Vicious Protector by Maggie Cole

28

Skylar

The bullets seemto fire from nowhere, and before I can jump, Adrian slumps to the ground. His bodyweight pushes me with him, and he falls over me. Blood pools all around him. I scream while trying to find the bullet hole and how to stop him from bleeding out, but he's too heavy for me to lift him.

Obrecht and the Ivanov brothers come racing over at some point, but I barely notice. All I see is Adrian, pale, with blood seeping out of him. Everything seems like it moves in slow motion. When we get to the hospital, a nurse takes us aside.

"Mr. Ivanov is in surgery. He's lost a lot of blood. We're doing the best we can, but if you have family that needs to be here, I would call them now."

"You have to save him," I cry out.

Aspen tugs me closer to her.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, we're doing the best we can," the nurse repeats then leaves.

I look at Aspen for answers, but her face is void of them. I search everyone's, but all I see is uncertainty and fear.

"Obrecht," I whisper.

He blinks his icy-blue orbs hard and walks away. Selena takes off down the hall behind him.

Dmitri comes over to me. "Skylar, let's sit. There isn't anything we can do right now."

I sit, not sure what else to do, dizzy and feeling nauseous. Why did I not see who gunned him down?

"Dmitri, who shot him?"

His face hardens. "One of Bruno Zielinski's guys."

My gut churns. I put my hand over my stomach. "Why would the Polish mob want to hurt Adrian?"

Dmitri swallows hard. "I can't discuss this with you."

"He got shot," I cry out.

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Get away from me."

Dmitri's eyes widen.

"Move!" I scream, unable to control my ongoing rage. I'm sick of never knowing anything, and I've never been so afraid.

Dmitri moves across the room. Hailee takes his spot. I sit stunned as tears pool in my eyes. There's so much I don't know about Adrian. So many things he's hidden from me.

None of it matters. The only thing important is that he lives.

The nurse comes back out. "We need blood. Whoever can donate, please do so, quickly."

The vision of Adrian bleeding to death on a cold, metal table fills my mind, and I break down. I wasted so much time staying away from him. I just got him back. He was finally going to let me in.

Hailee embraces me tighter.

"He can't die," I whisper. But the fear in her face and everyone else's does nothing to comfort me.

Bogden escorts Adrian's mother into the waiting room. I lock gazes with her, and all I see is Adrian's icy-blue eyes. Svetlana's register fear and sorrow.

I go over to her. She's shaking, so I put my arm around her and lead her to the seats. "Come sit with me."

More worry fills her expression. "Where's Obrecht?"

Maksim replies, "He needed a walk. I'll go find him."

"No. Let him be," she states.

Maksim pats her on the shoulder and sits across from us next to Aspen.

"Any news?" she asks.

"Can you donate blood? The hospital has asked us all to do so. The others went but most of us have been drinking so I'm not sure what the rules are," Maksim replies.

Svetlana nods and wipes her face. "I didn't drink tonight. I didn't know why, but something inside me felt like it was a bad idea."

I reach for her hand. "I had a few glasses of wine. I don't think they'll let me donate, but I'll go with you."

Svetlana squeezes my hand and doesn't let go of it. She donates blood, and the hours seem to drag on. No one says much. From time to time, the Ivanov brothers and Obrecht huddle in the corner with Bogden, who keeps coming in and out of the room.

Each time, Svetlana tenses and closely watches them. Obrecht keeps looking at her and shaking his head, then walking down the hall. Selena sometimes follows him, sometimes stays in the seat next to Svetlana, who keeps an intent watch over the men.

She knows what's going on.

I turn to her. "Do you know what's going on?"

Her eyes tell me she does. Mixed in is betrayal and hatred. They fill with tears again. One drips down her cheek as she says, "He loves you."

"I know."

"He was going to tell you everything."

I turn more to face her, surprised she might know Adrian's secrets. "You know?"

Her face hardens. "Let's go for a walk."

My heart pounds in my chest cavity. Svetlana leads me down the hall and into the chapel. She glances around. No one here, and she points to seats. "Let's sit."

My insides shake. For so long, I've wanted to know what Adrian is involved in and why he thinks I won't be able to keep loving him. And the Ivanovs have information on whoever shot Adrian on lockdown.

"You know why the Polish mob shot Adrian?" I ask.

Svetlana's gaze pierces mine. Once again, they remind me of Adrian's eyes, and I have to work hard to keep it together. "My sons don't tell me everything. Certain things are for my protection, and I trust whatever they don't tell me is for my safety. What I do know is Dasha is involved."

The hairs on my arms rise. "Dasha? His ex-wife did this?"

Svetlana's eyes turn to slits. "Yes. I don't know how or why she got involved with a Zielinski. She knows they are mafia. But she slept with Bruno's oldest son. He's now dead."

