Page 162 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“Aleksandr, please!” my mother begs. “I know that, deep down, you care about Olivia. Don’t put her in the middle of this.”

“Youdid that,” I correct. “You did that when you decided to use her against me.”

Olivia frowns, her eyes flitting between Yulia and me.

“The girl you found in my home. How old is she?” I ask.

“As if you don’t fucking know,” Rob spits.

“I’ll tell you about her,” Jennifer says, striding to the no-man’s-land between my crew and Hargrove’s.

She positions herself right in front of me. Rob tenses immediately, his jaw hardening and his eyes going cold. But I can see past the strong reaction. He’s trying to conceal his still hurt pride, the sense of loss that he’s yet to deal with.

“The girl’s name is Alana Petty. She turned thirteen years old last Tuesday, two days before she was taken.”

Hargrove rolls his eyes. “Your whore certainly knows a lot about—”

“I’m still talking, motherfucker,” Jennifer seethes, so fiercely that Hargrove shuts up immediately. She takes a moment and then continues. “I know all this because it’s my business to see things, hear things, and know things that no one wants me to know.”

Jennifer turns back to Donald. “I’m a spy, Mr. Hargrove. I’ve been a spy for more than a decade and I’ve spent all that time honing my craft. I’ve been a thousand different women with a thousand different stories. I can uncover truths that are hidden behind generations of lies.”

Rob’s eyes are fixed on Jennifer. But his fingers twitch on his holster. He’s volatile, and I know it won’t take much to push him over the edge.

“I’ve spent the last three years following your movements, and I’ll admit breaking into your inner circle was hard at first,” Jennifer says. “But the longer I worked the right places and met with the right men—sometimes even the right women—I discovered the truths you didn’t want the world to know.”

“You’re talking nonsense,” Hargrove growls. “You’re a cheap spy, no better than a slut peddling her body for fake, dirty secrets.”

“You can insult me all you want. Your words don’t have the power to hurt me. I know your game, Hargrove. You’re trying to deflect from the truth I’m about to reveal. The fact that Alana Petty was taken from her home in the early hours of the morning by a team of men that answer… to you.”

He laughs. “Really? And after I abducted the girl, she miraculously ended up on Aleks Makarov’s property, did she?”

Jennifer nods. “That’s exactly what happened.”

Olivia glances towards Jennifer. “Jen, you’re not making sense.”

“They needed you to believe Hargrove is innocent, Olivia,” Jennifer tells her gently. “They needed you to find the girl on Aleks’s property. They needed hard evidence that he was guilty. And since they didn’t have real proof, they had to fabricate it.”

Olivia frowns. She shakes her head. “No. Wait. You’re saying… you’re saying the girl was planted in his house?”

“Precisely.”

“Jesus Christ, Liv!” Rob bellows. “This is ridiculous! Don’t let them manipulate you. Aleks's compound is a fortress. No one can get in or out of it without his knowledge. So how could Hargrove have done it without Aleks being aware? It’s madness. Just a pathetic attempt to confuse you! And you’re smarter than this, Liv. I know you are. Mia knows, too. It’s why she trusted you with this information—”

“Sophie,” Olivia says abruptly.

“I… what?” Rob looks dumbfounded.

Olivia raises her eyes. They land on Yulia for a moment before they flicker back to her brother. Then to me.

Something passes between us. A look, an energy, a vibration.

And I know at that moment that I haven’t yet lost her.

“Why the fuck are we standing around talking?” Hargrove roars. “When I can finish this in—”

He raises his hand. His army of men reach for their weapons.

But I’m faster than all of them put together. I grip my weapon and bring it right to Olivia’s head.

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