Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet #2) - Nicole Fox Page 0,55
moves to stand in front of both of us, his arms outstretched.
“What—?” the photographer asks, backing away slowly. When he notices the men have guns, he turns and full-on sprints across the studio and behind the fake carousel. I don’t blame him. I’m tempted to do the same, but I know these men are here for us.
The men rush forward, guns first, and surround us. Each of the ten weapons that I can count is pointed directly at Viktor. At us. I know Viktor has a weapon strapped to his side, but it isn’t enough to take on ten or more men. And I’m sure Viktor would have had guards keeping watch outside, but they’ve apparently been overpowered as well, otherwise there would have been more of a fight out front.
“Who are you?” Viktor growls. We are outnumbered and outmatched, but his deep voice still sends goose bumps down my arms. It sounds like the voice of death himself. “What do you want?”
“Easy, brother.”
Viktor stiffens at the voice, and I recognize it immediately.
Fedor.
I peek around Viktor’s arm while trying to keep Theo hidden from view. Surely, Fedor knows Theo is here. That is why he is here at all, after all. For Theo. Still, I don’t want him to lay a hand or his eyes on my son. On Viktor’s son.
“Nobody needs to get hurt,” Fedor says. He lifts his hands as though he is the rational one. As though he is trying to keep the situation from escalating, like he didn’t just barge into the room with a small army.
“Nobody will get hurt,” Viktor says. “Leave. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Haven’t you learned by now, Vik? I can be wherever I want.” Fedor folds his hands behind his back and begins pacing back and forth. He looks thinner than the last time I saw him. His cheeks are sunken in and there are dark circles under his eyes. If anything, he looks more dangerous than before. It is obvious his physical health is failing with his mental health, which only makes him more dangerous. He truly has nothing left to lose.
“Or, have you missed all of my little gifts?”
I wonder what he means, but I can tell Viktor understands. His shoulders lift defensively. “You’ve made your point clear. You are willing to destroy everything Dad and I built. And for what? Vengeance? Does it make you feel good to kill innocent men and ruin my front businesses?”
“It’s justice,” Fedor snaps, his top lip pulled back in a scowl. Immediately, he seems to regret his loss of control and smooths a hand down his button-down shirt. It is slim but still hangs from his small frame. “You’ve built yourself a pedestal to stand on. A place where you can feel powerful and in control. I’m simply trying to show you that a big throne makes an easy target.”
“What is this about?” Viktor sounds bored, but I can feel the tension behind his words. He is pulled taut, ready to snap at a moment’s notice. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here because you’ve taken something that is mine.” Fedor leans to the side, his eyebrows lifted, and catches my eye. He lifts his hand in a wiggling-finger wave. “Where’s my little boy?”
A low, primal growl tears out of Viktor’s throat. “He isn’t yours.”
“Then whose is he?” Fedor asks. “He certainly isn’t yours. I mean, look at how handsome he is. He clearly got that from me. No offense, Vik, but you are more of the muscled, masculine type. Theo and I are of the pretty handsome variety.”
Fedor leans to the other side and grins. “Isn’t that right, kiddo?”
I realize too late that Theo has straightened up on my hip and is looking at Fedor over Viktor’s shoulder. I twist him down and back, breaking their eye contact. Theo gasps and then buries his face in my neck. I pat his back and whisper quietly in his ear.
“It’ll be okay,” I whisper, trying to convince myself of the words as well.
“How did you know we’d be here?” Viktor asks. “I kept this location a secret. Only a handful of people knew where we’d be. Who told you?”
Fedor grins and shrugs. “Would you believe that I’m all-knowing?”
“Was it Petr?”
At that, Fedor frowns and it looks genuine. He is confused, and so am I. Viktor hasn’t mentioned any doubts about Petr to me. This is the first I’m hearing about it, and it makes me wonder what else has been going on that I’ve missed.