Page 91 of Ripped Lace (Ripped Bratva)
“Raj?” I ask. “Brother Raj?”
“He helped Josiah recover after you left. Acted as interim leader in the meantime.”
I frown. “And everyone just accepted that?”
“Josiah gave his blessing. Said it came down from the powers that be.”
“Of course,” I reply with disdain. “No one would ever dare to question Josiah.”
“He looked after us,” Mama jumps in.
“He took advantage of you,” I snap, glaring at her. “He brainwashed you and then he built the Sanctuary so that he could feed humans to Astra Tyrannis.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“You wouldn’t,” I reply coldly. “You’ll only believe what Josiah tells you to believe.”
I’m done with this. I’m almost too angry to speak and all I’ve learned is that my parents aren’t who I thought they were—they’re worse. Cowards on their best days. Monsters on their worst.
I turn to the door and knock twice. It pulls open at once with a dull creak. I walk out without looking back at my parents.
The moment the door shuts, I exhale loudly, tears slipping down my cheeks.
“Are you okay?” Matvei asks.
“I… I don’t know,” I admit. “I think I need to sit down.”
“Let me find you a chair.”
I wave him away and sink to the floor, leaning back against the wall for support.
“Did they have any information for you?”
“Not really,” I admit. “All they told me was—”
“Matvei!”
I shriek as the roar reverberates through the entire bunker. Darting to my feet, I see Phoenix’s silhouette in the open door to the bunker.
He walks forward, his eyes black with anger as he glances at me.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
21
Phoenix
Matvei looks resigned to a fight, but I can tell he’s not really in the mood anymore.
Yeah, well, too fucking bad.
Elyssa steps in front of me suddenly, blocking my path to Matvei. She’s pale, but her eyes harden with resolve. She puts a hand on my chest. Unable to stop myself, I look down at her.
“Don’t blame him. I’m the one who convinced him to bring me here.”
I snort. “He should never have been convinced,” I say. “But it seems he’s not so good at taking my orders.”
“Because your orders are off the mark, Phoenix.”
