Page 149 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

“What did you give me?” I slur through numb lips.

“Don’t worry, dear. It’s just a little pill. To calm you, you see? I didn’t want you getting hysterical when we talked.”

“You drugged me.”

“I soothed your mind,” he corrects. “You have so much pain that needs healing.”

“I… I want to see my son.”

“As I said, he’s not your concern anymore.”

“Did you k-kill him?” I ask. “Is… is he dead?”

Just saying those words is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Josiah looks horrified by the very thought. “Of course not,” he says with all apparent sincerity. “As I said, he is being well cared-for. Soon, he will be moved.”

“Moved where?”

“Somewhere safe. Where he can start again.”

Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

“I need to see him. Let me see him,” I demand, trying to think of something that might get through to the monster standing in front of me.

“I can’t do that, I’m afraid.”

“He’s your son, too!” I lie, clinging to the last thread I have left to pull. “Why would you send him away?”

Josiah’s face clouds over slightly. “Because he’s not my son.”

I freeze. “W… what?”

“I asked permission from the powers that be to get a paternity test done on the child,” Josiah explains acidly. “I wanted to know for sure, considering your… escapades. The test was conclusive. The boy’s not mine.”

I can’t pretend I’m not relieved, but there is a bite of fear that tempers that relief. The one thing that might have protected him was being Josiah’s child.

Without that shielding him, he’s definitely a target. The spawn of their sworn enemy, the Kovalyov Bratva.

A leverage tactic at best. A human sacrifice at worst.

“So that means…”

“Phoenix Kovalyov is the boy’s father,” Josiah finishes. “Unless, of course, you were …busier… than our sources report.”

He shakes his head and claps to change the subject. “Anyway, I’m not going to do a thing to the child. He’s of no concern to me any longer. Nor should he be to you. We’re going to make a fresh start of it, you and I.”

I stare at him in shock. “You’re joking. A fresh start?”

“Exactly that. I’m going to be reinstated as the leader of the Sanctuary, once the powers that be have taken control of the land back from the Bratva. And once I’m in charge, life will continue as normal. We can pick up where we left off. We can be together as we were always meant to be. I have never stopped being your shepherd, Elyssa.”

His eyes spark with devout faith. He truly believes the things he’s saying. Even in my drugged state, I know he’s a monster.

“Oh my God,” I breathe. “You are insane.”

He sighs. “I really wish you’d be sensible.”

“I’d invite you to take your own advice.”

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