Page 128 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“He said that?”

“He did. And I think he means it, too.”

“Why the hell would you think that?” he snaps.

“He’s not going to want to be saddled with me for life,” I point out. “I’m just baggage. Be realistic: I’m not the right kind of woman for a man like Aleks Makarova. He’ll want to be rid of me as soon as he gets what he wants. Which will be in a year, if you do what he asks.”

“Fuck,” Rob mutters. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay, so… he wins.”

“What?”

“He wins,” Rob repeats with emphasis. “We’re all worried about you, Liv. Mom and Mia have been beside themselves since he took you. It’s not worth what this is doing to our family.”

“Rob—”

“I’ll drop the investigation. I will.”

Yesterday, that’s all I wanted to hear. But now? After what I found?

“No,” I say firmly. “You can’t.”

I hear nothing but his breathing for a long time. Then: “What on earth are you talking about?”

“I’m so sorry, Rob,” I say slowly. I hope this devastating morsel of information doesn’t send him into a vicious downward spiral. But he deserves to know that he was right all along. “I… I found something.”

“What is it?”

“A scarf,” I say in a hushed voice. “A red scarf with strawberries all over it.”

It’s only silence that follows, but there’s so much dread in it that I shiver. I can just imagine Rob standing in the kitchen with Mia’s cell phone pressed to his ear.

Deathly still.

Deathly pale.

Cold as the grave.

“Are… are you sure it’s the same one?”

“Positive. I remember the day you bought it for her.”

“I do, too,” he murmurs. “I can still picture the look on her face when I gave it to her. She was so damn happy over that stupid little gift.”

“I’m so sorry, Rob,” I whisper. My voice is choked and tight.

“So he took her,” he says evenly. Just stating facts—even though I know he’s dying inside. “Does he know you found it?”

“No one does. Just you.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way. I’m guessing he allowed you to make this phone call?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good, too. He probably thinks you’ve been cooperating with him. Let’s keep that going. He has to trust you.”

“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who trusts anyone.”

“You’re not just anyone. If any person on earth can inspire trust, it’s you.”

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