Dangerous Obsession (Men of Valor Springs #4)

Chapter One

Jax

Here we go again.

The intense arguing, slamming of doors, and the stomping feet have become somewhat routine in the Andreyev household. I don’t even blink at the noise anymore. It was worrying at first, but now it’s more of frequent annoyance at most.

“I’m not leaving!” The younger of the two Andreyev siblings insists as she follows her older brother into the hall outside his office.

“You’ll do what I tell you, Arya. It’s for your own good. You know I wouldn’t insist on it if there was any other option,” the elder Andreyev replies, exasperation clear in his voice.

The sound of feet stomping up the stairs follows before a door slams with such force it echoes through the house. A familiar sigh reaches my ears from the doorway, and I look up to watch my best friend and boss Vlad Andreyev make his way toward me.

“For fuck’s sake,” he curses as he drops onto the chair across from me and worries his hair with his fingers before turning to look at me. “Do you think it would be easier to just slip her something to knock her out and let her wake up the next morning in Belgium?”

I take the question for what it is, hyperbole. He and I know that it would be nearly impossible to get his sister out of the country without her consent—and that she’d never forgive him if he betrayed her that way—but I understand his frustration. I have known Vlad since we were young boys and my father was his father’s enforcer. I was raised knowing what my position in the Andreyev family would be, and when Vlad assumed his role as the Bratva boss right after his father’s death, I left the military to work for him as his right-hand man. Despite spending most of my life in this household, I rarely interacted with the youngest of the Andreyevs, who spent most of her life abroad with only occasional visits home.

And for good reason.

Since Arya moved back to Valor Springs, there have been two attempts on her life. She’s been home for only five months, and there is no shortage of people looking to get to Vlad through her. The first attempt on her life happened only a few weeks after moving back to Valor Springs. Someone messed with her brakes, and the accident that followed could have easily turned fatal. The second incident happened a month ago with an attempted kidnapping when a white van pulled up just as she was leaving the mansion grounds to go for a run, but the men guarding the gate saw what was happening, and shot at the van, scaring the kidnappers away. It was a dramatic scene all things considered, but it left the normally stoic Vlad very shaken. The fact that we haven’t been able to determine who was behind the attempt hasn’t helped.

The first attempt on her life sent Vlad into a near panic, but it was the second attempt that solidified his stance about moving his sister abroad. Arya, however, disagrees. As a result, she and Vlad have reached a stalemate with Arya forced to stay indoors, essentially on house arrest.

There are very few people who matter to Vlad, and aside from his fiancée, his nineteen-year-old sister is at the very top of that list. It’s only natural that he would want to hide away his baby sister in a different country for her safety. Vlad is, after all, a crime boss, and there are quite a few people who would love to wipe out his bloodline, and his sister is one of his weakest links. Sending her back to Belgium where she’s spent her school years would be a safe option, but it’s not the only one. And without the security that the school provided, it might not be the best option either.

“Why don’t you assign a bodyguard to her?” I suggest, and Vlad’s head whips to me.

“A bodyguard?”

“She’s been locked in here for weeks already.” I know I would go crazy in her place. “It’s only a matter of time before she’s had enough. You can have one or two of your trusted men shadow her. I have a few guys in mind.”

Vlad nods, and then he stands and starts pacing, making a humming noise as he does so. I lean back and watch him mull over the idea. I imagine his mind was set on sending his sister away, and he never even entertained the thought of assigning protection for his sister or letting her stay in Valor Springs. But Valor Springs is a small town where outsiders would be easily recognized. With Vlad’s influence, the entire town is controlled environment.

“My own cousin tried to kill Arya. If I cannot trust family with her life, then how can I do that with other men, even those on my payroll?” He’s talking mostly to himself, so I don’t bother responding. “Fuck, I even if I did trust one of my own men to not harm her, Arya is sneaky strong-willed. She’d get sick of being shadowed and slip away from them. The only option is to send her away or…”

He stops suddenly and turns his head back to me. It’s almost as if a light blinks on in his mind as his eyes light up. I raise a brow at the contemplative look he’s giving me, and I can tell I am not going to like what comes from his mouth next.

“What?”

“You were in the Marines for six years.”

This is something everyone knows. I only came back to assume my position as his right-hand man and carry on where my father left off. Why the fuck would he bring up my military days now? That life is in the past. “Where is this going?”

“You have military training and have been working for this family for years. You are familiar with everyone in Valor Springs, and you better than anyone else knows who can and cannot be trusted. Not to mention how you feel about Arya.”

My heart stutters at his words. I don’t like where this is going. But before I can utter a response, Vlad continues.

“You love her like she’s your own sister. Arya has known you almost her whole life; she’s comfortable around you. And there’s no one I trust with her safety more than you.”

“No.” Fuck, no . Of course, I care about Arya, but my feelings are far from familial. I won’t be telling her overprotective big brother that, though.

“Arya trusts you,” Vlad reiterates, and I can see he has already made up his mind about it, but this cannot happen. Five months ago, when Arya got into that accident, I stayed with her at the hospital—guarded her—until she was released, but that was a temporary solution because there was no one else to do it. Vlad has more than enough time now to vet other people and bring them in to protect his sister. Heck, I am offering to give him a list of names.

“No,” I say again, firmer this time. “I’m not a babysitter.”

Especially not for girls with golden hazel eyes who stare at you like the moon and the sky hangs over your head. Girls that have no right looking at you like that.

Arya Andreyev is forbidden, especially to a hardened man such as myself. She is so fragile and innocent, I would break the little bird. No, I cannot think of the girl as anything but my boss’s sister. I shake my head for good measure, but Vlad simply shrugs it off.

