Page 190 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

Then we break apart. I kiss Theo’s soft head one more time. The splash of my tear on his fine hair surprises me. The Sanctuary is still miles away and I’m already getting emotional. I need to get my head on straight before I wade back into the burning hell I left behind.

I hand Theo over to Charity before I completely break down. Then I pick up the package with the cast iron swan.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“I don’t mean to be dramatic, but if you’re not back before the sun sets, I’m calling in the big guns.”

“Don’t let Phoenix hear you calling him that,” I tease. “It’ll go right to his head.”

“Lord knows his head is big enough already,” she retorts, rolling her eyes.

I grin. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll be back.”

“You better be.”

Then it’s time to go. Before I get cold feet. I head out of the room and down the stairs, hoping that I won’t run into Phoenix. I’m pretty sure he’s not in the house at all but I can’t be sure.

As I pass the massive mirror hanging off the wall in the living room, I slow down and take a look at my reflection. I’m wearing jeans and a tight white t-shirt. It’s perfectly normal, utterly nondescript—and yet I look so different from the girl who ran into Las Vegas from the desert that I almost don’t recognize myself. My hair is shorter; my features have matured. I even hold myself differently. If I notice the changes, I’m certain they will, too.

The question is, who is “they” nowadays? Who will have taken over for Father Josiah? Faces and names I haven’t thought of in twelve long months ripple past my mind’s eye. Hamath and Lionel and Eliezer and Rajnesh.

I turned my back on the Sanctuary and more or less assumed that it vanished from existence. But that was a mistake. The world kept spinning, the Sanctuary along with it.

I’ve changed. Have they?

It occurs to me about ten steps shy of the mansion gates that I don’t even know if I’ll be let off the grounds. But by now, it’s too late to turn back. One way or another, I’ll get out of here. I feel like something is tugging me towards the desert like a fish caught on a lure. Call it destiny or stupidity, I’m not sure which. Whatever it is, I can’t resist.

Right on cue, one of the men on guard duty steps out of the little side shed that flanks the gates.

“Whoa, going somewhere?” he asks.

“Um, yeah,” I mumble. “I just need to run an… errand.”

“An errand?”

I show him the box in my hands. “I need to take this back to my parents.”

He eyes me and the box suspiciously. “Is this authorized?”

“I didn’t realize I needed authorization to go see my parents,” I tell him confidently. “I’m not a prisoner.”

“Hold on,” the guard says, slipping back into the shed. I watch him dial a number and hold for a long time before he finally gives up.

“Okay, the boss isn’t answering. And neither is Matvei.”

I roll my eyes. “What’s the problem?” I ask. “I’ve left my son here. I’m not going to run off.”

That seems to get through to him, but he still seems hesitant. “If you have to go, you’ll go in one of the cars,” he says. “With a driver.”

“That’s not necessary—”

“It’s the only way I’m letting you out of here,” he says. “If you’re not happy with that, you can wait for the boss to get back and ask him.”

I exhale dramatically. “Fine. Actually, a car and driver would be useful.”

He nods and makes another call. Less than two minutes later, a sleek silver car pulls up beside me just as the gates start to crank open.

The driver is a beefy, dark-haired man with tinted shades that completely hide his eyes. He’s deliberately scary-looking. Ironically, that makes me feel a little better.

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