Page 219 of Ripped Veil (Ripped Bratva)

My fingers had brushed against something else in the side pocket. Trembling, I pull the zipper wider open and peer inside.

It’s… a phone?

Even weirder, I recognize it. But why would Charity have stolen Anna’s phone?

I try to guess the passcode, wondering if there’s anything on here that’ll shed some light on what happened in the last moments of Charity’s life.

But after five wrong attempts, the screen informs me that I’ve been locked out for ten minutes. Sighing, I run my hand through the corners of the side compartment, hoping for something else.

My fingers hit nothing more than the crinkle of paper. I pull out a crumpled-up receipt. I’m about to discard it when I notice a familiar scrawl on the back.

Lys, in case we miss each other: Remember Little Red Riding Hood? The bad guy is not always the obvious one. Sometimes, the grandmother is the monster.

It makes no sense. “Charity,” I whisper. “Who were you trying to warn me about?”

I glance at the phone next to me—and then it hits me like a bolt of lightning.

I read the note again.The bad guy is not always the obvious one. Sometimes, the grandmother is the monster.

“It’s Anna,” I whisper out loud. “Oh, God.”

I stare out ahead at the empty stretch of road that promises to take me far away. If I keep going, I’ll have a chance at a fresh start. Theo deserves that. So do I, after all we’ve been through.

But going back… Well, I don’t know what it would mean. What it would hold. Who or what is waiting for me back at Phoenix’s mansion.

But I can’t keep driving. Not now. Not knowing what I know.

I have to tell Phoenix.

So I get into the driver’s seat and turn the car around. I ran once before, and it didn’t stop my demons from catching up to me.

So maybe it’s time to stop running.

Maybe it’s time to fight.

46

Phoenix

Phoenix’s Office

As I stare at the barrel of the gun, I can almost swear that it’s staring right back at me.

Odd, though, how I’m looking death in the face and thinking instead about life. About my life in particular. Have I made the most of it? Have I done everything I set out to do?

The answer is obvious: of course not.

I’ve always been a greedy beast—I just hit it behind a veil of nobility.

I’ve always been a monster—I just stayed out of the light so no one could see.

Aurora and Yuri were the last pure things in my world and look how that turned out. I should have realized that the only way to keep them pure was to keep them far away from me.

“What are you going to tell my men?” I ask.

She shrugs. “That Charity was a spy. That you found out. You fought. You killed each other.”

“Clean.”

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