Page 2 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

“It’s possible,” I concede.

“What else was a lie? What about her backstory?”

“Fake. No sex trafficking, no getting sold to Gibraltar. She was recruited by Astra Tyrannis when she was a teenager. They snatched her out of an orphanage in France and trained her as an assassin.”

“Jesus.”

“Once she got too old for heavy action, they made her a spy. She was planted in Gibraltar’s home the night we were about to storm it.”

Matvei’s brows wrinkle as he pieces the puzzle together. “Wait…”

“They wanted us to attack his house that night,” I confirm before Matvei can ask the question. “That’s why it was so fucking easy to get evidence on his work for Astra Tyrannis.”

“They planned everything.” He whistles, impressed. “Well, fuck me.”

I slump onto the couch. “Do you remember that night? We walked in to see Anna standing over Gibraltar’s dead body. She gave me her sob story. And like a fucking idiot, I bought every goddamn word of it.”

Matvei clasps a heavy hand on my shoulder. “How were you to know?”

“I should have known,” I snap. “I should have been smarter.”

“You couldn’t have predicted their end game.”

“They predicted mine,” I respond. “They knew exactly how to get into my house. They knew exactly who to plant and how. They knew how to manipulate me.”

“Phoenix—”

“Don’t,” I snap before he can finish his thought. I know he’s trying to absolve me of the blame. But I’m sick of it.

Ineedthe guilt now. I thrive off it. It’s what is going to light the fire that will eventually burn down that whole fucking machine, along with every last motherfucker who works in it, who revels in it, who profits off of it.

The cleanup crew returns and starts to flock around Anna’s corpse. I watch them move her around and wonder how I never noticed. Were there signs? If so, I can’t recall a single one. In six years, she’d never let the façade slip. Not one fucking time.

“The limp was a lie, too,” I say, mostly to myself.

“You know what this means,” Matvei says. “How old is she? Fifties? Sixties? Tyrannis probably has hundreds just like her in important places.”

I nod. “I know.”

“Assassins and spies you never suspect, never see coming.” Matvei shakes his head in amazement. “It’s fucking genius.”

I agree. Which is what stings even more.

“So… Charity?” Matvei asks, turning to me. “Was she—”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “She was dead when I got here. I don’t know what went down before I arrived. I don’t know if they were working together and something went south, if it was personal and unrelated, or if Charity found out something about Anna she was not supposed to know. That’s what Elyssa claims, anyway.”

Matvei’s eyes hit the ceiling. “Elyssa is here?” he exclaims, looking around as though expecting to see her hiding in the corner somewhere. “Where is she?”

“No,” I say curtly. “Gone.”

“Gone?”

“She’s responsible for the bullet in Anna’s arm,” I explain. “The old bitch had me at gunpoint. She was about to pull the trigger when Elyssa walked in and shot her. Which allowed me to get the upper hand and finish her off.”

“Elyssa saved you?” Matvei asks, sounding stunned.

“Yes.”

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