Chapter 23

Alexei

I couldn’t believe it. She was here with me. Unharmed. But how? I thought when she walked away that would be the last time, I’d ever see her. When Adrian came to me and told me she’d fainted was so sure he’d done something to her. Even though I hated him, I believed him when he said he didn’t hurt her.

“You’re exhausted, baby girl. You can’t be doing this in your condition. Not while you’re carrying Vadim’s child. Promise me you’ll take care of yourself better.”

“I’m sorry, but I just want to go home. With you. Back to Vadim.”

“I know.” I pecked her lips. “Vadim is working on rescuing us. I’m sure of it.”

“What if he doesn’t?”

I shook my head and whispered. “Don’t think like that. We’re getting out of here. All of us.”

I knew that Vadim wouldn’t give up looking for us. I’m sure of it. And right about now, I’m sure he’s probably figured out Konstantin isn’t me. He wouldn’t be fooled by his act. No matter how hard my twin tried, Vadim would know it’s not me.

“You’re hurt.” Jules murmured, tracing the bruises on my cheek.

“I’m okay, baby girl. It’s just a scratch.” I assured her.

The truth is that I’m in so much pain. Not only did Yuri force me to do unspeakable acts, but he made me fight in his underground ring to make himself some money off of me. As long as I keep fighting and winning, he said he’ll keep me alive. If I can hold on long enough, I can get us out. I just have to plan carefully. Keep my mouth shut and play the part of his lapdog. Of course, I’m not telling Jules that.

“Regina…” Jules whispered in my ear. “Was her daughter named Daniella?”

“Where did you hear that name, baby? I swear if Adrian…”

“No, at dinner I heard a story. Luciano and Daniella were together. She was pregnant with his child, but something happened. The night Luciano was killed…”

She didn’t get to finish because our moment was interrupted by Adrian. “I hate to break this little reunion, but Yuri is on his way back. Wrap it up so I can take you back to your cell.”

“I love you, baby girl. Remember that.”

I crushed my lips against hers and held onto her tight. I didn’t want to let her go. I never wanted to be away from her again. But… I had to. In order to survive and make sure Jules and Vadim’s child lived, I had to do everything Yuri tells me to do.

“I love you too, Alexei. We both do.”

I forced myself to hold the tears back and walk away. Adrian led me to the cells, but he didn’t stop there. He kept leading me away. I came to a halt and narrowed my eyes. “What the hell? You missed my cell.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I can’t have you spoiling my plan. I need you to…”

“What the fuck are you doing? I thought you were on Yuri’s side.”

“I’m not on anyone’s side.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m on my own fucking side. I know you hate me, but I need you to trust me for once.”

“You betrayed Vadim. He’s going to be looking for you if he isn’t already.”

“I know, but I need you to trust me to keep Jules safe.”

“Like when you drugged her?”

“Everything I’ve done has a reason behind it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to destroy Vadim, but first I need to take the bigger problem out of the equation.”

“Bigger problem?”

“All you need to know is Jules will be safe as long as she’s with me.”

“Why should I believe anything you say? This is all your fault. Jules could have died in that explosion. The baby could’ve…”

“It wasn’t supposed to be you and her in there.”

“You thought it was him in there, didn’t you? You thought…”

“It was supposed to be Vadim’s father. Yuri wants blood for what he did.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Luciano. Daniella…he wants blood for their murder.”

“His father wouldn’t do that.”

“What if I said I had proof? Would you believe me then? Just trust me and I swear on my life I’ll show you what kind of man he really is. Just give me tonight and I’ll prove to you what he did.”

“Ok, I’ll trust you just for tonight. Then, we can go back to hating each other.”

“Hey, what are you doing? He’s supposed to be locked up in his cell.” One of Yuri’s men growled.

Adrian grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall. “Are you disrespecting me?! You want to end up locked up just like him?”

