Page 195 of Toxic Temptation
When I look up, Kovan’s face has hardened into something I’ve never seen before. It frightens me. “What do you mean, no?”
“I mean that this goes deeper than a few corrupt board members. The people involved have connections, protection. If you go to the authorities now, the ones truly responsible will disappear. The evidence will vanish. And you’ll be labeled a disgruntled employee making wild accusations.”
“So we do… nothing?”
He shakes his head. “We do something. Just not through official channels.”
“You mean you’re going to handle this your way.”
Kovan nods, even grimmer than before. “Yes.”
“Soon.”
“Not just soon.Tonight.”
I think about Shana Reed, with her fake smile and patronizing voice. I think about Jeremy Fleming, who’s spent months making my life hell while profiting from death. I think about every patient I couldn’t save because we didn’t have the right equipment, while these monsters hoarded money made from selling human organs.
And it all leads me to the next inevitable decision point.
“I want to come with you.”
Kovan’s eyebrows shoot up. “Absolutely not.”
“You said I could trust you to handle this. Well, I’m asking you to trust me to help.”
“Vesper—”
“I don’t want to hold your gun or break anyone’s kneecaps.” I stand up again, squaring my shoulders. “But I know these people. I know how they think, how they operate. You need someone who can talk to them in a way they understand.”
“What I need is for you to stay safe.”
“WhatIneed is to look Jeremy and Shana in the eye when they realize their world is falling apart,” I say. “They’ve been playing God with human lives. They’ve been getting rich while children die. I want to watch them burn.”
Something changes in Kovan’s eyes. The protective concern is still there, but with it is something that looks almost like… pride?
He sighs, and that’s when I know I’ve almost won. “You might see a side of me tonight that you don’t like,” he warns. “I might have to do things that?—”
“I can handle it.”
“Can you?” He slides off the desk and moves closer, until we’re nearly touching, him towering over me, dark and beautiful. “This isn’t some TV show, Vesper. This is real. And it’s going to get nasty.”
I tip my chin up to meet his gaze directly. “‘Nasty’ is what I do for a living, Kovan. I’ve seen people die. I’ve held their hands while they took their last breath. I’ve told parents their children aren’t coming home.” My voice drops to barely above a whisper. “You think watching corrupt board members get what’s coming to them is going to break me?”
His hands float up to frame my face. “As long as you’re with me, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“I don’t need you to protect me from them.” I lean into his touch. “I need you to let me help you destroy them.”
For a long moment, he just looks at me. Then, slowly, his mouth curves into a wicked smile. “How can I say no to that?”
68
VESPER
The mansion squats before us in all its slapped together, nouveau riche glory. It’s like Shana looked at a “Styles of Architecture” textbook and requested “one of each, please.” Even in the darkness, I can make out pretentious Greek columns flanking the entrance, bizarrely trimmed hedges, and a modern art fountain bubbling with what I can only assume is priceless champagne and the tears of orphans.
“This is her house?” I ask, disgusted.
Kovan’s green eyes find mine in the dim light. “Where else did you think we’d have this conversation? Some dank basement?”
