Page 154 of Toxic Salvation
Waylen studies my face. “Look at you.”
“What?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious.
“My little sister, all grown up.”
“Thanks for having my back.”
He pats my hand. “Thanks for giving me two amazing nephews. I look forward to being the cool uncle. I plan on putting Osip and Pavel to shame.”
I laugh and steal a piece of carrot from the cutting board. “This is going to be fun.”
I stand in the doorway of the nursery and watch Luka lean over Vitalii’s crib. He’s been singing to him for twenty-five minutes now, refusing to leave the baby’s side, just like Kovan. His voice is soft and sweet as he croons a lullaby.
“You should be in bed with your feet up,” Kovan scolds as he comes from down the hall.
“Stop babying me. I’m perfectly capable of standing for a few minutes, especially when the view is this good.” I gesture toward the boys. “He’s been singing to Tali forever.”
“He’s obsessed. He even helped me change Tali’s diaper earlier and didn’t complain about the smell once.”
“Kovan?”
His attention stays fixed on Luka. “Hm?”
“Is there any news on Ihor?”
He turns to me sharply. “Ihor?”
“Yeah. Your psychotic ex-vor, Luka’s stepfather, the dark cloud hanging over our perfect little cocoon. Remember him?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because…” I turn back to watch our boys. “Because ofthem. I’ve never been more aware of what we stand to lose, Kovan. We need to take care of Ihor and we need to do it now.”
“‘We’?”
“I thought we agreed on this already. We’re in this together.”
“Babe—”
“No, don’t do that. Don’t placate me, Kovan. This is our family. They’re our kids. It’s both our jobs to protect them. This isn’t just on you anymore. I am their mother.”
“And you’re an incredible mother. But they need you here, with them.”
I step away from his reach. “They’re never going to be safe until Ihor is dealt with. And I’m not going to be able to sleep at night as long as he’s out there.”
“Hey.” Kovan grabs my shoulders and pulls me closer. “Remember the promise I made to you? I will not let anything hurt you, Vesper. I will not let anything hurt our family.”
“Luka’s scared, Kovan,” I whisper. “He’s nine years old. He shouldn’t have to be scared at all. He should be able to be a kid—happy, carefree, completely oblivious to all the evils and dangers in this world.”
Kovan sighs. “He’s not a normal kid, Vesper. He’s smart, observant, intuitive. And he was born into the Bratva. He was never going to be a carefree kid. Neither will Tali.”
“I need them to be safe, Kovan,” I manage to say through the fear. My hands are starting to shake. “I need to know that they’re going to be alright.”
“They will be. I will make sure of it. You need to trust me.”
He pulls me into his arms, but the fear doesn’t disappear. It stays with me, jagged and heavy, making it hard to breathe. Every shadow in the nursery looks threatening now. Every sound outside could be danger approaching.
It’s not that I don’t trust him—I just can’t stop seeing all the ways this could go wrong. I’ve never been more aware of Ihor’s presence, lurking somewhere in the distance, a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.
