Page 127 of The Dark Side

Adrik took a step, stopping himself as the man tightened his hold on her arm. He clenched his fists at his side, dying with every inch she moved away from him. He wasn't angry about any of that. How could he be? It was his fault for not teaching her how dangerous his life was.

Mic smirked from over Jolie's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of your whore."

A single bullet fired, and Mic twisted his head around to see his brother's body smack into the wall. A grief-stricken scream caught in his throat, but Tatianna turned and put a bullet through his forehead.

Jolie screamed as Mic's body fell on her, and they both crumbled. Hot blood splattered her face, and she could taste the metallic substance in her mouth. It froze her like a sheet of ice encasing her.

Adrik stared wide-eyed at his mother. She stood in the center of the dead bodies, with a small six-inch handgun. Tatianna waved it around like a flag, and a hint of the woman she used to be sprang to the surface."Didn't I say this the other day?"she nipped at Adrik."They never check the women. Am I so helpless that they think I can't even hold a gun?"

Chapter forty-six

Over

Adriksatonabench on the front of the ship, with his elbows on his knees. A glass of whiskey was in his hand. The sun was setting, but no one paid attention to it as bodies were dragged to the front, one after another. Ten of his own were lined up in body bags that would eventually go into big freezers. Another fifteen of his men were sitting against the side, tending to wounds, some more serious than others. Two were missing, presumed overboard, while their enemies were wrapped up with stones tied to their feet and flung out into the ocean, never to be found.

The SOS call brought fifty of his people out to sea with a doctor. Adrik's arm was already patched up; the bullet had gone right through. Only now that he was relaxing did he feel the burn of it. But it was a welcome distraction.

Helina and his mother were back in their bedroom, tightly guarded.

Failure was creeping on him. Not only had he failed to stop mercenaries from gaining access to his boat, but Helina was once more in danger. The worst of the guilt was the fact he was here; he was with her, and he still hadn't been able to stop her from being subjected to violence. Five years old, and she's seen too much. The hope for her future was drifting. And he didn't know how to stop it.

Adrik turned his head, and through the cabin's open door, he could see Jolie sitting by herself on the couch. She'd been motionless since his people pulled the body off her. Blood splattered on her face and soaked her skin. She had been given an ice pack for the bruise on her head, but it sat in her hand on her lap as she stared blindly at the floor.

There was no recovery from this. Adrik lost her. He didn't need to talk to her to know she was done with this life. The trauma she faced today would dissolve any lingering hope that they could be together. And maybe it was better that way. Having another person in his life that meant as much to him as Helina was draining. He felt himself pulled in too many directions. If he had been smart, he would have kept them separated at all times so something like this couldn't happen, but he never imagined anyone could do what these invaders had just done.

All this time being a powerful mafia figurehead, and it meant nothing. He nearly lost everything because he wasn't good enough.

When the ship docked, Adrik didn't move. He watched them team up and carry the big square freezers into a waiting truck. The bodies were sent to a family-owned morgue, where a doctor would diagnose them with some common illness, and no questions would be asked. They would be given proper funerals, with closed caskets, over the next few weeks, and their families would be compensated. It would all look normal, and the police would never know what happened here.

But it would be something Adrik wouldn't forget. Or forgive. Someone was going to pay.

Footsteps approached, and he already knew who it was. Adrik closed his eyes as he downed the rest of his whiskey, letting it burn his throat and chest. Yakov stood in front of him. He had a cigar in between his lips and a smugness about him that Adrik couldn't stomach, and he looked away.

"You know,"Yakov began thoughtfully,"I think I will stay on a little while longer. As much as you think you are ready, there are still things in this world, boy, that you can't handle. That's why I'm here. I've seen everything, and I know what's best."With a slight slap on his bad shoulder, his father walked away.

Adrik watched Yakov as he strutted along the skiff, delegating. As much as he despised him, Adrik couldn't find the will to fight against it. Yakov was right. There were so many things that Adrik could use help with. And now it appeared he was about to start a turf war with a mafia family from the North. He'd need his father to help guide him through it.

A car slammed on its brakes, and Alexei popped out. He wobbled on the ramp and up the stairs, with panic in every step. Relief ignited over his face when he found his brother. Adrik stood as Alexei slammed into him, hugging him fiercely. "You alright? God, what the hell happened?" Alexei breathed, stepping back and looking around.

"Dima is gone." Adrik said, sitting back down. His knees were weak.

Alexei ran a hand through his hair, a momentary grief keeping him quiet. Dima had been with the family for many years, but death in their world was common. Dima had survived longer than most.

"This is insane," Alexei bit, looking around. The deck had been washed already. A second team would come in the morning and bleach the whole ship. Inside the cabins was a different story, left untouched. There wasn't time to fix it, but with private glass on every floor, there was no way any of Agent Mally's spies could see into the rooms.

Adrik was numb, staring past the blood and out into the water. He was still trying to wrap his head around how this happened. He had been prepared for Boris, but this wasn't his wife's father. This was someone else.

"Could you, um—" Adrik nudged his head to the living room.

Glancing over his shoulder, Alexei found Jolie. A curse whispered under his breath at the sight of her. "What the hell was she doing here?" Alexei glared at his brother, but he could see the defeat in his shoulders and let it go. "Yeah, yeah, no worries."

Adrik shook his head, a hand burying into his hair. "It's probably over," he acknowledged. "She's not meant for this."

Alexei could not disagree. "No, she isn't."

Adrik nodded, sinking further. He never did well with sadness. It was a calling card to the darkness inside him. Instead of crying like a bitch, he channeled it like any real man to violence. He clenched his teeth. "I'm gonna find out who did this."

Alexei reminded him, "You can't attack Katia's family. We need the harbor, or we'll lose sixty percent of our supplies."