Page 131 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

So be it. The sweet nothings will have to wait for another time.

“Come on,” I say, taking advantage of her temporary state of shock. “Time to say hello to the stars of the show.”

I stride forward swiftly. “Congratulations!” I announce loudly so that all the people around us are sure to hear.

Then I lean in and hug the bride. Mia is so stunned she hasn’t wiped the smile off her face yet.

Olivia has turned an attractive shade of pink, but she doesn’t apologize for my bombast like I expect her to. She just stands next to me, looking as awkward as ever.

Hargrove gives me a seemingly sincere smile. He even adds a little laugh at the end to make it convincing for everyone watching on.

The photographers hover around, taking candids at every possible moment. Hargrove’s fake smile stays plastered to his face.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Makarova?” he growls through gritted teeth, making sure his mask doesn’t falter. Up close, it makes him look deranged. But then again, that suits him.

“Just came to wish my sister-in-law and her husband a happy wedding day,” I explain lightly. “We are family, after all.”

“You arenotour fucking family.”

“Breathe, darling,” Mia hisses, gripping his arm tightly. “This is not the time nor the place.”

I sense Olivia stiffen beside me. Her hand falls across my arm, but it’s gentle. More like she’s pleading with me, rather than angry at the situation.

“Aleks, let’s go.”

“I wonder how the world will feel about your brother-in-law being a pedophile? Outing me now is going to make life extremely difficult for you, I’d imagine.”

I can see the effort it’s taking him to keep the smile in place. Any minute now and he’ll start breaking out in sweat. “I’m not concerned about that. I can handle the fallout of exposing what you’ve done.”

“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

“I have no problem dragging your name through the dirt,” he says threateningly. “I’ll make sure the world knows that I’m the one who worked with the cops to expose you. They’ll give me medals while they dance on your grave.”

He glances at Olivia. “You backed the wrong horse, Olivia. But don’t worry: when this is all over and he’s behind bars, I’ll still protect you. For no other reason than you’re my wife’s sister.”

“I don’t want your protection,” Olivia snaps back. Her grip on my arm tightens. It’s almost… protective, in a strange sense.

“You may not want it,” he says with cold eyes. “But you will need it.”

“Why would you even bring him, Olivia?” Mia asks, breathless.

Her poker face isn’t as good as her husband’s. Her brows knit together with distress. I can tell that Hargrove notices because he takes her hand and tugs on it. A reminder of where they are, of all the people watching on, of everything at stake.

“I didn’t bring him,” she answers. “He came because I needed him. Because he didn’t want me to suffer alone like I did when we buried Mom.”

The pride in her voice is unmistakable. The feeling it stirs up in my chest, however… I’m not quite sure how to put my finger on that.

Mia quivers with pent-up anger. Then she says primly, “We have more guests to meet.”

The dismissal is obvious.

Fine by me. I’ve accomplished what I came here to do.

I take Olivia’s hand and walk her away from the couple. I don’t stop walking until we’ve stepped out onto one of the huge balconies dotting the facade of the hotel.

There’s no one outside with us. Just hundreds of bouquets of red and white roses and their scent floating through the air.

I pluck the reddest flower I can find and hand it to Olivia. She looks down at it as though this is the first time she’s ever seen a rose.

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