Page 73 of Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet 2)

Molly

When I wake up, I’m in my room upstairs.

I wipe at my eyes and realize I’m naked. I have no memory of coming upstairs, so Viktor must have carried me.

When I roll over, I see him lying in the bed next to me, one strong arm thrown over his head. He is cast in a silhouette against the navy-blue sky visible through the wall of windows behind him. It is late at night or early in the morning—I can’t tell which—but either way, I want to tuck myself against his chest and fall back asleep. Because he is my safe place.

The thought hits me like a slap in the face, and I almost gasp from the force of it.

Viktor is my home base. Sometime in the last few weeks, he became the person I feel safest with. Not only that, he became the person I want to keep safe.

Not just physically, but emotionally.

This life is too heavy for any one person to carry alone, and I want to help Viktor carry the weight. I want to talk to him about his day and help him muddle through the decisions that come with leadership. I want to be Viktor’s partner, and I want him to be mine.

I’m staring at him, blinking like a crazy person when I finally hear the reason I woke up in the first place. My phone is vibrating on the nightstand.

I grab for my phone, worried it could be an issue with Theo. The few times he has stayed the night away from me, he needs to call and hear my voice in the middle of the night.

Instead of the nanny’s name, however, I see Hannah’s.

I grab my phone and a throw blanket from the end of the bed and walk into the hallway to answer.

“Hey, what’s going on?” The clock on my phone says it is almost three in the morning. If Hannah is calling now, something must be wrong. “Where are you?”

“Outside,” she says, sounding breathless. “I’m only a block from your place, and I need to talk to you.”

I frown and shake my head, tired and confused. “You said you’d be able to find a place to sleep tonight. If you can’t, you can obviously come up and stay in your room. I’ll have the guards unlock the door for you.”

“That isn’t it. I don’t need a place to sleep. I’m not tired.” She sighs, making me doubt the truth in her statement. “I just need to talk to you.”

“Come inside and talk. I’ll make some tea. Just come over and—”

“Not while he is there,” she snaps, venom dripping from her words.

Hannah has been so relaxed since she arrived to stay with me. Even when she found out about Viktor and his penchant for violence, she was worried about me, but calm. So, I’m not sure where this new emotion is coming from. I tell Hannah as much.

“You haven’t had an issue with Viktor since you got here. Why now? What happened?”

“I came to my senses, Molly. That’s what happened. I hate the way that criminal has lured you in and corrupted you. I’ve had time to think about it tonight and—and he isn’t a good man. I can’t stay with you anymore, and you shouldn’t either. You need to come talk to me and see sense and let me help you.”

“Hannah.” I say her name calmly, trying to ease her back from the emotional ledge. “It is late and this is crazy. Just come home, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“That isn’t my home!” she screams into the phone.

“Okay, okay.” I’m not sure if Hannah has been drinking or doing drugs, but whatever is happening, this isn’t her. She isn’t acting like herself, and I need to help her. She shouldn’t be wandering around the streets late at night like this. I have to go to her. “Stay where you are. I’m coming.”

Hannah releases a long sigh that I take to be relief. “Okay. I’m in front of the nail salon.”

I know where she is talking about, so I hang up and slip back into my bedroom. Viktor is still sleeping on the bed, and I consider waking him up to tell him where I’m going, but I know he won’t approve. He hasn’t liked Hannah from the start. If I tell him she thinks I need to leave him, he will insist on coming with me, and then Hannah won’t talk to me. She might even run off when she sees him, and I don’t want her getting hurt.

So, I silently grab a pair of jeans, a sweater, and a pair of sneakers from my closet and then tiptoe back into the hallway. I change, pull my sex-mussed hair into a ponytail, and walk downstairs as confidently as possible.

The guards stop me at the door.

“Where are you going? No one is supposed to be leaving right now.”

The overnight guards are always lower on the totem pole. Young members who are trying to prove themselves. Sometimes, it makes them a little overzealous, but sometimes, it makes them easy to manipulate. I hope these guards are the latter.

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