Free Her Russian Mafia Protector by Bella Rose

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