“N-no, sir!” He exclaimed. “I wasn’t…”

“You weren’t going to what?”

“I’m sorry, my King.”

King?

“Much better, now scram.” Adrian hissed.

Adrian wasn’t lying when he said he was going to be the new king. What was he planning? He turned back to me with a smirk. Oh no, this can’t be good. I’ve seen the same one on Vadim before. Right before he plotted someone’s death.

“Come on, Yuri will want to see you before your big fight.” Adrian muttered.

He led me to an empty room and closed the door. I widened my eyes when he pushed me down on the bed and pulled out a needle. If he drugs me, I’ll lose. I could die.

“Relax, this is just to get your blood pumping. Not at all like the shit you’ve had before.” Adrian assured me, holding it out to me.

I blinked.
Was he… giving me a choice?

“You want me to show you that you can trust me tonight. This is me doing just that. I’m giving you a choice. Either fight with or without it.”

“You’re giving me a choice?” I spluttered.

“If you take it, I can assure you you’ll win tonight. I know you think I’m the bad guy, but I’m not. Well, not really. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fucking bastard, but I need you nice and alert when this all goes down tonight. You get me, brother.”

“I’m not Vadim, don’t fucking call me that.”

“Maybe not, but I’m the closest thing to a brother you have right now. So, what’ll it be?”

I took the needle and stuck it into my neck. It didn’t take long for the drugs to kick in. The needle fell from my hand and hit the bed. I pressed one hand to my chest as my heartbeat picked up. And fuck me, if I didn’t wish I’d had this when I was alone with Jules.

Adrian leaned in and whispered. “Do you trust me?”

“Not really, but I feel like I’m gonna have to in order to make it out alive tonight.” I replied truthfully.

“Good answer. I need you to kiss me. Right here, right now. Trust me.”

“What are you…” I didn’t get to finish because Adrian’s lips crushed against mine and pinned me to the bed. I widened my eyes as he took the chance to slide his tongue inside and deepen the kiss. This was wrong. He wasn’t Vadim or Jules. And I was getting hard. I think it must be the adrenaline shot I injected myself with. It had to be. This man, I hated him. Loathed. Just as the guilt hit me, he pulled away and smiled.

“Hmm, you’re hard. Is this all for me?” Adrian mused.

“Yes, Master.” I played along.

The door swung open, revealing Yuri with a wide smile. “I see I’ve picked the wrong one for you, son.”

That’s when my heart stopped at Adrian’s next words.

“Father, it seems you’ve not given me nearly enough. I want them both. You want me to be King? Well, I need a good and loyal Queen and an obedient little soldier. Are you going to give your son what he desires?”

“Of course, I will. I’d give you anything you want.”

“Then, Alexei stays in my room from now on. No more cell. Oh, one more thing, he and Jules answers to me… only me. After all, I’m the new King, yes?”

“Of course.”

“Now, if you will just leave, that would be great. I’m feeling frisky and need to break in my new pet.”

When Yuri left without question, I whispered. “What the hell was that? I thought you said I had to keep fighting for him.”

“You will fight tonight. You see, there are far too many men who are loyal to Yuri. We need to take the trash out before I make my first move. It’s true, I betrayed Vadim and still want to make him suffer, but first, I have to take out Yuri and his loyal men.”

“You’re going to kill Yuri. That’s your plan, yes?”

“Maybe you aren’t just a pretty face. Perhaps, I can use your help in taking down Yuri.”

I’ll help him. Only to take out Yuri. But after, I’ll take great pleasure in making sure I take the knife and plunge it deep into his cold, dead heart. Then, I’ll take my little gem and get us the hell out of here. I’ll get us home. To him. Vadim. Maybe there is hope after all.

“I’ll help you, but I need something in return from you. I want tonight with Jules after we fight. I want to be able to spend the night with my wife.”

He shook my hand. “Deal.”

Why do I feel like this isn’t going to be as easy as it seems?