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“I’m fucking sorry, man. It was just one time.”
“Well, you’ve gotten yourself into some deep shit. Pray that I think of a solution before Chester finds out you’ve been nutting in his daughter.”
I stood up, went to Isidor, and gave him a hard punch in the stomach. “That’s for being so fucking stupid.”
He bent over and clutched his stomach with pain written all over his face. “Shit!”
He attempted to erect himself when my fist met the softness of his stomach again. “That’s for the stress and negotiations you cause me.”
Isidor let out a groan as he fell to his knees. I’d punch him more, but I had better things to do with my time than waste it on my idiot of a brother—better things like going to Adrienne—she was somewhere in the main building, yet it felt like she was a continent away from me. I wondered if she yearned for my presence as much as I craved hers.
The walk from the pool to my room felt like a walk through the Sahara. My feet dragged and were too slow no matter how quickly I walked. I was soon running up the stairs one leg at a time. Then I was in front of my door undressing my tie and shirt, brushing my hair to the back with my bare hands, inhaling my mouth to be certain the smell of cigarette wouldn’t be enough to her make her cautious.
Adrienne was peacefully asleep when I entered my room. Truth to God, seeing her peacefully on my bed like this and knowing my baby was growing inside her sent a warmth across my chest. I didn’t have alcohol, but I was getting intoxicated with something stronger than liquor.
I started brushing her hair gently; it was hard not to admit Adrienne’s hair was one of the most beautiful things about her. It was as white as the first winter snow, silky, and I loved how it sheeted her shoulders. Christ, there was nothing about this woman I didn’t like. Nothing.
She must’ve noticed my presence because she smiled and slowly opened her eyes. When she blinked up at me, her smile broadened. “You’re here,” she said, her voice cracked from sleep.
“I am, malysh.” I tucked into the bed beside her and she put her head on my shoulder and started drawing something invisible on my stomach.
“Camilla, you didn’t kill her right?”
I may have found something I didn’t like about her; it was how much she cared about people even after they hurt her, and even that was goddamn attractive.
“And Maria,” she went on. “I don’t want you to hurt her, she was only one of my papa’s victims.”
“Alright,” was all I said. It was all I could reply. Because both Maria and Camilla had tried to hurt what was mine, and I didn’t have it in me to show any mercy to them.
It was safe to say I’d taken them to a place they’d never return from, ever.
Chapter 27 - Adrienne
I knew Andrei was lying when he said he hadn’t hurt Camilla, yet a part of me wished earnestly that he had at least spared Maria. It was true that she was the one who informed Camilla that Andrei was away, but that was all the part she played in what happened yesterday and I honestly didn’t think it was something she deserved to die for.
It was also hard to blame Andrei if he had killed either of them. Aside from the fact that he was a ruthless Russian crime leader, I’d recognized the look in his eyes yesterday as fear. The way his dilated blue eyes bore into mine, the trembling of his hands as he held me, he must have realized he was about to lose the greatest asset he had to bring my papa down.
An asset. I guessed that was all I could ever be to him. I rubbed my hands on my belly, it was hard to shake off the feeling that right now, he only wanted me because I was carrying his child. He would probably dump me the moment I gave birth to this baby, and the idea of that made me want to hate everything about the situation I was in.
His hands caressed my cheeks, calling my attention to him as he probably realized I was distracted with thoughts. “Malysh, what are you thinking?”
I raised my head so that our eyes met briefly before I redirected my gaze to the tattoo on his chest. At least now I was certain Camilla was not the woman he loved, but it made me even more curious about who this woman was. My mind grew malicious as I pondered on how this woman had the heart that would never be mine. “This woman,” I started, trailing the lines of the skull on his tattoo. “Do you still miss her?”
“Yes,” Andrei said in an undertone. “I miss her even more now that I have reminders of her all over.”
My chest felt like it was being tied together by the string as tears penetrated them. I didn’t like being lied to, but I would have preferred a lie to the heart-shattering truth he gave me. I tried to remove my hand from Andrei’s chest, but he caught it and placed his hand over it. I could feel the beating of his heart, fast, strong, and for another woman.
“Does it hurt you that I miss another woman?”
It does, and I don’t even know why, was what I wanted say, but I turned my face away from him and lied instead. “No, you and I, we are nothing more than enemies who fucked.”
“And enemies who’re gonna have a baby together,” he helped me complete. “Jesus, Adrienne, is that all you think of what we are doing?”
“Is there anything more?” I turned to look at him. “Do you have something more to offer me?” His heart was the only thing I wanted, but it was already taken by another woman. What more could he have to offer when he had already denied me what I really wanted?
“Everything.” His hands moved from my hair and rested on my stomach. “You have everything that is mine, malysh.”
By everything, was he referring to the child I was carrying? A child we hadn’t even met yet?
