Vicious Protector by Maggie Cole

26

Skylar

Adrian's textmessage infuriates me. I don't reply since Bowmen's on a roll, giving everyone unnecessary work. He's still livid about the collection flop. I'm his main target to take it out on. When I finally leave the office, it's after seven. I step off the elevator. Bogden is waiting and quickly approaches me.

"I made it clear to Adrian—"

Bogden's eyes appear colder than usual. "There's a legitimate threat. You cannot go in any car, except with me."

I haughtily laugh. "If Adrian thinks—"

"This isn't a ploy of some kind. You must take your safety seriously."

I stop walking and spin on him. "What does legitimate threat even mean, Bogden?"

His jaw clenches. "You'll need to speak to Adrian about it."

"Oh, that's convenient for him, isn't it?"

Bogden lowers his voice. "Can you please not fight me? I promise you, Adrian doesn't have me with you for no reason."

"Do you understand how annoying it is for me to have you driving me places when I don't even know what I'm supposed to be worried about?" I admit to him.

He solemnly nods. "I'm assuming it's not easy."

"Then please tell me what the threat is."

Bogden's eyes turn to slits. "If I could, I would. You need to speak with Adrian."

I laugh again, but my vision becomes blurred.

Bogden puts his hand on my back and leads me to the car. I don't fight him. I'm confused over so many things. I don't know what I'm supposed to exercise caution over. The voice in my head says Adrian is trying to keep tabs on me. The other voice says I don't want anything to happen to me. Like always, I have no answers. I contemplate calling Adrian, but I already know he won't give them to me.

My alarm beeps. I glance down then groan. I forgot I agreed to go out with a guy I met online. It happened quickly, in my moment of trying to figure out how to get over Adrian. I roll the divider window down. Bogden is in the front seat next to the driver. I say, "I forgot I have..."

What do I say to Bogden?

Do I want Adrian to know I'm going on a date?

No. He'll flip.

It doesn't matter. He made his choice.

I need to move past him. He and I are never going to be.

I clear my throat. "I have a date. Please drop me off at Stratosphere. And you aren't escorting me around, Bogden."

"I cannot leave you unattended."

"You are not—"

"I'll stay out of the way, but I will be there, watching over you. Do not take this threat lightly."

"Once again, if I knew what it was, I might take it seriously," I snap then roll up the divider.

It doesn't take long to get to Stratosphere. Bogden stays several feet behind me, and when I see the man I agreed to meet, my stomach flips.

What am I doing?

I need to get over Adrian Ivanov.

The man is everything Adrian isn't. He's one hundred percent all-American—a straitlaced corporate guy in a suit. Any woman would be thrilled to get a date with him. He's polite, probably makes a ton of money, and dresses nicely. His brown eyes and hair probably put most girls' panties in a twist. All he does for me is make me miss Adrian more.

Our date doesn't last long. I can't seem to get past the first twenty minutes. I excuse myself and leave. When I get in the car, I curse myself for ever falling for Adrian Ivanov. I laugh at the irony. I'm trying to escape him while riding in his car with his bodyguard.

I pick up my phone to call Kora but stop. The last conversation I had was with her and Aspen. I begged them to tell me what they knew about the Ivanovs and Adrian, but they wouldn't. They kept saying Adrian needed to tell me. She wouldn't even tell me what happened that landed her in the hospital. I almost call Hailee but don't.

I want to talk to Kora. She's my best friend. It's what makes it hurt even worse.

As if she knows I'm thinking about her, my phone rings.

I answer, "Did my bodyguard message you to call me or something?" It's semi-snotty, and I cringe after it comes out.

"I'm outside your place. Are you home soon?"

The car turns the corner. "Two seconds, and I'm pulling up." I hang up, and Adrian's driver parks behind a similar vehicle.

Kora and I both hop out. Bogden and another man I've not seen before do as well. Kora embraces me, and all the emotions I've been holding in threaten to come out.

I pull away. "Let's go inside."

Bogden and the other man follow us to my apartment. Kora and I say nothing until we're inside by ourselves.

"You can't stay mad at me forever," she claims.

"Can't I?"

She tilts her head. "No. You can't. I'm not Adrian."

"No, but you know whatever it is he's hiding and won't tell me."

She sighs. "I don't know everything about Adrian. Sergey told me very little, except for what happened to his sister. He said it's not his place to talk about Adrian."

I push my knee to the back of the couch and turn to her more. "You know what the Ivanovs are into."

She closes her eyes. "This is hard for me, Skylar. You have to understand how much this is killing me."

"You? You get to go home to the man you love every night. I'm dying. I even tried to date someone else tonight to forget about Adrian, but I can't."

"Then talk to him again."

"He's never going to tell me. Why can't you?"

"I cannot betray Sergey's trust. What he told me, I won't ever repeat. I promised him. You know how I am about confidentiality."

"This isn't one of your clients," I bark back.

"No. It's not. It's my future husband. That makes it more important I don't betray his trust in me."