Chills consume me. I can hardly speak. "Adrian killed him? For Dasha?"

Svetlana's eyes widen. "Adrian did not kill him. But you know what my son is capable of?"

I open my mouth to speak then shut it. So many things crossed my mind about what Adrian could be hiding from me. I never said it out loud, but ever since the Cat's Meow, when he put a headlock on Wes Petrov's bodyguard in one swift move, I knew what he was capable of doing. I carefully choose my words. "Deep down, I knew before I ever kissed Adrian that he could kill someone with his bare hands if he wanted to."

She takes a deep breath. "This did not stop you from dating my son?"

I shake my head. "No."

"But he does not know what you told me?"

More regret fills me. Adrian and I wasted so much time over his secrets. Maybe if I had asked him outright, we could have gotten past it, and I wouldn't have had to stay away for months. "No."

"It does not bother you?"

Does it bother me?

Adrian is a killer.

"I...umm..." I clear my throat. "I love Adrian. I knew he was different when I first laid eyes on him. I don't know who he's killed or why he does what he does, but I have to believe there's a reason for what he does."

She sighs, and her eyes fill with more tears. "Yes."

"Will you please tell me?"

She takes my hand. "After the Petrovs defiled and killed our Natalia, he and Obrecht hunted down every Petrov and any other man they could who harmed her." She looks at the candles burning several feet in front of us and lifts her chin. "They didn't just kill them. They tortured them for days, finding out anything they could about the Petrov whorehouse and what happened to Natalia."

My insides shake harder. Not because I'm scared of Adrian or think less of him. I don't know what I would do if someone harmed my sister the way Natalia was. I tremble, thinking about Adrian and what that had to have done to him as a person.

"Adrian and Obrecht both dealt with things differently. Obrecht, well, he's more like his father. He can stay calmer and takes a walk. I'm not sure exactly how he gets through things.

"Adrian deals with things the way I do—bringing the situation inside himself and giving it free rein. He started spinning out. He always could get lost in his mind, even as a boy. But this was different. At one point, Obrecht had to stay with him and Dasha for a week to get him sorted."

My heart hurts more. I imagine a younger Adrian in a deep trance, trying to deal with the pain of his sister's brutal ending to life and what he had done to avenge it. "Obrecht told you what they did?"

She shakes her head. "No. Dasha did. She told me every sordid detail Adrian disclosed to her while he was spinning out. She was pregnant at the time. The only thing she could think of was herself. She kept crying about how she was married to someone else, and it wasn't fair. There was no sympathy for Adrian or what he was going through. When she told me, I was trying to process everything. My sons were both torturers and killers. It's not something I thought they could ever be. But I also never thought my Natalia would go through what she did. I couldn't be upset with them. I was happy those monsters paid for what they did in their final breaths. All I kept hearing was Dasha go on and on about how Adrian trapped her into marrying him." Svetlana laughs. It's sad and full of pain. "She married him before they kidnapped Natalia. My Adrian wasn't a murderer when they got married. He didn't trap her into anything. She hinted for two years about getting married before he asked her."

My hatred for Dasha grows.

"When they lost the baby, she blamed Adrian. He did, too. But it wasn't his fault. Dasha stopped eating. She would barely drink water. He tried to get her to eat and even forced her to go to the hospital and get IVs several times. Looking back, I don't think she ever wanted the baby."

My pulse pounds harder. "Why?"

Svetlana's tears fall. "It was the first good thing that happened since Natalia died. We were all still raw from it. But I remember how she looked. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but Adrian was so happy and excited about becoming a father. Dasha barely smiled. Her entire pregnancy, she kept talking about gaining weight. Over the years, I've had time to distance myself from her comments. I didn't want to think anything bad about her when she was Adrian's wife. But I always had a nagging feeling about her. I could never put my finger on it. Obrecht never cared for her, but he couldn't tell me why, so I told him to behave. Adrian loved her, and I didn't want our family to cause him any unhappiness."

"Adrian said you and Dasha were close?"

Svetlana shrugs. "She was my daughter-in-law. I wanted a relationship with her. I tried to see the good in her and dismissed the nagging voice in my head."

We sit in silence for a few moments. "Svetlana, Adrian said he changed Dasha. He said he destroyed her."

She huffs. "I'm not a mother who thinks her children are perfect. I know their faults. I see their imperfections. Adrian is no saint, but he did not destroy her. She is a snake."

I snort. "Seems to be the general consensus."

Svetlana's eyes chill me further. "She is. Do you know about snakes?"

My blood turns cold. I shake my head.

"Snakes lie quietly, waiting to strike their unsuspecting prey. They are hunters and easily irritated. They act rashly, biting anything in their way. Dasha's always exhibited those traits. Even before they got married, she'd do things to Adrian."

"Like what?"

