Free Her Russian Mafia Protector by Bella Rose Page A

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