Everything about her statement stabs me in the heart. My insides quiver and my lips tremble. I wipe my wet cheeks. "Adrian bought a ring. He..." I can't finish and cover my face while sobbing.

Kora slides over and embraces me. "Shh. Maybe he needs some more time."

I shake my head. "No, he's never going to tell me. And then he sent this text he won't take Bogden off me because of some threat."

Kora's body stiffens.

I retreat from her arms. "What do you know about this?"

She holds up her hands. "Nothing. But if he says there is a threat, you need to take it seriously."

"Who am I supposed to be scared of, Kora?"

Her face falls. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't."

"Why won't you tell me what happened that landed you in the hospital?" I ask her for the hundredth time.

She sighs. "We've gone over this."

"I'm your best friend. Give me something."

She gets up and walks to the window. She scratches her neck and studies the building across from mine.

I join her. "Please. Tell me what happened and why it's so hush-hush. You were hurt and unconscious. Put yourself in my shoes. The hospital called me, and when I got there, they gave me zero information on what happened to you. I'm your emergency contact, and I got nothing. Why is that? What are you protecting the Ivanovs for when you ended up unconscious in a hospital bed?"

She squeezes her eyes. In a low voice, she replies, "Did you ever think they're protecting me?"

A cold, deep chill races down my spine. "From what?"

She opens her eyes, takes a controlled breath, and furrows her eyebrows. "You can't ever repeat what I'm going to tell you."

"Okay. I won't. I promise."

Several moments pass. She finally speaks. "I won't tell you who, or why, or where. The only reason I'm telling you this is because you are my best friend. I don't want to live with secrets between us, Skylar. You have to know how much I don't want it, but things aren't black and white. There are reasons you can't know things. So if I tell you, will you promise not to hate me more when I don't answer any of the questions you're sure to have?"

"I don't hate you," I assure her. "It's what's so hard about this."

She nods. "Yes. I know."

"Okay. Then please tell me."

Her voice falters. "I-I..." She clears her throat. "I killed two men. One of them fell on me and knocked me unconscious."

I gape at her, processing what she admitted. "Are you in trouble? With the police?"

She shakes her head. "No. Darragh took care of it."

Chills and surprise consume me. "Darragh? Liam's father?"

"Yes. So you understand why I can't discuss this further or ever again?"

I hug her. "Are you okay?"

She squeezes and releases me. "Yes and no."

"No?"

"I don't regret killing those men. I do worry about the truth coming out and there being ramifications. However, the thing I'm not okay with is what this is doing to you or us. I want to tell you everything I know, but I can't. I see how much you and Adrian are hurting. I wish I could take it away, but if I betray Sergey and you learn things about Adrian from me and not him, it's not going to save your relationship."

Her words cut me because they're true. Whatever Adrian's secrets are, I need to find out from him.

He's never going to tell me.

Kora's eyes fill with tears. "I don't want this between us. I'm caught in the middle, and I'm not sure what to do. You're my maid of honor. You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I-I don't have a family anymore and..." She turns away. Fresh tears drip off her chin, and my eyes fill as well. Kora just lost her mother and sister. "Even when they were alive, you were my family."

My heart hurts. I've already lost Adrian. I don't want to lose my friends, too. And it's not their fault Adrian won't tell me. I can't blame Kora for not disclosing whatever it is Sergey told her. If Adrian made me promise not to tell anyone something, I wouldn't.

I hug Kora tightly. "We are family. This is a happy time. I'm going to stop asking you about Ivanov secrets."

"You are?"

"Yes. I don't like it, but you're right not to break Sergey's trust in you."

She swallows hard. "If I could tell you, I would."

I sigh. There's never going to be a happy solution to this issue. Whatever I do, I can't lose my friendships over Adrian's inability to open up and let me in. "I know you would."

I change the subject to her wedding, and we spend the rest of the night talking about other things. When she leaves, a part of me is relieved. I don't want any anger or hostility between us.

The next few months leading up to the wedding, I spend dating, trying to find someone to take as my plus one. I can't get through any of them. Bogden inconspicuously follows me everywhere I go, and I once again wonder what the threat is, or if this is Adrian's way of keeping me under his thumb.

He wasn't a controlling dick when we were together.

I was in his bed every night. He didn't need to be.

Almost every night and morning, I get the same text.

Adrian: I love you. Please come home.

Sometimes a few days pass, and I always wonder where he is and what he's doing. I don't respond. The few times I almost do, I delete the message I wrote.

When it's time for the rehearsal dinner, I avoid Adrian like the plague. All night, my heart hurts. He looks as sexy as ever. His ice-blue gaze is on me whenever I glance his way, but I also see the sadness in his eyes.

Once again, I don't know why the universe has to be so cruel. I need to get through the wedding and move on with my life. Without truth, Adrian and I can never exist as a couple. It's clear he's never going to change his mind.

Within minutes of stepping into my apartment, I get a text.

Adrian: I love you. Please come home.

I cry myself to sleep for what feels like the millionth time since leaving him.