Page 8 of The Dark Side

"You should teach your son some manners."

The man stifled a cackle, scratching his temple. "Do I look like I can have an eighteen-year-old son?"

Jolie didn't want to tell him what he looked like. She was pretty sure he knew already, and he was baiting her.

"Can we talk?" Adrik gestured to the limo.

She eyed it suspiciously, glancing around the schoolyard. Kids scattered along the grass and sidewalk, eyes on her in curiosity.

Witnesses.

Feeling safer, Jolie stepped forward. Adrik held his hand for her, but she disregarded him as she climbed into the luxurious vehicle.

All fear faded at the awe-inspired sight. She had never been in a limo. She almost had the chance to go to prom in one, but then her boyfriend at the time decided his brother's beat-up jeep was a better alternative. She arrived at prom with her hair in complete shambles and spent the first half hour in the bathroom trying to fix it.

Adrik sat next to her, unbuttoning his jacket. Everything about him was perfect. The way his black hair was gelled. The tattoos were strategically placed. The tailored suit, the gold cuffs, the Rolex watch—all part of perfection. Altogether, he wore more money than Jolie made in a year.

She unconsciously looked down at her clothes. She wore a dress that was covered in paint, and the worst was that she had made it herself and thought it was pretty cool.

We are from two different planets.

"Would you like a drink?" He moved for a wine glass.

Jolie wasn't going to fall for any charms. "What do you want?"

If she knew anything about men like him, which she read enough books to have a hint of the kind of man he was, he'd think she was quickly thwarted. And he may be right. He was not someone Jolie wanted to mess with.

"I heard you have an interview with an FBI agent today."

"So?"

"What do you intend to say?"

"The truth."

"And what's your version of the truth?"

'Her version of the truth.' It was a subtle hint that what she saw and what the police needed to know were two different things. "What do you want me to say?"

"What you said last night to the police was good enough. Simply keep with your story."

Her body stiffened, and she clenched her hands around her dress. "How do you know what I said last night?"

"Miss Bell, you saved my daughter. I am grateful. Take my generosity and my advice. Repeat your story, and all will be well."

As soon as he got a nervous head nod, Adrik got out of the car and held his hand out for her. She wasn't stupid enough to deny him now that she was beginning to understand how dangerous he was. She allowed him to help her to her feet.

Jolie stood in front of him. Their height difference was noticeable; he was six feet, and she was barely over five. He looked down at her. She was sure that intimidation came naturally to him. Or maybe it wasn't intimidation she saw in his eyes but something more treacherous. Something she didn't want in her life.

Jolie bowed her head. "Stay away from me," she ordered, and hurried away with her pounding heart.

Chapter four

Footsteps

Adriksatinthelimo, fixing his jacket while staring out the tinted window. Jolie stood beside her car, watching them, the fear and curiosity mixing together.

‘Stay away from me,’ she said. But Adrik suspected that’s not exactly what she wanted. He felt a smirk pull at his lips. Jolie usually wasn’t his type, but there were always exceptions. Her nipples through her pajamas were still a present image in his mind that he wasn’t about to erase.