Page 29 of Toxic Salvation
My heart breaks a little. “No, baby. Not like that at all. This is different.”
Pavel clears his throat. “How about we make some hot chocolate while they sort things out?”
Luka perks up immediately. “Can we use the mini marshmallows?”
“Your wish is my command, young prince.”
As Pavel leads Luka toward the kitchen, I can’t help but wonder what exactly Kovan and Waylen are “sorting out” in that office.
And whether there will be a house left standing when they’re done.
11
KOVAN
“You call that a punch?” I laugh right in Waylen’s fucking face.
Waylen hits the sparring mat hard, his head bouncing against the foam padding. I advance on him where he lies, sprawled and wincing.
“I’ll make the next one count for more,” he spits.
“Causing a scene was unnecessary,” I advise him.
Waylen sits up slowly, one knee drawn to his chest for balance. Blood trickles from his split lip. “Maybe. But the punch was well-earned.”
“It was amateur hour. If you’re planning to defend your sister’s honor, you’ll need to do a hell of a lot better than one weak-ass sucker punch.”
Waylen climbs to his feet, fists still clenched. The veins in his forearms bulge with tension. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt her.”
“Believe it or not, hurting her was never the plan.” My jaw clenches. “I regret what happened. But?—”
“What actually happened?” Waylen interrupts.
I stop cold. “She didn’t tell you?”
“She won’t talk about you at all. That’s how I know you really fucked her up.”
“It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that she’s pregnant?—”
“For such a smart bastard, you act stupid as hell sometimes.” Waylen’s face screws up with disgust. “Don’t you get it? She’s pregnant—that’sexactlywhy it matters. You didn’t just break her heart—you knocked her up, too.”
He thinks he’s being clever, winding up for another sucker punch while talking up a storm. I see it coming from a mile away and sidestep, so his fist catches nothing but air.
“Fuck you!” he curses, stumbling forward into the empty space I just vacated.
“Real graceful,” I snort. “I should recruit you for the Bratva. My enemies would laugh themselves to death before drawing a weapon.”
“Shut the hell up. I’m not a gangster.”
“Neither am I.”
Waylen cackles like I just told a joke. Then he straightens up, rolling his shoulders. “Vesper says you’re planning to keep her here against her will. How’s that for ‘not a gangster’?”
“It’s for her safety. Hers and the baby’s. She can go wherever she wants—she’ll just have a security detail.”
“You can’t actually expect her to move back in here? After what you did?”
“This is the safest place for her.”
