Vicious Protector by Maggie Cole

17

Adrian

Before Natalia's death,I never knew anxiety. You could say I was fearless. Now, all I worry about is something happening to Skylar. We've only been together for a month, but every night, she's in my bed. I'm obsessed with her. I can't be away from her. No matter what, I need to keep her safe.

Her lax attitude toward her safety disturbs me. I watch her walk out of the door with my brother, cursing myself for letting my emotions get the best of me. There are better ways to handle things than yelling at her, and I detest myself for not controlling my reactions.

I return to my penthouse. I walk around, spinning out more and more. I try to work out, but nothing works. Natalia's dead body, my family's pain, and my printsessa's beautiful face all mix with an image of Zamir.

He's still alive. It's been over fifteen years. And that bastard is still alive.

As long as he's breathing, he's a risk to Skylar's safety.

I don't know how much time passes, but the sunlight of afternoon turns into darkness. I find myself staring out into the Chicago skyline. The buildings are all lit up. I can't see the lake anymore. It's too dark. I turn on the fireplace on my balcony and step outside. My phone rings.

"Obrecht."

"You need to come to Dasha's."

My stomach twists. "Why?"

"Come now."

The uneasiness I feel whenever I think about Dasha ignites. I told her I would meet with her. But then, after talking to Obrecht, he convinced me to let him speak with her instead. So I did.

"All right. I'm on my way."

I get in my SUV and drive over to the address Obrecht sends me. My gut drops.

She lives next to the building Skylar works at?

When I step into Dasha's apartment, the sight of her alone makes my skin crawl.

She looks like she's ready to hit the town. She's in a form-fitting red dress. Her makeup looks flawless like always, and her long hair has perfect curls. Her fake eyelashes and nails serve as a reminder that nothing is ever completely true with Dasha.

She steps up and comes towards me. "Adrian. It's good to see you." She embraces me and kisses my cheek, but I retreat.

"Don't," I warn her. My mind is still off, and I don't trust what I might say. I turn to Obrecht. "What's going on?"

Obrecht scowls. "Seems your ex-wife has made a deal with the Poles."

The pit in my stomach grows. I snap, "What kind of deal?"

"The kind you make with a Zielinski," Obrecht seethes.

I spin on Dasha. "Are you insane?"

Dasha's eyes fill with regret and fear. But she's a sly woman. She knows how to manipulate and act. Toward the end of our marriage, I finally wised up. I learned to take anything she says with a grain of salt. Her face falls. "I didn't know, Adrian. I swear I didn't know until it was too late."

I take two large strides and put my face in front of hers. "Dasha. What did you do?"

"It was a mistake. I swear it was a mistake, Adrian. I just needed some money and...well, I did what I had to do," she insists with tears in her eyes.

"What exactly would that be, Dasha? You don't just accidentally get into bed with the Polish mob," I growl.

Dasha's eyes flash with guilt, and I feel sick.

She slept with one of those bastards.

She puts her hand on my arm, and I shrug it off. Her voice would make any man feel sorry for her, but I know better. "I took a trip. I was in Italy. I met Bruno's son. I didn't know it was him. I swear I didn't know!"

Fierce rage hits me. I take every ounce of anger and put it in the delivery of my words. "How would you not know, Dasha? You know Zielinskis are mafia."

"Well, I don't exactly hang out with mob people, Adrian."

"Really? It seems to me you do."

"Zielinski is a common name. I didn't put two and two together," she snaps.

"How fucking irresponsible can you be?" I accuse.

"Oh, and you're perfect, right, Adrian?"

Full of disgust, I seethe, "Who did you sleep with? Which one?"

She stays silent, glaring at me.

"Jesus. Don't tell me you slept with Bruno. He's our parents' age."

She wrinkles her nose. In an insulted voice, she says, "Of course not."

"Then, who?"

"I met Kacper, and we hit it off."

I spin toward Obrecht. "Am I seriously listening to this right now?"

