Page 134 of Ruin Me Gently

I looked down to the crook of my arm, where a thin tube dangled, a small patch of red blooming from it.

Huh.

“That probably shouldn’t have happened,” I mumbled.

“No, it shouldn’t,” the voice sighed. “Does it hurt?”

I blinked at my arm, at the faint smear of blood, at the black and purple skin blooming around it, then I scoffed. “Everything hurts.”

Silence.

“Can I go to sleep now?”

“Of course you can.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, already sinking down, curling into the warmth of my blankets. “Goodnight.”

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

She was awake.

But… what the hell was that?

Maybe it was shock? From the attack? From being here?

Whatever it was, I didn’t get it. Not even a little bit.

Her body was curled into the blankets, breath shallow. I wanted to go to her, to lie beside her, to wrap myself around her, to press my lips to her hair and tell her she was safe here.

But I didn’t.

Because she wasn’t safe. Not really. Not when her skin was marked with his violence, not when it was all because of me.

I needed to call the nurse. She needed fluids, needed the IV put back in.

But the sharp, shrill ring of the service phone shattered my thoughts.

I scrubbed a hand over my jaw and pulled myself toward the kitchen.

The call button on the wall blinked red. I pressed it. “Mr. Graves, this is building security.”

“Go ahead.”

“There are two officers here to speak with you. Shall I send them up?”

I stared at the panel, fingers curling into my palm.

The police.

I didn’t want them here. I wanted to hunt that piece of shit down and end him. Break him apart, piece by piece, until he was nothing but a pulverised stain on the concrete. I wanted his screams in my ears, his blood soaked into my flesh, his last breath wheezing past his shattered teeth.

But I couldn’t do that. Not without risking everything. Not without riskingher.

So I’d brought her here. Carried her through my door while she bled and shook in my arms, and called the damn cops.

I pressed the button again. “Send them up.”

I stayed at the kitchen counter, hands flexing against the cool marble as I waited.

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