Her Russian Mafia Protector (8 page)

Kaz moved a little closer and reached out to touch her face. “And what might be distracting you here?”

“I think you know,” she said as her voice dropped to just above a whisper.

“I’ll be at the library, too. And don’t think I haven’t had any fantasies about fucking in the library. Maybe you should wear a skirt,” he said with a wink.

Gasping and smiling at the same time, she pulled away. “I will most certainly not be wearing a skirt. I’ll need to focus. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to eat in my room while I make that phone call. I don’t want you getting ideas while I’m down here.” With a swivel of her hips, she danced out of the kitchen with her breakfast and headed up the stairs.

Kaz watched her the whole way, and he couldn’t help but feel more than just a twinge of guilt. He was about to blow her whole world apart.

***

Veronika closed the door to her bedroom and let out a long shaky breath. For a moment, she’d almost believed that one night with Kaz would allow her to let go of all those pent-up feelings, but all it had done was make things worse. She couldn’t be near him now without every inch of his hard body flashing through her mind. The moans from last night were still fresh, and she was wild with need for an encore. But she had to play it cool.  He clearly wasn’t affected by it, and she needed him to believe the same.

Besides, she had plenty of work that she needed to do. She finished her bowl of cereal hurriedly and opened her phone. She actually should have called her father yesterday, and she was surprised that he wasn’t blowing up her phone.

He picked up on the first ring. “I’ve been worried,” he said instantly.

“You don’t need to worry,” Veronika said with a sigh. “I’ve been up to my eyeballs in school and work, and I simply forgot to call last night.”

“Kazimir didn’t answer my calls last night. Is everything all right?”

“That’s probably my fault,” she admitted. “I went out against his wishes last night, and he spent an unhappy evening in a club. And before you ask, I was fine. I just needed to blow off some steam.”

“I see. Well, tell me how everything has been.” She could hear the edge in her father’s voice. Something was wrong, and it didn’t have anything to do with her.

“School is good. My grades are still holding, even though I’m having to pick up more hours at the store.”

“I can send you money, and you needn’t work at all, my love. All you have to do is ask.”

“It’s not about the money,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “It’s about experience. I need this job so I can get the one I want in the future.”

“You had a job,” he said darkly. “And you’re walking away from it.”

“Jesus,” Veronika muttered. “How many times do we have to do this? I’m not Pavel. I’m not taking over the business. I don’t want anything to do with that!”

Her father was silent, and Veronika closed her eyes and fought back the tears. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer. “You kill people. And those closest to you get killed. I just want to study art. That’s all I want.”

“You could change it and make it better,” Fedor said softly.

“So could you.”

“I’m too old to change my ways, my love. You know that. Anyway, with my connections, you can have any job that you want.”

Veronika smiled. If her father couldn’t win by bullying, he’d start with bribing. “It’s important that I do this on my own. It’s important to me.”

“I see. Well, I wouldn’t want to let you down. You mind Kaz. Your safety is priority. If I even think that you’re in danger, the gig will be up. Do you understand?”

“I’ll do everything he says,” she promised. In and out of bed. Terrified that she would speak the thought out loud, she quickly hung up.

The thought of Pavel hung heavy in her heart. She thought of her brother every day, and it still hurt sometimes to say his name out loud. He’d been Fedor’s perfect son, and she’d just been a spoiled little brat until his death.

Kaz stood in front of her with an impassive look. “You think that now that Pavel is gone, Fedor will want you to run the business? You? You’ve never gotten your hands dirty in your life, Princess. You break one nail, and you run off crying.”

At that moment, he’d been right. But Veronika wasn’t the same person anymore. That girl had been buried the night Kaz had walked away from her, and now she was reborn stronger. Tougher. A woman. “You look at me through a filter, Kaz. But you know nothing about me. I’ll be just as good as Pavel. You’ll see.”

Only he hadn’t seen. She couldn’t put the action behind the words. She saw one person’s death and had immediately run and cowered. This wasn’t the life for her. But her father always held out hope that one day she’d change her mind.

“Are you okay?”

