Page 17 of Married to the Don (Kornilov Bratva Duet 1)

It isn’t just that Molly is beautiful, which she is. I’ve killed beautiful people before. It’s part of the job, and I don’t mind doing what has to be done. It’s the fact that Molly is innocent. She didn’t do anything to deserve this. Any of it. And Theo certainly doesn’t deserve to lose his mom. But what other choice do I have?

Let Fedor go to prison for life. That’s the choice. If the DA can pin anything on him, they’ll be able to present a case that he has a long history of criminal, often violent, crimes and shouldn’t be able to walk free. My baby brother will be locked away forever, and it will be my fault.

“So,” Molly says, moving over to lean against the check-in desk. “What is it like owning a motel?”

“Several motels, actually. I think there are seven or eight.”

Her eyes go wide. “Wow. That’s a lot to keep track of all by yourself.”

“It’s a family business.”

Her pink lips form a silent “oh,” and she nods. “That must be nice. Working with family.”

I almost snort. “If you knew my brother, you’d change your mind.” My blood goes cold. She does know my brother.

A sick feeling worms its way through my chest, but Molly just smiles. “I don’t have any siblings, so I wouldn’t know what that’s like.”

“Where are your parents?” I ask, shifting the conversation away from my family.

“Divorced, unhappy, and unconcerned,” she says quickly. I can tell it’s an answer she gives out often. “We don’t talk.”

“So it really is just you and Theo.”

“It really is,” she says, looking over at her son with a small smile. “He’s amazing, though. More than enough family for me.”

Shit, shit, shit.

I want Molly to be a terrible mother. I want her to be abusive and miserable and a thief. I want her to be someone it would be easy to kill. A woman I wouldn’t mind taking away from her son.

Molly doesn’t appear to be any of those things.

She’s someone who life has happened to. Mostly without her consent, things happened, and she reacted, and here she is. Still standing, still fighting, still trying. And it is damn admirable.

“Mama.” Theo is suddenly between us, his knees pinched together. “I have to potty.”

“Oh.” Molly’s eyes dart around the room, and I point her to the employee bathroom in the back corner.

“It might not be very clean, but it’s a toilet.”

“Perfect.” She nods at me in thanks and then rushes Theo off to the bathroom, his small hand firmly clasped in hers. I stand in place and wait.

When he’s finished, Theo runs out of the bathroom ahead of Molly and stops in front of me. He tips his head all the way back to look at me and then smiles. It’s a child’s smile. An innocent smile. One given without expectation or reason, and when I look into his face, I see Fedor. Not just in looks, but in temperament.

I see Fedor before our mother died, before Dad clearly preferred me over him, before he fell by the wayside and found reckless ways to keep himself entertained. I see my baby brother when his heart was open and kind. I see my family.

That’s what Theo is, after all. He’s my nephew. My flesh and blood.

Would Fedor want me to kill Molly if he knew she was raising his son?

More importantly, can I do it?

Molly pats Theo on the head, mussing his dark hair—hair only a shade darker than my own—and then bends down to kiss his forehead. Theo wrinkles his nose but wraps his arm around his mom’s leg, hugging her close.

It’s almost like they know what I’m planning. Like they’re trying to show me how much they don’t deserve to be separated. Trying to show me they’re good people.

But Fedor could be a good person. If he could get out of prison and get his head on straight, he could start over. He could have a position in the Bratva that would keep him busy and out of trouble. He could maybe find someone to balance him out and have a family of his own. If his genes could make a kid like Theo, he could have a whole brood of wide-eyed, lopsided-smiling kids. Fedor could have a life.

But only if I take Molly’s.

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