Page 131 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

I feel a prickle of annoyance when he says that, but I hide it. Demyan already thinks he’s right about everything. No need to let him know he might be onto something where Olivia is concerned.

“I appreciate a beautiful woman as much as the next guy, don’t get me wrong,” he says. “But this one is more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you have the potential to actually fall for this girl,” Demyan explains. “That makes her more dangerous than the rest.”

I laugh scornfully. “You’ve confused me for someone with a heart.”

“Aleks—”

“Demyan,” I snap back. “Stop pushing this. Marriage doesn’t always have to be a disaster. That only happens when you marry for the wrong reason.”

“What’s the wrong reason?”

“Love,” I snap. “You decided to chase a foolish fairytale. To play make-believe.”

“I never—”

“Yes, you did,” I interrupt. “You thought you could have it all. Be the family man and the Bratva man. But you can’t be both. That’s why I’m not trying to be.”

“So you’re smarter than me, is that what you’re saying?”

I smirk. “I mean, I don’t think I need to say it at this point.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Christ, you’re an asshole. I’m just being the voice of reason here.”

“I don’t have any illusions about my purpose. Nor hers. She’s not meant to be my loving wife or steadfast partner. She’s here because I need to put an end to a problem. Once that problem is solved, she’ll go right back to where she came from and I’ll forget she ever existed.”

He sighs in frustration. “When are you going to let her on to the fact that you’re listening in on all her conversations?”

“I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually. Until then, I’ll take my information where I get it.”

“How chivalrous. Discover anything else?”

“They’re really close.”

“Her family?”

I nod. “‘Die for each other’ kind of close.”

“So like us?” he asks, batting his lashes at me.

I laugh. “I’d never die for your dumb ass.”

“And I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. Glad we got that settled.”

We both grin. It’s nice to have a moment of levity every now and again. Sometimes, I forget that, before everything else, Demyan was just my best friend. It wasn’t always all about work.

But things change.

“Have you ever thought about going through with more than just passive threats?” he asks.

“Like?”

“Like, you know… exterminating the problem.” He gestures vaguely.

“You mean killing the brother?” I shake my head. “No. That would defeat the purpose of taking his sister. And he’d only be replaced by some other do-gooder Bureau rat who won’t care about Olivia enough to listen, which puts me right back where I started without a trace of leverage. No, I need Rob Lawrence in play. That’s the course I’ve taken.”

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