He grunts. "Your ex-wife, not mine."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"Excuse me, I'm in the room," Dasha complains.

I point at her. "You have two seconds to tell me what you've done, Dasha."

Her lips tremble. It only makes me angrier. My years of Dasha playing me are over, but the problem is I never know if her actions are real or fake. "I-I met Kacper in Italy."

"Bruno's son?"

"Y-yes. We..." She swallows hard. "We got along really well."

"You mean you fucked him?" I seethe, pissed she'd do something so stupid.

She stands straighter and sticks her chin out. "We had a relationship, yes."

I turned to Obrecht. "Can you tell me the important parts of what she did?"

Obrecht's jaw clenches. His scowl intensifies. "She ran drugs for the Zielinskis."

I spin back to Dasha. "What in God's name were you thinking?"

"I needed money. Kacper said I was only transporting items for him since he didn't have time. I didn't know there were drugs inside the suitcases. And now, if I don't keep doing it, they're going to kill me." Her tears fall down her cheeks.

For years, Dasha's known how to crawl under my skin. I fought to keep her for so many years. Now I look at her and wonder why I ever tried to save our marriage. How could I have ever loved this woman? She knows everything about Natalia's death. There's no way I buy she didn't know what she was getting involved in. "You're on your own, Dasha. This doesn't have anything to do with me. If you don't remember, we're divorced. You didn't want any part of me. Whatever trouble you're in, I really don't care."

She gapes at me. "Adrian, how can you—"

"God, I can't believe you would do something this stupid."

"I didn't know," she protests again.

"Doesn't matter. I don't owe you anything. Stay away from me." I motion to Obrecht. "Are you ready to go?"

He shakes his head. "She didn't tell you why she's in Chicago."

More dread fills me. Blood pounds in my ears. I resist the urge to look at Dasha.

Obrecht glares over my shoulder at Dasha then pins his steely gaze on mine. "Bruno wants her to transport heroin over the border into Canada. Since she's still an Ivanov, he wants her to do it with our trucks."

A chill runs down my spine. Over the years, we've invested in a lot of companies with Maksim and his brothers. One of our investments we made before Dasha and I got married is a trucking company. She fought hard to get it in our divorce but finally agreed to let it go and take cash. While we are silent investors on most of our investments, Obrecht and I oversee this company's management. Heat floods my cheeks. I bark at Dasha, "How would he even know we own it? It's not a publicly traded company. It has layers of organizations around it."

She turns to the window. Her hands shake.

I lunge in front of her. "You told him?"

She doesn't deny or admit it.

In a low voice, I growl, "How could you?" I don't remember ever feeling so betrayed.

She puts her hands on my chest. "Adrian, I'm sorry. I—"

I hold her wrists. "Do not touch me ever again." I release her and spin to Obrecht. "And she is not an Ivanov anymore. This is not our problem."

"She didn't change her last name."

More surprise shocks me. "You said you couldn't wait to no longer be an Ivanov. You were embarrassed to hold my name after what I became. Why are you still using it?"

Tears rapidly fall down her cheeks. "I still love you, Adrian. I always have. We made a mistake. I see that now. I was wrong not to embrace who you became. I'm sorry. Please. I want to make things right. I'm the mother—"

"Stop using our dead son as leverage," I yell at her, losing any control I have. I ball my hand into a fist, feeling the outline of his body in my palm. "You don't get to do that."

She puts her hand over her mouth and cries harder.

I wonder if I'm the most heartless man on earth. There's no pity left for Dasha. I always feel guilty our son died and it was my fault. But I can't do anything about my actions and the role I played in her miscarriage. Now, Dasha's time is up. I will no longer allow her to use him as a chess piece in our relationship.

Her face crumples. "They will kill me, Adrian. Do you understand? I will be dead?"

"That's your fault, Dasha. You aren't a stupid woman. I don't believe you didn't know who you were fucking. You're too smart not to ask what you would be transporting. They only have information about our company because you told them."

