Page 79 of Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet 2)

“Did you have a spy there, too?”

“A bug,” he says. “You’ve always liked your routines. You sit at the same stool each time you go in, did you know that? It was a simple job and very rewarding. It’s how I knew you were investigating Petr.”

“Was he working for you?” The question is out of my mouth before I can stop it. I just want to know how many people have betrayed us.

“No, but I did little to correct you. It kept you busy and occupied.”

It certainly did. I’ve been such a fool. I fell into all of his traps. Fedor wanted me to be paranoid. He wanted me to isolate myself and trust no one, and I very nearly gave him exactly what he wanted.

Now, though, it doesn’t matter. He has what he wants: revenge.

“He has been your second-in-command for years, and you turned on him so quickly. It was sad to watch. But do you know what was worse?” Fedor pauses, waiting for me to answer, but I’m suddenly exhausted. I don’t want to play this game anymore. I just want Molly. “Fine. I’ll tell you anyway. It was worse to watch you betray Molly.”

I stand tall at that, eyebrows knit together. “What are you talking about? I never betrayed Molly.”

“Maybe not technically,” Fedor says. “Though, you tried. You asked George to hire some men to scare her.”

“But I didn’t,” I say quickly.

“Only because I beat you to it! I took the idea from you, you know?”

My stomach drops. Molly was so terrified that night I came over. Seeing a strange man in her house, holding her son—she was shaken enough to agree to marry me. When I saw how scared she was, I realized how sick with guilt I would have been if I’d caused her to be that afraid. I was grateful I hadn’t gone through with it myself.

“Does Molly know?” he asks. “Does she know you were going to terrify her into staying with you? Did you tell her that you were planning to send men in to grab her son? I’m sure not. If you had, she would have left you.”

“I didn’t tell her because I decided not to do it.”

Suddenly, the line goes staticky, and I hear my own voice, garbled through a bad speaker.

“Molly is pregnant, and I need to protect her, but she won’t let me. I need to show her how badly she needs my protection.”

“What do you have in mind?” George asks.

“I need a few men to break in. They won’t hurt her or Theo, but it will scare them.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s the only way,” I say. “Molly needs to know how bad things can be. She needs to understand what I’m saving her from.”

The static fades, and I know Fedor has turned off whatever recording device he was playing back.

“That sounds like a man who is deeply in love with his wife, does it not?” Fedor laughs again, and I want to reach through the phone and strangle him. Before this moment, I hadn’t been able to imagine hurting my little brother, but now, I can picture it perfectly. If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll squeeze the life out of him. Easily. “Congratulations, by the way. On the baby.”

He knows she is pregnant. He has known for weeks. Since he overheard my conversation with George at the diner. I want to beg him not to hurt the baby, but I know it won’t matter. In all likelihood, showing any special concern for the child will only make him more excited to hurt it and Molly. So, I pinch my mouth closed and try to keep calm.

“As a gift to the new parents-to-be, I’ll let you speak to one another,” Fedor says. “Come on, Viktor, don’t be shy now. You’ve been on loudspeaker this entire time.”

“Molly?” Part of me hopes he is lying. I don’t want Molly to know about the men I nearly hired. I don’t want her to know that I was even considering manipulating her into marriage. But a much larger part of me wants to hear her voice. “Are you there?”

I hear what sounds like duct tape being removed, and then screaming.

“Viktor!” In the mess of crying and yelling, I hear my name, and my heart breaks. I drop to my knees in the study and squeeze the phone, desperate to get to her.

“Molly, I—”

“We’ll be in touch,” Fedor says, cutting me off before I can finish.

Then, the line goes dead.

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