Page 83 of Married to the Don (Kornilov Bratva Duet 1)

Molly

Theo isn’t here.

As soon as I step out of the car, I scan the lot in search of my son, and am grateful he won’t be here to see his mother shot and killed in front of him.

Then I see Viktor.

He looks shocked to see me. His mouth falls open, and he blinks at me like I just descended from the sky on a winged horse.

Then Fedor steps up behind me, and Viktor’s eyes narrow.

“What is this, brother?” Viktor asks. His words are calm, but his voice shakes with anger. “What are you doing with my wife?”

“The same thing you’re doing with my son,” he says. “Holding a hostage.”

Viktor’s face goes white, and I know he understands what this means. Fedor knows everything. He knows about me and Theo. The game is up.

“You don’t need to do this,” Viktor says, stepping away from the armed men gathered to his right. I don’t recognize any of them, but the old man nearby is being guarded like he’s someone important. “You don’t really want a child anyway. Be honest. I did you a favor. I took that responsibility for you.”

“Don’t act like you’re a saint!” Fedor shakes with rage, and I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for his hand to clench a bit too hard on the trigger. Waiting for the bullet to rocket through my brain and end everything for me.

Fedor takes a deep breath and then laughs, though it’s devoid of humor. “You didn’t keep Theo because you thought it was best for me. You thought it was best for you. A chance to settle down and be the family man you always wanted to be. Because, be honest, you’ve never been much of a don.”

Viktor’s spine straightens, and his jaw clenches. “You think you could have done better? Shooting any man who looks sideways at you and starting wars? That isn’t how a leader operates.”

“I had to do those things because you made the Kornilovs weak!” Fedor shouts back. “No one would have ever looked at me sideways if you hadn’t let our good name fall in the dirt. And now, to add insult to injury, you marry my sloppy seconds and try to adopt my son?”

“She isn’t your anything,” Viktor growls. “What you did to her was wrong, and I, like always, cleaned up your mess.”

The old man next to Viktor holds up his hands. “This is clearly a family matter that we have no part in. I think it would be best if we left and—”

“No,” Fedor says suddenly, turning me in front of him like a human shield and facing the older man. As he does, another man joins the fray. He looks like the younger version of the other man, and I assume they are father and son. Another crime family by the looks of it. “I have business with you too. This isn’t over.” He laughs, and he sounds entirely unhinged. “I didn’t expect you all to be in the same place, but this could really work out in my favor. Two birds, one stone and all that, you know?”

The older man glances at his son, looking uncertain, but Viktor claims control of the situation, stepping forward and holding his gun out to the side in a half surrender.

“Let Molly go,” he says softly. “Please, Fedor. Just let her go, and we’ll talk. We can fix all of this.”

“I am fixing it. You, brother, are the one who broke it. In fact, I don’t think you deserve the title of brother. Not after the way you’ve treated me.”

“I went to war for you!” Viktor roars.

“Barely!”

Fedor’s voice is so loud that my ear rings, and I try to pull away from him, but he tightens his arm around my neck, making it harder to breathe. “You had to think about it and that, on top of every other way you’ve betrayed me, is why we are here in this mess. Because you are a disloyal piece of shit who would rather dive headfirst into my secondhand pussy than support your own brother.”

Viktor lifts his gun and surges forward several steps. His jaw is clenched tight. “Don’t you dare disrespect my wife.”

“See?” Fedor says, using his gun to gesture to everyone. “He is proving my point. My brother is loyal to his woman over his own blood, which is why his men are turning away from him.”

Viktor’s expression hardens. “They’re turning away from me for not letting you rot away in prison. You ruin everything you touch. I’m done defending you.”

Fedor snorts derisively. “That so? Then how do I have twenty Kornilov men ready and willing to leave your Bratva and join me in starting anew?”

I can see the disbelief in Viktor’s face, and my heart breaks for him. I want to push away from Fedor and comfort him, which is a strange sensation in itself, given everything. I ran away from this man. Why do I only want to run toward him now?

Fedor turns back to the other don and his son. “We can strike a deal. We can unite and crush what is left of my brother’s little family and rule this city like kings. I know that’s what you’ve always wanted, Rio.”

I look at Viktor again, waiting for him to shut this down. Waiting for him to fight, but he’s staring at me, blinking. He looks like a man lost at sea, searching for the shore, and I want to open my arms and be his safe place to land.

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