Page 56 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)
“You’ve lost your way,” he says. “That was all the proof I needed.”
“You’re wrong. I’ve never been more focused.”
“Jesus Christ—you don’t even see it, do you?” he says, running his hand over his dark hair. “You have been my brother and my closest friend all these years. But I’m not sure I can continue down this road with you, Phoenix.”
At that, I stop and spin in place to face him. My brow furrows. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’m giving you a week to think about everything. If, by then, your plan of action hasn’t changed, if you’re not willing to listen to advice and think before you act… then I’m going to have to walk away.”
“You’re giving me an ultimatum?” I ask incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s a choice, Phoenix,” Matvei sighs. “I’m tired of having no voice here. I can’t sit idly by while you set the world on fire. And if that’s going to continue, I might as well move on.”
“So you’re abandoning the cause.”
“You won’t listen to reason. You won’t temper your emotions. And I’m not willing to watch it destroy you.”
I stare at him for a long moment. He doesn’t blink or break away. He’s proud, certain, and haunted, just like I am. Like looking into a mirror.
“Fine,” I snap bitterly. “You want to leave? Then fucking go. You don’t have to wait for the end of the week. Door’s open anytime you like.”
Matvei nods slowly and somberly. As if he expected this all along, but he went through the pain of it anyway. For whose sake, I’m not sure.
Then he turns and heads towards the staircase.
I linger for a long time in the dark hallway, wondering if losing your way feels like madness. Because, if it does… maybe Matvei isn’t so far off the mark.
13
Elyssa
The Next Morning
Sighing with frustration, I put the book aside. I’m still on the first page ofSense and Sensibility.I’ve read the same paragraph five times over and still retained nothing.
I’ve been locked up in my room since the horrific dinner with Phoenix last night. Two expressionless guards escorted me back in rather forcefully. And when I was deposited into the room, I realized that the mess I’d created had been cleaned up. The room was back to pristine condition. Like I’d never even been here before.
It did nothing to soothe my nerves.
I’ve spent the last several hours trying to make sense of what just happened. Dinner had started out reasonably well. And then something had shifted. Phoenix has always been unpredictable. His moods shift like the wind. But I made the mistake of getting comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to show emotion, to get angry and fight back.
Not to mention your intense sexual attraction to him.
“Oh, God. Not now, Char…”
What? You can’t deny it.
“It’s more than just sex. I don’t care what he says. It’s more than just sex.”
I’ve been reliving the fight over and over again in my head. The way he had grabbed me. The way he had dragged me to the balcony’s edge and threatened to kill me. There was a moment I even believed he would.
Not true. He wouldn’t have hurt you.
“You’re defending him now, are you?”
No, you are.
“Can you be quiet for two seconds?”
