Page 61 of Toxic Temptation (Krayev Bratva #1)
KOVAN
I am Kovan fucking Krayev.
I don’t wait for shit to happen. I don’t give other people the power to affect my mood. And I most definitely do not sit around, staring at my phone all day, waiting for a text from a woman.
Except that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past hour.
The message I sent three hours ago burns into my retinas every time I look at the screen: Are you coming home tonight or are you still avoiding me?
Three blue checkmarks. No response.
She left me on fucking read .
“You look like shit,” Osip announces, walking into the gym with Pavel trailing behind him.
Luka bounces through the door after them, his face lit up with pure joy. “Uncle Kovan! Watch what Waylen taught me!”
He launches himself into what can only generously be called a roundhouse kick. It’s more flailing limb than martial arts, but his enthusiasm is infectious.
“That was incredible,” I lie, forcing enthusiasm into my voice.
“Waylen says I have to pretend I’m weightless. Like I’m floating on air.” Luka demonstrates again, this time managing to stay upright when he lands.
“Does Waylen also believe in fairy dust?”
Pavel clears his throat pointedly. I catch myself and tone down my sarcasm.
“Show me one more time, malysh .”
While Luka practices his kicks with Osip cheering him on, Pavel sidles up to me. “So. Wanna talk about why you’ve been a complete asshole all week?”
“I haven’t.”
“Right.” Pavel’s eyebrow arches in that annoyingly superior way I’ve always loathed. “And I’m the fucking Pope.”
“Drop it, Pavel.”
“She’s coming back, you know,” he says, slapping my back. “She’s probably just busy saving lives or whatever it is she does.”
My jaw clenches. “I don’t give a shit where she is.”
“Sure you don’t.” Pavel’s voice is maddeningly calm. “That’s why you’ve checked your phone six times since I walked in here.”
“The only reason I care is because of Luka. The kid’s attached to her, and she promised to spend more time with him.”
“She spent the entire day with him yesterday,” he reminds me.
I roll my eyes. “She left before I got home.”
Pavel’s knowing look makes me want to punch something. “Have you tried talking to her?” he asks.
“About what?”
“About what you actually want from her. Maybe it would help if she knew how you feel.”
“ Feel ?” I spit the word out. “This isn’t about feelings. It’s about honoring our agreement.”
“What agreement?” Luka appears at my elbow, slightly out of breath but grinning.
Osip hovers behind him, clearly eavesdropping.
“Just business, little man,” I tell him. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
“The other party can be pretty stubborn,” Pavel adds helpfully.
I shoot him a withering look. “What are your plans for the weekend, Luka?”
“Can we do something with Vesper?” His whole body vibrates with excitement. “Maybe the park? Or ice cream? Or the science museum again?”
“Again? You went twice last week.”
“But we only got to see the human body exhibit both times!” Luka bounces on his toes. “Did you know humans have enough fat to make seven bars of soap?”
Pavel wrinkles his nose. “That means Osip could probably make fourteen bars.”
Luka dissolves into giggles as Osip grabs Pavel in a headlock. They wrestle around the gym while I turn my attention back to my nephew.
“I’m not sure about this weekend, buddy. Vesper’s been really busy lately.”
“She’ll make time for me,” Luka says with complete confidence.
The certainty makes me sigh. This eight-year-old kid has more faith in Vesper’s devotion than I do. The same woman who rearranges her schedule for him can’t be bothered to text me back.
“We’ll see, okay?”
Luka isn’t listening anymore. He’s staring at the fresh scar running down my torso, the one Vesper stitched up with shaking hands. “Does it hurt?” he asks.
“Please,” I scoff. “This is nothing.”
“The stitches are so tiny,” he murmurs, tracing the line with his finger. “Vesper’s really good at her job.”
Luka’s never been a normal kid. Given the family he was born into, there was no chance he was going to be like every other child out there. He grew up with tattoos and scars so commonplace that he hardly noticed them. It’s funny that he’s now taking an interest.
“I told Vesper I wanted a scar like yours and she got really upset,” he tells me. “Her eyes got all big and her voice went funny. She said she hoped I never needed stitches ever. I think she was scared the day you got hurt.”
Osip and Pavel have stopped wrestling. They’re both listening now, watching my face carefully.
“She’s not used to this life,” I tell Luka, ruffling his hair. “She’s not tough like you are.”
“I think Vesper’s pretty tough, though. Just in a different way.”
“I agree,” Pavel chimes in.
I can’t stop the harsh laugh that escapes. All three of them stare at me. “Is that why she’s been avoiding me all week?” I ask them bitterly. “Because she’s so tough?”
“She’s scared, Uncle Kovan,” Luka chimes in simply.
“Scared of what?”
Luka meets my eyes with that unsettling wisdom kids sometimes have. “You.” Then he shrugs and turns to Osip. “Can we practice boxing now?”
They head to the ring, leaving me alone with Pavel.
“An eight-year-old just schooled you,” Pavel says quietly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means Luka can see what you refuse to. That woman isn’t scared of your world. She’s scared of losing you. ”
The gym suddenly feels suffocating. Is the fucking A/C broken in here? I swear I can’t breathe.
“Don’t you see it?” Pavel continues, oblivious. “Why do you think she focuses on work instead of relationships? Why do you think she agreed to this fake dating thing in the first place? She keeps people at arm’s length. Same as you.”
“I don’t?—”
“Cut the shit, Kovan. You treat love like it’s a death sentence. You don’t avoid it because you don’t want it; you avoid it because you’re terrified of what you could lose. Just. Like. Her. ”
Everything Pavel’s saying makes too much sense. So I do what I always do when uncomfortable truths surface.
I shut it down.
“Spare me the fucking therapy session. I’m not complicated. I need Vesper for Luka’s custody case. That’s it.”
He’s clearly skeptical. “So you’re not upset that she’s been avoiding you?”
“I’m upset for Luka’s sake. The kid’s attached to her. I don’t need her around unless there’s a social worker visit.”
Pavel holds up his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say, man.”
“I have a meeting to prepare for.” I pluck my phone off the bench and head toward my office. Halfway there, it dings.
VESPER : I’m coming over tonight. See you then.
The gratitude that floods through me is instant and overwhelming. And despite everything I just told Pavel, it has nothing to do with Luka.
It has everything to do with her.