Page 30 of Fierce Protector

“You want his house wired too?” is his only query. Typical Marcus. Succinct and efficient.

“Start with round-the-clock surveillance.” I grind out. “Rotate three teams of two every twenty-four hours, and I want updates on every shift change, Marcus.”

As I hang up, my pacing is interrupted by a now furious Katerina blocking my path.

“Don’t start with me, Katerina Elena Mancini.”

“Don’t you fucking full name me!This is getting out of hand,”she shouts, squaring up against me in a manner that might be intimidating if it wasn’t so fucking adorable. I can’t help stepping into her personal space and challenging her right back.

“I think you’ll find, I’ll do whatever it takes when it comes to protecting your safety,” I bellow right back at her. “Do you think for one second I’ll allow this to continue? I don’t give a fuck who his father is or how it affects your career. This isn’t just a mild infatuation. He’s threatening to hurt you!”

We’re both glaring at each other, our chests heaving, emotions a swirling vortex of anger, fear, and frustration. The tension in the air is so thick it feels like it could choke us both. I don’t know who moves first but the second her lips touch mine it’s like all the oxygen in theroom has been consumed and the only way to breathe is with the air we can steal from each other.

I don’t know if it takes seconds or minutes for us to burn off our anger with our frenzied kiss but when we come up for air, I lift her into my arms and let the feeling of rightness wash over me as she wraps her legs around my waist. Our eyes are locked together, neither one of us blinking. “Don’t ever lie to me again.”

“I didn’t lie,” she protests, but her cheeks flush, betraying her.

“A lie by omission is still a lie. I won’t tolerate being disrespected, Katerina. Do I make myself clear?” I try to temper the tone of my voice, but I can’t dampen the seriousness of my words. No matter how much I care for her, this won’t work if she doesn’t trust me with the truth.

She nods, but I don’t let it go. I move one arm, and wrap my hand around her throat, gripping with enough pressure to draw out the slightest of moans.

“You won’t brat your way out of this one, baby girl. Use. Your. Words. Promise me you will tell me everything.” I bite out.

She’s nodding before the words escape her. “I promise,” she says, her tone soft but resolute, and I can see the regret lacing her features at having lied to me before.Fuck me if contrition doesn’t look hot as fuck on her.

I lean closer, clasping her neck a little tighter as I press a kiss to her lips and whisper in her ear. “Such a good girl for me.” I preen when she smiles and releases a contented sigh, before reluctantly releasing my grip, sending her upstairs to bed to wait for me.

I do a sweep of the house, for security but also to givemyself a few minutes to calm down. I replay every hate-filled word she relayed to me from the call and the more I let them spiral through my mind, the more concerned I become.

I don’t like that he’s escalating. And I sure as fuck don’t like that it feels like she’s in more danger now than she was before.

One thing I know though. He’s going to regret staking any claim on what’s mine.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

KATERINA

It’s been a long day filled with nothing but complicated surgeries and bad outcomes. No one likes losing patients, but losing them back-to-back only compounds the failure you feel. It settles in your bones and makes you question every ounce of skill you’ve spent years honing.

The last surgery was a clusterfuck and not even the self-proclaimed cardio god was able to repair the aortic dissection the patient sprung on us. Doctor Jenkins followed me out of the OR and kept on at me about my lack of focus these days. While a part of me understands that it’s his way to blame everyone else in the room when something goes wrong, today is not the day and I am not the one.

I’d turned my back on him, telling him to lodge a complaint with the Chief of Surgery if he was trulyquestioning my competence. Thankfully, he didn’t try to follow me and had given up on his tirade.

I’m currently refusing to budge from under the rather limp, semi-hot spray of the changing room showers. It’s doing two-fifths of fuck-all to soothe my screaming muscles, sore from standing elbow-deep in patients for hours on end, but I needed to wash away the day.

I hadn’t felt right since last night. I should have told Stefano the moment I’d started receiving the calls, but I was so convinced that he and Nico were overreacting that I’d ignored them. No matter how much I try, I can’t shake the feeling I’ve let him and myself down.

I finally haul myself out of the cubicle and change. It’s not only the sudden shift in temperature that has me shivering. I used to feel safe at the hospital, but now it’s like I’m looking over my shoulder at every turn. Although the notes have stopped, the phone calls and now text messages aren’t slowing down. If anything, they’re getting worse. I reach for my phone and find a flurry of notifications obscuring the screen. Dozens of alerts from the same unknown number. Missed calls, voicemails, and texts. Rubbing my hand over my face, I prepare myself for the worst.

They start out almost friendly, yet they’re tainted with a manic level of delusion that turns my stomach. Apologies for his ‘unkind words’ soon turn into unhinged scoldings for ignoring him and venomous insults.

UNKNOWN:

Whores don’t deserve mercy. When I get my hands on you, I’ll flay every inch of skin he’s touched from your bones.

Bile rises in my throat, and I run to one of the stalls, unable to stop myself from emptying the contents of my stomach. When I’m quite sure I’m done and it’s safe to put some distance between myself and the toilet bowl, I drag myself up. I find myself staring at my reflection in the mirrors above the sink as I wash my hands.

There are dark circles under my eyes, and exhaustion etched into my face that all of a sudden… Pisses. Me. Off.

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