Page 131 of Ruin Me Gently

“You don’t give a fuck,” I snarled. “Make yourselves useful and get the fuck out of my way. And one of you—” I jerked my chin toward my car “—open my fucking door. Now.”

There was a beat of silence, then someone scrambled forward, yanking the passenger door open.

I lowered her carefully, trying not to jostle her, but even then, a small, pained noise escaped her lips.

“Shhh,” I murmured, adjusting the fabric of her ruined shirt, tucking her in as gently as I could before reaching for the seatbelt and clicking it into place. “I’ve got you. Just hang on.”

Her breathing was too uneven, her skin too clammy, slick with blood and sweat and rain, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

I swallowed hard, fingers lingering at the buckle for a second longer before I pulled back and gently shut the door.

Then I stood there. For just a second—long enough to press the heels of my palms into my eyes, to take a single breath, to shove down the part of me that was barely keeping it together.

Then I rounded the car and slid into the driver’s seat.

She didn’t move. Didn’t even stir as she sat there, slumped against the headrest, blood darkening the fabric of her clothes, skin too pale in the dim glow of the streetlights.

I clenched my jaw, forcing my breath to stay steady as I reached for the ignition.

“I’m so sorry, Lilith.”

The words felt useless. Like throwing a band-aid on a gunshot wound.

I pressed my foot to the accelerator, pulling out onto the road, my thoughts crashing into each other like a multi-car pile-up—twisted metal, shattered glass, screeching steel grinding through my skull, giving me no way to crawl free.

I was right.

I was fucking right.

She got close. She got hurt.

This happened because ofme.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Ineeded painkillers. Immediately.

I moved to sit up, but the second I lifted my head, the room spun violently. Awave of nausea crashed over me so hard my stomach clenched, a full-body rejection of whatever the hell was writhing through my body.

Oh, God. I was going to puke.

I swallowed, blinking rapidly, trying to focus, to get a grip. My eyes darted across the room, searching—where the fuck was my door?

I spotted one across the room and bolted, pain ricocheting through my body with every step. My limbs screamed, every muscle seizing, but I couldn’t stop.

I made it two feet before something yanked hard at the crease of my elbow.

A sharp sting.

A crash behind me.

The sudden pull sent me reeling, dizziness slamming into me all at once. What was that?

Shit.

No. No, no, no.

I needed—bathroom.

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