Page 79 of Vas

He wasn’t sure how long he drifted but the doctor was finished by the time he came to.

“I’m going to give you a shot of antibiotics,” Oliver said, tilting a glass vial upside down and inserting a needle, pulling back the plunger on the syringe and jabbing Vas in the hip. “But also a prescription. You’ll need to take it for the full ten days.” The doctor’s gaze moved off Vas to just beyond him. “Keep an eye on it. If the area starts to look red or angry, give me a call.”

Vas turned his head. Anya sat beside him and he watched as she gave the doctor a nod. “I will. Thank you.”

Oliver scribbled something on a pad, tore off the sheet, and slapped it down on the nightstand. Then he stood, grabbing the handle of his bag. “I’ll show myself out.”

“Thanks, Doc.” His voice was gravelly and he coughed to clear his throat.

The doctor stopped suddenly on his way to the door, looking into the bathroom and then back at the bed. “Do you need me to call in a cleaner?”

Fuck, a misstep. Anya’s arrival had really thrown him off his game. He thought about the bloody towels in the bathroom and the stained seat of his rental. “Yeah, I’d appreciate it. Tell them I need a vehicle exchange too.”

Oliver nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

A few seconds later, Vas heard the door click shut.

“How do you pay him?” Anya had moved to the chair the doctor had vacated. He wanted her closer, but she was keeping her distance. Understandable, yes, but it still grated.

“I’ll get a bill sent to my account.” The local anesthetic was still working, numbing the wound site so Vas carefully maneuvered himself to a sitting position against the headboard,not wanting to cause himself further damage he’d regret later. The stiff plastic from the body bag he still lay on crackled loudly in the otherwise quiet of the room, reminding him of how close things had been that day and how grateful he was to be on it and not in it.

“Is that safe? I mean, can it be traced back to you?” A line of concern puckered her brow.

“Everything is done under an alias and is dealt with on the dark web.”

Her face turned quizzical. “I know about the dark web from TV and books, but I really don’t know how it works.”

Vas repositioned his pillows, trying to get a bit more comfortable. Seeing his struggle, Anya helped. Her touch was feather light and warm on his shoulder as she straightened the pillow behind him.

“Thank you.”

She sat back down, back to all business with her hands folded in her lap.

He could feel the rift between them. He just hoped like fuck he could repair it.Honesty. That’s what she’d wanted, so he’d start with the basics before moving on to the heavier stuff. “The dark web can only be accessed with a special web browser that routes a person’s actions through a series of proxy servers, rendering their IP address unidentifiable and untraceable. Think of it as the seedy underbelly of the internet.”

“So does that mean there's no way anything can be traced back to the real you?”

“Not exactly. It's mostly safe but no system is fully hacker proof. It's more like we all abide by the rules because none of us wants to be found out. Encrypted messages come in with requests from clients. Those that interest me, I investigate. If the background checks out and the job doesn't involve innocent parties or isn't a situation which puts my life in jeopardy, we negotiate, and I either accept the contract or don’t.”

“Okay, I get that, even if it does feel a bit double-oh-seven and not real life. But then what happened today?”

“Today, I was set up.”

“Set up?” Her brows flew practically up to her hairline.

“Yeah, someone put a hit out on the hitman.”

“Holy shit, do you know why?”

It was rare he heard Anya swear. Ordinarily it would make him smile, but looking at her still tight face, he wasn’t feeling the humor at the moment. “Revenge.”

“For what?!”

“According to the guy I was able to question, the brother of one of my previous jobs wants me dead.”

Anya scrubbed her hand over her face, looking nearly as tired as Vas felt. “I’m assuming this brother isn’t mistaken?”

Vas merely dipped his head in confirmation, grateful her focus went to the brother and not what happened to the guy he questioned. There were some things he'd never tell her, and she'd have to understand that if—and that was still a big if—they were to move forward.

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