Page 294 of Ruin Me Gently

“Testa di cazzo!”Dickhead.

“Gesù Cristo—”

“Vaffanculo!”Fuck you.

“Lilith—”

“Coglione!”Dumbass.

“Really? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“Cazzo, sei un coglione senza cervello!”Fuck, you’re a brainless moron!

She was butchering every damn syllable that Finn had taught her, but it didn’t matter. She was pissed when she had no damn right to be.

“Oh, I’m the moron?” I shot back. “I’m the one who didn’t run back into a sinking yacht!”

“I saved his life!”

“He doesn’tdeserve a life!”

The words ripped out of me, guttural and vicious. My voice cracked around the weight of all the rage, the frustration, the pure helplessness coiling so tightly inside me I thought I might explode.

Lilith’s chest heaved, her eyes boring into me, burning with something wild.

“You think I’m wrong for wanting him dead?” My voice shook. “After everything? After what he did to you?”

She didn’t answer. Just sat there, shoulders rising and falling, eyes locked on mine like she was daring me to say one more goddamn word.

A strained, wet groan sounded from the back seat.

Venom spiked in my blood.

I reached back and smacked him. Hard. His head lolled to the side, his split lip oozing fresh blood.

“What did you do, Lilith?” I shouted, voice ragged. “You think this—” I stabbed a finger toward the back seat, “—piece of shit deserves to be breathing right now?”

“Yeah, keep shouting, genius,” she snapped back, her voice scathing. “Because yelling’s definitely gonna fix everything right now.”

A sharp, humourless grin split her face, and something in me snapped.

“Oh, you’re fucking loving this, huh?” I barked out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re just thrilled you get to play the saint—”

“No,” she cut in coldly. “I’m loving that you’re actually giving me the chance to explain a single damn thing.”

I clenched the wheel so hard my knuckles cracked. “Fine. Explain. Go ahead. Enlighten me on why saving him was such a brilliant idea.”

“I’m not explaining shit when all you’re doing is screaming at me.” She crossed her arms, breathing hard. “Take him to the damn hospital.”

“The fuck I will,” I shot her a look, blood still pounding in my ears. “Speak. Now, Lilith.”

Her gaze locked with mine, wide and wild. “Dead people can’t suffer, Silas.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” My voice shot up, louder than I meant it to.

“Nah,” she bit back, shaking her head. “Excuse me for repeating myself. But I’m not doing this when you’re shouting.” Her arms tightened around herself like she was holding her ribs together. “Just drive. Now.”

My pulse surged, panic twisting in my chest. The storm outside raged on, rain streaking down the windshield in frantic sheets. The air in the car was heavy, thick with tension and sweat, and the lingering stench of blood and saltwater.

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