Page 160 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

“Every time you talk back to me, I will hurt Yuri. Every time you disobey me, I will hurt Theo.”

Terror like I’ve never known grips me. I believe him instantly.

“Please stop!” I cry out. “Don’t hurt them.”

“What was that?” he taunts, raising his voice.

“Please don’t hurt them. I’ll do anything.”

“Anything?” he asks.

I nod.

He smiles, the triumph evident in the sinister glow of his eyes. “That’s good to know,” he says. “Now, come here.”

I do as he says, slinking forward with dread wracking me head to toe.

“I’m going to take you up to see your beloved husband now,” he informs me as I step closer. “You are not to utter a single word to him without my explicit permission. Is that understood?”

I nod.

“If you even so much as whisper, I will make you regret it. I will make you watch while these children suffer on your behalf.”

“I understand.”

His smile grows a notch wider. “Then this looks like the start of a beautiful new relationship,” he says. “Now, come.”

And I do.

39

Phoenix

A Cell Beneath Wild Night Blossom

The biggest cell in the place, all to myself. What a treat. Ozol must think I’m fucking special.

When I hear footsteps, I straighten immediately. But it’s not Ozol like I expected.

“Josiah,” I growl, moving towards the cell bars. “I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance.”

He looks pale. “You should have known better than to mess with the powers that be.”

“For fuck’s sake, stop talking about them like gods. They’re men, Josiah. Nothing more.”

He gulps. The Adam’s apple in his throat rides up and down. “I… I always suspected they were… were not the saints they claimed to be.”

“Understatement of the fucking year.”

“But…”

I frown, taking in his ashen face. “But what?”

He shakes his head.

“What just happened?” I press. “Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“I just passed at least a dozen dead bodies.”

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