Chapter 2
Lainey
“I thought I was extremely clear, Damien. I do not want you here.” I didn’t want him anywhere near me.
The bastard had every intention of ignoring my wishes. As usual. I’d already reached the end of my patience. The girl who’d been swept off her feet by the promise of stardom, money for my family, and long-term security was long gone.
I was sick of being na?ve, allowing men to control my career and my personal life.
I’d been raised differently. Lately, all I’d been asking myself was how in the hell I’d gotten pulled into a life that had yet to provide me with true happiness.
The saying was true. All money bought was the sense of stability, but in the world of show business, that could be stripped away in a heartbeat.
It was time for the old girl to return, the tomboy who’d learned early on to take no shit. Staying in one place for months had been good for me. For the first time in at least several years I hadn’t been treated like a piece of meat.
I had Sasha Dmitriyev to thank for that.
Just thinking his name not only brought a wave of tickling heat, but also fueled the anger I had toward Damien.
“I brought you roses, baby. I know how you like them.” Damien Kane thought he was immune to decency, choosing to ignore my demands. He placed the crystal vase on my dressing table and it was all I could do not to slam the thick vase in his face.
My anger was off the charts. How dare the son of a bitch bring flowers as if that would in any way drive aside the abuse.
Why I’d listened to my manager, the public relations team, and my attorney in not obtaining a restraining order was beyond me.
My fucking God. I’d allowed two men and a whole army of social media gurus to control my life when they couldn’t care less about me.
Then there was this asshole, a prick who believed he owned me.
“It will be good for your career.”
“You need stabilization in your life, Lainey.”
“You can help clean up his bad boy image.”
Why in God’s name had I agreed? Stability I’d had long before I’d become a star. Days I missed with every ounce of my being. I just wanted to be that girl again, even for a little while.
I half laughed after taking a glance at the flowers. “You have no clue about me and you never did. Yeah, I like roses. White roses. I hate red.”
He couldn’t care less. That was easy to see by the smug look on his face.
“This is long overdue, Damien. We are finished. Not that we ever had a real relationship in the first place, but I want nothing to do with this charade. You can leave now.”
“Come on, baby. I told you I was sorry.”
“Sorry, you son of a bitch? You put me in the hospital. You forced me to cancel a contract because of what you did to me. You forced me to hide in my house until the bruises healed so I wouldn’t derail your career. Now, I’m going to say this once. Get the fuck out.”
I’d wasted almost two years of my life pretending I cared about the man for the cameras. For my career, I was told more than once. A celebrity couple equaled sales. I’d been so fucking na?ve that for about ten minutes, I’d believed them.
It had been just the opposite.
I’d almost lost myself in the fanfare, enjoying the garbage surrounding the glamorous parties and photoshoots, increased sales and my popularity going through the roof.
The first punch should have knocked some sense into me.
The second should have put a nail in his coffin.
I was finished with being Lainey Rose the megastar. That vulnerable, stupid girl had grown up. It was time to take my destiny and my future into my own hands.
“I’m going to say this one last time. Leave and I never want to hear from you again. If you don’t, this time I will press charges.”
For all the things Damien had done since we’d been forced together, every abusive action had been in private. In public, he was the perfect boyfriend. Attentive. Loving. Giving. Even passionate, although after the first month, being close to him had begun to make my skin crawl.
Maybe that’s why I was caught off guard yet again.
He drove me against the wall, wrapping his thick fingers around my neck.
Not only was my air supply immediately cut off, so was my voice.
I tried to scream as I grabbed his arm with one hand, pummeling his chest with the other.
But there was barely any sound, just a strangled hiss coming from my throat.
Almost instantly I was lightheaded, gasping for air as he stared down at me with hatred in his eyes and a smile on his face.
“Now, I’m going to try and forgive you for that, little pumpkin. You’re under stress. I’m going to take you back home with me where you’re going to learn some manners.”
“Don’t… touch…” They were the only two words I managed to whisper.
“I’ll touch you anywhere I want since you belong to me.” The bastard had the nerve to drive his hand between my legs. My reaction was swift. I grabbed his crotch, twisting.
