by A. Marie
He took advantage of her shock as he moved into her house as if he owned it. Her eyes remained locked on him in disbelief. It felt like she was living in some kind of horror stimulation.
"I am here because I wanted to explain everything to you from my own mouth. However, it feels like you've already formed some distasteful opinion of me,” Vincent began, “I haven't always been around, but there is a reason behind that.”
Avelina sat down on her couch and awaited his words. She was ready to be handed a bunch of lies.
"I want to hear the whole story. I am starting from the beginning, with no lies or secrets. You have no idea how tired I am of being left in the dark.” "Okay," he agreed. "I first decided to leave home when you turned two. I had just turned sixteen, and I was introduced to some things back in the Favela's that I shouldn’t have been introduced to."
Avelina began to think back to where she was from, the Favelas. Life was hard there. It was so full of negativity that the police stopped caring. She used to wish that she lived on the better side of Brazil, where beauty took its form.
"The people I hung around had close ties to the Russian mafia. When those people swore their loyalty to me only if I helped them steal five-hundred-thousand dollars’ worth of weapons from the Russians, I could not resist. I wasn't thinking about my family and how that might jeopardize you all. I just always wanted to form my own organization. So, I did it. I also got away with it for a year, but then the Russians found me."
Letting out a shaky breath, he rubbed his hands together.
"I got a call from the man I took the weapons from. He held his phone up to papa as he killed him. I heard the sounds of his screams just before the line went dead. When I drove over to the house, papa was dead on the floor. I tried to help him, but nothing I did worked. It was only then that I realized I had to protect you, mama, and grandma because I knew the Russians would return. They were far from done; papa was just the beginning.”
Avelina thought back to the memory of that day.
"I remember you. I walked out of my room to see you in a corner with a mask over your face. Mama was pleading with you to leave me alone. You grabbed me and threw me in the back of a car. I then saw you speaking to grandma before she came up to me and hugged me dearly with tears in her eyes. After that day, I never saw you or mama ever again. Tell me what happened," Avelina demanded.
"The mask was for my own protection. The Russians have technology out of this world. I hadn't shown my face in public until Zolotov took over the Russian’s little organization," he seethed out angrily before continuing, "After I arrived at the house, I tried to help papa. He made me promise to look after you and mama. He said that I was now the protector, and I listened to him. Mama walked in at an unfortunate time. She believed I was the one who was responsible for papa's death. Then, you walked in-"
"What happened to mom?"
"I didn't kill her if that's what you're assuming. I would never hurt my family," he stated with clenched fists as if the very thought of harming his mother was angering him.
"Then, what happened?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Mama ran out before I could catch her. I've assumed that the Russians probably got to her," Vincent let out sadly.
Avelina inspected his face. From the scar above his eyebrow to the emotion in his eyes. She tried to detect even a bit of dishonesty.
He really didn't know.
"Continue, please," she whispered, her gaze falling to the ground.
"I shouldn't have been so cruel to you. I was angry, you know?" He asked with an incomprehensible expression on his face. "I did this to our family. I ruined everything."
Avelina’s sensitivity was off the charts. She almost wanted to break down at the heartbreak in his words. As much as she wanted to tell him that it was okay and that he could not have predicted what happened to their family, she could not.
"Luckily for me, I still had you and grandma. I swore on my life that I would do everything I could to make sure you both were okay. That meant staying away so the Russians wouldn't detect you. I should've known better than to trust that fucking son of a bitch!" He shouted angrily, leaving Avelina to flinch.
She looked at him in shock, confusion suddenly settling on her features.
"Who?"
"Doesn't matter. She's ancient history after doing what she did to our family."
Natasha.
Avelina quickly put the pieces together. There was more to the story that she didn't know.
If it weren’t for the genuine hurt in her brother’s eyes, she would’ve pressed on the subject more.
"What have you been doing all this time?" Avelina asked him, her brows pulling together in confusion.
"Aside from looking after you, I've been building my own army to take down Zolotov's.”
Avelina gleamed down at the blackbird tattoo he was sporting. It was the same tattoo that was on the man who stabbed Adrik. "Were you responsible for the man who stabbed Adrik?"
The very thought of Vincent hurting Adrik didn't fail to pain her. She felt guilty for the way she felt, but Avelina knew that she couldn't help it. It was a nagging feeling that she wished would go away, but it wouldn't.
"Yes. I'm looking for someo-"
"His sister?"
He nodded his head slowly as a sigh surpassed his lips. "Yeah, her. As I was saying, I am looking for her. Zolotov is the only person that she cares about," he stated.
Avelina's brows pulled together as she processed his words. "So, you planned to stab him and scare him into submission?"
"No. I planned to kill him," Vincent stated as if the words meant absolutely nothing.
To Avelina, those words meant everything. Of course, it hurt her that Adrik's sister had done something so gruesome. However, Adrik was only guilty of protecting his sister. He didn’t deserve to die for loving his family.
"What?"
"I know how you feel about him but trust me when I say that their whole family is shady. You may think he cares about you, but I swear he doesn't. All they do is use people," he said behind a clenched jaw.
