Page 47 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

I blush furiously as I wipe my mouth on the pure white napkin one of the servers draped on my lap.

“Good?” he asks.

“Very,” I reply. So much for keeping it cool.

“More wine?”

“No, thank you.”

“Scared of what you might say after a glass or two?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I can’t say anything if I don’t remember. We’ve been over this before. I’m starting to get a headache from going in circles so many times with you.”

He doesn’t say a word. But he does keep sipping his wine while he watches me.

“What happens next?” I blurt. “What’s your plan?”

He tilts his head and looks at me in a new light. I’m sure he’s about to tell me that it’s none of my concern. But then, to my surprise, he sets his wine glass down and folds his hands in front of him.

“I’m going to start questioning your fellow sheep,” he says. “We’ll begin searching for linkages to what we already know. See what else there is to learn.”

I swallow past a sudden lump in my throat. “When you say you’re going to question them… what does that mean exactly?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Exactly that. Question them.”

“And if they don’t answer…?”

He shrugs. “Then there will be consequences.”

“You’re going to torture them?” I ask, immediately horrified. I may be disconnected from these people, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to them.

They may not have spoken up for me when I needed help. But I won’t be so cruel as to return the favor.

“I’ll do what I have to do.”

“Phoenix,” I say urgently, leaning in towards the table. His eyes go cold, as though he’s anticipating my next words. “Please don’t do this.”

“Everything has already been set in motion, Elyssa. I’m not changing it even if I could.”

“You’re the boss,” I protest. “You can change it at any time.”

“These people that you think you love, you think you know? They are guilty of horrendous crimes. They’ve helped bad men do bad things. I’m going to make sure they pay for those sins. But first, I’m getting answers.”

“What if they’re innocent?” I ask.

He twists his lips. “They’re not.”

“What if they didn’t know what they were doing then?”

“Ignorance is not an excuse.”

“I can’t lose them,” I whisper through budding tears. “Not after I’ve already lost so much.”

Phoenix’s face is an impassive mask of cold cruelty. “Some things are worth losing.”

“How would you know?” I ask. “You have the whole world in the palm of your hand.”

“Except the things that are most important to me.”

---