"Little verbal cuts, but then she'd act like it was a joke. Over the years, it got worse, even before Natalia got kidnapped."

Every part of me wants to strangle Dasha. If she was in the room, I don't doubt I would. "Why would Dasha want Adrian killed?"

"She demanded he sign their trucking company over to her, along with ten million dollars."

I gape at Svetlana. I knew Adrian did well, but her admission is a reminder I don't know anything about Adrian and his business.

Svetlana's voice turns to steel. "I don't know anything more. What I do know is my sons have a line. Women and children are off-limits. If I see her, she better run and hide. There will be no hesitation or boundary to cross."

Kora clears her throat. Svetlana and I turn. Neither of us realized she had entered the room. She changed out of her wedding dress. "Sorry to interrupt."

"It's okay. I think Skylar knows what she needs to at this point?" Svetlana raises her eyebrows at me in question.

I give her a small smile. "Yes. Thank you."

She squeezes my hand, pats my leg, then rises.

Kora informs us, "Adrian is out of surgery."

I put my hand over my heart. "He's okay?"

"The doctor said he lost a lot of blood and had to have several transfusions. The bullet got lodged in his lower back muscle. They wanted to eliminate any damage possible, and that's why it took so much time to remove it."

"Can we see him?"

"Not yet."

Svetlana puts her arm around me and smiles. "This is good news."

"Yes," I agree.

We leave the chapel. Kora squeezes my hand. When we get to the waiting room, the Ivanov men are huddled in the corner talking again.

I turn to Kora. "Not what you had planned for your wedding night, huh?"

She dismisses my question and keeps her voice low. "Are you okay?"

I blink away new tears. "I just want to see him."

She nods. "And do you have the answers you needed? Svetlana gave them to you?"

"Yes. Adrian told her he was going to tell me."

She takes a deep breath. "Do you understand why I couldn't tell you?"

"Yes."

"Have your feelings for him changed?"

"No! Of course not. I love Adrian. And what he’s gone through only makes me want to love him more," I insist.

She smiles. "I didn't think your feelings would change."

I shift on my feet and lower my voice. "How does Sergey fit into this?"

She glances at the men, speaking in hushed voices in the corner. Anger, revenge, and so many other emotions are on their faces. She pierces her hazel eyes into mine. "I'm going to let Adrian tell you."

A day ago, I would have been upset by it. Now, I can accept her answer. "Okay."

She hugs me. When I pull away, Liam and Killian come into the waiting room. Hailee rises, but they go straight to the Ivanovs.

A nurse comes into the room. "Mr. Ivanov is awake. He's asking for Skylar?"

Relief fills me. I raise my hand. "I'm Skylar."

The nurse smiles. "Follow me." She leads me down the hall and drops me off in front of his room. It's dark, aside from the soft glow of the hallway lights. The beeping of the machines hooked up to him are the only sound. I try to contain my emotions as I approach Adrian, but tears fall down my face.

He's lying on his side, facing the window. Blankets cover him. I go to the side of the bed and put my hand on his cheek. "Adrian."

He glances up. "I'm sorry."

"Shh." I dip down and press my lips to his. "You have nothing to be sorry about. This isn't your fault."

"I underestimated her. She warned me."

"Adrian—"

"You could have gotten hurt or killed. I should have—"

"Stop! Don't do this. I'm fine," I insist.

His eyes harden.

I put the rail down and lie next to him. "Are you in pain?"

"Not a lot. I think I'm still drugged up."

"It's your right side?"

He nods. "Yeah."

I cup his cheeks and kiss him. "I was so scared."

"I'm sor—"

"Stop apologizing."

He stares at me for several moments. "You probably have a lot of questions."

I shake my head. "Not right now. Your mom told me everything."

"My mom?"

I stroke the side of his head. "Yes."

His jaw clenches, and he holds his breath. "What did she tell you?"

"Everything you were afraid to say."

Silence fills the air. I keep stroking his head, waiting for him to say something. When he finally speaks, his voice cracks. "You're still looking at me as if you don't know who I am."

"You're Adrian Ivanov. I've always known what you were capable of. It doesn't change anything."

He swallows hard, and his eyes glisten. "No?"

"No."

He turns away, blinking.

It hits me how much Adrian believed I would run from him. I give him a minute. Then I turn his face back to mine. "No more secrets, Adrian. From this point forward, it's you and me and no more secrets. Okay?"

He scrunches his face and sniffs hard. "Okay, my printsessa. No more secrets."

I scoot closer and put my arm under him so he's resting on my chest. I kiss the top of his head. "Your mom wants to see you. Give me a few minutes, then I'll find out how long they think you'll need to stay here and when we can go home."

He tightens his arm around me. "I feel like I've been waiting forever for you to say that."

I smile against his head. "Get used to it. You're stuck with me now."

He kisses my cheek. "That's all I want."

"Me, too."