She thought about his words and couldn't help but wonder what happened between him and Natasha. Was it possible that Natasha used Vincent just as Adrik used Avelina?
"I'll let them live with that on their conscious, but I don't want to live knowing the fact that my brother killed my-"
"Your, what?" He asked with a raised brow.
She watched him cross his arms over his chest while a disappointed expression settled on his features.
"Doesn't matter.”
As she glanced over at Vincent, she began to wonder much he knew about her and Adrik.
"I already know, Avelina," Vincent sighed, clarifying her doubts.
Avelina didn't know how to respond. So, she settled with silence.
"I know we don’t have the best relationship, but I promise I will work twice as hard to fix it. All I ask is that you leave Zolotov alone because he is not good for you. Do you understand me?"
Avelina detected the worry in his eyes. She couldn’t help but glance down at her phone one last time to see if Adrik had bothered to contact her.
"Fine."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Care for Returns
Avelina let out a loud exhale. She had been dreading this moment for the past week and a half. It was the day HomeCare would release Avelina from caring for Adrik.
A crestfallen look came across her features. She imagined a different outcome. Avelina thought that after the contract’s termination, she would build a relationship with Adrik. Sadly, that was no longer the case.
Glancing down at her phone, she saw it was a text from Zaria. Zaria informed her that Adrik was at the office and not at home. That meant Avelina could get all of the clothing she left at his house, along with dropping off the contract for his signature.
She threw on a white blouse that she had resting in the back of her closet. Avelina hated how quickly her mind raced over to Adrik
and how he once called her shirt a napkin. A small smile spread on her face at the memory of how they met. It felt like so long ago.
Slowly, her smile eased down to a frown.
Throwing on a pair of shoes, she grabbed the folder that withheld the contract before walking right out of her house. It was a busy day with people already beginning to walk amongst each other on the sidewalks.
Avelina immediately called out for a taxicab and awaited its presence. The yellow vehicle wasn't slow to perch itself right in front of her. She promptly got into the cab, where she told the man where to go.
Avelina's heart was beating entirely too fast. Just the thought of going back to Adrik's house didn't fail to strike fear within her. It didn't matter that Adrik wasn't going to be there; she was still nervous.
"Breathe," she whispered to herself.
Stupid butterflies were still fluttering around in her stomach, making it very hard to let go of her thoughts.
When she got a text on her phone from Vincent, she couldn't help but smile softly. The past few days with Vincent were getting better and better. It felt good to have a family finally. On the plus side, he was surprisingly a great company to have.
Vincent's text informed her that he would be stopping by the following day.
Avelina felt terrible for not telling him that she was going to Adrik's. It wasn't like she was going to see him or anything. She was only going to drop off her contract and to pick up her clothes. If she were to tell Vincent, he'd probably force one of his men to do it.
The truth was, she wanted to be the one to do it. She wanted to be the one to say goodbye to the place where she fell in love with Adrik. She finally felt ready to be that person she's always dreamed of being.
After quite a long drive, she was finally parked in front of Adrik's mansion. The guards were quickly alerted, but once they saw it was Avelina, they settled down.
She stepped out of the cab and began to walk up to the front door. The guard gave her a curt nod as she walked into the mansion.
Immediately, she wanted to burst out crying again. She was going to miss Adrik's house. Everywhere she looked managed to occupy her mind with memories, from the piano to the kitchen. She couldn’t escape him; he had taken a permanent living in the echoes of her mind.
Her shoes echoed through the home as she walked up the stairs.
The last time doing something always left a feeling to spread within a person. Though for Avelina, it wasn’t a feeling of accomplishment but rather longing. Suddenly, the first, third, and maybe even the thirteenth time—feel more special than anyone could ever realize.
Avelina walked into her old bedroom. The bed was freshly made. She remembered the last time she was in this room. Avelina was never the kind of girl who made her bed when she woke up in the mornings. It was typical for her to just get out of bed and go about her day.
When she saw the made bed, she knew exactly who had done it—Adrik. The very thought made her frown.
Avelina stepped further into her room to begin packing up all her clothing. She reached for her suitcase that she had left and began to fill it up with clothing.
As she packed, she started to sing songs in her mind to keep from thinking about him. Avelina knew that the moment she thought about how she was never going to see him again, that she ultimately will break down into tears once more.
She sniffled as she finally finished packing up her clothes. Avelina then rolled her suitcase out of her room and into Adrik's neat room.
She could remember the first time she had walked into his room. Johnathan was giving her a tour, and she was so in awe of how big the place was. It seemed like it was yesterday when that happened.
Avelina bit down on her lip as she looked at Adrik's bed. The bed was where they had their most intimate moments. Not just physical intimacy took place there, but also emotional intimacy.
She shook away the thoughts and placed the contract on his nightstand. Her hand rested on top of the paper that would end everything. It would be finalized. Did she want all of this to end?
A hand wandering up her hip brought her out of her thoughts. She quickly turned with a shocked expression on her face when she was met with those eyes of steel.
Her heart was hammering in her chest. She tried to move out of Adrik’s embrace but he trapped her in between him and the nightstand.