He jerked away, immediately backhanding me. I was pitched into the corner, my ears ringing.
A haze formed over my tear-filled eyes. This just couldn’t be happening. He grabbed me again, squeezing my neck until I could no longer breathe.
I could tell I was close to blacking out, unable to see anything clearly. But my other senses were heightened.
Boom!
The room rocked as a door was pitched against the wall. Barely two seconds later, I could breathe again. I grabbed my throat, still terrified as I tried to understand what I was seeing.
In the horrible haze, I could tell someone had come to my rescue. Not just any man, but the very one I’d been pining away for since the first day I’d met him.
One powerful Russian with the sweetest demeanor and the kindest, most haunting eyes.
Sasha Dmitriyev.
I knew all about his reputation and that of his entire family. They were big, bad Russians, Bratva. Members of a crime syndicate. I’d been warned about taking the residency. I’d been pushed to the point that I’d reacted entirely differently than I’d done with any aspect of my career before.
I’d balked hard. I’d refused to back down.
My mother had taught me a long time ago that looks could be deceiving.
Then I’d learned the hard way stories driven by social media barely had any ounce of truth in them.
While I’d done my homework, not only reading articles in various magazines and watching old videos of various awards family members had received, I’d also called a few former artists who’d performed for them before.
They’d all said the said thing. The accounts of horrible, evil deeds were ridiculous.
Even then, I hadn’t been completely convinced until the fateful first meeting with Sasha and the Dmitriyev corporate attorney.
The fantasies had begun that very night.
Yet even after the extensive reading and months of working with him, the way he’d reacted to Damien and even to Scott floored me.
In an entirely good way.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” he ordered, offering Damien no time to respond.
Sasha wrapped his hand around Damien’s throat, lifting him off the floor by several inches and shoving him against the wall with such force, the wallboard cracked.
While both men were over six feet, Damien bulked up likely on steroids to play the various characters, Sasha was simply powerful in every aspect.
Maybe I hadn’t paid close enough attention, but he was at least six foot four, yet instead of being bulky, every muscle was carved to perfection. The look on his face was intense, his deep blue eyes completely mesmerizing.
“Now, you’re going to listen to me, you fuckwad,” Sasha said with a deep voice, yet completely devoid of emotion. He was even grinning and from where I stood, I was able to capture the cold gleam in his eyes.
He was also strangling Damien with the same dedication to hurting and controlling the man as Damien had done with me.
My stomach flipped from fury and hatred, even a trickle of self-doubt, which I loathed. The sudden feeling of being protected by a stranger gave me a foreign but warming sense of courage.
I rose to my full height, so angry I couldn’t think clearly, hating myself that several tears had managed to roll down my face. What had happened to the tough girl who could take anything? Where the hell had she gone?
Sasha lowered his head, forcing Damien to look him directly in the eyes.
“If you ever make contact with Ms. Rose again, whether in a text, on social media, a phone call, a gift, or daring to show your face to her, you will learn just how dangerous of a human being I can be. Just in case you’ve heard any rumors about me and my family easily making people disappear, I’d take them to heart.
If you dare object, I’ll snap your neck like a twig. ”
For all Damien’s bravado, he was only brave around women he could beat into submission.
I could smell his fear and while I should hate myself for it, I was glad.
Pleased as punch. Especially when hearing Damien struggling to breathe.
I had no idea how Sasha was doing it, but he wasn’t breaking a sweat while holding Damien above the floor.
“I would ordinarily handle an issue of this nature in ways taught to me by my father and uncle. However, in deference to the lady and her kindness, I’m going to call the police instead. This fuck won’t ever bother you again.” Sasha was still smiling, enjoying every moment.
So was I.
Did that make me a bad person? If so, I just didn’t care at that moment.
The concern reflected in Sasha’s actions created flip-flops in my stomach. He cared about me. A stranger. A man I’d barely talked to, although my fantasies about him predicated knowledge of his strength and prowess.
Seeing the fear in Damien’s eyes shouldn’t thrill me. That meant I was a very bad girl. Oh, well.