Page 75 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)

Every time the neckline of her dress shifts to reveal the swell of one of her breasts, I have to fight the hard-on that’s been threatening since we finally left the bedroom.

Theo tries to grab her nose and she giggles and kisses his little palm instead. The two of them murmur nonsense back and forth to each other. I’m content to watch. To hang back and enjoy the radiance of her happiness. Of his. Of theirs—a family the whole world wants desperately to tear apart.

“You cheeky boy. You’re the cutest little baby in the whole wide world. Yes, you are. Yes, you are!” she coos at him. He giggles as she blows raspberries on his stomach.

Then he turns his dark brown eyes on me and the laugh fades at once.

In that gaze, for one bizarre moment… I see myself. As good as looking at my own reflection.

It hurts. Well, not quite hurts. But an intensely physical pang all over my body. A head-to-toe clench like being electrocuted.

And I turn away instantly.

“Do you have to go to work today?” Elyssa asks tentatively.

“I decided to take a day off,” I explain. “I thought I’d spend the day with you and Theo.”

Her eyes go wide with surprise and barely concealed happiness. “That’s… wonderful,” she says at last.

“Maybe more than a day off,” I add. “Maybe something like… a break.”

At that, she stops in her tracks. Theo tugs at her hair, but she barely even notices. “A break?” she asks.

I nod slowly. This whole thing has been formulating in my mind, but it’s the first time I’ve said any of it out loud. After the fight with Matvei, the fight with Elyssa… something shifted in me. Like a log in a campfire crumbling and letting cool, fresh air into the heart of the flames.

“But what about the bunkers? You have a lot of people in there.”

“I haven’t made definitive plans yet,” I admit. “But at some point, they’ll be moved back to the valley.”

“You’re just going to dump them back where you took them?”

“Not quite. I plan to rehabilitate all of them,” I tell her. “And Josiah will not be the leader anymore.”

Elyssa frowns. “What will he be?”

“My prisoner. Until I decide what to do with him.”

“You’re not going to release him?”

“No. The man’s too dangerous. And he might still be valuable,” I explain. “In any case, I’m not abandoning my goal to take down Astra Tyrannis. I’m merely taking a step back so that I can give myself some objectivity. Once I’ve got my head on straight, I will go after them. And I will destroy them once and for all.”

She looks shocked, but I notice the fear creeping into her eyes. “And what about my parents?”

“They will be returned to the commune, same as everyone else,” I answer. “And they will be rehabilitated, same as everyone else.”

She nods slowly as though she’s trying to process everything. “Can I ask something?”

“Yes.”

“What made you change your mind?”

You did,I almost say. But instead, I growl, “I didn’t change my mind. I just changed my plan.”

She frowns, but doesn’t press me to elaborate. We continue walking down the beach and after a few minutes, the mansion comes back into view.

“Phoenix?”

“Yes?”

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