Startled, Veronika looked up. Kaz was watching her from the door with concern in his eyes. She realized that she’d been crying and hastily wiped her tears away. “I’m fine,” she said as she cleared her throat. “You know how my father is.”

“It’s good that you’re doing this,” he said awkwardly. “It’s good that you want to get away from him. He won’t always be there.”

Veronika sent him a bewildered look. “I’m aware of that. I know his business is dangerous. But he’s my father, and I love him. I don’t want to be without him. I just want a life that I can sustain on my own. That’s all. He’s still family. After Pavel, he’s the only family that I have left.”

Kaz gave her a strange pained look before bouncing down the stairs. “So strange,” she muttered as she grabbed her books and her computer. She figured Kaz would probably be strange after their affair, but she expected him to bolt or ignore the situation. She didn’t expect him to be so sweet.

As much as she wanted to follow him and discover more of this side of him, she had a paper to write.

***

Kaz followed her from a safe distance. He had fear in his heart, and he wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Was it because he was finally exacting his revenge? Or was he concerned about the look on her face when she realized that her father was dead?

“Fuck,” he growled. This had all turned into such a mess so quickly. There was a time where he would have cut Fedor’s throat and never looked back. But one night with her had changed all that.

When had he become such a sentimental fool?

His phone rang, and he looked down. It was Fedor Saiko. He hadn’t answered any of the man’s calls from last night. The boss was no doubt furious, and it wouldn’t be wise for Kaz to ignore another phone call.

“Kazimir,” he growled.

“I pay you a handsome fee to give me updates on my daughter,” Fedor said in a dangerous tone. “I do not pay you to ignore my phone calls.”

“I apologize,” Kaz said thickly. He was practically choking on his apology. “Your daughter can be a handful. I’m following her now on the way to the library. Right now there isn’t much to report. The roommate is clean, and I see no need to worry about her. There has been no particular interest in Veronika from her classmates except the usual. And I don’t believe anyone has connected her to you. Other than last night’s late night club excursion, all has been quiet here.”

“Fine,” Seiko grunted. “And how are you? I know you feel I am punishing you with this gig, but my daughter’s security is my number one priority.”

“I’m fine, sir. And I understand how important she is,” Kaz answered shortly. If there was one thing he could never deny, it was the man’s love for his daughter. Of course, there was a time Kaz would never have believed that he would murder his own son. People changed quickly.

“Keep her safe.” Fedor’s words sounded heavy, and Kaz’s ear pricked.

“Are you okay, boss?” he asked.

“I miss my children, Kazimir. I’ve done things that would not make them proud, and I regret that now. When you’ve got children, when you’re an old man like me, you’ll understand. Of course, perhaps it’s too late for you to settle down and have children. Do you ever blame me, Kazimir?”

Kaz’s hand stilled on the steering wheel. What was the man talking about? “Blame you for what, sir?”

“Your life. You have no wife. No children. I sometimes ask my men to sacrifice too much. Many of them leave me, but you’ve stuck with me. And now I wonder if you blame me.”

“I made my choice,” Kaz said finally. “You are like a father to me, and if I meet someone who’s worth changing all of that, then I will change.”

Fedor didn’t say anything, and for a moment, Kaz worried that he might have hung up. Finally, the old man sighed loudly. “And you are like a son to me. Maybe one day I will come to terms with what I have done to you.”

Fedor hung up, and Kaz gritted his teeth. What the hell was that all about? It sounded like Fedor was losing his mind. But it didn’t matter. Kaz would not change his mind. He’d worked too damn hard for this moment, and he would not let the sentiments of an old man and his daughter get the best of him. Fedor Saiko needed to die.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of black. A dark SUV was speeding down the road. In horror, Kaz looked ahead and saw that it wasn’t going to slow down.

It was going to hit Veronika.

Instinct took over as Kaz floored the pedal and moved out of traffic onto the sidewalk. Grass flew up under his tires as he barreled down the road to reach Veronika in time. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he pulled up next to her, and the car hit his full force. His car flipped and landed on its top with a loud crunch.

His vision blurred as pain exploded in his head. He was reaching for his gun, but the car sped away. At least Veronika wasn’t in danger anymore.

