Vicious Protector by Maggie Cole

24

Skylar

Something is goingon with Adrian, but he won't tell me. It's been weeks since he came home in the middle of the night with blood on his clothes. I found them in the laundry basket the next day. When I asked him what happened, he said someone at work got hurt, and he took them to the hospital. He won't tell me anything else.

Every time we go somewhere, Adrian has a driver and an extra man with us. Sometimes, it's Bogden. Other times, it's someone I've never met. The man always escorts us in and out of places, sticking close to me.

"Why do we have a bodyguard with us?" I asked the first night when Bogden escorted us inside.

Adrian shrugged and replied, "I'm extra cautious; that's all."

"About what?" I asked.

Of course he wouldn't tell me and insisted it was too dangerous for me to know. After that, Bogden has escorted me anywhere Adrian can't.

A few weeks pass. I notice a man following me. At first, I think I might be going crazy. But every day, I start to spot him. I even see him waiting on a bench below my office building during the day. He has never approached me, but I wouldn't want to be in a dark alley with him. He screams danger. It freaks me out, so I pull out my phone, zoom in, and snap a photo. I send it to Adrian with a text.

Me: I think this man is following me.

Adrian calls me.

I answer. "Hey. I don't know if I'm overreacting, but—"

"It's my guy, Hagen," Adrian says.

The hairs on my arms rise. "Hagen? Who is that? Why is he following me?"

"Let's talk about it tonight."

"Adrian, tell me right now why you have someone following me," I demand.

"Not over the phone, Skylar."

Frustrated, I hang up. I finish work then go home. I start dinner and get a message.

Adrian: I'm going to be a few more hours.

Me: I'll turn the stove off.

Adrian: Okay. Sorry. I'm rushing.

Me: You'll be home tonight though?

Adrian: Yes, it's normal stuff.

What does normal stuff mean in Adrian's world?

I try not to think about the secrets Adrian keeps from me. Besides a few times a month when he doesn't come home, everything is perfect between us. We have fun together. He supports everything I do. I feel loved by him. But those nights he's gone tear me up. I rarely sleep. The gnawing in my stomach has gotten worse during these times.

I wish he would tell me what he does or where he goes. He has demons from these nights. I see them. When we have sex when he returns, I feel them. And something is eating at Adrian. I've seen it since the night he came in with blood on his clothes.

I change my clothes and pass the time working out in Adrian's gym. I'm on the elliptical, listening to my music with my headphones in my ears, when Adrian pinches my ass.

I jump and screech, pulling my headphones out of my ears.

Adrian's cocky grin is on his face. "Should have let you keep going. I had a good view."

"Ha! Funny!" I step off the machine.

Adrian dips down and kisses me. "We should go to the hospital."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

He grins. "Nope. Nora had the baby. Boris said everyone can come visit now."

"What did she have?"

"A girl. Here, Boris sent a picture." Adrian taps the screen of his phone then hands it to me.

A tiny baby with hair red like Nora's is sleeping. "Aww. She's adorable!"

Adrian tugs me into him and kisses my head. "Go get ready. Why don't we grab dinner out after?"

"Okay."

He pats my ass. "I'm going to make some phone calls."

"I won't take long." I peck him on the lips, go into our bedroom, then hop in the shower. I don't take long and quickly rinse off. Within ten minutes, I'm in clean clothes and putting fresh makeup on. I go out to the family room. Adrian is pacing, having a conversation in aggressive Russian. My ears perk up, and my heart races when I hear Adrian say, "Dasha," several times.

He sees me, hangs up, and smiles. "Ready?"

"What's going on with Dasha now?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing."

"Then why did you just say her name?"

He grunts. "Because she's a pain in the ass that needs to be dealt with."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Let's go see the baby." He guides me to the elevator.

"Sometimes you make me feel like a foolish woman," I blurt out.

He jerks his head back and freezes.

The elevator opens, but neither of us move. He finally says, "What am I doing to make you feel less than what you are?"

"So many secrets, Adrian. When I first met you, everything about you was mysterious. I won't lie and say it didn't make you more attractive. But at this stage, shouldn't the enigma be diminishing?"

He steps forward, fists my hair, and puts his other hand on my ass, tugging me into his dense frame. "We're happy, my printsessa, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are."

"My work is not part of us."

"Then why do you have a man following me around?" I put my hand over his racing heart. "If I didn't know you and what's in here, I would think you're a man I should stay away from. It's not normal for a boyfriend to have his employee follow his girlfriend around."

"It's for your protection."

"So you say. Against what or who?"

Adrian's face hardens. "There are threats I need to protect you from. Bogden and Hagen, they are there for when I can't be. An extra bodyguard is with us when we are together in case I go down."

