Page 53 of Toxic Salvation
“Because Waylen wants to keep an eye on Kovan, and because Kovan knew I’d never agree to move back in with him unless Mom came, too.”
“And he’s okay with all this? You and Waylen and Annabelle, all living in his house like some weird Brady Bunch situation?”
“Honestly? He’s been incredible with Mom.” I can’t keep the admiration out of my voice. “He gave her the best room in the house. He hired a specialist nurse who has the room right next to Mom’s. He gets her the best medications and treatments from the best hospitals in the state. He cooks her favorite foods and visits her several times a week. I have no idea what they talk about because the door is always closed, but apparently, Kovan puts on a comedy routine just for her, judging by how hard she laughs.”
By the time I stop talking, Charity is staring at me like I’ve grown a second head.
I feel my cheeks flush. “Sorry… Did that sound bitter? I swear I’m not jealous.” But even as I say it, I know it’s a lie. “Okay, fine. Maybe I’m a little jealous. She barely talks to me like that. Our conversations last ten minutes and usually end with Mom telling me she’s tired. But with Kovan, she can talk for hours.”
Charity’s lips curve into a knowing smile. “You aresojealous.”
“Shut up,” I mutter, scanning the restaurant for our waitress. “Where are those dang breadsticks?”
Once we have our drinks and a basket of warm bread between us, Charity cuts straight to the chase. “I’m guessing Kovan is happy about the baby?”
“I don’t know if ‘happy’ is the right word.” I tear off a piece of bread and immediately put it down again. My appetite has been nonexistent lately. “But he’s old school that way. He knows it’s his baby and he’s going to step up. He wants to provide for us. Protect us. He’s made that very clear.”
“Which sounds pretty great,” Charity points out. “So why don’t you sound happier about it?”
“Because…” I glance around the restaurant. There’s a woman sitting alone at a table across from us, and something about the way she keeps glancing over makes me paranoid. At the bar, a man with a neck tattoo has been nursing the same beer since I arrived, and he’s checked his phone probably a hundred times in the last twenty minutes. “I’m not sure I should tell you.”
“But you want to?”
“I need to talk to someone. I can’t tell Waylen or Mom.”
“And you have no other friends besides me,” Charity infers with her usual dose of tact. She reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “Just tell me, V. Maybe I can help.”
“You can’t. But maybe you can help me figure out what to do.”
I make a split-second decision. I lean closer and lower my voice to barely above a whisper. Charity mirrors my posture, and I tell her everything. About Kovan’s family business. About my father’s involvement in the organ trafficking ring. About my desperate need to know if the man I love is a sinner or a savior.
When I finish, my throat is bone dry and our drinks are long empty.
“Okaaay.” Charity sits back slowly. “Let me get this straight. Your knight in shining armor turns out to be potentially runninga black market organ trafficking ring that he claims he’s shutting down? The same organ trafficking ring that your father was part of?”
“Correct.”
She mimes her head exploding. “Vesper… what the actual fuck?”
“Give me more than that, Char.”
“I can’t right now. My brain is too busy short-circuiting.”
“Look, he might not be running anything. His father started this horrifying business and recruited my dad. According to Kovan, he and his brothers have always been against it. But apparently, it takes time to dismantle something that evil and entrenched.”
Charity holds my gaze. “Do you believe him?”
“That’s the problem!” I slap my hand on the table, then immediately look around to make sure I didn’t draw attention. “I’m in love with him. I can’t trust my own judgment. If I say I believe him, is it because it’s true or because I’m seeing what I want to see? And if I decide I don’t believe him…” I trail off, unable to finish the thought.
“Then what?”
“Then I have to leave. I can’t stay with someone who profits from murder. I can’t raise my child with a man like that.”
“Leave?” Charity looks shocked. “To go where? Your whole life is here.”
“I’ll stay until the baby is born, obviously. I’ll stay as long as Mom needs me. But after that, I don’t know.” I shrug helplessly. “Waylen can manage on his own.”
“Running away isn’t the answer, Vesper.”
