Page 3 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

He doesn’t say anything, so I turn back to the test, flustered. I forget to mentally prepare myself before I do, so when I see it, it hits me like a runaway train.

Two lines.

Two very definitive, very bright pink lines.

I knew I was pregnant. Instinctively, I knew. And yet, having confirmation makes a difference.

Before, I was scared of what it meant. Terrified to have my life turned upside down. For everything to be different.

But now, knowing it’s a reality? I’m excited.

And that alone confirms something else for me.

I want this baby.

Even though I know it’ll be complicated and messy, I want this baby.

Rob knocks again. “What’s taking so long?”

I grit my teeth, bury the test in the trash can under a few wads of paper towels, and walk outside.

“Can’t a girl pee in peace?” I ask irritably.

“Not when some very bad men are trying to find you.” He doesn’t even wait for me to follow him out to the car. He grabs my hand and pulls me along behind him.

“Let go, Rob. That hurts.”

I tear my arm from his and throw him a glare. He has the presence of mind to look slightly ashamed of himself, but he doesn’t offer me an apology.

“I want to see Mom and Mia,” I add as we get back in the car.

“You will. They’re at the safehouse. Donald wants to protect them, too.”

“Why?”

Rob looks puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, why has he been so generous? What does any of this have to do with him?”

“He’s a good guy. I was looking for a lead and someone gave me his name. They said that if I were to contact him, he might be able to help me.”

“Who tipped you off?” I ask suspiciously.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it does. What if the guy was a plant?”

He gives me a condescending look. “A few months with Makarova and you think you know how these games are played.”

“Maybe I do.”

He sighs. “You’re in over your head with this stuff, Liv.” His tone is gentle, but it stings all the same. “Hargrove has a personal stake in this, too. He lost his goddaughter the same way I lost Isabella—with all signs pointing to Aleksandr Makarova.”

My first instinct is to defend Aleks, but I know that nothing good can come of that right now. I’m not even sure I understand the instinct myself.

So I sit there and stew. With every passing second, it’s like I can feel myself reverting back to the meek, doormat girl I was before Aleks came into my life.

“Here we are,” Rob announces after a few minutes have passed.

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