Page 10 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

All the fight whisks out of my body. I become what she sees when she looks at me.

I look down at my shoes, forcing back the tears in my eyes.

“I’m sorry, munchkin,” Mia adds. “I love you dearly, but you’ve always fallen for a good story.”

“But… it’s not—”

“Liv,” she says so sharply that I fall silent immediately, “I can’t imagine what these last three months have been like for you. You’ve suffered so much. I think we should give you a while to recover from that before we hash anything else out.”

I know what she’s doing—trying to placate me. She’s hoping that a reset will make this conversation easier because I’ll be able to see things from their perspective. It’s like being put in timeout until my temper tantrum is over.

“Okay,” I whisper. “I do feel tired.”

“Of course you are, honey,” Mom says gently. “You’ve been through hell.”

“Come on,” Rob says brusquely. “I’ll show you to your suite.”

“Why can’t we just go home?” I ask.

“This is our home now,” he growls.

The heavy feeling in my chest just keeps getting heavier. Try as I might, I can’t seem to get Aleks’s face out of my head.

Rob leads me to a set of bronzed double doors. “Pretty great, isn’t it?” Mia asks with far too much fake cheer as he throws them open.

I don’t have the heart to disagree. It’s all grand, all luxurious, all dripping with the pungent scent of wealth. But there’s nothing personal or lived in about the space. It’s a hotel room in looks and in spirit. No trace of humanity to it.

“It’s nice,” I say, failing to bolster up my enthusiasm. “But… it’s not home.”

“Home is compromised,” Rob snaps. “How many times do I have to say that?”

“And even if it wasn’t, how can we feel safe there again after what that bastard did to us in it?” Mia asks. “None of us could sleep there after you were taken.”

My stomach is churning with more nausea, with fear, with guilt, with conflict. Do I have the right to defend the man who did such a thing to my family? Why do I even feel the need to?

“Anyway, Mom and I have suites just next to yours,” Mia says. “So we’re right next door if you need anything at all.”

“We should let Liv get some rest,” Rob says firmly.

Mom and Mia nod and reluctantly slink out of the room. But Rob lingers.

When we’re alone, he turns to me, his eyes dark with determination. “I don’t know what he said or did to you these last three months,” he says. “But he won’t get away with it.”

“Rob—”

“He may have gotten to Isabella, but how can you explain what happened to Donald’s goddaughter?” he demands. “She was fourteen years old when Aleks Makarova took her, Liv. She went back to her parents a few months ago. And when she did, there was only one name on her lips.His.”

“Rob—”

“Those are the only words she’s spoken since.Aleks Makarova.They can’t press charges or take her story to the cops because the girl refuses to talk. She just sits in her room, day in and day out, staring at the ceiling and refusing to talk. ‘Unreliable witness,’ that’s what they’ll say. That’s what Aleks Makarova did to her with his brutality.”

I bite my tongue. What can I say to that?

“That’s why Donald is helping us,” Rob explains. “Because he wants to save other innocent girls from the same fate that his goddaughter was forced to go through. Donald is a good man, Liv. I know that it’s easy to be seduced by the dark side, but it’ll destroy you in the process.”

“That’s not what happened,” I whisper so quietly that I’m not sure he can even hear me.

He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Get some rest,” he sighs. “We’ll talk more later.”

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