"I didn't tell them intentionally. It just came out. Honestly, Adrian, I wouldn't do that to you. No matter what's happened to us, I still love you. I'm not lying," she claims while wiping her face.

Obrecht crosses his arms. "They're expecting her to use our trucks."

"Well, tough shit, they aren't," I snap.

"You know it's not that easy, Adrian. We're going to have to meet with Zielinski."

"There's no way in hell our trucks are delivering heroin anywhere."

"No, but we're going to have to pay Zielinski something. He's not going to let this go." Obrecht shoots Dasha daggers.

I spin back to Dasha and hold her chin so she hears my message loud and clear.

She holds her breath and gives me big doe eyes. I used to fall for them but not this time.

In anger, I bark, "It's a good thing I don't love you anymore. It makes this a lot easier. We aren't meeting any Zielinskis. You aren't using our trucks. Whatever happens to you, Dasha, I don't care. This is beyond anything I ever thought you would do."

She throws her arms around me and buries her face in the curve of my neck. "Adrian, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I swear. Please believe me. I would never intentionally hurt you or your family." She picks her head up. "I know I've made mistakes, but do you really want me dead?"

My conscience takes over. I soften. "No. I don't want you to die, but I don't understand how you could do this."

More tears fall, and something in Dasha's eyes makes me cave more. "I got reckless. There was so much pain about...everything we went through. You know what Natalia meant to me. She was the only sister I ever knew. I-I could barely cope when it happened. And I was pregnant—"

"Stop using—"

"I'm not! You want honesty. I'm giving it to you. I didn't know how to deal with any of it. You didn't, either. We were young, and it was tragic. And then our son died."

I grind my molars, trying to keep my emotions from escaping.

Her voice cracks. "There was so much grief. Neither of us knew how to handle it. When we finally split, I-I just didn't want to feel anymore. I wanted to be someone else. And you did that, didn't you? You transformed and did what you had to, but I didn't know what to do with my pain. When I got to Europe, all the years of trying to cope hit me. And I was alone. I didn't have you to call. Everything you used to do to give me a brief moment of relief from it all, I couldn't find again. No one, and nothing, could give it to me. And the more I tried to find it, the worse things got."

My heart cracks all over. I wish it didn't, but it becomes a shattered piece of glass. Against my desire to not allow Dasha to get to me, she has. I don't know if she's playing me, but it's the most sincere I've seen her since before Natalia died. As much as I don't want to care about her, I still do. I don't want to get back with her, but no matter how much I wish I could erase our past, I can't. And I had a role in her demise. I know I'm not innocent. If I were the husband she had needed, she wouldn't have ever gone to Europe.

Her face twists. She asks again, "Do you really want me dead?"

I reassure her again, "No. Of course I don't."

She falls apart again in my neck, and I put my arms around her to comfort her. "Please, Adrian. I swear I didn't know. I would never hurt you or your family intentionally."

I blink hard, staring out the window at the building next door. Suspicion creeps back up. I release Dasha. "Why do you live next to Skylar's office?"

Her eyes widen. She shakes her head. "I didn't know. I swear. If I hadn't seen her tonight—"

"You saw her?" I growl.

She holds her hands out. "With Obrecht. If I hadn't planned on meeting him, I wouldn't have known."

I study her, trying to decide if she's telling me the truth or lying. I can't be sure, but my gut tells me she's not fibbing. Regardless, I look at her and say, "If you go near her, I will make sure the Zielinskis aren't your only problem."

Hurt crosses her face. "I won't. I promise."

I lower my voice. "Dasha, what did you think was going to happen? Did you believe we would give you our trucks to transport drugs?"

"No. I thought you would help me."

"How?"

She looks out the window and bites her lip. I wait, knowing she has some idea in her head, and I want to know what it is. She finally locks eyes with me. "I-I thought you could kill him."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Dasha," I mutter. There's already been enough pain today, but I dig the spear deeper. "You hated me for who I became. Now you're okay with it?"

