“Give me the drugs, London.” Katia is in front of me, and she’s backed me up against the wall. “I’m not going to let some junkie destroy what Mason has worked for.”
“Drugs?” I repeat weakly. “I’m not on drugs.”
Katia pins me against the wall, yanks the box from my grasp, and holds it up in the air. The gleam in her eyes changes as she realizes what she’s holding. Suddenly, the color drains from her face, and her hand drops.
“What the fuck is this?”
“I know you know what those are, Katia.”
She drops the boxes like she’s been electrocuted. “This is worse than I thought. How could you let this happen?”
“You think I planned this? Come on, Katia. Why in the hell would I do this to myself? Everything is complicated enoughwithoutadding a baby to the mix.”
“You need to take care of it,” Katia says.
“That’s my decision.”
Katia’s eyes narrow into slits, and she shakes her head. “No, it isn’t. This affects the entire family. Mason’s behavior makes sense now. He must be losing his shit. There’s this place outside the city. I’ll sort out the details with Mason—”
“No,” I say forcefully. “I mean, I—wehaven’t decided yet what we’re going to do, and Doctor Shepard says there’s still time.”
Katia stares at me.
Slowly, she shakes her head. “I know you’re not stupid enough to keep Mason in the dark.”
“I—”
“Mason needs to know,” Katia interrupts. “You owe him at least that much, don’t you think?”
I avoid her gaze and swallow. “It’s not that simple.”
Katia turns away from me.
She spends the next few moments pacing the room and mumbling to herself in a language I don’t recognize. When she finally stops again and looks at me, I can’t decide if she wants to throw me into the back of a car to take care of the problem herself or if she’s going to throw me at Mason’s feet and leave me at his mercy.
I don’t know which would be worse.
“I’m not going anywhere, Katia,” I say firmly. “Not without a fight.”
Katia rakes her hand through her hair. “I’m not going to force you to do anything, Blondie. Jesus, don’t be fuckingridiculous. Mason won’t like that you hid this from him, but I’m not going to be the one to tell him, and I’m not going to let him think I harmed either of you.”
Relief washes over me. “So, you’re not going to tell him?”
Katia shoots me a dirty look. “Not yet.”
I sigh. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Blondie. I’m not doing this for you, but I hope you make the right decision, because this is all fucked.”
My chest is tight as I stare at her. “I know.”
Katia throws the door open. Through the opening, I watch her brush past Olivia, who stares after her. Then, Olivia turns, raps on the door, and pokes her head in.
I don’t want to talk to her.
I don’t want to talk to anyone.
My conversation with Katia has left me drained and unsettled, and the last thing I want is to discuss strategy with Olivia.
