Page 6 of Toxic Salvation
Instead, I seeCordingly Prep.
My blood turns to ice.
“Hello?”
“Is this Vesper Fairfax? This is Janet from Dean Thomas’s office at Cordingly Prep. There’s been an incident involving Luka Krayev. We need someone to come pick him up immediately.”
I clutch the banister to stop myself from fainting. “Is he hurt?”
“He’s physically unharmed, but he’s quite upset. We’ve been trying to reach his uncle, but we can’t seem to?—”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
I hang up before she can say anything else. Waylen is staring at me with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
“Luka is in trouble.” I’m already moving toward the door. “Something happened at school. They can’t reach Kovan.”
“Vesper, wait?—”
But I’m already gone, running through the hospital corridors like my life depends on it. Maybe it doesn’t depend on it, but Luka’s emotional wellbeing might. And despite everything that’s happened between Kovan and me, despite all the hurt and betrayal and broken promises, I can’t ignore a child who needs help.
Even if helping him means walking straight back into the fire that burned me alive.
“Luka, baby…” I pant as I run. “I’m coming.”
3
KOVAN
“Where the hell have you been?”
Pavel jerks like I’ve slapped him, nearly dropping his travel mug. The sight of it makes my jaw clench—it’s the same one Vesper used to carry around on those chaotic mornings when she’d skip breakfast and survive on caffeine alone.
Which was every fucking morning.
“Jesus, what crawled up your ass and died?” Pav mutters, setting the mug down with deliberate care.
“Don’t mind him,” Osip grumbles from across the room. “He’s been a real treat ever since…” He trails off, but we all know what he’s not saying.
Ever since I destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me.
I whip around to face Osip. “You’re supposed to be getting me those Keres files.”
“Already did.” He gestures to the stack of papers on my desk. “Set them right in front of you twenty minutes ago.”
“Except that none of these make the least bit of fucking sense.” I toss them on the ground with a limp thud. “Look at this shit. It’s nothing but symbols and gibberish.”
Pavel picks up one of the scattered documents, his eyes scanning the pages rapidly. After a moment, he lets out a low whistle. “This is all in code. Pretty sophisticated stuff, too.”
“Fantastic.” I shove back from my desk so hard my chair slams into the wall. “Just fucking perfect. I thought I had the best team money could buy, but apparently, I’m stuck with a bunch of amateurs.”
“Hey!” Pavel protests.
“That’s uncalled for,” Osip adds.
I ignore them both, turning to stare at the blank wall behind my desk. Right now, the blank space is my friend. The emptiness is my ally. Because if I so much as look at either Pavel or Osip, I’m gonna fucking take them out.
