Inside my room, I quickly changed and then hurried out the door.
"Want company?" Pierce said.
"Sorry, but no," I said. "I really have to rush. Orders to finish, you know."
"Just be careful okay?” he asked.
Only once I was out the door and in the elevator was I able to breathe.
That I had acted like a complete fool was obvious. Why did I basically run away from Pierce just when things were going well? Was I that afraid of getting my heart broken again?
I shook my head, disgusted with myself for running like a coward. Just like I was doing with Aleksi.
Since I didn't have any real errands to do, I ended up just going to a movie. By the time I got back, Adrian was there with a bunch of packed bags.
"We're leaving," he said.
"What?"
"I talked to Pierce," he said, eyebrows rearing, mouth working emphatically. "I know Aleksi is in town. He could be on his way here now. We have to go."
"Your brother’s right," Pierce said, getting up.
"About most things," Adrian said pointedly and darkly, his low-browed glare at Pierce and I leaving no doubt as to what exactly he was referring to.
"Anyway, Pierce is going to drive us to a friend's house in New Jersey."
"I'm telling you," Pierce said to Adrian. "My chalet is off the grid. Remote. In the middle of the trees. It's the best place."
"We are not staying in your chalet."
"Come on," Pierce said. "Be reasonable. Do what's best for Sasha."
Adrian rounded on him with a face like a raging bull. "Do what's best for Sasha? Are you shitting me? You shouldn't even be here. I'm just letting you stay on the off chance that if Aleksi and his boys show up, we’ll at least have a fighting chance to escape or something." He shook his head, muttering to himself, "I should kick your ass.”
“Then do it,” Pierce said.
Adrian and I both looked at him like he was crazy.
“No, seriously, if that’s what it’s going to take for us to work through this bullshit, then just go ahead and kick my ass. I deserve it.”
37
Pierce
We went out to the balcony.
"It's the last time I'm going to say this," I said, "But I never meant for this to happen. I tried not to give in. And, this is gonna sound like bullshit maybe, but I really like your sister."
Adrian looked at me with skeptical brows. "Oh yeah? Prove it."
"How am I supposed to prove it?" I said. "You want me to admit that I thought once I was with her that that would be the end of it, and it wasn't? Not by a long shot? Fine, then I'll tell you that. Do you want me to tell you how many times I’ve had to stop myself from calling her up, how many times during my day I think, ‘Hey, Sasha would probably think this was funny.’ All with a woman who I've known less than two weeks? You want me to tell you all that? You want me to tell you how, even now, with just as much as I'm afraid of your reaction and how you're going to take it, I'm equally afraid of hers?"
Adrian stared at me for a long moment, his face softening just a fraction. Then, shaking his head sadly, he said, "Damn. You have it bad brother."
"Look," I said. "I screwed up. Betrayed your trust. Okay? I know that. Right now, though, this isn’t about me. It isn't about you. It's about Sasha. You've been to my chalet. Tell me you know somewhere else that would be better and we can take her there."
Adrian was silent.
"Adrian," I said. "Come on. I don't even have to stay there with you. Just go there with Sasha. I can hire some guys to patrol. It'll be safest up there. I can stay here; call up some friends."
"We’ll go to the chalet," Adrian finally said in a flat voice. "You can come too."
Back in the entranceway with Sasha, who was packing some last-minute things, Adrian said, "I have graciously decided to allow Pierce to come along. And we’re hiring out some help for extra protection."
Sasha frowned. "And do I get a say in any of this?"
"Nope," Adrian I chorused together.
38
Sasha
"You're kidding me," I said as Adrian ushered a woman into the chalet.
He'd insisted on Pierce and me driving up with some guys who were going to help with security, while he drove himself, and now I saw why. The motherfucker brought a date. As she’d stepped out of the car, I’d done a double take.
"Tatiana?"
"I told you I had my own beau in the wings," she said with a wink.
"But, Adrian?"
"Why not?" she asked, hand on her hip. "When he heard I was in town, he quickly called me up. Now it’ll be more like a vacation and less like hiding out."
"I guess," I said dubiously.
I still wasn't sure how I felt about all of it. It was tiring, Aleksi running my life though I knew that Adrian and Pierce were just trying to look out for me.
On the car ride, Pierce and I had made pleasant enough conversation, although we’d danced around talking about the only thing that mattered, really. Us.
"Oh yes, we definitely will," Tatiana said, with enough confidence for both of us. "There's a hot tub. There's a sauna. There are satin sheets." She winked at me again, and I just shook my head.
"If you think I'm even going to be entertaining the thought of you and my brother. Yeah, just nope." I shuddered.
Tatiana laughed heartily, patting me on the back. "My dear girl, don't be silly. That ship has come and gone. Why do you think Adrian and I were so late?"
I gaped at her, just then noticing that the buttons of her blouse were in the wrong holes.
I took refuge in the room I was staying in. Pierce had wanted me to stay in the master bedroom, while he'd stay in the main guest room, but I didn't want any of that. Besides, this one was at the far end of the house, more private and far away from the others.
