Page 59 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

She laughs. “You have the evening with him. Then I’m taking him back to our wing of the house.”

“All I get is a few hours?”

“’Fraid so.”

“That’s not fair.”

“I’m the wrong person to tell.”

“You could speak to him for me.”

“You trust me with your husband?”

“Stop it!” I glare at her.

She throws another chuckle my way. “Listen—I like you, Elyssa. You seem like a decent human being. But let’s be clear here: we’re not friends. And I’m not in the business of doing favors for anyone. I know it might not seem like it, but I take orders. And I follow them without question. So no, I will not speak to Phoenix on your behalf. You’re gonna have to walk through that particular minefield on your own.”

I sigh. “Well, then… thanks for nothing.”

She just grins at me, unruffled and impossible to stay mad at. “He might need a bottle soon. I’ll go get one.”

Leona disappears through the door, but I’m willing to bet that she’s just trying to give me a little alone time with my son.

I try to hate her, but it’s genuinely hard. She’s charming even when she’s being irritating.

So I focus on my son instead. I walk him around the room. I tell him stories and when I’ve exhausted the space available to me, I set him down on the soft white carpet in the middle of the room.

He gurgles up at me and tries to turn onto his stomach. There are a few times he almost succeeds, but then he falls onto his back once more. I don’t really care. I clap and cheer as though he’s just won the Olympics.

Half an hour later, when Leona returns with a warm bottle, she joins us on the carpet as I collect Theo in my arms and offer him the bottle teat.

I’m pretty sure this isn’t a biased opinion, but he really is a beautiful baby. I can’t imagine him not being Phoenix’s.

But then again, I’ve been wrong a lot lately.

Always so hard on yourself.

I glance at Leona, who’s lying down on her back with her eyes trained on the ceiling, lost in her own world. When Theo’s finished with his bottle, she gets to her feet and holds out her hands.

“What?”

“Oh, you know what,” she says grimly. “I gotta take him and go.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I’ll have to get the guards in here.”

“You can’t keep us separated like this.”

“I’m just the messenger, hon. You have a problem with your situation? Talk to your husband.”

Husband… the word still feels strange. It doesn’t belong to me. I don’t have one of those. I can’t. I shouldn’t.

Leona pries Theo from my reluctant arms and heads for the door, whistling all the while.

I stare after them, already feeling the weight of emptiness. I want to cry, but the tears won’t come. I’ve spent them all already.

Tears are a waste of time anyway.

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