Page 46 of Ruin My Life
And then, it’s like he’s gone.
The heat of his body fades, replaced by the sterile chill of concrete and silence. The spot where his hand touched the back of my neck throbs, like it’s still branded with the echo of his control.
He turns toward the door, his movements clipped and frustrated. As he passes the stool, his leg hits it.
A small inconvenience—but one that pushes him over the edge.
He kicks it.Hard.
The wooden legs crack against the wall, splintering into jagged pieces that scatter across the floor like the aftermath of a tornado.
He shoves the door open with his shoulder and disappears, letting it slam behind him with thunderous finality.
And when the lock finally clicks, a long, shaky breath tumbles out of me. My chest deflates like I’d been holding it since the second he walked in.
Maybe I was.
It’s pure relief. Not because I’m safe.
Because I’mstill alive.
Damon King doesn’t leave loose ends. If he thought I had nothing to offer, I’d already be dead on this floor. That tells me everything I need to know.
He needs something.
Answers. Information. Leverage.
And for now, I’m the only one who can give it to him.
Information for information.
That’s always been my currency.
Chapter Nine
Damon
MY HEAD POUNDS ASILEAVE THE HOLDINGcell, the heavy metal door clicking shut behind me like a loaded gun cocked at my back.
I don’t usually lose my composure. But hearing her—Brianna—casually name-drop Monroe and Chavez?
It hit a nerve I don’t like to admit still exists.
A nerve I thought I’d severed years ago.
She said their names like they belonged to her. Like she had every right to speak them into existence. And for a moment, it yanked me straight back to a darker time—a time I swore I’d never return to.
When everyone close to me was a target painted in blood.
She may be young, but she’s sharp as hell. Methodical. Calculated. And that makes her more than a hacker with attitude—it makes her a threat. A volatile one.
I should end it now. Eliminate the risk before it festers.
But I won’t.
Because I need more information.
Because the code I built my life around doesn’t bend for fear. I don’t kill to silence people—I kill to protect them.