I sat there, forcing myself to check my phone. Lately, there'd been a spike of fear in me every time I glanced at it as if another message from Aleksi might appear at any minute. Then again, maybe now that he was actually in New York, he figured that it was best to lay low.
I swallowed. What would he do to me when he did catch up with me?
It seemed difficult to believe that the Aleksi I knew would actually harm me.
But then again, the man I been with at the end hadn’t been Aleksi. Not anymore.
I needed to remember that the man he was now was capable of anything.
The rest of the day, I kept mostly to myself. I even managed to sneak away for a nice walk in the forest.
With the fresh pine-scented air filling my lungs, the leaves gently rustling in the breeze, and birds chattering to each other in the trees, I almost felt like things were all right. Like I was as free as I longed to be.
A crunch of leaves behind me startled me, and I swung around to find Pierce standing a few feet away.
"I didn’t mean to startle you. Adrian is petitioning for a game of Truth or Dare," he said. "Just wanted to warn you."
"Warn me?" I said. "So, I can hide out here in the forest?"
Pierce shrugged and held out his arm. "As long as you're okay with having company."
I didn't take his arm. I just stood there looking at him, while he stood there looking back at me.
He shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Listen, not to sound like a broken record, but I didn’t want things to turn out like this."
I didn't say anything. There were too many different responses in my head fighting for supremacy.
A furrow of frustration appeared on Pierce's brow. "What do you want me to do, Sasha?"
"I don't know," I said simply.
His hands came out of his pockets still clenched, but one of them held what looked to be a necklace. He held it out, with a look on his face that was difficult to place. "Here."
I accepted it gingerly. As soon as I got a good look at it, I smiled. "This is for me?"
He shrugged. "I saw it in a store the other day and it looked like you.�
�
"Thanks," I said.
Pierce looked like he might smile. "Are you coming?" He gestured to the sky. "It's getting dark, and I'll bet that if we don't come back in a few minutes, Adrian will traipse out here to find us himself."
I sighed. "Yup. He would probably do that."
So, we went back into the house together, to find my brother decked out in a ridiculous neon-pink speedo. I averted my eyes, only to find them land on Tatiana, who was wearing a frilly one piece in the same neon pink color.
"You guys matched your bathing suits?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh no," Tatiana said with a little chuckle. "We were just laughing about that. We ended up wearing the same colored bathing suit, without even meaning to."
I managed a weak chuckle, which Pierce echoed.
"Well," Adrian said, as he got out a bottle of wine, "Are you guys gonna get in your bathing suits?"
"Just give me a minute," I said.
When I came back, dressed in my striped two-piece, I had to stop for a minute. It was a good thing Pierce's back was to me. I’d seen him naked, for God's sake.
So why was it, that it continued to surprise me just how great a body he had? He had the kind of super-toned torso that movie stars trained for months to get. It didn’t help that the face he had was just as handsome as the body.
Adrian and Tatiana were already in the tub, passing the wine bottle back and forth. When I got in, Tatiana offered it to me, although I declined.
I’d already made a drunk fool of myself enough times with Pierce, thank you very much. Not to mention that I didn't need Adrian going into overprotective, older brother mode, either.
So, in the tub, they drank, and Pierce and I kept a respectable distance away from each other, as Adrian and Tatiana chatted easily.
As much as it weirded me out, seeing my brother with an old friend, it wasn't like I could talk after what had happened with Pierce. I had to admit, watching them together, that even though it was probably just one of Adrian's epic flings, they did look good together.
They both had an easy sense of humor; quick to laugh and have fun.
"Who wants to play Truth or Dare?" Adrian said suddenly.
Tatiana bounced up and down in the water eagerly. "Ooh, me!"
Pierce and I exchanged an unenthused look.
"Do we have a choice?" Pierce asked dryly.
Under the water I felt, his foot graze along mine.
"Nope," Adrian said surely, downing some more wine. "Okay, I'll go first. Tatiana, I dare you to kiss me."
"That's not fair," she protested. Although the next second her lips were plastered on top of his and they were full on making out. Pierce cleared his throat once, then twice. Only when he got up to go, did Adrian finally tear himself away.
"All right, all right. Tatiana, your turn."
"Do you want us to go, so you guys can have a private game?" I asked him significantly.
"No," he said gruffly. He was probably thinking that Pierce and I unsupervised was not a good idea either.
There was a devilish glint in Tatiana's wide-set brown eyes. "Adrian," she said primly. "I dare you to run naked around the entire chalet."
Adrian balked. "But --" he looked to Pierce. "Aren't the security guys stationed outside this place?"
"Yeah," Pierce said, smiling himself.
"What's the matter?" Tatiana said and simply. "Afraid?"
The next second my brother was stepping out of the tub, his face set and determined. "Terrified," he said deadpan. "Just watch me."
He started to pull down his bathing suit bottoms, and I looked away.
As he ran, I could see a pale figure racing around the chalet from the corner of my eye, as Pierce and Tatiana howled with laughter. Even I had to giggle a bit.
"I knew he’d do it," Tatiana said between laughter.
"That’s Adrian," was all I could say.
We heard some shouts and whoops as he ran around, maybe from the security guards as they laughed at Adrian’s antics. A minute or so later, he was back by the tub pulling on his Speedo and clambering back in.
