Page 25 of Toxic Salvation
But the moment she passes close enough for me to catch that lavender scent that seems to live in her skin, my control snaps.
I reach out and catch her arm.
She gasps, freezing instantly, her eyes finding mine. “Kovan…”
I can see the war playing out across her face, the same battle I’ve been fighting since the moment I saw that ultrasound.
“I can’t,” she whispers. “I don’t want to be like my mother.”
She’s talking about loving someone despite knowing what they are. Someone who will always put his world before hers, his responsibilities before her happiness.
Someone exactly like me.
So I do the only thing I can do, the only thing that’s fair to either of us.
I let go of her arm.
I let her walk away.
Even if it kills me to do it.
10
VESPER
I wake up to ten blissful seconds of ignorance.
My body feels rested. The bed is warm. For those precious moments, I’m not pregnant. I’m not terrified. I’m not living in my ex-whatever’s house because dangerous men want to hurt me.
Then my phone shrieks from the nightstand, shattering my peace. Guess I forgot to put on Do Not Disturb last night.
“Good morning, dear brother,” I mumble when I answer.
“Where the hell have you been?” Waylen is furious before I’m fully awake. “You disappeared yesterday after our conversation.”
I throw back the covers and swing my legs over the side of the bed. My stomach immediately protests the sudden movement with a wave of nausea. “I didn’t disappear. I sent you a text.”
“Asking how Mom was doing. That’s it. You didn’t tell me where you were or when you were coming home. I thought you were staying with her.”
“I was. Sort of.”
“What happened?”
I close my eyes and rest my forehead in my palm. “Kovan knows about the pregnancy.”
“Shit. I was afraid of that.”
“Is Mom okay this morning? How’s her mood?”
“We’re not talking about Mom right now. This is about you. Where are you?”
My stomach churns again, more violently this time. “At Kovan’s house. Looks like I’ll be living here for a while. His idea, obviously. Now that I’m carrying his heir, he suddenly cares.”
The bitter edge in my voice surprises even me.
“I’m coming there.”
“Wait, Waylen?—”