"I was wrong, Adrian. I'm not sure how to get you to see how much I regret everything I did to you," she cries out.

"You're asking us to put a target on our backs," Obrecht points out. "Oh, wait, you already put one on it."

She glares at him. "There's no other way to get me out of this. They aren't any better than the Petrovs."

"You should have thought about that before you slept with one and transported their drugs."

"I already explained this!"

"Whatever."

Dasha turns back to me and grasps my cheeks. "Please, Adrian. Help me."

My stomach twists. "Fine. I need time to figure this out. But you stay away from Skylar. If you go near her, I'll hand you over to Zielinski myself."

"I already promised I'll leave her alone."

"Good. There's one more thing."

"What?"

"You and I are over. We are never getting back together. I don't love you anymore, and there isn't anything you can do to change it."

Betrayal and surprise fill her expression. Either Dasha is even better at acting than I thought, or she finally understands I don't want her anymore. Part of me feels bad, but I remind myself Dasha isn't someone who easily quits. I need to make it crystal clear with her she can't manipulate me like she used to.

"Tell me you understand."

She wipes her face. "Okay."

I go toward the door.

She grabs my arm. "Adrian."

"What?"

"Thank you. And I'm sorry...about everything."

I nod, fighting emotions lodged in my chest. I open the door and leave.

Obrecht follows but says nothing until we are alone in my car. "That was intense. You all right?"

I avoid his gaze. "Dasha's done a lot of things, but I never expected something like this."

"Yeah. How could she not have known?"

I scrub my face. "I don't know."

"But you believe her?"

I pin my eyes on his. "Do you?"

"You were married to her, not me."

I scoff. "Does it even matter if she knew? I can't throw her to the wolves and let her die."

"Speak for yourself."

"Obrecht!"

He groans. "Fine. Rafi will be at the Cat's Meow. Let's pay him a visit and see what he knows."

I pull out my phone and call Bogden.

"Adrian," he answers.

"I need you to go to Skylar's work. I'll send you the address. You wait for her and take her to my place. In the morning, take her to work. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Got it."

I toss my phone in the cupholder. I hate the Cat's Meow, but if anyone can get us info, it's Rafi. "How much cash do you have on you?"

Obrecht pulls out his billfold. "Few thousand. You?"

"Same. We'll stop at my house and pull more from my safe."

"I told you she'd come back someday and try to destroy you again."

I turn on the engine and reverse out of the space. "Really? You're going to rub this in my face?"

"No, brother. I'm going to remind you Dasha is a snake."

"I already know that."

"Do you?"

"What does that mean?" I snap.

"She put on a good show, complete with a new plate of tears. She divorced you, but now she wants you. So convenient."

I inhale the air slowly. "Yeah, well, I don't want her."

"God, I hope you don't change your mind. She's destroyed you enough."

"I'm not innocent in the demise of our marriage, you know."

Obrecht points at me. "That, right there, is what's going to get you in trouble. Dasha filed for divorce. She strung you along for years. Don't forget it."

"I won't. I meant what I said. I don't love her anymore."

"Good. I'd hate to see you mess things up with Skylar. This is a typical Dasha move. Swoop in the moment you have someone new in your life. Don't let her mess with your head again."

"I'm not."

"Good, but be careful. History tends to repeat itself," Obrecht warns.

History can't repeat itself. Dasha may have screwed up several of my past relationships, but I wasn't dating any woman who was anything like Skylar. The only person who can destroy my relationship is me.

I need to keep Skylar safe.

She can never find out about the monster who lives inside me.

However we decide to get Dasha out of this situation and off the Zielinski's radar, it needs to stay in my vault of secrets. Tonight's conversation with Dasha only solidifies it more. Skylar only needs to know me as the man she does. The other part of me isn't worthy of her love. And I've never craved anyone's love as much as I want hers.