Page 71 of The Dark Side

Adrik looked past her as if he couldn't see her. All her excuses were signs of her weakness.

"Let me think."

"About what?" he asked, annoyed.

"You are asking me to become a fugitive for something I don't even know what it is. Just because I'm attracted to you and like you? I don't know you that well. You can't expect me to jump in your boat when you're still a stranger. Please. Just give me time."

It sounded like a reasonable request. But time was a scary thing to give her. The more she found out, the more it would reinforce her fears.

Adrik gripped the side of her face. "Look at me," he ordered, and waited till her eyes were on him. "You want to be rational. Then, the answer is easy. Leaving is safer, smarter, and easier for you. I'm not going to convince you to ruin your life. So, let me take you home."

Adrik opened the door for her and waited. She stood there like a lost tourist, unsure of which direction was home.

"What if," she murmured, "I want more than you can offer? If I get involved with you, I will want a future. And I know it's so new, and we've only had our first date, if that's what this was. But I know what kind of person I am. I don't date just for fun. I'll go all in." Jolie looked up at him, desperate. "Is that something you can give?"

Adrik shut the door and leaned against it. She faced him, her fingers going to his, and he watched as their hands entwined. Her touch was everything. It held a future that he always wanted. But being in his life would open her to a new and dangerous world. Did he want to expose her to it? Did he think she could last?

That was why the words out of his mouth felt like knives in his gut. "I don't know," he admitted.

In a moment of clarity, the relationship would cause him so many problems. It was a reason he never allowed himself to date. It was a headache he didn't want. But as a tear slipped down her cheek, and she nodded, full of misery, he couldn't let her go. When her fingers loosened on him, he only tightened his hold. He wasn't giving up.

A car door opened."Excuse me, sir."

Adrik rolled his eyes in aggravation and turned his attention to his bodyguard. "It better be good."

"It's Alexei."

Chapter twenty-six

Mama

AdriksatbesideAlexei'sbed, staring at his face. There was swelling over his eyes, and his lips were torn. Beneath the covers were more bruises. His father was careful not to break anything, as if that made a difference. Broken bones were harder to heal from and needed more care, while bruises could be ignored and forgotten. But all of it was an insult.

Yakov's audacity was breaching Adrik's patience. The only thing keeping him from attacking was the lingering anchor of love between a father and son.

When Adrik was young and not in line for the position of heir, Yakov had been a doting father to the point where it became apparent that all his love and attention was on Adrik, while none of it had gone to Alexei. Adrik hadn't noticed it for a long time, not till he was ten years old and watched Alexei get beaten again. He finally faced the reality that he'd have to protect his brother from his father's hatred. He'd throw himself in front of Alexei, and Yakov would stop his strike in mid-swing. He'd call a guard, and someone would grab him, kicking and screaming, pulling him out of the room.

Adrik hadn't dealt with Yakov's cruelty until he gained the ring to be next in line for the Morozov family. When Yakov forced him to marry a woman who didn't want him and expected a child, while he struggled to touch her.

When Katia cheated on him, Adrik wanted nothing more to do with her and went to his father with the divorce papers. Yakov only laughed at him.'You are not getting a divorce,' he chastised. 'No one can know the embarrassment you've caused this family.'

'What I've caused?' Adrik had been so incredulous he couldn't breathe.

'Is she not yours? Then, control her. Chain her. Do what you have to so that it never happens again.'

Adrik rubbed his face to push away the memory. It wasn't helping.

Gil sat on the other side, tapping his crutch against the chair. "I want him to have soldiers with him at all times."

Adrik vaguely nodded.

"Why wasn't he with you? Why wasn't he with me?" Gil rolled his eyes. "I've always hated your fucking father. You know that? This is stupid. Why don't you kick him out of your house, Adrik? This isyourhouse your father's invading. You built him that office as a courtesy. You allow him here as a courtesy. And he's taken advantage of that."

Adrik didn't want to hear Gil right now. As much as he was a part of this family, he wasn't blood. He couldn't understand.

Alexei groaned as he woke. Adrik quickly got him a glass of water, knowing well how dry the mouth gets after a night of suffering. Alexei could barely reach for it without wincing. He laid his head heavily back on the pillow. Only one eye could open, and he peaked at Adrik. A smile was attempted on his swollen lips. "I'm still better looking."

Adrik choked on a laugh-sob and hid his face, hoping his brother couldn't see the unhindered wave of emotion. This was different when Alexei was shot. Adrik had been so focused on his daughter that he couldn't mentally handle his brothers being in danger. But now, it was all about Alexei and their father's overreach.