The Pretty Psycho (St. Vasili’s Academy #2)

23. Adrian

23

ADRIAN

My father took it too far this time.

All was fair in love and war , was the sentence he constantly repeated to Dain and me, laughing every single time because for that bastard all resources were justifiable as long as he got to win in the end.

The moment Dimitri and I walked inside the office where Jax, Dante, and Arseniy waited, there was a bloody box on top of the table. I just knew—he had kidnapped someone from the team. What I didn't know was that he didn't just take one person, he took an entire team.

The Dragomirovs were a family that readily accepted our invite when The Brotherhood was just being created, and to see the head of the youngest member of their family with his open, terrified eyes staring at me from the inside of that box was a scene I’d never wanted to see. Igor Dragomirov was barely eighteen, but already so eager to join the ranks and fight for the new world order, and to see his head… No, my father took it too fucking far.

Where was the honor? Where were the fucking rules?

We never attacked children. We never attacked those that couldn't defend themselves from us, and as I drove down the road toward town, where I knew his goons would be waiting for me, I only had one thought on my mind—revenge.

The note he specifically left for me explained that he had the entire family in his clutches, keeping them in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town, right next to the old train station that wasn't used anymore.

And he wanted me alone.

I knew better than anyone in that room what that meant, and I didn't want anyone else to pay for my mess.

I was hoping my father would be there as well. This was far too big for him to keep sitting at home, drinking his fucking brandy while his men did his dirty work.

But no matter how much I hoped he would be there, a part of me already knew he was still the coward I knew him to be, and he wouldn't be coming until the dust settled down, protecting his ass while people died for him.

Jax, Dante, Arseniy, and Dimitri were too busy discussing the head of a dead kid to notice me slipping away from the office. I was pretty sure they were already after me, but I just hoped that by the time I arrived at that warehouse it would be too late for them to stop me.

I stepped on the gas as I got on the main road, winding through the town and leading toward my target. The car rumbled underneath me as I pushed it to its max. One thing I loved about this place was the fact that the police were rarely on patrol. It was a small town, with a low crime rate, so there was no real need for them to be hovering around.

What would usually take me more than half an hour took only twenty minutes, and before I knew it I was driving down the old road, leading toward the abandoned warehouses. I slowed down, pulling the gun I threw on the passenger seat onto my lap, and observed the area.

Gloomy clouds hovered over Wolfhole, the dark skies of early December taunting us with its color, announcing the winter season with every passing day. This abandoned area was once a successful industrial zone, housing several different companies and holding thousands of jobs. Now it was just a remnant of what this town used to be, before the capitalism fucked it over and the inflation destroyed all the companies that had their centers here.

Most of the people from the town were forced to relocate somewhere else in order to find a job and I had a feeling that in a couple of years this would be a ghost town, housing only a couple of families, while in the past it was one of the most sought-after places for people to raise their kids.

I could see the rooftop of the warehouse I was supposed to head to in the distance, and I had no doubt my father's operatives covered the building, making sure I was truly alone. I parked my car on the side of the road and slowly exited, taking with me the guns I'd managed to snatch, along with the knife pushed into my boot, and started walking.

The air held an eerie note in it, almost as if the universe knew what was about to happen.

I wasn't regretting coming here alone, but I did regret not finding Vega first. I knew, however, that one look at her would stop me from doing this, because there was no way I'd be able to walk into this trap if I allowed myself to be ensnared in those eyes that were my undoing. I was pissed at her, we were probably broken up, but I knew she cared for me in her own way, and she probably wouldn't want me dead.

What I was walking into was probably the end for me, but I didn't mind. Jax, Dante, Arseniy, and Ethan would be able to finish the job I wasn't able to, and I would do everything in my power to damage as many of these motherfuckers as possible and to get the Dragomirov family out of my father's clutches.

Crows cawed somewhere in the distance as my boots ate up the distance between my car and the first warehouse with a peeling facade and sign I could no longer read. I always wondered why they never tried to revive this area, but I had a feeling that it primarily had something to do with the Academy.

It was in our best interest to keep a low profile here, and if all these companies had their headquarters here that would mean a lot of attention on this town, which wouldn't bode well for the Academy, nor for any of our syndicates.

The Academy wasn't just the place where other families could send their kids to hone their skills and become better killers. No, I wished it were that simple.

That place was like the central station for all deals, meetings, parties, weddings, anything that needed to happen on neutral ground. There was an agreement between all the families that the Academy should not be touched, no matter what. It was the one place where all of us could coexist and trying to harm anyone from any family was considered the highest of offenses.

This was why my father's actions pissed me off even more.

He was the one that came up with these rules. He was the one who made sure that none of the students would ever be harmed and that none of the families would ever try to attack one another, only to turn around and kill a bunch of people because he didn't get everything he wanted.

