Page 128 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

“Just tell me.”

“I went for a walk last night and, oh, y’know… stumbled across Phoenix’s personal office.”

My eyes go wide. “Tell me you didn’t go in.”

“Curiosity got the better of me. I may or may not have picked his lock and gone inside.”

“You snooped around his office?” I practically screech.

Theo bobs his head in my direction, clearly tickled by the sound. But I can’t even enjoy his entertained expression because my mouth is hanging open as I stare at Charity in disbelief.

“Oh, God.” I close my eyes as if I can make all this go away. “He found you in there, didn’t he?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not a big deal. I made my presence known. I was waiting for him.”

“Why?”

“I was planning on seducing him.”

My eyes fly open. An emotion squeezes the life out of my stomach. I guess you’d call it fear. Or jealousy, maybe? Whatever it is, it’s hot and ugly and I don’t like it one bit.

Charity takes one look at my expression and bursts out laughing. “Oh, goodness gracious! Don’t worry, my little rabbit. I’m only kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Another feeling surges through me. I’m pretty sure this one is relief.

“Just tell me why you were really waiting for him, Charity,” I whisper, suddenly exhausted.

She coos at Theo for a few seconds before turning to me again. “Because I wanted to warn him.”

“Warn him? About what?”

“About me,” she says with a proud chin. “I told him that if he hurt you, he’d have to deal with me.”

I’m at a loss for words. “I… I… Are you serious?”

“Cross my heart. That’s the God’s honest truth.”

I shake my head, feeling laughter and shock compete for dominance. “I can’t believe you.”

“Had to be done.”

“Charity, you said it yourself: he’s a dangerous man. There’s probably a lot in his office that he doesn’t want anyone to see.”

Charity’s expression shifts somewhat. Is there more she’s not telling me?

“What?” I ask urgently. “’Fess up.”

“The Astra Tyrannis thing,” she says. “He’s in a lot deeper than either one of us realized.”

“Deeper? Meaning…?”

“He’s been tracking the organization’s movements for years. Like, literal years! And as far as I can tell, he’s just been hitting dead end after dead end.”

Charity’s eyes shine with interest. It’s the dangerous kind of curious look I’ve seen her display countless times before—usually right before she does something very, very stupid.

“Charity, this organization… It sounds not good.”

“You’re right about that. Very not good.”

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