Page 184 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“Good. You’re dismissed.”

She stands and heads to the door, but just before leaving, she pauses on the threshold. Her gaze is distant, foggy, like the truth of what I’m saying is written somewhere beyond these walls.

“What are you going to do now?” she asks finally.

“That’s for me to know.”

“You have Olivia. You married her. Surely the brother’s thrown out the case and closed the book on us by now.”

“If only it were that easy.”

“What do you mean?”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Robert Lawrence has been replaced.”

Her eyes go wide. “What?”

“The Bureau felt he was getting too erratic. They called into question his personal stake in this case and they pulled him out of it. So now, there’s a new detective leading the investigation. And from what I know of him, this thing is going to get much worse before it gets better.”

She blinks and shudders. “What about Olivia?”

“What about her?”

“She’s no longer of use to you anymore, is she?”

I look towards my desk and rearrange some of the files sitting there. I need to work, to burn off this excess anger and the lingering flame of what almost happened between me and Olivia just before I came in here.

“You never know.”

She wrinkles her brow. “Wait—you’re not letting her go?”

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t understand. Why keep her here?”

“Because she’s my wife. And I’m assuming Hargrove knows about it, doesn’t he?”

She has the grace to look ashamed. “I might have mentioned it in passing.”

“The man is going to come at me with everything he’s got. If this route doesn’t work, he’ll try another. Here, she has my protection. Out in the world? She’s a sitting duck.”

She’s silent for a long time.

“You’re trying to protect her?” she asks at last.

I exhale wearily. “Get out of my office, Mother. I have work to do.”

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