Page 74 of Ruin
"Fourteen serious incidents. Including David's roommate, who was planning to drug you at that party in March."
Her hand goes to her throat, touching the collar. "David's roommate?"
"Richie. Slipped Rohypnol into drinks at parties, had a collection of photos from his victims. He's currently serving twenty-five to life for sexual assault."
"You had him arrested?"
"I had him framed for rapes he actually committed, but was never caught for. Sometimes justice needs help."
She processes this, adding it to the growing pile of revelations. "So even when I thought I was free, I was still your prisoner."
"You were still under my protection."
"Same thing."
"Not even close."
She shifts position, gun still aimed at my chest but her stance more relaxed.
We've been at this standoff for over an hour now, and the adrenaline is starting to fade into exhaustion.
"What happens now?" I ask quietly.
"I don't know." Her voice breaks. "I should kill you. I should put a bullet in your chest and call it justice for my parents, for all those other people you murdered."
"But?"
"But they're dead. They've been dead for nine years, and killing you won't bring them back." She wipes her face with theback of her hand, gun never wavering. "And I'm still here, still wearing your collar, still loving you despite hating everything you represent."
"So we're at an impasse."
"We're at an ending." She straightens, seeming to gather herself. "You can't stay in my life. Not after this. Not knowing what I know."
"And you can't let me leave. Not with what you know."
She nods slowly.
We both understand the impossibility of our situation. She can't kill me, can't forgive me, can't let me go. I can't stay, can't leave, can't undo what I've done.
"There is another option," I say carefully.
"What?"
"You come with me. Not as my victim, not as my creation, but as my partner. My equal. Help me run the empire your father tried to destroy."
Her laugh is bitter. "You want me to join you? After everything you've just confessed to?"
"I want you to stop pretending you're not already part of this world. You've been part of it since the moment you walked into Hell and begged for more."
"That was before I knew the truth."
"The truth doesn't change who you are. It just explains it."
She's quiet for a long moment, gun still trained on me, considering possibilities I can't read in her expression.
"You really think I could do it? Help run a criminal empire?"
"I think you're the most dangerous person I've ever met, and that includes my father. You have legal knowledge, strategic thinking, and the capacity for necessary forms of violence. You just needed the right motivation to embrace it."