My pulse increases. "You go down? Adrian, what are you talking about?"

He shakes his head. "It's just a precaution. Maksim does the same with Aspen at times. She's okay with it. You can ask her about it."

I scoff. "I suppose I could. However, Maksim talks to Aspen. She knows what's happening. I don't."

He takes a deep breath, holds me tighter, and aggressively kisses me until I'm returning his enthusiasm and my knees weaken.

"You feel this between us," he murmurs against my lips.

"Yes. Always. Our love is not in question," I state.

Flames dance in his icy-blue eyes. "This doesn't happen to people. What we have isn't worth letting anything come between it. My role in our relationship is to keep you safe, and I will. No matter what, I will do whatever I have to for you to never experience anything traumatic. I will throw everyone to the wolves and watch them get torn to pieces before I let anyone harm you. And I won't taint what we have by telling you details that can only serve to put you in danger."

My heart soars and hurts in a conflicted battle. Adrian's gone through so much trauma. I know he means every word he said, and it's because he loves me. But before him, I never had to worry about my safety. I don't understand why I need to now. If being in danger is a by-product of loving Adrian, then it's a price I'm willing to pay to keep him. Yet I know nothing about what I could be in danger from. The secrets Adrian keeps from me only get bigger, along with my frustration.

"We are what matters, nothing else," he reminds me, kissing me again. He retreats and guides me into the elevator. "Let's go see the baby."

I stay locked in Adrian's arms, sinking into his body, not wanting to be anywhere, except with him. I don't fight him anymore about his secrets. He changes the subject, and we go to the hospital and see the baby.

All the Ivanovs and O'Malleys are there. I finally get to hold Shannon. My heart melts. She's precious. I glance at Adrian and wonder if someday we'll have this moment for ourselves, but I don't miss his slightly sad smile or the emotion that fills his glistening eyes.

The image of a younger Adrian holding a baby smaller than Shannon chokes me up.

When we leave the hospital, he slides his arm around my shoulder and leans into my ear. "You'd make a good mom."

"Yeah? How do you know?"

"You're a natural." He kisses the top of my head, and we don't say anything else until we get to dinner. The rest of the night, we fall into our natural state of who we are as a couple. I try to push the nagging voice out of my head to ask Adrian more questions about why he had a man following me around in addition to a bodyguard. It seems extreme, especially when I don't know what or who he's trying to protect me from.

When we get home, I need him to tell me. If I'm in danger, I have the right to know. This isn't just his work anymore if I'm involved.

After dinner, we make out in the car. By the time we get into the penthouse, Adrian has my clothes shed before I step into the family room. All night, he's an insatiable animal. The moment he comes, he's lurching over some other part of my body, doing something to me that gets me off and makes him hard again.

Morning comes, and I remind myself I need to find out what's going on. Adrian isn't in the bedroom, so I shower, then wrap a towel around my hair. I think I hear Kora, so I step out into the main room. Her face scrunches, and I'm immediately concerned. "What's wrong?"

She puts her hands over her face, inhaling deeply.

"Holy...what are you wearing?" I ask.

She glances at her jeans and baggy sweatshirt. "What?"

I jump up and grab her hand. She has a brilliant pink diamond on. "When did you get this?"

She stares at it, as if in shock.

I tug on her hand. "That's from Harry Winston."

"It is?" she asks.

"Yeah. It's from their summer collection. Bowmen lashed out at me last week when the manager called and said we couldn't use it in our upcoming shoot. He said the purchaser paid twenty percent more so he didn't have to wait to get it. It was a showcase item. It's super rare."

Kora's lips turn up.

I pull at her hand again. "Can I see it? Please!"

I slide it off her finger and hold it to the light. "Wow. This is incredible." I spin it then look closer. "What does this say?"

"What?" Kora asks.

"There's something engraved, but I think it's in Russian," I mutter, looking closer.

She peeks at the ring. "I don't know. Sergey didn't show me or tell me about it. He slid it on my finger. This is the first time I've taken it off."

"Adrian, come read this and tell us what it says."

She grabs the ring from me. "No, it's okay. I'll ask Sergey." She slides it back on her finger.

"Okay. Well, it's beautiful," I tell her, trying to swallow down my jealousy. I don't need a fancy ring. I love hers, but I wonder how Adrian and I will ever get there when he can’t even tell me why he has extra bodyguards following me.

"Thank you," Kora says.

"When are we going dress shopping?" I ask.

She laughs. "I'm not even sure when the wedding is."

I hug her. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you."

"So...why are you here? And where is Sergey?" I ask, glancing around the room, looking for him.

Kora gazes at Adrian just as his phone rings.

