Page 49 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

I glance towards my cell vibrating on the edge of the table and pick it up without checking the caller ID.

“Yeah?”

“Aleks?”

I go stiff immediately, urgency flooding through my body as I register Olivia’s tone. Desperate and terrified. An edge of panic.

“What’s wrong?” I ask calmly, though my fist is tight on my desk.

Demyan was on his way out, but he turns around and lingers in the doorway.

“I need your help,” she whispers.

She wouldn’t call unless it was truly urgent. Too much pride, too damn stubborn. My chest clenches in anticipation of who the fuck knows what’s going to happen next.

“Talk to me.”

“I’m at Cedar Crest Memorial,” she says, her tone shaking. “I’m alone right now, but Rob and Mia are right outside. Mom’s here, too, and—”

“Olivia,” I interrupt, “I don’t care who else is there. Why the fuck areyouthere?”

“I think… I think they want me to get…”

“Get what?”

“An abortion,” she breathes. She says the word like it’s the nastiest thing ever put to language.

Fury flows through my like fire, lapping at my limbs like tinder, consuming me instantly. All I can do is growl in silent rage. Words are beyond me right now. I just want to burn up in it.

She suppresses a sob. “Th-they’re not listening to me. They think that getting r-rid of the baby will help me. They think I’m… They’re worried about my… Fuck. Can you come get me?”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

I hang up without saying goodbye and start for the door.

“What the hell is going on?” Demyan asks urgently. He falls in step beside me.

“Those motherfuckers,” I snarl, trying to keep a lid on my anger. I need to stay focused so that I can get to Olivia on time, even though all I want to do is break everything I can get my hands on. “They’ve got her at Cedar Crest Memorial.”

“The hospital?”

“The hospital for which Donald fucking Hargrove is a benefactor,” I spit. “They’re trying to force an abortion on her.”

Demyan grinds to a stop, and that’s when I realize that I maybe forgot to tell him a few things. “Did you just say what I think you said?”

“She’s pregnant,” I tell him. “We don’t have much time. We need to put a team together.”

Demyan is stunned, but he knows when I mean business. He just absorbs the news and carries on. “How big?”

“Four crews. At least forty strong. I’m not taking any chances.”

Demyan nods and follows me out.

We separate at the main foyer. I use my cell to coordinate with some of my men while Demyan rallies the others out back.

Within two minutes, half a dozen jeeps roar up the driveway, packed to the gills. The rest of them join me in the foyer alongside Demyan.

“Get into the jeeps,” I order Demyan and his crew as they come stomping up from the guardhouses. “We’re heading out now. The protocol is to surround and contain. Wait for my instructions.”

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