187|New Sheriff In Town

187|New Sheriff In Town
Eden didn't waste another second after Liam's parents called to let her know he was awake. She saw her friends off and locked up her house.

Back at the penthouse, a collective sigh of relief swept through the room when she updated Brenda and Dave and the rest of the housekeeping staff on Liam's progress. She could swear someone had lifted the eighteen-wheeler they'd all been carrying around over the past several days.

"I have to run," Eden said as she gave Aiden a quick smooch before setting off to see Liam.

"You're not taking the little one?" Dave asked.

"I'll take him this evening when I drop off Liam's clothes and other stuff he'll need," she explained.

Dave nodded and saw her out, locking the door behind him.

Half an hour later, she was at the hospital, and Jace insisted on escorting her to Liam's ward, but she declined. She'd been there so many times now she could easily find her way around.

"We'll be waiting for you," her handler said, still looking unsure about letting her wander off on her own.

"See you in a bit," Eden waved at him and turned to the entrance, where she came face to face with her worst nightmare.

"No, it can't be," she whispered as she gawked at Aleksei Ivanov, terror and dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

He should still be in prison. She had watched his arrest on the news, so it made no sense that he was there.

But as quickly as her fear had sparked to life, it was gone, replaced by white-hot rage flowing through her veins.

Before Eden even knew what she'd done, she was already retracting her hand, and her palm stung like a bitch!

"Are you out of your mind?" Aleksei roared at her as he grabbed and twisted her wrist.

Jace was out of the car in a heartbeat.

"Let go of her," he said in a deathly calm voice as he opened his jacket and touched the butt of his gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Aleksei warned him. Jerking his head at his bodyguards not too far behind him, he continued. "See those two men; they'll have her brains splashed on this door before you draw your weapon."

"I'll take my chances," and in a blink of an eye, Jace had already drawn his gun and cocked it.

As Aleksei twisted her wrist and his goons pointed guns at her head, Eden finally understood how Liam got shot. The man was not only a highly unpredictable son of a bitch, but his guys were also a little trigger happy.

With his weapon already drawn, Aaron inched closer. "I'd listen to him if I were you. He's ex-Special Forces."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Aleksei asked.

Eden didn't know about him, but she most certainly was. She would never have guessed Jace had gone through one of the hardest selection processes in the world to earn himself a spot in the country's elite unit.

"I don't care if you're impressed, but I'm a bloody good shot. Your men will be dead before they can cock their guns!" Jace muttered, his lips barely moving. "Now, quit being an asshole and let her go!"

Aleksei dropped her hand, and Eden almost moaned with relief as she blew out a huge sigh.

"You can't go around slapping strangers!" Aleksei snarled at her, and she could only scoff at his absurd statement.

"Stranger? Don't act like we don't know each other. You're lucky you got away with just a slap. Liam wasn't so lucky. No thanks to you! How the hell are you even out? I supposed you paid off someone!"

"Wait—What? Liam Anderson?"

"Don—" Eden was very close to losing her crap all over him when it hit her. The blond devil in the sleek, dark chocolate suit had the same green eyes, the same air of cockiness and arrogance. But he was not Aleksei. He was the other half of the crazy duo, the recently returned prodigal son.

"This is all a big misunderstanding," he said and held out his hand to her. "Andrei Ivanov. Aleksei is my younger brother."

"I figured," Eden murmured, refusing to shake hands with the man whose brother had almost cost her everything.

She slid through the revolving doors and hurried inside, trying her damnedest to ignore the curious stares from the lurkers who had witnessed her standoff with Aleksei.

Jace and Aaron did not let her out of their sight this time. They followed her to the pharmacy on the ground floor and stuck close to her while she did her shopping.

Andrei lingered beside her as well, grabbed items from the shelves and glanced at them briefly before placing them back.

Eden's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she felt like the biggest fool on earth for allowing her fear and paranoia to get the better of her. She should have known Aleksei was still in jail. But like an idiot, she'd allowed her mind run all over the place and had now very likely pissed off the other crazy brother.

"I came to see Anderson as soon as I heard what my brother did—" Andrei continued to try and make amends while she picked items from the shelves and dumped them in the basket.

She paused and contemplated buying the box of waterproof emoji patterned Band-Aids. The nurses had told her there was no need for the plasters, but she wanted to make Liam feel better in her own little way.

She threw the box in the basket and glared at Andrei. "You cannot be serious right now. You and your brother are the last people the Andersons would want to see. Now, I suggest you turn around and go back that way—"

She pointed at the door and tapped her foot, her face taut with fury. "—That's where you'll find the exit."

"You heard her," Jace drawled from behind her. "Leave. Don't make things more complicated than they already are."

