Page 31 of Shattered Altar (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“No!” Her mouth falls open in shock. She turns to me as my soldier moves to take custody of her.

“You can’t do this!” Rob roars.

I smile at him. “Watch me.”

“No!” he yells. “You can’t take her. Makarova!”

I bound forward and grab Rob’s bloodied face in my hand. “Did you really think I would walk out of here with nothing more than a threat?” I hiss at him. “I am not the small fish you’re used to dealing with, Lawrence. I am the devil and this is the lowest level of hell. This is the fucking Bratva. We pay our debts in blood.”

“I said I would back off!” he protests.

“I know you did.” I tip my head towards Pyotr. “Take her.”

She tries to fight Pyotr, but it’s no use. He just takes advantage of the momentum to hoist her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and strolls out of the house. Her sister’s eyes are wide with panic as she screams through her gag.

“You want someone to blame?” I say, looking directly into her eyes. “Blame your brother.”

“What are you going to do to her?” Rob asks, real fear creeping into his voice for the first time.

“That depends on you,” I tell him. “I have a Bratva to run. And I don’t need you cockroaches scurrying around my feet while I do it. This is your last warning. Your sister’s fate rests in your hands.”

With that, I’m done here. I turn on my heel and exit the house to the soundtrack of Rob’s screams.

As I approach the armored SUV waiting for me outside, I trade Rob’s screams for Olivia’s. She’s thrashing around the backseat, banging on the bulletproof glass.

I get into the driver’s seat and slam the door shut. “There’s no point in crying or pleading, Olivia. It won’t change anything.”

“My mother, my sister…” she says desperately. “Are they okay? What are you going to do to them?”

“They’ll be fine,” I say. “I came here to give your brother a message. And now that you’re here, I’ve done that. They’ll be released the moment we’ve turned the corner.”

“And me?” she asks, finally thinking about herself now that she’s reasonably sure her family will be left unharmed. “What about me?”

I glance at her in the rearview mirror. “That remains to be seen.”

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