Page 29 of Ruin Me Gently

Cash. A lot of it.

I hummed, flicking through the bills like I actually gave a shit. “You flash this around like it makes you untouchable. Like it means you don’t have to answer to anyone.”

“Listen, man,” he gasped. “If this is about the segment on feminism in the workplace. I didn’t mean it. I just needed to stir engagement for the station, alright? That’s all it was.”

My lips tugged into a slow smirk under my scarf.

Perfect.

I let out a slow breath, rolling my shoulders back like I was calming myself down, like that was exactly why I was here.

“Right,” I muttered, clicking my tongue. “Gotta get those ratings up, huh?”

He nodded quickly, desperate. “Yeah. Exactly. That’s all it was. Just business.”

Business. Sure.

I slipped the cash from his wallet, tucking it into my pocket.

“See, here’s the thing.” I rose to my full height, towering over him as he tried and failed to breathe through the pain. “Sooner or later, you hurt the wrong person. And when that happens—”

A sharp, acrid scent hit the air.

Is that…?

He’d pissed himself.

Gesù Cristo.

I let the silence stretch, let him lay in his own mess of blood, piss and dirt.

“Actions have consequences, Clark. And this? This was your consequence. Do you understand me?”

He didn’t answer. Hehesitated.A flicker of something passed across his bloodied face. Something defiant, something stupid. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

I grabbed a fistful of his jacket, yanking him forward so fast his head snapped back like a ragdoll. “I said, do you fuckingunderstand me?!”

“Y-yes!” he sputtered. “I—I understand! I swear! I understand!”

“Good.” I released him with a shove. “Now,run.”

He didn’t wait, didn’t try to save face, just scrambled up so quickly he almost tripped over his own feet. His hands flailed, barely catching himself before he hit the pavement. But he didn’t stop, just bolted down the street with a big damp patch spreading across his pants.

My hands dropped to my knees, entire body bowing forward as I forced out a breath.

It was done. It was over.

He was nothing more than a lesson learned in bruises and broken ribs. A reminder that actions had consequences. Maybe next time, he’d think twice. Maybe this would train him into staying the fuck away from people who wanted nothing to do with him.

Especially Lilith.

CHAPTER NINE

No scarf tonight. Thatwould’ve been weird, even for me. Instead, I sat in the shadows, my collar turned up, glass of water in hand, back pressed to the cool leather of a private booth.

I hadn’t planned on being there. But life had other plans.

First—the doorbell notification.

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