Page 159 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

I feel myself falling, but he lashes out a hand and snatches me back upright by my hair. Shoving me against the dank concrete wall, he presses his chest into mine and squeezes my cheeks between his clammy fingers.

“So very beautiful,” he says, licking his lips. “I wonder what you taste like.”

“Where is my son?” I ask, my voice shaky.

“He’s here somewhere. All the pieces of my collection, finally under one roof.” He chuckles. “Isn’t it funny how life turns out? I now have Phoenix Kovalyov’s entire life in the palm of my hand. The man himself, both his sons, and his pretty little wife.”

“What do you want from me?” I manage to choke out. “You have Phoenix. What good am I? What good is Yuri? What good is Theo?”

“I want the sweet pleasures of your body,” Ozol replies. “So I can see what drove young Phoenix so fucking wild. I want your obedience. Your devotion. Your loyalty. And if you don’t give me anything I ask, it won’t matter anyway, because I’ll take what I need from you.”

He bends down and runs his nose along my cheek. He smells of smoke and whiskey.

I probably smell of fear.

“Such soft, young skin…” He presses himself up against me. I can feel his foul erection. His hand lands on my breast and I gasp.

I try and jerk away from him, but he’s got me skewered against the wall and there’s nowhere to go. When I keep struggling, he slugs me in the gut. The breath rushes from my lungs. I see stars.

“I’m a different kind of beast altogether, Elyssa,” he warns me. “I keep my promises. If you displease me, you will regret it. Now, are you going to be a good little girl?”

He grabs my jaw again and turns it up to his face.

Don’t kiss me. Don’t kiss me. Don’t kiss me.

If he does, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from throwing up.

He doesn’t kiss me. But he does lean down, ensnare my bottom lip between his teeth, and bite down hard enough to draw blood.

I cry out in pain. Laughing, he steps back and looks me up and down with venomous eyes, my blood slicking his chin.

“Would you like to see Phoenix?” he asks me. “He’ll love that black eye and bloody lip of yours. It goes quite well with your complexion.”

“Fuck you,” I snarl. If there were ever a time to start swearing, it’s now. “Phoenix will kill you.”

He smiles thinly. “Do you get wet for him?” he ponders.

My face twists into a grimace. “You’re disgusting. You make me sick.”

“Do I?” he asks dangerously. He lunges towards me and presses his palm against my windpipe. “Be careful, little girl. I don’t tolerate back-talk from my whores.”

I can’t draw in enough air to speak, so I spit in his face instead.

“You’ve got a lot to learn, it seems,” he sneers. “I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy teaching you.”

“Go ahead. You can’t hurt me.”

“Oh, you naïve little girl. Everyone has a breaking point,” he sighs. He drops his hand from my throat, steps back, and withdraws a handkerchief from his pocket to dab the saliva from his face.

I raise my eyes and notice that Yuri is standing just outside my cell. His eyes are wide with concern as he looks at me. Those sad eyes that have seen far too much for someone so young.

Ozol spies the glance. And when he does, his grin grows a notch wider. “Ah. And there is yours. Simple as could be.”

I blanch. “No. No! Don’t hurt him.”

“No? You don’t want to see me do… this?” At the last word, he pounces towards the bars of the cell, grabs Yuri by the shirt, and drags him close enough to clench his throat the same way he was just choking me.

Yuri splutters at once, but he doesn’t cry out. His eyes just bulge with fear and confusion.

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