Page 100 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

“Sorry I’m so late,” he says in a rushed voice. “There was traffic on the highway.”

He kneels down in front of Matvei and gets to work. I take the opportunity to sneak out of the room.

I can feel Phoenix’s eyes on my back as I make my retreat, but I don’t turn around. I just keep going until I’m out of the basement.

I take a deep breath once I’m back upstairs. The plan was to return to the bedroom to check on Anna, Charity, and Theo, but for some reason, I find myself going in the opposite direction. I need a moment to breathe, to collect myself.

So I walk outside, noticing the reflection of calm water a few feet away. I walk towards it until I reach the deck. The pool looks beautiful… and so inviting.

If only I weren’t so afraid of it.

I don’t sense him until he’s standing right next to me. And when I do, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Why does my body come alive every time we’re in close proximity? It feels like a betrayal.

When he doesn’t say anything, I decide to. “What did the doctor say?”

“He’ll live,” Phoenix replies curtly.

“Good to know.”

“Roth said you did a good job.”

I’m instantly, pathetically proud. I should be happy that the doctor was impressed with my work. But I’m more thrilled about the fact that he told Phoenix.

Like I said: pathetic.

“Where’d you learn how to do that?” he asks.

This is what I was worried about—questions. If he asks too many, what can I do except lie? Deflect? Deny?

The answer is too ridiculous to believe:I don’t know. I don’t know how I know anything.

At least this time, he’s asked me a question I can answer. Not an honest answer. Not completely honest, at least. But it’s an answer nonetheless.

“The shelter,” I say. “Some of the women who were in and out of there… well, let’s just say that they had complicated lives. Some of them needed a refuge from abusive husbands or boyfriends. Some were running from violent fathers. Others were prostitutes who’d pissed off their pimps. Basically, there were a lot of desperate women and a lot of angry men. They came to the shelter. I’d clean them up and tend to their wounds.”

He listens quietly, taking that in. “You’ve learned a lot in a year.”

I look at him, but he’s not watching me like I suspect. His eyes are trained on the rippling water in front of us. There’s a slight breeze in the air. I should be cold, but the heat coming off him is distracting me.

“Why didn’t you show up that night?” he asks. “At the diner?”

I freeze. That is the last question I expected. “I… I…”

That’s the moment he chooses to swing his eyes to me. They’re dark, hooded. Hiding a cavern of secrets.

“I didn’t know if I could trust you,” I finish.

“That’s a lie,” he snaps. “You trusted me right away.”

I look down. He’s right.

“Charity was working at the club that night,” I murmur. “She saw me run out and she followed me. She helped me. When I told her about you…”

“She thought you were insane for wanting to meet me,” he infers.

“Yes.”

He nods. “Smart.”

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