Page 232 of Toxic Temptation
She lets out a harsh laugh. “I see. So you’re pushing me away because you think I influence you too much. You’re putting up walls because I got too close. Does that about sum it up?”
“Something happened yesterday?—”
“You’re goddamn right something happened!” she cries out. “Something’s been happening for a long time, and I’ve been blind to it. Maybe because I didn’t want to see what was right in front of my face.”
“What are you talking about?”
She checks her phone. “I’m already late. I have to go.”
“Vesper, we need to talk.” I reach for her arm, but she rips away from me. The look she gives me is pure, withering distrust, and it hurts worse than any knife or bullet ever has.
“Why bother?” she scoffs. “I’m not going to believe a single thing that comes out of your mouth.”
She gets behind the wheel and slams the door. I tap on the window, but she ignores me completely, starting the engine and backing out of the driveway without so much as a glance in my direction.
I stand there watching her taillights disappear, the taste of dust and engine exhaust bitter in my mouth.
“Fuck,” I mutter, dialing Osip again.
“Yo, you’ve reached Osip. You know the drill.Beeeeeep?—”
“Osip, get your ass here now. We need to talk about yesterday.”
“What’s the emergency?” Osip bursts into the gym forty minutes later, slightly out of breath. “You sounded like someone died.”
“Someone’s about to if you don’t tell me why Vesper’s acting like I’m her worst enemy.”
He instantly goes pale. “Shit.”
I drop the fifty-pound weights I’ve been using to work out my frustration. “‘Shit’? That’s all you’ve got?”
“I fucked up yesterday, brother.”
“Like hell you did?—”
“I let her out of my sight.” He buries his face in his hands and exhales. “I swear, I had to take a piss so bad I thought my bladder was going to explode?—”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know for certain,” he admits. “But I have suspicions. I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily in case I was wrong.”
“Spit it out.”
“I saw Ihor leaving the hospital yesterday. He looked…” Osip searches for the right word. “Satisfied.”
My hands clench into fists. “Ihor was at the hospital. Again. And you didn’t mention this because…?”
“Vesper had mentioned seeing him there before. I figured it was routine and that you already knew about it. But now, I think maybe they crossed paths. Maybe he talked to her.”
I’m not going to believe a single thing that comes out of your mouth,she told me.
“Fuck.” I dig my fingers into my scalp. “She knows.”
“No,” Osip shakes his head frantically. “He wouldn’t have told her about?—”
“This is Ihor we’re talking about. The man gets off on watching things die.” I look up at Osip. “He told her about the organ trafficking. That’s the only explanation.”
“But she doesn’t know you’ve been working to shut it down. She can’t know you’re trying to destroy the entire?—”