“You are the perfect person to protect her. The only person.”

“I have enough to do as it is. We have an important shipment arriving tomorrow, and someone needs to be there in case there is trouble. I cannot babysit your sister and deal with business.”

“Someone else will handle the shipment.”

My brows arch at his words. There is a reason why I am the one who deals with the less-than-legal aspects of the family business. Vlad might be the boss and the face that people associate with the family, but I do all the work behind the scenes. The fear that everyone carries for this man exists because I am the one who inspires it in his name. I command respect for the Andreyev name and break bones when it is not afforded. Mine is not a job that can easily be passed on to someone else. It just doesn’t work that way.

I have enough to do without worrying about a pretty girl with eyes a mesmerizing blend of earthy browns, greens, and mesmerizing golds. Eyes that shimmer with a mysterious allure that tries to draw me in every time she looks at me. Not to mention that pouty mouth that makes my heart burn with the need to kiss it. A need I swore to ignore.

“No.”

“You work for me, Jax,” Vlad says, and my brows furrow at his words. He’s not wrong. As pakhan , Vlad’s word is law, but isn’t often he feels the need to remind me of my place. I damn well know my job, and babysitting his sister is not one of them. I may have been raised with the knowledge that I would work for him, but I am no one’s lap dog.

“I know what my role is, sir .” I emphasize the last word, pouring every bit of derision I feel into my tone. If Vlad were his father, this level of disrespect would be enough to have me killed. But Vlad isn’t just my boss, he is my best friend, and it’s my job to call him on his bullshit.

Vlad’s eyes turn flinty and he keeps them fixed on mine for a solid minute before he deflates, his sigh heavy and tired. “Help me out here, Jax. What else can I do? If I could, I would ship my sister out of the country where she would be safe, but the girl won’t leave. And truth be told, I don’t want her to. I just got her home. But I can’t keep her locked up here forever without one of us going insane.”

“I have a list of men that would do a good job of protecting your sister.”

Vlad shakes his head. “’Good’ isn’t good enough. I want the best. You are the best. You’d protect Arya with your life without a second thought,” he says, and my eyes cross to the top of the stairs, visible through the open office door, where I catch a glimpse of midnight black hair through the staircase balusters. Her dark hair is the only feature Arya seems to have in common with the rest of her family. Well, that and her stubbornness. “Arya is the only person from this messed up family that matters. I want her safe, and you are the only person I can trust to protect her.”

My eyes lock with the girl eavesdropping on our conversation, and for a couple of seconds, I find myself drawn in by her beauty. In a family of wolves and power-thirsty men, Arya shines as bright as a diamond and just as pretty. She glows the brightest with her innocence and naivety, making even men like me yearn for her.

Fuck, I cannot agree to this, but…

What if the man hired to protect Arya crosses the line? One look at her beauty, and they would be as bewitched as I am. There is no guarantee that they won’t act on their desires despite her status as a pakhan’s sister. This is a line I am unwilling to cross, but someone else might not be so scrupulous.

The thought of another man getting close enough to touch her…

“I’ll do it,” I say, shifting my gaze from the girl hiding on the staircase to her pacing brother, who suddenly stops when I speak.

“You will protect Arya?”

“Yes,” I assure my best friend. “I will be her bodyguard. Only until the immediate threat to her life is dealt with and you’ve had time to vet a team to guard her. In the meantime, I will protect your sister with my life.” From the threat to her safety and from other men.

Vlad nods, and I notice the relief in his eyes, but I bet if he knew my reasons for agreeing to do this, he would not be so pleased. I am doing this for completely selfish reasons. My eyes shift back to the staircase and the girl still watching me, her face pressed against the railing.

She bites into her lip and quickly averts her eyes and I realize that I am well and truly fucked. How the fuck am I going to keep my hands to myself and off the girl when she looks at me the way she does?

“Great, it’s decided then. I will go and talk to Arya about it.”

I nod and watch as the girl hurries away from the stairs in the direction of her room right as Vlad starts to make his toward the door. I watch him disappear from sight, and unlike all the other times the siblings have spoken recently, there is no yelling or crying or slamming of doors. When he comes back down, Arya is in tow.

Don’t look.

Do not fucking look, and yet…I do.

My eyes trail the petite girl from her shorts that expose her porcelain legs to her crop top, which emphasizes the outline of her tits, and my gaze lingers. All my blood rushes south, and I know I should not look at her body, especially in the presence of her overprotective brother, but I can’t make myself look away.

Her midnight black hair is mussed, and her lips are held in a slight pout. I have to force myself to stay grounded to my seat and not go to her.

Jesus Christ, is this how it’s going to be from now on? Fighting my desire for this girl while trying to hide my body’s reaction from everyone around us.

“Arya,” Vlad speaks, snapping my focus from his sister to him. “If you are set on staying in Valor Springs, then Jax will be accompanying you anytime you leave the house. It will be his job to keep you safe.”

“Okay,” she says, and her soft voice starkly contrasts with her stubborn, fiery tone from earlier.

Vlad grabs the girl’s shoulders and squeezes her lightly. “I am serious, Arya. You need to stay by his side at all times. There are people out there looking to hurt you, but Jax will protect you. I don’t want you pulling pranks or trying to hide from him like you did to Father’s men when you were little. Promise you’ll listen to him and do everything he says.”

Arya turns to look at me, worrying her bottom lip as she does. Fuck, she’s a dream…a walking temptation. Her eyes draw me in like no one ever has before, and I realize that protecting this girl and keeping my hands off her is going to be the biggest challenge of my life.

“I will listen to Jax and do everything he says,” she whispers, her cheeks flushing a deep, rosy hue. “I promise.”