Page 77 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

19

OLIVIA

I wander the halls of the compound for far too long before I realize what I’m searching for. Or rather,whoI’m searching for.

My hand comes down over my belly again. I look down as though I can see someone in there.

“How did this happen, little one?” I whisper. “How did I become so dependent on him?”

I wish there was an answer, but there’s only silence. Except, as I pass by the double doors of the wine cellar and deeper into a part of the compound I’ve never been in before, I hear another voice.

The voice is deep, similar to Aleks’s. I barely think before I turn the knob and push the door open.

A man turns around abruptly, looking startled until he realizes who it is. When he sees me, his face smooths out into a pleased smile. “Olivia! It’s been a minute.”

I smile at Mike. The last time I saw him was next to the lake with Aleks’s father. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all,” Mike says. “I think Vlad here is a little tired of my company.”

Vlad’s answer is to push a button that twists his wheelchair to the side, knocking the glass of water on the table to the floor and directly onto Mike’s shoes.

Mike blinks at the puddle of water around his feet and then looks at me calmly. “See?”

I smile. “Then I guess I’m just in time.”

“Definitely,” he says. “I’m gonna go change out of these shoes. Would you mind?”

“Not a problem,” I say. “Vlad, would you mind if I hang out with you while Mike takes a break?”

He blinks his eyes, and I know that was precisely what he was hoping for.

“You look great, by the way,” Mike says kindly before he leaves the room, squelching with each step.

“Thanks, Mike. Take your time.”

When he’s gone, I sit down next to Aleks’s father and remove the black veil from my head. “It’s been a day,” I tell him with a deep sigh. “ I just buried my mother.”

His eyes never leave my face. For a second, I feel self-conscious talking to him, but it’s clear from the puddle on that floor that Vlad has no trouble making his feelings known. If he wants me to shut up, he’ll tell me.

Until then, I continue. “I’m an orphan now,” I say. “It feels like an outdated word, doesn’t it? Like, veryOliver Twistof me. But that’s what I am. An orphan.”

“S… sorry…” he rasps.

“Thank you. It was sudden.” I exhale. “It was a beautiful service, though. But then, Mia has always been good at that sort of thing.”

Vlad doesn’t respond, but talking to someone about this feels better than stewing in silence.

“Mia is my older sister. She and my brother have about a decade on me. They were supposed to be my protectors after our dad passed away. And for a long time, that’s exactly what they were. I know what you’re probably thinking:‘You’re a grown woman, Olivia. Why do you need a protector at all?’And the answer is that I don’t need them. Not anymore. But… still, it was nice to know they were there for me. That they had my back. I relied on that for so, so long.”

I blink back the tears that have been threatening all day. If Vlad notices, he doesn’t show any sign. He just watches, somehow convincing me to keep talking with nothing but the open look in his eyes.

“Today, though, neither one of them even looked at me. To be fair, I don’t think Rob looked at anyone. But Mia? She just…” I shake my head. “She said something to me today that was just…”

My throat closes. Talking feels nice, but I’m not ready to talk about that part quite yet. I can still barely comprehend it.

“I just never imagined that there would be a day when we would look at each other like… like strangers,” I say. “Or even worse: enemies.”

Vlad says something, but I can’t quite make it out. I lean closer. “I’m sorry?”

---