ashes off slowly as they waited. ”I”m curious why Adrik didn”t tell me this.”

”Are you?”Gil nipped, ”He wanted to use these things to spy on you.”

A snicker sounded deep in Yakov”s throat.

The soldier rushed through the front door, with a pen in his hand. It was silver, like Jolie”s, and hope formed in her gut. Where had they gotten a copy? Yakov took out his own and compared them on the desk. Jolie held her breath as she watched him, searching for any movement in his face that would reveal her future. All the pressure of the world rested on her back.

Yakov motioned, and the soldiers let Katia go.

Jolie released her breath, sinking to the ground, pressing her face into the carpet. The tension in the room eased a little, and though she didn”t know what happened, she felt saved.

”You”re going to regret this,” Katia vowed. ”Crazy old man.”

Yakov held up a hand. ”No harm done. Perhaps this is a learning experience. I may be old, but my reign is far from over.”