Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet #2) - Nicole Fox Page 0,82
in on Viktor’s conversation adds an entirely new and confusing layer to the situation.
I go around in circles, trying to be angry and disgusted with Viktor, but as hard as I try, I still want him here with me. Even while I’m internally screaming at him for being such a bastard, I long to feel his strong arms around me, telling me everything will be okay.
Plus, crazily enough, if I had taken the protection Viktor had offered me and allowed the guards to follow me last night, I probably wouldn’t be trapped in this cell right now. But I bypassed those security measures and took my safety into my own hands, and now look where I am.
I run my hands through my oily hair and wonder whether Theo is okay. Will Viktor have told him I was taken? I hope not. I don’t want Theo to worry.
Hopefully he is playing right now. Hopefully Viktor is telling him that I’ll be home soon.
It might be a lie, but Theo deserves to live in that lie for a little bit longer. He deserves to hear those words of comfort until Viktor is entirely certain they aren’t true.
I’m huddled against the back wall of the cell, my knees tucked to my chest, when the door suddenly bursts open.
I scream and jump to my feet. I didn’t even hear the key in the lock, so I’m taken off guard, but I come to my senses quickly.
Fedor is standing in the doorway, his green eyes vibrant and wild. My attention snags on the gun in his hand. He is pointing it at me, and I have no reason to believe he isn’t going to shoot me dead right now.
His head is tilted oddly to the side, and I realize he is on the phone. He grabs the phone wedged between his chin and shoulder and hits a button so the sound of a ringtone fills the room on speakerphone.
It rings over and over again. So long that I begin to wonder whether this is a new kind of torture I’m unfamiliar with. Given enough time, the sound would certainly drive anyone mad.
“Your fake husband must not have any real feelings for you, after all. He sure is taking a long time to answer,” Fedor sneers.
My heart lurches when I realize I might get to hear Viktor again. I’d still be trapped in this tiny cell with his crazy brother as my guard, but hearing his voice would strengthen my resolve to do everything in my power to get out of here.
Fedor opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, the phone stops ringing. Then, someone answers.
Except, it isn’t Viktor.
“Hello?” The voice is female, and I recognize it, though it takes me a second to place. “Fedor, is that you?”
Fedor frowns and looks down at the phone, probably making sure he called the right number. “Who is this?”
“It’s Hannah.”
Fedor looks at me like maybe I’ll understand what is happening, but I’m just as lost as he is. Last time I saw Hannah, she was running down an alley for her life being pursued by some of Fedor’s men. How or why she would be answering Viktor’s phone is a mystery. One I hope does not involve anything bad happening to Viktor.
“Why are you answering my brother’s phone?”
“Because his hands are tied at the moment.” I can hear the smile in her voice. The victory. The pride. Whatever is going on, Hannah is thrilled.
“Do you mean that figuratively or …”
“Literally,” she says. “He is handcuffed to a chair in the motel bathroom.”
I rise up onto my knees as though I can look through the phone and see Viktor, understand what is going on. Fedor points the gun at me and shakes his head, a silent threat. “What do you mean? I thought you were as good as dead.”
“Your men couldn’t catch me,” she says. “I outran them, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to run forever. I had to find a way to prove my worth to you. So, I have.”
“By handcuffing my brother in a motel bathroom?” Fedor asks, dubious.
“Exactly.”
Fedor sucks on his teeth and then barks out an order. “Explain.”
“There is nothing Viktor wants more than to get Molly back, so I used his desperation against him,” she says. “I called him and told him I knew where she was and how he could get her back. Like a lovesick puppy, he fell for it. He met me at the hotel,