The rap on the door sounded again, followed by Kova’s muffled voice. "Adrianna, open the door."

"Oh hell fucking no," Hayden bit out, and casually tossed the small box of morning after pills onto the coffee table.

He stomped toward the door, and by some miracle, I got there before him and stood in front of him.

"Hayden, please, stand back," I begged, my hands flat to his chest trying to push him away. His pecs flexed against my palms, but he didn't budge. "Don't say a word to him. He obviously already knows that you know and I'm sure he's worried."

"Why are you sticking up for him?"

"I'm not." Maybe I was just a little. "Just let me talk to him and see what he wants."

He cracked his neck to the side and gritted out, "Fine."

"Thank you."

Hayden took a small, small step back. Taking a deep breath and praying for the best, I unbolted the door with trembling fingers and pulled it open.

My lungs burned at the sight of Kova. I hated him. I hated the ground he walked on, the air he breathed.

At least, I wanted to. That's what I told myself.

The unexpected presence of him caused a stirring inside my belly and a drumming in my heart. For a split second, I forgot all the turmoil he's caused, the havoc he's wrecked. One look into his green eyes and his raw emotion was on display for all to see.

He was overcome with despair. Distraught.

There was something downright magnetic about Kova that drew me to him. An allure, a fascination.

And something as powerful and as captivating as him could only ever end in utter destruction.

I stepped back to let Kova inside and bumped into Hayden. His chest was flush against my back, his arm stretched around my abdomen and rested possessively on my hip. It was then that Kova lifted his stare and looked behind me. His jaw tightened and his eyes darkened at the sight of Hayden. Something flickered in his gaze, a shadow of knowledge, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Kova pushed his way into my condo like it was a natural thing for him.

Hayden released me, and before I could stop him, his fist flew toward Kova in a blur of motion. "Hayden, no!" I gasped at the sound of his knuckles connecting with Kova's sharp jaw, the crack splintering the tension in the room.

"Oh my God!" I barely had enough time to move when the back of Kova's larger than life body fell toward me like a building about to collapse. Luckily for my sake, he quickly regained his footing and stood upright. I walked to stand between them and put my hands out. I wasn't sure I had the ability to stop them, but I was sure as hell going to try.

Kova brought the back of his hand to his mouth, his eyes gleamed, a wicked grin spread across his face. He would smile.

"Are you crazy, Hayden?" I cried out, shoving him back with a huff. He didn't stumble. I shoved again, this time pushing with everything in me. "Get back!" Trying to move a giant boulder while tipsy proved to be harder than I anticipated.

"You're really going to ask me if I'm crazy right now?" he asked, his eyes like poisoned daggers trained solely on Kova. The air was combustible between the three of us and the dense silence made it even more volatile. Hayden resembled an untamed animal. I'd never seen this side of him before. So protective and defensive. If he could spit bullets, I had no doubt he would.

Hayden moved fast and stepped around me. I knew I didn't have it in me to hold him back, so I positioned myself in front of Kova. I plastered myself to him and wrapped my arms behind me and grabbed on to Kova's legs. My heart beat wild and frantic against my ribs. I held my breath and watched as Hayden raised his fist in the air.

"Hayden! Stop!" I screamed, but he didn't hear me.

Kova draped one arm over my chest and cuffed my shoulder as he blocked the punch from Hayden with his forearm. I gasped in horror as he ducked, shielding my body with his as Hayden's fists tried to strike again. Kova flung me to the side and out of the way.

I braced my fall with my arms outstretched and turned my head as my knees scraped across the carpet. I sucked in a breath, wincing from the rug burn and listening to the grunting of curse words between the two men. I glanced up and brushed the loose strands of hair from my face that blocked my view, tucking them behind my ear. Eyes wide, my knees trembled as I slowly stood, mortified at the sight before me.

"What the fuck are you doing, Hayden!" Kova raged, ducking from another blow. He stood to his full height and shoved Hayden back with a push to his chest. "You almost hit her!"

Kova maneuvered himself behind Hayden, putting him in a chokehold. He looked up, eyes gleaming. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth where his lip was cracked. Hayden had surprisingly gotten in a good punch.

"Nice to see you answering the door in actual clothing this time, Ria." His mouth twitched. The hint of something more in his words didn't go unnoticed. Hayden wrestled in his arms, but Kova had a firm lock on him. He wasn't going anywhere.

I glared at him. Of all things to start a conversation with, he picks that.

Hayden twisted in Kova's arms. "Are you trying to get hit again?"

"That was a sucker punch, Hayden. It will not happen again. It is obvious you are no match for me. Now stop trying to fight me so I can—"

"You're fucking scum!"

Kova paused. "I have been called worse."

"Hayden!" I screamed. Vodka, and about twenty different feelings and emotions, ran through my system, making me hotter by the moment. My fingers tingled with adrenaline. "Fucking stop it!"

"If you promise to act civilly, I will release you," Kova said to the top of Hayden's head.

Hayden mumbled under his breath and Kova freed him. He ran both hands through his dirty blond hair and adjusted his now wrinkled shirt. He shot Kova a scathing glare, then looked at me. I recoiled at the look on his face. He hardly held back how he felt.

"How can you defend this piece of shit after what he did to you?" Hayden asked, gesturing toward Kova.