He holds his finger in the air. "Yes. I'll tell her. See you soon." He shuts his phone. "Sergey said to make a list of what you want from his penthouse or your place. Until further notice, you're staying somewhere else."

"Where?" Kora asks.

"Not sure, but it's best if he doesn't say anything over the phone. He'll be over once he picks your stuff up."

I smile. "Is someone going to tell me what's going on?"

Adrian's face hardens.

You have to be kidding me.

So Kora gets to know things, but I'm the idiot who gets to stay in the dark again?

I glare at Adrian. "Again?"

He clenches his jaw and focuses on the ceiling.

I turn to Kora. "You're going to keep me in the dark, too?"

"Skylar—"

"We're supposed to be best friends."

"We are."

"Not if you're going to lie to me," I assure her.

"Skylar, I've not lied to you. Things are complicated."

I scowl at Adrian. "So Kora can know, and I'm assuming Aspen will know, but I'm not trustworthy enough to tell?"

"I never said that," Adrian replies. His Russian accent sounds thicker. He pins his blue eyes on me. "I've told you this isn't about trust."

I blink hard, willing myself not to cry.

How can I want to marry a man who won't tell me anything?

It's always going to be like this.

He's never going to let me in.

I swallow the lump in my throat. My hands shake. In a soft voice, I say, "I'm done, Adrian."

His eyes harden further. "Stop this foolishness. We've gone through this."

"Yeah. You obviously don't listen." I spin toward Kora. "I expected more from you, Kora."

"Skylar," Adrian bellows out.

"Don't, Adrian!" I open the bedroom door and slam it. I freeze, scanning the master suite until nothing registers through the blur of my tears.

Am I really going to leave him?

Yes. This isn't how a relationship is supposed to work. He will never trust me.

I go into the closet and pack a bag. After I get dressed, I walk out of the bedroom.

Adrian steps in front of me. "What are you doing?"

"I said I'm done."

"You can't leave right now," he firmly states.

I sarcastically laugh. "You don't own me, Adrian. And you can't keep me here against my will."

"You aren't leaving this place until I tell you it's safe," he barks.

I huff and move toward the door.

Adrian steps in front of it. He growls, "Don't ignore me, Skylar."

"That's rich coming from you."

"I don't ignore you," he states, his eyes full of hurt.

"Move, Adrian."

"This isn't up for debate. It's not safe for you to leave, and you aren't going anywhere until I say," he reiterates.

"Skylar, you need to stay," Kora blurts out.

I spin on her. "Why, Kora? Tell me why."

"I got attacked this morning," she admits.

My pulse pounds harder. "What?"

"Someone entered Sergey's penthouse and attacked me in the kitchen. Adrian is right. Until he says it's safe, you can't leave."

My heart races. "Why would I be in danger if you got attacked?"

She looks at Adrian, and I turn to him, too.

He stares straight ahead, avoiding my eyes, his chiseled face emotionless.

I demand, "Tell me, Adrian."

He stays quiet and doesn't move.

"If my safety is at risk, I deserve to know what's going on. Look at me," I order.

He doesn't.

I reach up and smack him. A red mark appears on his face. As soon as I do it, I feel horrible but also want to do it again, until he tells me what is going on.

He blinks hard then slowly puts his hand over his cheek. He glances down at me with the same emotionless expression, which only hurts me more.

"I hate you," I whisper, turn, and ignore Kora. I trot past her into the bedroom, with more tears falling down my face. I don't hate Adrian. I love him. But I hate how he can't let me in.

Several minutes pass. There's a knock on the door. "Skylar."

"Leave me alone, Kora," I yell out, wiping my tears on the pillow. I bury my head in it, wanting some other reality to be mine—one where Adrian tells me things and trusts me. But that isn't our life. He isn't capable of letting me in.

At some point, Adrian comes in. He cages his body over me. "I'm sorry this is hard for you."

"I'm done, Adrian," I manage to get out.

"Don't say that. You're upset and—"

"No!" I roll over. "I'm not doing this anymore. I can't."

The color drains from his face. "Skylar—"

"Tell me everything right now, or I'm leaving. I mean it, Adrian. I can't stay in the dark anymore."

He closes his eyes. When he opens them, he rolls off me. "Don't do this."

"I'm sorry. I love you so much," I confess through tears. "But I can't be with someone who won't show me who they are and tell me what is going on."

He says nothing.

I stand in front of him and hold his cheeks. "What is so dangerous or bad, you can't tell me?"

"You'll hate me," he quietly says.

"No. I will never hate you. And I'm sorry I said that out there. I love you—more than anything. Please, tell me. I don't want to leave you."

He opens his mouth then shuts it. He turns his face toward the wall.

My heart has never hurt so much. We've come to the end, and there's no turning back.