Page 154 of Ruin My Life

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“You want us tohide?” Chavez asks, grimacing.

“I want yousafe,” I say. “I made a promise—to all of you—that you’d be safe with me. I intend to keep that promise. I’ll deal with Matthias and the Songbirds. It’s me they’re going to come after, not you.”

“Maybe. But you’re not the one who pulled the trigger,” Monroe says, glancing behind me. His voice trails off—and I see it in his face before he says anything.

He’s searching for Brie. And he hasn’t found her.

I turn.

The sidewalk is packed now. Civilians with their phones out. People screaming. Pointing.

But no Brie. And no duffle bag.

Fuck.

My chest clamps down around my ribs.

She’s gone.

Again.

My thoughts spin—wild, sharp, useless. Just like they did this morning when I woke up and found her bed empty.

But this is worse. So much worse.

Because she’s not just running from me anymore. She’s in the middle of a war she started. And she’s not coming back for help.

She’s going to get herselfkilled.

I clench my fists. Breathe deep.

First, I have to make sure the rest of my family is safe.

Then?

Then, I’ll tear this fucking city apart until I find her.

Chapter Thirty

Damon

I’VE BEEN UP AND DOWN EVERY STREETI can think of.

Every alley. Every dead-end. Every place she might’ve gone if she were still thinking like herself.

But I haven’t found her.

And now my mind is starting to drift somewhere darker—somewhere I don’t want it to go.

Maybe she didn’t run.

Maybe someonetookher.

But I can’t follow that thought. Not yet. Not until I’ve checked the one last place that still makes sense.

I cross the bridge toward Staten Island in a rental with fake plates—courtesy of Vinny, a dealership owner who owed me a favour after I pulled his sister out of an abusive marriage. He once told me he could get us cars we could disappear in if shit ever hit the fan. Now that it has, it felt like the right time to cash in.

Kings was supposed to be safe. Our sanctuary. But now it’s just another hunting ground.

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