Page 89 of Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet 2)

Viktor

Hannah is pacing by the door, waiting for Fedor to arrive, and it takes everything in me not to scream at her.

She helped me set a trap for Fedor just like she said she would, but it doesn’t change the fact that she betrayed Molly and put her in danger in the first place. Her mother was kidnapped and held by Fedor, and I understand how bad that must have been for her, but it is no excuse to turn on an innocent person. Especially when that innocent person is as sweet and gentle as Molly.

I hate Hannah, but right now, she is helping us, and I have to shove aside my hate until Molly is safe.

“I think he is here,” Hannah says, looking through the peephole of the motel door. “Three cars just pulled into the parking lot.”

I push her aside and look through the hole. Three black cars are idling at the far end of the lot closest to the check-in desk.

“Call him,” I say. “Tell him you see him and give him the room number.”

Hannah does as I ask and calls Fedor. His voice is faint and indecipherable through the phone, but Hannah says exactly what I told her to and then hangs up.

“He’s coming.” She takes a deep breath, and I can practically see her heart pounding through her shirt.

I nod for her to go hide, and she goes into the bathroom and climbs into the tub. I adjust my bulletproof vest and prepare myself.

This is it. I’m going to kill my brother.

The thought still fills me with mixed emotions, but I focus on the fact that Fedor is here to kill me right now. That is his sole purpose in being here. He wouldn’t hesitate to end my life, so I can’t hesitate to end his. I can’t. It is either him or Molly, and there is no competition. I’ll choose Molly every time.

Seamus and his men are in the rooms surrounding the one I’m in, ready to jump out and fight off Fedor and his men as soon as I give the signal.

I wanted Hannah to be the one to answer the door. I wanted her to lure Fedor into the room so I could kill him more easily, but at the end of the day, I can’t trust her. She stuck to her end of the bargain in getting Fedor here, but she is clearly a survivor. Her main goal is to get out of this alive, and I can’t trust that she won’t flip sides on me again. So, it is safer to just do it myself, even if it might be messier.

When three knocks sound on the door, I grip my gun against my chest and take a deep breath.

This is it.

I grab the doorknob and start to open the door, but just as I do, I realize I never gave the signal. I was so nervous about facing Fedor that I never knocked on the door adjoining the two motel rooms. Seamus and his men don’t know Fedor is here yet.

I freeze, the door partway open, unsure what to do.

“Hello?” Fedor asks, sounding suspicious. “Hannah?”

I could open the door and shoot at Fedor, but his guards would gun me down moments later. I have to alert Seamus, but I’m not sure how to do that without letting Fedor know this is a trap and giving him the upper hand.

“What the fuck is going on?” Fedor asks.

I’m out of time and options, so I do the only thing I can think of. I cup a hand around my mouth and yell, “He’s here!”

“Shit.” Fedor curses on the other side of the door. I hear him and his men scrambling to get away, but I also hear the doors around me open. I follow suit and step into the breezeway.

Irish members move into the breezeway and the parking lot, backing Fedor and his men into the corner, but they aren’t going quietly. Bullets are flying and by the time I step outside ,there are already two men on the ground, blood pooling around them.

“I’m sorry,” I yell to Seamus as I advance on my brother. “I fucked it up.”

He waves me away and points to Fedor, directing me to focus, and I’m trying. I really am.

I’ve never been this frazzled before. Perhaps it is because I know this is it. I know this is the last battle I’m going to have with Fedor. Only one of us is going to walk away from this. Either I’ll kill him, or I’ll die trying.

I take a sobering breath and begin firing.

My men and Seamus’ men are shooting at Fedor’s guards, but I aim for their cars. I can’t let them escape this.

One by one, I blow out the tires on their vehicles and shatter the windshields. Then and only then do I turn on his men.

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