Andrei glared at them for a stretch before groaning in her direction. "Tell Liam I want a meeting with him."

"There's a lot of things we want, Mr Ivanov, but can't have. I wanted to go to bed with Liam's arms around me last night and every other night since your brother shot him, but I didn't. I wanted him to have breakfast with his son this morning, but he couldn't because your crazy asshole of a brother decided to play God with Liam's life. So forgive me if I don't give a flying fish about what you want!" She yelled at him, her body shaking from anger, mortification stinging her eyes when she looked up and saw a thin crowd of pill buyers watching her meltdown with glee and curiosity.

Hospitals were such depressing places, so any bit of drama helped, and they were all there for it.

"If I want something, Ms—" Andrei said, but Eden ignored his attempts at an introduction.

"How rude of you!" He carried on, clearly disturbed by her impertinence. "As I was saying— If I want something, I make sure I get it. I want a meeting with Anderson, and you'll make it happen."

"I don't remember being on your payroll," Eden snapped and approached the till. She dumped the basket on the counter and looked through her purse for her cheque card.

"Is that all?" The cashier asked.

Eden nodded, and in a flash, Andrei had handed over his black card.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She demanded as she snatched the card from the cashier and shoved it back at Andrei, slamming it hard on his chest. "You think paying for a few Band-Aids will make up for what your brother did? He almost killed Liam! What he did is criminal, and I hope he rots in jail and doesn't make bail!"

"Control your emotions, woman!" Andrei's eyes were as dark as the moss at the bottom of a murky pond as he barked at her. "This is why I don't discuss business with women. Know your place. You are just a messenger, so be good and deliver my message to Anderson. Tell him to call me when he's ready to play a round of golf."

"We're done here!" Eden smiled coldly at him and grabbed her pharmacy bag, disgusted by the man's obvious disdain for women.

"Aleksei fucked up. I know that. But let's be honest, if Anderson didn't fuck with our bottom line, none of this shit would have happened," Andrei said, his mouth twisted venomously, the rage in his eyes chilling her into silence. "Tell loverboy there's a new sheriff in town. I want a meeting with him, and I'm tired of running after him like a little bitch. I've been here every single day. If he insists on playing hide and seek, there'll be serious consequences. Aleksei missed. I don't!"

His threats delivered, Andrei pranced off, leaving her weak and terrified and sick to her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Jace asked as they left the pharmacy.

"I'm fine," she smiled weakly at him.

"You have to stay away from Ivanov," Jace said. "You can't goad him like that again. Mr Anderson will be livid if he finds out Andrei hurt you."

"I'm sorry," Eden apologised. "I know I lost my head. It's just that I thought he's Aleksei. And Jace, please, you can't worry Liam about this."

"I have to report—"

"No, Jace." She shook her head firmly. "What good will it do? Liam needs to focus on his recovery right now."

"Fine," he relented. "But we are not letting you out of our sight from now on, especially now that Andrei is back. Aleksei is a loose cannon, but Andrei is methodical and composed. When he does a job, he does it well with no possible trace back to him. For Mr Anderson's sanity and peace of mind, stay away from Andrei."

"Okay, I will," she promised as she eased into Liam's room and found Lois alone with him.

"Is he out again?" Eden asked as they exchanged hugs while her gaze lingered on Liam's sleeping form on the bed.

"Yes, it's been an hour now. But he was lucid for some time, and the doctors are pleased with his progress," she replied and picked up her handbag. "Now that you're here, I can attend the board meeting. My son's barely been awake a few hours, and we already have to release a statement about his condition. The board members are getting antsy about their share prices."

Eden nodded, "of course, go ahead."

"Clarke's following up on Aleksei's bail application, but he should stop by later to relieve you," Lois called over her shoulder before she vanished through the door and out of sight.

Eden turned to the bed and dropped a gentle kiss on Liam's lips. "Hey, Princess, wake up."

"I'm starting to think you don't want to see me." She carried on as she sat down and took his hand. "Every time I stop by, you're sleeping."

She looked through the pharmacy bag and ripped the box open, and took out a few Band-Aids. "Guess who I ran into? No? You don't want to? Okay, fine, I'll tell you. It's the other half of the terrible twins. Can you believe he calls himself the new sheriff in town? What kind of douchebag says shit like that?"

She gently placed a plaster over his hand, but it was so big she needed two to cover all his knuckles. "Anyway, I thought he's Aleksei, so I slapped him hard. Do you love me more now that I've avenged you? Are you impressed?"

Eden moved on to his face next and patched up all the bruised spots.

"Liam, wake up," she blinked back her tears and buried her face on the covers. "Talking to myself isn't fun!"

"I thought you want to shut me up?"