"Whose turn is it?" I asked.
"Mine," Tatiana said happily.
"But-" I began to protest.
"I dare Pierce to kiss Sasha," she said, grinning evilly.
Adrian looked like he could strangle her.
None of us moved.
"What?" she asked, hand on her hip, meeting his murderous gaze. "You're allowed to dare me that, but I'm not allowed to dare them that?"
"It doesn't matter," my brother said through gritted teeth. "Because that’s not how the game works and it's not your turn and-"
I didn't hear the rest of what he said, because the next instant, Pierce's lips were on mine.
Oh wow. I hadn't realized how much I'd been missing them until they were there.
They landed on mine with a force that would not accept resistance. Although resisting was the last thing on my mind.
I heard a splash and broke away to see Adrian storming off into the house.
Tatiana shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Oh, boys."
She climbed out of the tub and ambled after him.
Pierce's and my gaze met. Now, more than before, we had free reign to continue what we started. Instead though, for some reason, I found myself saying, "It's my turn, and I choose truth. Why haven't you had a relationship last more than three months?"
Silence.
Shit. Why had I even said that?
We’d been having a perfectly fine time, no drama, or at least only a bit from Adrian.
Then again, maybe if Pierce gave me a good enough reason, then I could finally force myself to let go.
Pierce shrugged. "I could tell you that it was because I haven't been that crazy about any of the girls I’ve dated, which would be true. But that's only part of it. Really, relationships don't work. Right now, we're living in a period of transition, where we are trying to make believe that what worked for our grandparents, their parents, and even our parents, still works for us. The thing is, we're living longer, we're living harder, and frankly, people don't want to put up with the bad anymore. Relationships don't work."
"So that's it then?" I demanded. I stood up in the tub, clambered out and glared at him. "So, all this between us, has just been bullshit to you? I’m just a place holder until the next girl comes along and then you can bullshit her?"
Pierce looked at me, his face white, his jaw working. "Sasha, I-"
"No, you know what? Forget it. This is my fault. Adrian warned me about you, and I didn't listen."
I stormed off into the house.
I threw on some clothes as I packed my bag. I felt ridiculous. Hadn’t I known it wasn’t serious all along? Then why was I freaking out now?
As I was going downstairs, I heard Pierce coming in, but I quickly ducked out the front door. There was the security guard, the nice one, with blonde hair and kind eyes.
"I know you're getting paid to protect me," I said. "So, if I wanted you to drive me somewhere, like a bus station, would you do it?"
He shook his head. "Miss, I-"
I eyed him pleadingly. "Please. I can vouch for you if they get mad. I just – half my life I've been trapped and right now, I'm stuck with two men who think they know what's best for me and won't give me a chance to decide things for myself. Please."
The security guard glanced to a black SUV. "I can drive you. But I'm coming back and telling everyone where you went."
I nodded. "I understand. Please. I can't be here anymore. At least I’ll have a head start."
39
Pierce
Yeah, I screwed up — big time.
I rushed out the front door, just in time to see the security guard and Sasha in a car, driving away.
Where the hell was he taking her?
I headed over to another SUV, then stopped dead in my tracks.
Dammit. Why had I had those two shots while I was changing into my bathing suit?
&n
bsp; I went to the security guard on the other side of the house.
"One of your guys just took the woman we’re trying to protect," I told him. "We have to follow them."
He strode over to the side of the house, scowling and appraising the scene.
"You're right,” he said. “But we can't follow them. That only leaves one car. Won't be enough for the guys left here."
"But there's no point in your guys being here if the woman you're supposed to protect is gone," I said angrily.
He looked me straight on. "We were hired to protect this house, not that woman. And I'm sorry, but it was your friend who hired us, I need the okay from him."
I wheeled away and hurried up the stairs. It was obvious which room Adrian and Tatiana were in because only one had some electropop blaring from it. I rushed up to it and pounded on the door.
"Adrian!" I yelled. "Adrian! Open up; it's me!"
Nothing.
I pounded and yelled some more, but it was no use. The music was too loud, and Adrian was probably passed out drunk anyway.
I went back to my room and took out my phone. I called up Sasha, but she didn’t answer.
Finally, I collapsed into bed. I hoped against hope that she was just blowing off steam and that she’d come back when she was ready. But part of me knew better. I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, trying to get Sasha on the phone over and over, until I finally dropped off to sleep.
--
The next morning, I woke up around five.
I found the guard who’d driven off with Sasha and all he would tell me is that she asked him to drop her at a bus station in a nearby town.
Fuck, she could have gone anywhere.
It was light out, so I went and grabbed a bagel before ambling over to Adrian and Tatiana’s room. There was no more music coming from it, so I pounded on the door.
No answer. I pounded on the door again, then tried the knob. It opened.
Adrian and Tatiana were passed-out cold, thankfully, covered by the duvet.
I went over to Adrian’s side and shook him.
"Adrian," I said, "Get up. It's important."
He squinted one eye a third of the way open, then closed it again. "What time is it?”
"Early. It's Sasha," I said. "She left."
Protecting Sasha Page 10
