Page 224 of Ruin Me Gently

Finn leaned forward, his focus locked. “How long?”

“I’m in.”

Well, that was quick.

Orion leaned back slightly. “Alright, what did you say his name was, Finn? Pretty sure you just called him a—what was it? Arrogant, spineless, thumb-headed motherfucker?”

I snorted. “Close. His name’s Clark Elias Thorn. He’s a news anchor…Wasa news anchor on SVN. You should be able to find his picture online.”

“Mhm.” He didn’t look up, already keying it in.

Images shifted onto the screen—blurry figures in crowds, city streets, stores. All scanning. Searching.

My stomach twisted. “When will it find him?”

“I don’t know, princess.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

He sighed, resting his chin on one hand. “It could take minutes, could take weeks. If he’s moving around like normal? We’ll have him in no time. But if he’s holed up somewhere, nowhere near security cams?” He clicked his tongue. “That’s when it gets tricky.”

“It may just be a case of waiting for him to reappear,” Finn said, running a hand through his hair.

“Waiting?” Orion tapped the screen. “This is state-of-the-art tech. Not some half-assed amateur shit pulled off the dark web. This is military grade tracking.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So?”

“So, we’ll get him. One way or another. They all slip up eventually.”

Silas said nothing.

Orion gestured toward the screen. “Here.”

I recognised it instantly. Sonnets and Spines. The timestamp in the corner burned into my retinas.

The night it happened.

The footage was grainy. But it was him. He’d been lurking on the street all damn day. Pacing. Waiting. Watching.

My chest tightened as Orion scrolled through more flagged footage.

Gas stations. Convenience stores. Random streets.

Silas pointed at one box on the screen. “There.” It was a blurred image from a motel security camera. “That’s where his WiFi pinged.”

But then there was nothing. No more hits. Nothing but a big, digital void.

Silas exhaled sharply, his grip tightening on me.

“Look. She’s your girl,” Orion said to Silas, tipping his chin at me. “And I know you’re pissed at me, but back in the day—”

“Keep it running in the background at all times,” Silas cut in. “I want a continuous process scraping through every available feed. The second he’s spotted, I want location data, timestamps—everything.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. But Silas—”

“Just get it done.”

“Look, I didn’t have to do this. I could’ve said no.”

---