Page 171 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“Of course.”

“Why did you kill her like that?” Olivia asks. “Kennedy knew as much as you did, right? Or at the very least, he suspected what was going on. He would have arrested Yulia as well as Hargrove. So why kill her?”

“Because the case against Hargrove is going to be a disgusting spectacle. His name, along with everyone connected to him, is going to be dragged through the mud. If I’d let Kennedy arrest her, she’d have had a trial of her own. And the Bratva would have been roped into it. I’m not interested in fame, Olivia. Notoriety has its place in the underworld. But in the larger scheme of things, it’s inconvenient.”

She nods, taking that in, but she doesn’t seem wholly satisfied with the answer. “It’s more than that though, isn’t it? It’s the Bratva. Only blood can pay for blood. Haven’t you said that to me before?”

I smile down at her, marveling at how far she’s come in such a short time. “You’ve been paying attention.”

“I’m an artist,” she laughs. “Paying attention is what I’m supposed to do.”

I take her hand and our fingers wind together. “You need something to eat.”

“I couldn’t eat if you forced it down my throat,” she scoffs. “I just watched you shoot your mother dead. And as much as she may have deserved it, it still doesn’t really lend itself to hunger.”

“The baby—”

She places her hand over her belly. “The baby is fine. I’ll let you know when I’m hungry.”

I decide not to push it just now. I have to learn to trust her like she’s learned to trust me.

“I still can’t quite believe it,” she admits after a moment. “How could she do it? She was poaching vulnerable children from their homes so she could feed them to a shark.”

“Why is it so hard to believe?” I ask. “She was a shark herself.”

“But what was the goal?” Olivia counters. “What did she have to gain?”

“The Bratva.”

Olivia raises her eyebrows in shock. “Are you serious?”

He nods. “She fancied herself a great leader. She resented the power she lost when I came back from Russia. She wanted that control back.”

“And she figured, if you were in jail, she could take over?”

“What other choice would the Bratva have had?” I say. “She thought she had it all lined up.”

“But… you’re her son. She’s your mother.”

I shrug. “She could play pretend all day long. But when it came to being a mother for real, she was sadly lacking. She could never love anyone more than she loved herself. Funny enough, I almost fell victim to the same mistake.”

“Aleks,” Olivia says with a strained voice, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, Olivia. Don’t you ever apologize. You did the best you could with what you were given. That’s all anyone can ever ask of you. It’s all Ican ever ask of you.”

She nods like she wants so badly to believe me, to take solace in the comfort I’m giving her. “Those girls,” she says softly. “What’s going to happen to them now?”

“They’re all being taken care of. I’m seeing to it myself.”

“That’s good,” she breathes. “That’s really good.” She strokes my hand resting on top of hers.

Then, suddenly, she stiffens. One thought after another clawing her back from finding peace in the aftermath.

“What about Mia?”

“What about her?”

“I mean, she’s still married to him.”

---