Page 22 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

I can tell there’s something else going on. Something she wants to bring up, but is too scared to.

“Mia, what is it?”

She exhales and wrinkles her nose like she always does when she’s trying to find a diplomatic way to phrase something. “Mom and Rob seem to think you’re… sympathetic to him. To Makarova.”

She uses his last name the same way I just used Donald’s. The longer we talk, the more it seems like we’re talking to each other from opposite sides of the field. Like we’ve chosen teams.

Aleks's words echo in my ears.There isn’t always a choice between good and evil. Maybe you have to choose between bad and worse.

“Liv.”

I blink and look up at my sister. “Yeah?”

“Are you?” she presses.

“Am I what?”

She exhales again, more irritated this time. “Are you sympathetic to Makarova? Do you feel for him?”

“What else did Rob tell you?” I ask.

“Don’t be mad at Rob. He loves you. He wants to protect you. And whatever he told me, he told me out of concern.”

“Just answer the question, Mia.”

She sighs and twiddles her thumbs in her lap. “Rob told me he’s worried that Aleks… brainwashed you. He thinks that…” Her eyes drop down to my stomach. “He said you really seem you to believe you weren’t raped.”

I stand up quickly and back away. It’s a new feeling, wanting to be far away from my sister. So alien that I wonder for a moment if I slipped and fell into a different universe.

She’s my big sister. The one I’ve always run to for everything.

And now?

Now, I feel like I can’t even look at her. It hurts too much.

“Liv, don’t go,” Mia coaxes. “Just breathe. Calm down.”

My fists are knotted at my sides. “Look at me. I am calm.”

“Okay, then why don’t you sit back down?”

“I’d rather stand, thanks.”

She tips her head to the side. Disappointment is written all over her face. “You’re angry.”

“You wanna know why?” I snap. “It’s because you all have been dismissive of me since the moment I walked through the door.”

“I haven’t been—”

“Yes,” I cut in firmly, “you have. I understand that I slept with the man who threatened our family. I’m pregnant and maybe that could make me irrational, I don’t know. But in the same way Rob is protecting our family, Aleks was protecting his.”

Mia stills where she’s sitting. “Are you really defending Makarova? Are you trying to say Rob is the one in the wrong? For God’s sake, Liv, he’s yourbrother.”

“Does that mean he can’t make mistakes?”

“It means you should trust him!” she cries, leaping to her feet. “Besides, let’s face it—when it comes to men, you’re not exactly the best judge of character.”

“Gullibility must be a family trait,” I snort. “We were all taken for a ride.”

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