Page 74 of Married to the Don (Kornilov Bratva Duet 1)

I tip back in the chair and close my eyes, thinking I might actually fall asleep for a minute. The moment my mind starts to slip into unconsciousness, however, my phone starts to vibrate.

The sound surprises me, and I fumble for my phone in my pocket before I realize I don’t even have it on me. I shuffle stacks of papers on the desk until I find it under the folder Kent gave me so many weeks ago. If I open it, I know I’ll find information about Molly—where to find her, where she frequents, how to get in contact with her. I wish Kent would update it and give me some fucking idea of where she’s gone now.

I push the folder aside and grab my phone.

“What?”

“Viktor?”

I don’t recognize the voice at first, and I have to pull my phone away from my ear to read the name on the screen. Johnny Baranov.

He isn’t part of the Bratva lifestyle per se, but he keeps his ear to the ground. I’ve always been able to rely on Johnny for good information for a reasonable price.

“Johnny. What’s going on?”

“I’ve been calling you all morning,” he says, sighing in relief. “Shit. Where have you been?”

“What’s this about?” I don’t owe him or anyone else an explanation. Even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn’t tell him my new wife ran off in the night and left me in charge of a kid.

“Fedor,” he says simply.

I close my eyes and hold back a groan. I’m in charge of two kids. How could I forget?

“What did he do?”

“It’s bad, Vik. You need to talk to Petr. Your brother came around here earlier today to talk to me, but he didn’t want to pay. I turned him away, and I thought he would pull his gun. Well, he did, just not on me.”

“Who?” I ask, not actually wanting to know.

“Consiglieres. Two of them. For the Mazzeos.”

“Shit.” My knuckles go white around the phone, and I consider throwing it across the room. Good news rarely comes through the speaker. Perhaps a new phone would bring better reports.

“I’m good here,” he says. “I’m still on your side. You know that. But you should get in touch with your brother.”

“Bye, Johnny.” When I hang up and the call screen disappears, I realize I’ve missed five calls from Petr and three texts from Fedor. I don’t even read them.

Instead I call the nanny and demand she come back immediately and that I won’t take no for an answer. Once she’s confirmed that she’ll be here within twenty minutes, I push away from my desk, grab my keys, and head for the door.

I stop before my guards out front and address the same idiot who had let Molly disappear into the night. “No one comes or goes except the nanny. Once she gets here, neither she nor Theo are to leave. Not even to the park. Got it? Disobey me and you won’t live to regret it.”

I stalk to my car without waiting for a reply, then head straight for the office downtown.

* * *

When I walkthrough the front door, there are men standing around in the lobby. They all look up as I enter and then look away just as quickly.

“Men.” I tip my head.

There is a grumbled reply and then they all press against the walls, clearing the way for me to walk down the hallway. Clearly, they know why I’m here.

My office door is cracked open, and I hear Fedor’s voice as I approach.

“Fucking careful, Petr. Can we call a doctor? We should have a damn doctor working around here. What did you all do while I was locked up?”

“We didn’t get into random shootouts with our rivals,” Petr says.

Fedor scoffs as though that is a ridiculous proposition, and his face is still screwed up in annoyance when I push open the door.

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