I squinted at Kova. He'd lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe the blood from his mouth.

My jaw trembled, upset he still believed I was forced against my will. "I told you, he didn't do anything I didn't want. You're never going to believe me, are you?" My voice sounded as fragile as my emotions felt. "I don't know what I can do to make you believe me."

He squared his shoulders back. "Knowing the position he's in, there's nothing you can do or say that will change how I feel. Nothing. It's wrong and he should've been the one to know better."

Tears blurred my vision. "It's not wrong if I wanted it. It's really not."

"I feel like I'm talking to a wall right now," he responded.

"You have some nerve saying anything, Hayden," Kova cut in. "Especially after everything I have done for you and your sister." He gave Hayden a cutting look that sent him into a frenzy.

Hayden’s face went stark white. "That has absolutely nothing to do with this!" he roared. "Nothing! So, what, because of that you can do whatever it is you want and I should be okay with it? Like I'm indebted to you for the rest of my life? Where do you get off with your line of thinking?"

I looked back and forth between the two, lost. They were having a conversation over something I had no clue about.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Why do you think there were rules implemented, Adrianna?" Kova asked me while staring at Hayden. "Why do you think there is a dating policy that I enforce? Ask your beloved friend right here. Holly is the reason for it."

I glanced at Hayden, but he was focused on Kova.

"Kova," Hayden growled. He took one step toward him. "Don't."

"Don’t what?" I asked, looking back and forth between them again.

Kova lifted an elegant shoulder like he didn't have a worry in the world. He was secure in his stance, confident.

"I am just reminding you what I did for you, Hayden. Now you will do the same for me and grant me with the same discretion I did you." He finished with a raised brow.

I was more lost than ever. "Do what for you?" I shouted. "What the fuck is going on?"

Both men turned to me, the whites of their eyes more visible than the color. I inhaled a lungful of air. Pressure mounted in my chest as I tried to take deeper, bigger breaths. My lungs burned from the restriction. Horrified by their reactions, my heart shattered into a million pieces and I burst into tears. I wept over a battle I never had the chance to win—making Hayden a believer, and losing out on the gymnastics meet. Both were irrevocably unattainable and the gravity of that realization produced an effect so severe, my throat closed and hot tears clouded my vision. No matter what I said, Hayden would never understand, and no matter what I did, Kova wasn't going to let me compete at the meet.

Heart pounding, I dropped my head into my hands and turned around, but a hand with a vice grip stopped me.

I shrugged Kova off like his touch contained a disease. He tried again. "Go away. I don't know why you're here anyway," I said, eyes trained on the floor. I was too embarrassed to look up.

"Adri—"

"Leave me alone," I gritted out, slapping Kova's hand away. Just as I took another step, his hand clamped down on my bicep.

Something in me snapped and I whipped my arm back. My eyes lifted as heat rose to my tear stained cheeks. I stared at nothing but the space between both men and felt everything roaring to a head inside me. I couldn't look at either one. Wrath flowed through from the tips of my toes to the top of my head at an alarming rate. I stiffened.

"Get away from me." He stepped toward me as I stepped back. "Are you deaf? Get away. I don't want you here."

"I just want to talk to you," Kova pleaded.

"I have nothing to say to you. You've made it perfectly clear what your motives are."

"Coach, I think it's best if you leave," Hayden suggested.

Kova glanced over at Hayden and gave him an exasperating once over from head to toe. "I do not take orders from pony boys." Then he looked back at me.

"I. Hate. You." I looked into his eyes as I let the words slip from my lips in disgust.

Kova didn't blink, his expression blank. He acted like the words didn't faze him and stepped closer until he invaded my personal space and I was forced to shove at his rock-hard chest. He didn't budge. His hands clamped down on both my arms to confine me to him and I began thrashing in his arms.

Between the vodka and my out-of-whack-emotions, I broke down. "Get out!" I bawled. "Get. Out." His fingers tightened around my arms and I thrust my palms under his chin to push him away. Hand rearing back, I tried to slap him a few times across the face, but he moved too fast and dodged my attack each time. Kova began speaking in his native tongue, his Russian growing louder and louder with each spasm of attack and assault I rained down on him. "I hate you! I hate you!"

An arm wound around my narrow waist from behind. "Adrianna. Stop," Hayden ordered, trying to grapple me. I wrenched and yanked and twisted my arms in circles in an effort to loosen Kova’s iron grip. Just when I thought I'd won, Kova let go, but I was too slow. He dropped both arms over my shoulders and pulled me to him. Still, I fought, arching my chest back, making it difficult on him. I thrashed in his hold, and raised my knee to kick him as both he and Hayden tried to control me.

"Last chance," Kova said, but I didn't listen. He tightened his arms and squeezed until he restrained me, like he had me in a damn straitjacket. Sandwiched between Kova and Hayden, I couldn't move, my entire body was locked between the two. I could only wiggle my fingers. Emotions soared. I wasn't strong enough to win, and for a split moment, I wondered if I ever would be strong enough for anything. Anger fled and deep dejection filled me.

Surrendering every ounce of myself, I dropped my forehead to Kova’s chest and sagged against him, depleted.

Hayden hadn't moved. He left a protective hand on my hip as he stroked my hair while I whimpered quietly.

Stupid alcohol. Stupid Kova. Stupid Hayden.