Page 56 of Ruin My Life
But every time I think about pulling the trigger on that decision, something makes me hesitates.
Something wants to see how far she’ll go.
Wants to see how farI’llgo.
If I let her go… there’s no guarantee she won’t come back to haunt me.
And there’s no guarantee that if she runs—
I won’tchase her.
CONNOR IS PATCHEDup by Dahlia, and he returns to the bar not long after my call with Monroe and Lee. With him covering the front and Chavez keeping an eye on our unwelcome guest, I finally have a few minutes to head home and take a breather.
I should sleep. God knows I haven’t done that properly in days.
But I can’t—not yet. Not when Lee and Monroe will be back any second, and not when Brianna’s next move could shift the entire board.
I scan my key fob in the elevator, unlocking the penthouse button, and ride all twenty-one floors to the top. The metal doors slide open directly into my apartment.
Years ago, I’d have looked at a place like this and spat at it. All this space—foroneman—while families two blocks over cram into shoeboxes and pray the plumbing holds.
Even now, with money stacked in accounts I barely check, this place still feels… excessive. Like I’m playing a role I haven’t earned. Like I’m still just a poor kid trying on a rich man’s suit.
But it’s convenient. Right across from the bar. And after I gutted the building's old tech and rebuilt the security system myself, it’s practically a fortress.
I’m halfway through the closet when the elevatordingsagain, announcing someone’s arrival as good as any doorman.
“Damon? You here?” Lee’s voice echoes down the hall.
He doesn’t wait for an invite to come in. None of them has to. Everyone in my inner circle has keys to this place—same as I have access to every corner of their lives. That’s what our loyalty looks like. What I’ve always wanted it to be.
“Yeah,” I call back, grabbing the first pair of sweatpants I find and heading back toward the front entryway.
Lee’s standing just inside, dark circles still etched under his eyes. After tonight, I definitely owe him a vacation that I know he won’t take.
“We’ve got her laptop set up in the security office,” he says, but the crease between his brows gives away how uncertain he feels. “You really sure about this? I don’t like giving her direct access to the network.”
I glance down at the sweatpants in my hands, only half listening to Lee.
They’re way too big for her… but they’ll have to do.
“She already hacked us once,” I remind him. “We’re not giving her anything she doesn’t already have. You’ll watch herevery second. And I trust you to shut her down if she steps out of line.”
Lee raises a brow at the pants I’m holding.
“So. I take it those mean you’re done ogling her?”
I just grumble as we head for the elevator.
We ride down and cross the street, the horizon bleeding into early morning gold between crumbling rooftops and steel beams. The Speakeasy is quiet now that we’re approaching dawn.
In the back room, Monroe, Connor, and Chavez are already waiting. Brianna sits in the chair, still bound, her glare sharp enough to cut glass.
We untie her, and I hand over the sweatpants without a word. She scowls at them like I’ve just offered her a snake, then yanks them on, rolling the waistband twice to keep them from falling off her hips.
They hang low, loose around her thighs, and I have to look away before my gaze lingers too long.
We escort her through the back of The Speakeasy, boxing her in on all sides until we reach the security office. At a glance, it might look like we were protecting the president. But we all know it’s about preventing an escape I’m sure she’s been plotting since she woke up here.