Grabbing his knife, he sawed off his seatbelt and crawled out the window of the upside down car. People were screaming, and he saw a flash of blonde running to him. “No,” he croaked as Veronika neared him. “Car’s going to explode.”

“I know that,” she hissed as she grabbed him. “Come on. Can you walk?”

White-hot pain lanced through every part of his body as she helped him to his feet. He kept his head down and struggled to run. The smell of gasoline was growing stronger by the second. Suddenly, the car exploded behind him. As the loud noise burst through his ears, he felt the heat from the fire nipping at his back. He grunted, and they both hit the pavement hard.

“You okay?” he wheezed as he pushed himself up. Worried, he tried to look her over for scrapes and blood, but she was already on her phone and calling for help. “Veronika,” he said sharply. “Hang up.”

Wordlessly, she stared at him. Suddenly, the light dawned in her eyes. She understood why she couldn’t get the police involved and quickly hung up. “Fine. But I’m calling Charley. You need to see a doctor.”

“No doctor. I’m fine. Just get me to your car.” He could tell that he hadn’t broken anything. It was possible that he had some bruised ribs and a concussion, but that had happened to him more times than he could count. There was no need for a doctor.

She stifled a sigh, and it came out as a groan. Reaching down, she hooked her arms under him and helped him up. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” she said through clenched teeth.

When she finally dragged him into the house, he passed out.

Chapter Six

“Damn it, Kaz,” Veronika snapped to his unconscious body. “I’m an art history student. I’m not a damn doctor. Wake the hell up or I’m taking you to the hospital. I don’t care if you end up in jail or not. At least you’ll be alive!”

But he didn’t stir. She checked his pulse again and was relieved to find that it was still steady. Kazimir was nothing if not resilient. But that only made her feel marginally better. He’d been unconscious for nearly six hours. She was starting to worry.

She’d washed away the blood and cleaned up his wounds as best she could. Her nursing skills weren’t all that great, but at least he wasn’t bleeding anymore. But he wasn’t even stirring in her bed. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. Reaching for her phone, she decided to call her father.

Before she could, she heard another phone vibrate. She checked the pockets of the clothes that she’d left in a heap on the floor and found that his phone was actually still working. Go figure. He might be dying, but his cell was in great shape.

“Hello,” she said tentatively as she picked up.

“You sound much prettier than when I spoke to you last,” an amused voice said after a moment of hesitation.

“Kazimir is not at his phone at the moment. Can I take a message?”

“If you wanted a message, you would have let it go to voicemail. Is this Veronika?”

Her senses went on alert, and she straightened. “Who is this?”

“I’m Dmitri. I’m part of your father’s detail, and I’m a friend of Kaz’s. Has something happened?” he asked in a husky voice.

Veronika took a deep breath. She should call and verify that this man worked for her father, but if she could do this without getting him involved, she’d be far better off. “There’s been a car crash, and Kaz is hurt. He won’t let me take him to the hospital, and I’d rather not call my father.”

“I see. Give me your address. I’ll come take a look at him.” She hesitated, and he chuckled. “Veronika, I understand that you don’t know me. But I can get the address just as easily from your father, and he’ll send more men than just me.”

That was true. She rattled off the address. “Do you have any medical background?”

“I’ll do my best to help,” was all he promised before he hung up.

Veronika pressed the phone to her forehead and tried to collect herself. Having an unconscious man in her bed couldn’t be the worst thing that had ever happened to her, right?

After all, it did look like someone had just tried to kill her.

“Veronika!” She jumped as Charley slammed the front door shut. “Veronika! Are you okay?” Her friend thundered up the stairs, and Veronika straightened her shoulders and tried to look brave. “Oh my God, is he dead?” Charley stopped short at the door and stared at them.

“No. He’s just unconscious, and I’m not sure what to do.”

“You take him to the hospital, Veronika!”

“I can’t,” she snapped. “I have no idea what he’s done in the past. For all I know, he’s a wanted man. People who work for my father aren’t exactly stand-up citizens. They work for him because they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty.”