He wanted me back, I knew that, but the only way I would go back to him would be in a body bag. He would need to kill me before I ever agreed to work for him again.

The leaves flew with the wind, dancing around me as I stopped behind the first warehouse, scanning my surroundings. I was out in the open and I'd bet they were expecting me, but that didn't mean I had to just walk in and serve myself up on a silver platter. If any of his men were lurking around, I would know. After all, we went through the same training.

We used to serve the same master, the same fucked-up mission, and while they definitely knew the way I operated, I also knew their tactics.

The back of my back tingled, my senses alerting me that someone was definitely watching me, but before I could turn around, the cold barrel of a gun pressed to my skin, freezing me to the spot.

"Well, this is definitely surprising." I chuckled, lifting my arms up in the air. "Already?"

But the person behind me kept quiet, pushing me against the wall of the warehouse.

"Do you have a voice or did the cat get your tongue?" I asked, buying my time. Judging by the slight shadow on the ground, whoever it was, they were taller than me, which meant that it was possible I couldn't beat them by size alone. I was about to turn around, when a familiar voice spoke.

"I knew you were crazy, but this crazy?" He laughed, lowering down the gun and turning me around. "I didn't know you were this crazy, brother."

Ethan's blue eyes shone with mischief as his hands landed on my shoulders.

"Ethan?" I laughed, feeling the weight being lifted from my chest. "Jesus, fuck, man. I almost kicked you in the balls."

"You could've tried," he mocked, wrapping me in his bear hug. "It's been too fucking long, Adrian."

It definitely was. The last time I saw Ethan we were saying goodbye on a tarmac in Paris, almost one year ago. He was busy, or at least that's what he said, but I knew there was more to the story than he wanted to share.

"How?" I stepped back, looking at him. "How the fuck are you here?"

"Jax and Dante called me." He grinned. "They already knew I was in town, and judging by your suicidal tendencies, it's a good thing they did. What the fuck are you thinking, man?"

"I'm thinking that I need to save that family. I'm thinking that the Dragomirovs don't deserve to die just because they got tangled in our shit."

"And you think that sacrificing yourself would redeem you?" He squinted, obviously not agreeing with my choices. "Last time we spoke you did not sound like a stupid-ass motherfucker."

"Hey!" I grumbled. "We both know that we sometimes need to sacrifice ourselves for other people."

"Yeah." He pushed his gun into its holster and crossed his arms over his chest. "When it's necessary, fuckface. This here," he pointed at the warehouses, "this isn't necessary, especially since the Dragomirovs aren't even here."

I paled, or at least I could feel myself paling. "What do you mean?"

"I checked the warehouse where they were allegedly being held and guess what—your daddy dearest filled it with his special boys and girls, but the hostages are not there. They're in a different location, and Jax and Dante are already on it."

"So—"

"So you got played," he said, deadly serious. "You almost killed yourself for nothing. Hell, man, if you want to die all you gotta do is tell me. I'll gladly push you off the cliff and into Lake Valenheim, if that's what you truly want."

"I wasn't thinking."

"Yeah." He grimaced. "You definitely weren't. Is it your girl?"

"How the fuck do you know about her?" I asked. "We haven't talked about her."

"Come on, Adrian." He laughed. "You already know that those two," probably meaning Jax and Dante, "gossip more than high school girls. Dante told me about Vega the moment she came into The Pit and how you slammed her down, almost kicking his ass because he allowed her to continue fighting."

"He shouldn't have done that," I grumbled. "You should have also told me that you knew."

"I mean, had I told you then you wouldn't have that look on your face."

"What look?"

"That one." The fucker laughed. "The one that says you hate me even thinking about her, which also tells me that you're off the deep end, bro." Yeah, he had no idea how deep I was.

Sometimes I had a feeling that even I didn't know how deep I was with this girl. So fucking deep, obviously, that one little fight with her fucked with my mind.

"I should've checked all the facts before rushing out like a madman."

"Yeah." He nodded. "You should have. But that's why you have me, to help out."

"Yeah… What the fuck is that?" I murmured, seeing the fast-approaching car, heading straight at us.

The black Audi R8 with tinted windows stopped not too far from us, and before Ethan could even turn around, the passenger side door opened and she practically jumped out, pointing her gun at us.

My eyes widened at the fury in Vega's eyes, and I didn't miss the fact that she still only used her left hand instead of the right. I opened my mouth to stop her, to say something, just as Ethan turned, seeing her with her hair tied into a high ponytail and those angry eyes directed at him.

The gunshot cut through the otherwise peaceful air, the bullet slamming above my head, or, well, above Ethan's head, when my friend pulled out a gun as well, aiming it straight at her.

