Page 215 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

This is like watching them die in front of me.

“The boy was crying,” Anna continues. “I killed him right away.”

My body convulses and she gives me a sympathetic smile.

“I was gentle with him,” she adds, as though it’s the saving grace I’ve need. “A pillow to the face. He suffocated quickly.”

That’s the final straw. There’s no more sitting still here. Not when I’m staring my enemy in the face and hearing that bone-chilling laugh.

I react instantly. I lunge off the sofa towards her, intent on choking the life out of her.

But I’m not fast enough.

Anna raises her gun. Pulls the trigger.

As before, her aim is perfect. It’s not a kill shot. The bullet buries itself in my arm and I fall back against the sofa, gasping in agony as blood squirts between my fingers.

“Now, now,” she chastises. “I wasn’t done with my story yet.”

“What did you do with his body?” I ask through gritted teeth. The world is swimming at the edges. But after the initial shock, the pain recedes to the background. I barely feel a thing anymore.

All I’m capable of feeling in this moment is white-hot rage.

“Buried him in the backyard,” she replies, gesturing towards the window. “He’s been right here on the property this whole time.”

“Am I supposed to thank you for that?”

“I would. It was kind of me,” she replies. “As for Aurora… you looked everywhere for her. But she was right here, too. The entire time, she was in my room. Hidden away in my wardrobe.”

“You kept her caged?” I snarl. “Like a fucking animal?”

“You’re the one that caged her!” Anna retorts angrily. “You caged her when you married her. Don’t you understand, Phoenix? She was dying long before I killed her. She started dying the moment you married her. You picked the wrong woman to drag into this underworld.”

“Several times, it would seem.” I laugh bitterly.

She smiles at the joke. “The plan was to move her out of these walls,” Anna continues. “Hand her over to the men in the shadows. But she was too weak in the end. She died before I could get her out.”

“So you dumped her body on the grounds and made it seem like she was thrown over the wall.”

Anna’s smile makes her blue eyes come alive.

“I thought my best days were behind me the day they brought me in and told me I was to be retired as an assassin. But as it turns out, I’m so much better suited to be a spy. It takes a certain skillset that the young don’t always have. It takes grit, patience, and a—”

“Complete lack of morality?”

She snorts with laughter. “Morality?” she asks. “Men always expect more of women than they themselves are willing to give. None of the men I’ve ever come across apologize for making hard decisions. So why should I?”

“I may not be a saint,” I growl. “But I’m no monster, either.”

“Why? Because you’re saving women? Rescuing them from the real monsters? Give me a fucking break,” she scoffs. “It’s nothing more than an ego trip for you. It was never about the women themselves—it was about your reputation. Your legacy. It only became personal when they killed your wife and son.”

“Whenyoukilled my wife and son.”

She shrugs as though the detail is irrelevant. “I was following orders,” she explains. “They’d still be alive if the powers that be had decided otherwise. You want revenge, Phoenix? Well, guess what? They did, too. It will never end.”

“I plan on ending it.”

She smiles. This time, her lips curl upwards. “No, I’m afraid I’m the one who will end it,” she says, raising her gun. “Our conversation is almost at an end, Phoenix. I must admit, you were a good boss. I almost feel bad about what I have to do.”

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