"Adrik," she whispered out.
"Avelina."
His eyes moved from hers and over to the contract she left. He reached over behind her and picked up the paper.
"Is this why you are here?"
"Yeah, uh, and my clothes," Avelina informed.
Adrik nodded his head but didn't move to let her out of his restraints. Deep down, she knew she genuinely didn't want him to let her go. She longed to stay in his arms as long as she could without being overwhelmed with guilt.
"Will you ever come back?"
Slowly, she shook her head. "No. I'm going back to Brazil. I just need the money from the contract to do everything I have planned."
"I see.’
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to escape her lips. Adrik’s hand came up to cradle her cheek affectionately. Avelina couldn't help but let her head rest against his palm.
"I will sign it," he spoke.
She only watched him as he grabbed a pen. He flipped a few pages of the paper before settling on the words that required him to sign. After signing, he placed the pen down and let out a sigh.
"I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Truthfully, I do not believe I ever will," Adrik said softly.
Though she understood the feeling, she didn't voice it. Avelina promised Vincent to stay away from him, but there she was. He already signed the paper, yet there she was still waiting for something—anything.
Adrik's arm snaked around her waist, leaving her to let out a gasp. Avelina pressed her hand on his chest, ready to push him away, but she couldn't. God, it was frustrating how she couldn’t just move him. It was like she was compelled underneath his curse never to push him away.
Her eyes were glued to her hand on his chest. Push him away, Avelina.
"Avelina," he said, bringing her back to reality.
There was a bleak look on his face. Avelina was sure that her facial expression matched his perfectly.
Her hand that was still planted on his chest had balled up into a fist. When she was preparing to move her hand away, he gripped her wrist so she couldn't pull away.
"Stay," he ordered.
"No, Adr—"
He leaned down and pressed his head into her neck, pushing her body closer to his. Her eyes shut momentarily as her body welcomed every sensation he was giving her.
"Stay.”
Avelina’s breathing was labored. Her mind was stuck in a dreamy haze. She didn't know what to do.
"I-I c—"
His lips wandered up from her neck to her jaw. He pulled away only slightly just to gleam into her eyes. When she moved to speak, he captured her lips in his.
The tension in her muscles managed to ease. Her heartbeat quickly slowed, and her stomach erupted in those same butterflies that would never go away. All of the shocks and tingles that spun around them didn't go unnoticed by either of them.
She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in even closer. Her body was calling out to him. His hand wandered to the button of her shirt, where he ripped it—leaving the buttons to bounce all over the floor.
"I hate when you wear napkins," he said.
She quickly pulled his head back down to her lips.
Avelina didn't try to stop him when he grabbed her thighs and began to lift her. She didn't even try to stop herself from wrapping her legs around his waist while never breaking the kiss.
He walked her over to the nearest wall, where he pressed her back up against it. Adrik ripped off the rest of her shirt, leaving her in only a bra. Her chest was moving up and down to match her heavy breathing.
Adrik
broke away from the kiss and began to move his suit jacket off his body. Her eyes settled on his muscular frame before latching onto his eyes.
She didn't know what compelled her when she dropped her legs from around his waist. Avelina slowly fell to her knees, her eyes still locked onto his. He didn't say anything—he only watched her.
Avelina placed her hand on the hem of his pants before unbuttoning his slacks. Her eyes flashed down to see what she was doing before going back to his gray orbs. She pushed it down his hips.
Adrik palmed her cheek before wandering his hand down to her chin. His finger dragged her bottom lip as he gleaned down at her.
"Open your mouth for me."
Avelina didn’t hesitate to spread her lips. Adrik pushed his thumb into her mouth as she swirled her tongue around it. Their eye-contact was so intense that it caused a chill to run down Avelina’s spine.
When he removed his thumb, his finger managed to rub her bottom lip genuinely.
She unbuttoned his pants leisurely. Her hands pushed down his pants before traveling up to the hem of his boxers. Avelina glanced up at him to see that he was watching her every move.
She pushed down his boxers to free him. Her eyes moved down to look at his long length before looking up to his eyes. Avelina had to lean slightly forward to grab his shaft as Adrik let out a loud inhale while she kissed the tip of his girth.
Avelina’s mind didn’t even bother to grasp what she was doing as she slid him into her mouth. She instantly felt him hit the back of her throat. Ecstasy crossed over his features, especially when her tongue slid up from the base of his length to his tip.
His hand fisted her long strands of hair as his head tossed back. She tried to keep up with his strength that kept pushing his shaft deeper into the back of her throat, but he wasn’t making it any easier. Avelina instantly gagged, but he didn’t mind. He enjoyed it.
Unwanted tears formed into the corners of her eyes as her hands gripped the back of his thighs to keep herself from losing balance.
“Fuck,” he groaned out.
She slightly pulled back, only for her face to be shoved right back down to the base of his member. Her moans only added to the pleasure that was encouraged by the taste of him. Pre-cum was kissing her tongue, and she loved every bit of it. Avelina’s always had an obsession with him. From his smell to his taste, she loved him.