Page 145 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

She stares at me, her nipples hard as rock and poking through her soaked dress. But I don’t think she’s even registering the cold anymore. She’s wondering how she can talk to her brother and alert him to the fact that I’m listening in on their entire conversation.

“You’re really going to make me do this?” she asks finally.

“Put it on speakerphone.”

She takes a deep breath and dials Rob’s number. I can see the anxiety on her face the moment it rings. On the second unanswered ring, she cuts the line.

“He must be busy.”

“Try again.”

“But—”

“Now.”

She meets my gaze for an endless few seconds before she caves and re-dials. Three rings and he picks up, his tone cold and business-like.

“Agent Lawrence.”

“Rob?”

“Liv,” he says, dropping the formal tone. “Is everything alright?”

“Of course, of course, everything’s fine,” she says, eyeing me warily. “I… I just… wanted to talk. Are you free?”

She’s hoping he’ll say he isn’t, but he disappoints her instantly. “Of course.”

I take a step towards her and grab her arm, a gentle reminder that she needs to keep to her end of the bargain. Goosebumps prickle her skin, but she doesn’t try to get out from under me.

“How are things, uh… going?” she asks. “Like, with work.”

“Slowly,” he sighs. “The Bureau is losing interest in pursuing this investigation.”

“Are you serious?” she blurts out, before remembering who she’s with.

“But I’m not going to give up that easily, Liv. Especially after what you—”

“It’s fine,” she blurts. “I’m fine.”

I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Does she really think I don’t know about the scarf? Does she really think anything happens in this fucking house without me knowing about it?

“Where are you now?” Rob asks.

“In the garden.”

“By yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” he says, his tone flatlining for a moment, before it picks up again. “I am a little busy at the moment, Liv.”

“Okay, no worries. I’ll call later.”

“Goodb—” The word is cut off by her hanging up too quickly.

She passes the phone back to me, trying to look as innocent as possible. “There,” she says. “I did what you asked.”

“Did you?” I ask. “Because all I heard was you giving your brother the tip-off.”

---