Page 144 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

And I walk into the bathroom and throw up my breakfast.

When I’m done, I don’t feel any better. I go to the sink to wash out my mouth and splash water on my face, but it doesn’t help with the new sallowness clinging to my cheeks or the unease in my stomach.

I slump out of the bathroom and almost bump right into Aleks. His eyes pass over my face shrewdly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I mumble too quickly. “You just caught me by surprise.”

“I was just coming to tell you that I’m stepping out for a bit.”

“Now?” I ask.

I’m filtering everything through the conversation I just had with Mia. Is him leaving a good sign or a bad one? Guilty or innocent, innocent or guilty?

“Now,” he confirms.

He cups my cheek. I have to fight off a shiver. He tilts my face up to his and I stare up at this gorgeous man and pray to God that my sister is wrong.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Aleks asks, frowning.

I nod. “Just morning sickness.”

His frown deepens. “You better get some rest.”

“I’ve been in my room all morning,” I say. “I was heading out for a walk.”

“I think it’s best if you rest.”

I wonder if his insistence has anything to do with a potential secret he has hidden somewhere in this labyrinth of a house.

No, I tell myself, shoving away the thought.Don’t go there. Not until you have to.

“Okay,” I relent. “I’ll rest.”

He smiles and then bends down. I don’t expect the kiss he delivers. Maybe that’s why it tastes so much sweeter.

I lean into his body instinctively. He holds me as though I matter to him.

But it’s over all too soon. When he lets me go, I step back reluctantly.

“When will you be back?” I ask, trying not to sound too needy.

“A couple of hours,” he says. “Demyan is coming with me. But Markus and Yani are around. They’ll help you if you need anything.”

“I’m sure I won’t.”

“Call them if you do.”

Then he turns for the staircase. I move to the window and wait for him to appear in the driveway below. When he does, I watch him climb into a contingent of three armored vehicles before they all drive away.

I have no idea where he’s going, and at the moment, I don’t really care.

The only thing I’m concerned with is proving Mia and Hargrove wrong.

I start my search on the first floor. Probably because, subconsciously, I know that it’s the least likely option. But if I’m going to make good on my promise to my sister, I need to be thorough.

It takes me almost an hour to work my way through the house and get up to the fourth and final floor. It’s an attic space, so I’ve never been up here before. But there are still four rooms branching off of the small hallway.

The first three I check appear abandoned. No furniture. No carpet. No decorations.

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