Page 32 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

OLIVIA

He drives with one hand on the steering wheel, the other thrown casually over the empty passenger seat.

And for some reason, I can’t stop staring.

Is it possible that, just a few hours ago, those hands were all over me?

I sit here feeling like I’ve entered some strange alternate reality. A reality in which having sex with a stranger on an airplane morphs into a nightmare that threatens my entire family.

The massive man who carried me into the jeep is sitting right next to me. He doesn’t so much as glance my way, but I can’t escape the feeling that he registers every blink of my eyes, every breath I take, every thought that crosses my mind.

We drive through the city. I can’t help but gawk at people going about their normal lives. It’s bizarre—don’t they know what’s happening? Inside this car, inside a house not so far away?

But, of course, the entire world hasn’t come crashing down.

Just mine.

We turn a corner. I drag my eyes along the sidewalk to the end of the block and see a familiar little pizza shop I used to go to with my dad.

After Mia left for college, I cried for days. When the tears finally dried up, Dad insisted we go out for pizza, just the two of us. I ate garlic knots and greasy slices of pepperoni until I was too full to sense my feelings. And for the first time since my sister left me home alone, I felt like maybe my life wasn’t over.

That one night turned into a weekly routine. A tradition. Even when I got older, I turned down plans with my friends just so I could walk down to the pizzeria with Dad.

So many memories tied up in that simple little storefront. So many things I can’t ever get back.

There are other things I can’t hold onto, either, no matter how hard I try. Even now, I’m starting to forget what my father’s voice sounded like. What his hug smelled like. How his love felt.

I don’t even realize I’m crying until the first tear rolls down my cheek.

God only knows what might’ve happened if he had lived. Maybe Mia would’ve chosen love over her career. Maybe I would’ve left for college instead of cowering at home. Maybe Rob would’ve gone down a path that didn’t cost him his soul and his sanity at the same time.

And if all that had happened, maybe we wouldn’t be in this position.

Kidnapped by the devil himself.

The truly scary part is that I barely know Aleks—yet I know exactly what he is capable of. He smiled at me in the airport and made me feel seen. Special.

Stupid me, I basked in his attention. I lost myself to the fantasy.

But there was no fantasy, was there? There was just a plan. A calculated, devious plan, set to ensnare a silly little girl like me. It worked flawlessly.

I blink and find myself staring at his profile. I should look away. Part of me still wants to. But I’m trapped by his aura. A helpless animal caught in a predator’s claws.

“Do I scare you, Olivia?” he murmurs.

I wish I had Mia’s courage. She got her strength from Dad. But I’ve always been like my mother: quiet, soft-spoken, and scared of the world.

“Yes.”

He smiles. “Good.”

The city disappears behind us. I force myself not to look back. Back to where my family is, where my home is, where everything good in my life is.

Ahead of me is only pain.

I have to be ready for it.

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