Page 165 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

I gawk at him in shock. “Why?”

“That’s what I asked.”

“I… I killed a man.”

His eyebrows rise. “You didn’t mean to?”

“I just… I wanted to get him off you,” I tell him. I blink and my tears fall free onto my cheeks. “I didn’t mean…”

“You’re telling me you didn’t mean to kill him?” Phoenix asks.

The edge to his tone has me pausing. I can see suspicion. Uncertainty. Distrust. I just risked everything to save his life, so why is he looking at me like I could be the enemy?

“What are you asking me?” I ask sharply.

As I speak, I feel the skin of who I once was start to shed. I’m not that girl anymore—the good girl, who listened to the elders and followed the wisdom of the people who knew best. That hasn’t worked out for me once in my entire life.

So yes—Elyssa from the Sanctuary is as good as dead.

“Nothing.”

“No,” I insist. “Say what you want to say.”

His expression turns cold. “I needed him alive.”

“I just told you I didn’t mean to kill him.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you?”

I stare at him, trying to make sense of the accusation in his tone.One step forward, two steps back.

“You think I meant to take his life?”

“I needed answers from Sakamoto. Now, a key figure in the Astra Tyrannis hierarchy is dead. And dead men don’t talk much, in case you haven’t noticed.”

All the pieces click into place at once. “You still think I’m a spy, don’t you? You think I’m working for…”

His expression ripples and I realize that I’ve hit the nail on the head. I turn to the door and fumble around with the handle. It’s locked. I yank at the lock but it refuses to budge.

“Let me out,” I say. “Let me out!”

“No.”

“I can’t breathe… I need… I need to get out!”

The lock snaps back. I thrust open the door and fumble onto my feet. I stumble forward, putting as much distance between Phoenix and me as possible.

I just risked everything for a man who thinks I’m the enemy. He believes I’m working for a horrible organization that traffics in women. Is that what he sees when he looks at me? Not just a killer but a monster? A liar?

Horror and hurt battle inside me as I keep walking. I gulp in huge bursts of air, but it doesn’t help. Not this time.

“Elyssa. Stop!”

For the first time, I don’t listen. I can feel him closing in on me but I’m too rattled and too tired to speed up. Even if I do, I know it won’t make a difference. He’ll catch me. One way or another, the house always wins. Isn’t that what they say in Vegas?

Phoenix grabs my arm and twists me around to face him. I tear myself away. “Don’t touch me!”

“You can’t blame me for thinking that,” he says—as though he expects me to understand.

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