"Get the fuck away from him!" she spat out, coming closer and closer to us, while Ethan aimed at her. "Now!"

"Who the hell is this lunatic?" he asked, crouching slightly while I laughed, something akin to satisfaction blooming in my chest. I walked in front of Ethan who still kept his gun held up high.

"Adrian!" she hissed. "What's happening?" I looked at her over my shoulder, laughing at the confusion appearing on Ethan's face.

"Are you determined to kill me today, or is it something else?"

"Cut the crap!" she bit out, lowering her gun. "Who is he?"

"No, no, no, psycho," Ethan said, pulling me back toward him. "Who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Vega Konstantinova." She smirked, looking him straight in the eye. "And if you don't let go of him, I'm going to carve your eyes out. Slowly, painfully, while still keeping you alive."

"That," I couldn't help myself but laugh, "is my girl, Ethan."

"Holy fucking shit," he mumbled, dropping his gun. "She's crazy."

"She is." I nodded, looking straight at her. "But she's mine."

She was still glaring at him, contemplating her next steps, when I crossed the distance between us, coming straight toward her.

"What are you doing here, Bambi?"

"I came for you."

"Why?" I knew why. Even a blind person would know why, but I needed to hear her say it. She came for me, maybe because she thought I would kill myself with this little stunt and she felt somewhat responsible or maybe because she really cared for me, but she came.

"Don't make me say it," she murmured. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Na-uh." I smiled. "That's not good enough. Why are you here? Why did you just try to kill Ethan?"

"That's Ethan?" she asked, looking at the man behind me who kept mumbling something incoherent, probably calling her a psychopath and other colorful names. "Well, fuck me."

"That's not going to happen," I growled, taking another step toward her. "Eyes on me, Bambi. Why. Are. You. Here?"

"I'm here for you, goddamn you!" she belted out. "I came for you."

"But why?"

"Fucking hell," she murmured just as the driver's side door opened, revealing a grinning Yolanda. "Are you really going to make me say it?"

"Oh, yeah," I nodded. "Out loud."

Her hands landed on her hips, her shoulders hunched while she looked first at the sky, then at me, then at Yolanda, and finally back at me again. Her lips parted and closed, making me grin all over again.

"Vega—"

"Because I love you," she whispered, loud enough only for me to hear. "Because I'm jealous, and I don't know how to deal with any of this. I'm terrified you will look at me one day and decide to leave me, and I can't have you leaving me because I will?—"

She didn't see it, didn't see me closing that short distance between us while she rambled. I was in front of her within seconds, looking down at the girl who had my whole heart, pressing my lips to hers and effectively shutting her up.

"Say that again," I rasped as I pulled back, looking into her eyes. "Let me hear it again."

"I love you," she mumbled against my lips, her watery smile feeling like a sledgehammer to my heart. "I love you, I love you, I?—"

Fuck, I needed to kiss her again. I needed to do more than just kiss her, but now wasn't the time or place.

I pressed my lips to hers, punishing her, biting, owning, claiming. "I'm so fucking angry at you," I said between kisses. "So fucking angry."

"I know," she whispered, pressing her lips to mine in a chaste kiss. "But please don't leave me again," she murmured, her vulnerability showing through her eyes. "I can't stand it. I know we need to talk about my issues, but please, don't leave."

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her. “But the fault does not lie only with you, baby.” I pressed my lips to her temple. “I need to apologize as well. I-I…” I stammered. “I was an overbearing asshole. I think that deep down I knew it, I knew what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop myself.”

“It’s okay.”

“No.” I smiled sadly. “It really isn’t. I promised I would protect you. I promised I would cherish you, and I did the completely opposite thing. I almost did the same thing as my brother without realizing it, and I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

I looked at her, seeing the softness in those eyes and finally—an acceptance.

“We have a lot to work on, don’t we?”

“We sure do.”

I wanted her to get a taste of her own medicine, but somewhere between the Academy and here, I realized we both reacted badly. Well, we both overreacted. "Are you going to introduce me properly to your friend, or will he keep glaring at me?"

"Well." I looked over my shoulder at Ethan who seemed more confused than ever. "You did try to kill him just now."

Her soft punch to my chest was the last thing I heard just as an entire fleet of cars started heading down the driveaway and straight at us.

"Who's that?"

"That." Vega smirked, looking at them as they came closer. "Is The Brotherhood, and they're here to kick some serious ass. I might have sent out a code red when I figured you were walking into a trap."

I looked down at her, then at Yolanda, who simply shrugged as if to tell me, it's your girl, dude , and then at all the vehicles approaching us.

"How many people did you alert?" She winced then, sheepishly looking up at me.

"Maybe too many?"