Page 96 of Shattered Cradle (Makarova Bratva Duet)

“It’s true. Some men take longer than others, but they all crack in the end. Except for one.”

“Rob?”

“Your brother never spilled a single FBI secret.”

I laugh at that. “He takes his job seriously.”

“Sometimes, I think if I’d just had more time…”

“But you took yourself out of the game.”

“Aleks took me out,” she corrects. “But I agreed. I was getting too deep.”

“At least Rob can be proud of that.”

She snorts. “I doubt he’ll take it as the compliment you see it as.”

“I don’t know. My brother is pretty good at separating out his emotions when he needs to.”

“It’s just the kind of man he is,” Jennifer says. “But he has a sensitive side, too. He used to sing me to sleep most nights.”

“Shut up,” I say in disbelief. “Are we talking about the same guy? My brother Rob?”

She nods. “I have… nightmares. Sometimes, I used to wake up in a sweat, screaming, and he’d be there to calm me down. He has a lovely voice.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never heard it.”

“Sounds a little like Bublé,” she muses.

“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

She laughs. “You’re acting like I just told you he could sprout wings and fly.”

“Honestly, that would be less surprising. I just never imagined he could be so romantic.”

Jennifer smiles softly. “He was loving to a fault.”

“I guess it kinda makes sense,” I say. “He just wasn’t super touchy-feely in public, you know.”

“Oh, I know. But when we were alone, he wouldn’t stop touching me.”

I hold up a hand to stop her. “I really don’t need to know the details.”

She chuckles and then turns to look out the window. We’re almost there, and I think we both need some silence to get in the right headspace.

I have no idea how this is going to go down, but I actually do agree with Aleks’s plan. Maybe if Jennifer can make Rob understand what really happened, it’ll be a step towards making him understand that he’s chasing the wrong man.

The driver parks right outside the restaurant. I turn to Jennifer.

“I’ll see you inside.”

She gives me a tight smile, but she still looks like she is about to puke in her lap.

I get out and walk into the restaurant, leaving Jennifer waiting in the car.

Two of the Bratva bodyguards shadow me into the restaurant. They stand on either side of me like surly shadows. I give the maître d’ my name and then turn to the lurking duo. “Do you guys have to be so obvious?”

“Don Makarova said—”

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