Page 39 of The Dark Side

Jolie shook her hand, trying to not feel self-conscious. "You're beautiful."

Katia smiled. "I didn't know my husband was looking for a tutor." She drifted, looking around the room. "How did he find you?"

Katia wasn't as stupid as Adrik hoped she was. They had never talked about a tutor for Helina, and yet he hired a young, pretty, big-breasted American and brought her to their home. No other servant had gotten such a nicely decorated room. Whatever game he was trying to play, he failed. There was no keeping this woman a secret when he was obviously trying hard for her affection.

But why?

Adrik never needed to try. Women flock to him like bugs to light. Katia had once admired him from afar. She had been bitten by his charm, but she learned her lesson early that men like him were never worth the trouble.

Katia felt pity for her. If Adrik had feelings for this girl, then her world just got a little bit darker.

"I was at the shootout at Salem's. I helped Helina."

Katia turned to her, wide-eyed. "You're the girl my daughter is obsessed about."

Was that what ignited Adrik's affection? It would make sense, because otherwise, he would have never noticed her. Jolie was too simple. Too common.

Then, perhaps the feeling was temporary, and it would wear off as soon as he got his fill of her,Katia mused. "I'm sorry. The way she described you, I thought you would look more…angelic."

"Kids have extraordinary imaginations."

Jolie had wholly missed the insult, and yet, it made Katia happy. She was naive and dull. She would never last long here. Katia rushed over to her, embracing her, acting the part. "Thank you. You will forever be in my debt."

"No, it's fine."

Katia touched her brown hair, invading her space. "We must be the same age."

"I'm twenty-three."

"You and I are gonna be best friends," Katia declared. "I'm so excited." She parted and headed for the door. "I will leave you. If you need anything, press one." She tapped the intercom on the wall. "Food, bedding, cleaning, help with anything. You've been in a hotel before?"

Another jab at this pincushion of a woman, and she was ignorant.

"Yeah, when I was ten."

The response made her laugh, but Katia stifled it, hurrying out of the room.

Chapter fifteen

Bad Things

Jolielayinbed,resting on her side to ease the ache in her ribcage. Her cats were curled around her as she stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the distance, across the bay, she could see the twinkling lights of the city of Tampa. It was indeed a different view from her apartment’s. The stone wall building beside her hadn't been nearly so pretty.

There was a never-ending ache in her belly, and she didn't know if it was fear or nerves. Or being in a strange place with no friends, cut off from the world. What was she allowed to do? Was she a prisoner here? Because so far, she felt like one. No one had come in to tell her what she was going to do. She had been left unsure if she was allowed to step out of her room.

And too afraid to figure it out.

It is fear.

The thought was a depressing one. How was Jolie planning on living if she was in a constant state of worry?

Jolie shifted, laying on her back, twisting her face in pain with every movement. The ceiling was even nicer than her whole apartment. How was that possible?

She knew this was a mistake, but what had been her other option? Adrik might have hurt someone or perhaps even killed them. He hadn't given her a choice. He trapped her.

And that would be the kind of relationship we'd have.

Jolie knew Adrik's type; she knew what they did, how they smelled sweet like roses only to ensnare you like a Venus flytrap, draining your life little by little till you no longer existed.