I Let Her Ruin Herself novel · Chapter 20 of 24

Chapter 20: Level Three

Ruby's POV

The Rialto garage was underground, and the ramp down to level three smelled of wet concrete and old oil.

I had been in this exact kind of place once, with a knife coming.

Wyatt stood at the stairwell door above me with the detective, because the message had said he must stay upstairs.

He had looked at me for a long moment before the door closed.

"I'll be wherever you can see me," he said.

I couldn't see him now.

I could hear my own shoes on the slab, and a car engine somewhere above, and the hum of a light fixture over the nearest pillar.

Two officers waited behind the stairwell door on level two.

Another unit sat dark at the top of the exit ramp.

I walked into the middle of level three and stopped under the sign that said 3 in red paint.

It was 8:58.

I stood with my hands at my sides and my purse on my shoulder, looking alone.

At nine exactly, something moved behind a pillar.

A man stepped out with a gray hood pulled over his face and a duffel bag hanging from one hand.

He wasn't big.

He wore a Lakeview T-shirt under the hoodie, and the shirt had been washed so many times the lettering was cracked.

"Are you Ruby?" he said.

His voice was almost gentle.

"Yes."

"She told me what you did to her."

"What did she tell you?"

"That you follow her. That you hurt her, and you won't stop." He came closer, and the duffel bag swung. "That you'd come here to make her sorry. She cried the whole time she told me."

"She cries well."

"She said you'd say that."

My throat closed.

← Chapter 19 · All chapters · Chapter 21 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend