Page 9 of Toxic Temptation
VESPER
As we slip out into the hallway, the emergency lights have replaced the usual fluorescent ones. Dull, red glow cast over everything. It makes the green tile look like it’s sucking up all the ambient light, so that it’s not just dark, it’s darker than dark. We’re walking on a night sky.
The sounds are strange, too. I’m used to this place buzzing and beeping, groaning and shaking. Now, though, it’s eerily quiet. When Luka’s sneaker drags over a patch of wet tile and squeaks, I nearly jump out of my skin.
As we near the corner, Kovan holds up his hand, making a closed fist in the air. I’ve seen enough war movies to know that that meansstay right the fuck where you are.
I freeze, full-on deer in the headlights. The seconds tick by. I think I hear a sound.
A muffled gasp?
A pained breath?
The sound of a human being on the brink of becoming a cadaver?
I place my hand on Luka’s shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze. He glances up at me. His grey eyes don’t betray the slightest hint of fear.
I don’t quite know if that’s heartwarming or horrifying.
I’ll admit, Kovan is the kind of man that makes you think superhumans truly do exist. But everyone—even superheroes—have their weaknesses. The rippling scar shining red on his throat proves that much.
Just when I’m starting to think we’re never going to move again, that we’re going to put down roots and stay in this humid corner of the hospital hallway for the rest of our lives, I hear a rustling sound. Instinctively, I grab Luka and push him behind me just as Kovan rounds the corner with his gun raised.
Then comes a shriek, high-pitched and terrified.
I jerk around the corner behind Kovan, who’s looking Mrs. Moore dead in the face down the barrel of his gun. She’s cowering against the wall, trembling like a leaf as she shields her face with her arms.
“P-please… d-d-don’t kill me… I have c-children…!”
I’m about to assure her that she’s safe, but Kovan beats me to the punch. “It’s okay, ma’am,” he says gently, lowering his weapon to his side. “I mean you no harm.”
She inhales shakily, but she still has her hands plastered over her face like that’ll save her from bullets. She says nothing.
Kovan straightens up. “Did you see anyone?”
“N-no…” She points to the door just behind her. “My d-daughter is in there sleeping. Thank God, she slept through this nightmare. I came out here to see if the coast was clear.”
“Go back in,” Kovan instructs her. “Barricade the door. Don’t come out until 911 gets here. Do you understand?”
She nods, still quivering.
Then, to my surprise, he reaches out and carefully, tenderly, pulls Mrs. Moore’s wrist away from her face. He hauls her to her feet with the same care, then gives her a tiny push toward the door.
“Everything’s going to be alright, ma’am. You and your daughter will be alright. I swear it.”
She looks at me without looking at me. Her eyes show no signs of recognition, like we’ve never met before in our lives.
Then she looks back at Kovan, offers him the tiniest of grateful nods, and retreats back into her daughter’s room. We hear the door lock, then the groan of furniture being moved into place.
I want to tell him something.Thank youis what’s rising to my lips, though heaven only knows what I’m thanking him for.Who are youis second on the list, because every time I think I have a handle on the man, he proves that I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.
He’s gone from Angry Dad to Rambo to Gentle Uncle to Superman in a half-hour span. I can’t even begin to imagine what transformations he has in store next.
He meets my gaze. His face is calmer than it was a moment ago, like reassuring Mrs. Moore gave him some measure of peace, too. As our eyes lock, something surges between us. It’s not quitechemical and it’s not quite electrical. It’s more like the first warm glow of a sunrise breaking over a previously dark horizon. Felt more than seen.
I open my mouth. But before I can decide what to say, his brow furrows down and all semblance of peace goes whooshing away into the ether.
He reaches out, loops that huge hand around the back of my neck, and tosses me behind him like I’m weightless.
