Page 31 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

I frown. “Have you been watching me?”

“Yes,” he says unapologetically. He pushes himself off the tree and walks over to me. “I know what kind of man Hargrove is, Olivia. I’m not about to leave you at his property without making sure I can keep an eye on you at all times.”

Warmth spreads through me. I fear my blush is going to betray how that sentiment makes me feel.

If only to distract myself from that, I say, “He’s not going to hurt me.”

“He doesn’t need to hurt you. He just needs to keep you under his thumb for the time being.”

I turn back to the goliath of a building above us. “You think that’s why he’s insisting we all stay here?”

“Masking control as generosity.” Aleks shrugs. “It’s a smart move.”

“My family loves him.”

“And they hate me,” he points out, though he doesn’t seem to care in the slightest. “So, clearly, their judgment is impaired.”

I almost smile. “Hard to say who’s right or wrong.” But the half-grin fades quickly. I shuffle uncomfortably and glance down at the cracked path beneath my feet.

“Feeling stifled here, aren’t you?” he observes.

I frown. “How did you know?”

“Your face isn’t exactly a mystery to me,” he says. “How about a drive?”

“Now?”

He nods.

“With you?”

He makes a pretend show of glancing over his shoulders. “Is someone else offering?”

“But… they’ll miss me.” I look back up at the building, wondering which windows belong to my family and which belong to Donald.

“I’ll have you back before anyone knows you’re gone.”

I frown. “Is this a trick to get me back on your compound?”

He shrugs and holds out a hand. “There are no tricks, Olivia. Just leaps of faith. Are you willing to jump?”

8

ALEKS

ALEKS’S CAR

I can’t stop gawking. Her body hasn’t changed in any noticeable way yet, but the simple knowledge that she’s carrying my baby makes her infinitely more beautiful.

“You’re staring,” Olivia remarks as she straps her seatbelt across her body.

“Observing.”

She arches a wry eyebrow. “Observing what, exactly? Answer carefully.”

“The way you’re glowing.”

Pink rises in her cheeks. “Please,” she snorts derisively. “That’s just something people say to pregnant women so they feel better about getting huge and throwing up all the time.”

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