Page 48 of Toxic Temptation
“And she agreed to play along?” Pavel looks skeptical.
“As of last night, she did.”
“What’s she getting out of it?” Osip wants to know.
“You did the background check. You tell me.”
Osip snaps his fingers. “The hospital board complaints. You’re going to take them down.”
“Every last one of them,” I confirm. But there’s more to it than that. St. Raphael’s is connected to the Keres.”
Pavel’s expression darkens. “Are you sure you want to take this on right now? The Keres are already pissed about your cancellation of the organ trade. If they find out you’re going after their people at the hospital?—”
“I don’t give a fuck what they want. Vesper doesn’t know how deep this goes, but as long as she works there, she’s in danger. And she’s working for people who are hurting kids. She wouldn’t be okay with that if she knew.”
Pavel’s face softens into a knowing smile. “You actually like her, don’t you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I respect her work ethic. That’s different.”
Pavel’s expression turns serious again. “But really, have you thought this through? Can you trust her? She’s a complete stranger.”
“She saved Luka’s life without hesitation. She would have done anything to help him.”
“That doesn’t mean she won’t screw you over when things get complicated,” Osip points out.
I can only laugh. “She won’t.”
But even as I say it, doubt creeps in. They’re right about one thing: I barely know her. What if she changes her mind? What if she decides Luka would be better off with his mother? What if she decides I’m not worth the risk?
“You’re going to make her sign something, right?” Osip asks.
“Of course.”
The lie comes easily, but it sits wrong in my chest. Because the truth is, I don’t want to force Vesper into anything. I want her tochoosethis. Choose me.
And if she doesn’t…
Well, there’s more than one way of getting what I want.
17
KOVAN
“How dare you burst into my house like this?”
Yana’s shriek hits a pitch that might shatter the floor-to-ceiling glass if she doesn’t tone it the fuck down. Her eyes dart between my men as they methodically tear through her oversized mansion, searching every room, every closet, every miniscule fucking corner where she might be hiding something that could hurt my nephew.
I pluck an apple from her fruit bowl and take a bite. The juice runs down my chin, but I don’t bother wiping it away.
“Call them off!” she screeches again. “Right now!”
I toss the apple in the air and catch it. “Hmm… No.”
Her face wrinkles into a hideous sneer. “You wouldn’t be doing this if Ihor were here.”
The sound of splintering wood echoes from somewhere down the hall. Yana flinches.
“I don’t give a shit if Ihor’s here or not.” I take another bite. “I’m making sure my nephew is living somewhere safe. Get used to these visits.”
