Page 35 of Toxic Salvation (Krayev Bratva #2)

VESPER

My life has become a series of extremes.

The pendulum swings from one end of the spectrum to the other, never pausing in the middle where normal people live.

Congrats, Vesper, you’ve got a promotion.

Then BOOM —shootout at the hospital.

Lucky you, Vesper! You might have just met a hot guy and found a way to stick it to the hospital board all in one fell swoop!

Then BOOM —hot guy turns out to be a Bratva pakhan who reveals all sorts of unsavory details about your late father who, contrary to popular opinion, wasn’t the selfless healer he pretended to be.

Things are looking up, Vesper—you’re pregnant.

Then BOOM —your mother has cancer.

Kovan and I have been back on semi-solid ground for weeks now. Work has been relatively calm, and even my mom’s spirits have been high. She’s actively participating in her treatment, and it seems the trial I snuck her into might actually be working.

All that means is that I’m waiting in terror for the next BOOM .

Which is why my heart sinks when I come home one evening after a long shift to find three huge bags packed and piled next to the front door.

Pavel turns the corner a second later, looking innocent as he types into his phone.

“What’s all this?” I ask without preamble. “Is he kicking me out?”

He scrunches his nose in confusion. “You see bags and you think you’re getting kicked out?”

“What’s the alternative?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He pretends to think. “Maybe a little weekend getaway? Might that also be a reasonable interpretation of things?”

“Not in my experience, no.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “Are all doctors so neurotic?”

“Only the ones involved with big, bad Bratva pakhans .”

“Someone talking about me?” My own personal big, bad Bratva pakhan turns the corner looking unfairly attractive in a beige cardigan and dark jeans. The casual look makes him seem almost normal. Almost.

“Did you already fill her in?” he asks Pavel.

“Sorry, I was gonna wait for you, but she seemed to think you were kicking her out of the house.”

Kovan raises an eyebrow and looks at me. “That was your first thought?”

I drop my gaze. “Life has been a little unpredictable lately. And not always in a good way.”

“That’s about to change.” Kovan takes my hand and spins me into his arms. “We’re going away together, just you and me. Consider this a little babymoon.”

“Seriously?”

“You have this weekend off, don’t you?” he asks. “I double-checked your schedule before I booked.”

“I did. I mean, I do.” I’m totally flustered. “I just… Is Luka coming with us?”

“Not this time.”

My cheeks flush as I contemplate a whole weekend of just Kovan and me. It’s something normal couples do. Maybe that’s why I never thought I’d get to experience anything so ordinary.

Then again, knowing Kovan, nothing about this weekend is going to be ordinary.

“I told Luka I’d take him to the science museum this weekend, though.” I bite my lip. “He’s going to be disappointed.”

“Waylen’s taking him,” Kovan assures me. “I’ve cleared it with him. And I’ve asked Charity to come spend the weekend here while we’re away. You won’t have to worry about Luka. He’ll have so many babysitters, he won’t even know we’re gone.”

The excitement starts curling up my spine. I’ve never been whisked away before. I never thought I would be.

“Come on.” Kovan ushers me toward the door. “We don’t want to be late for our flight.”

“We’re taking a plane? Where on earth are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there,” he answers mysteriously. “Our ride’s waiting outside.”

Our “ride” turns out to be Osip behind the wheel of a gleaming vintage Bentley. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I gush while Kovan rifles through his jacket pocket. “Wait! My passport! If we’re going out of the country, I?—”

“Already got you covered.” Kovan flashes my passport, sitting right alongside his.

He’s about to put them away when something falls out of his passport. I recognize the little picture immediately. “It’s my ultrasound,” I murmur, picking it up off the leather seats.

Kovan plucks it from my hand and slides it into his wallet. Right next to a picture of Luka. “I like keeping our boys with me all the time,” he explains. “The ultrasound picture is just a placeholder until our little guy is here and we have a real picture of him.”

I gaze up at him. “Did you, Kovan Krayev, just get sentimental on me?”

He winks. “I’m full of surprises.”

I twist in my seat and watch the house disappear behind us. I notice twice as many guards outside the gate as there normally are. It could be innocent. It could just be Kovan overcompensating for the fact that we’re leaving.

Still, something tells me there’s a reason for the increased security detail.

But selfishly, I decide to put off the question until later.

I want to enjoy being whisked away.

I sleep pretty much the entire flight, and when I wake, it’s to a vista of snow-capped mountain peaks and that bracing freshness that can only come with high altitudes and the cleanest air on Earth.

I don’t get very much time to admire our insane chalet, however, because by the time I exit the bathroom after a quick pee break, Kovan is already pulling me toward the door for our personalized spa treatments.

We take our seats in a gorgeous alcove that overlooks the mountains in all their glory. My clothes are politely commandeered and replaced with a cotton thong and the fluffiest, warmest towel I’ve ever had the pleasure of wrapping around my body.

I’m still admiring the view when Kovan joins me, a towel wrapped around his waist. It’s sitting so low on his hips that his ab muscles are on full display.

“My eyes are up here, Vesper,” he teases.

Blushing, I turn my attention back to the view. But the mountains don’t look quite as appetizing as they did a second ago.

“Check it out.” I point at my spa table. “My massage table has a hole in the middle for my stomach.”

He chuckles. “Yes, I know. I informed the lodge that you were pregnant. They’re being very accommodating.”

I shake my head, marveling at the handmade chocolates and bouquet of roses sitting beside my massage table. “Do people really live like this?”

“You do, from now on.”

I frown. “Hardly. I’m just the tagalong for the time being. Your plus-one.”

“Get used to this, Vesper. This is going to be your world.” He walks right up to me, slipping between my legs, his fingers snaking up my towel toward my thighs.

“I know life with me won’t always be easy.

Or peaceful. But the least I can do is make sure it’s as memorable as possible between those moments of… unpredictability.”

I cup his face with my palm. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Kovan. But I don’t need all this. All I need is you and Luka and this baby.” I glance at the Swiss chocolates beside us. “And okay, fine, maybe the chocolates. How can I say no to those?”

Kovan is chuckling when the two masseurs walk in.

Before I’d met Kovan, both men would have had my pulse racing. They’re tall, lean, with those classic Scandinavian good looks that belong on the covers of fashion magazines the world over.

Of course, I do have Kovan to compare them to, too. And even their pretty boy good looks pale in comparison to Kovan’s dark and brooding handsomeness.

Still, Kovan doesn’t look too happy as the taller and paler of the two masseurs approaches me with a polite smile.

“You can disrobe, ma’am,” he says in crisp English. “And we can begin.”

“No.”

I turn around. Kovan’s eyes are fixed on my masseur, having ignored his completely. “Thanks, boys, but I think I’ll take it from here.”

The two men look completely confused, but clearly, they’ve been trained not to question a high-profile guest when a request is made. Both of them bow out of the room without another word.

“Kovan!” I say. “Who’s going to massage us now?”

“I will,” he says simply, hooking his finger into the towel tied around my chest and yanking it off with one flick of his wrist.

I’m nearly naked underneath, so my first instinct is to cover myself with my hands. But then I see Kovan’s face as he looks at me, his pupils dilating as he takes in my new curves.

“Perfect,” he murmurs.

“You’re seriously going to massage me?”

He nods. “And after I’m done,” he says, “you’ll never let anyone else touch you again.”