Page 226 of Ruin Me With Lies

Cursing under my breath, I slam my palm against the wheel and crank the key.Once.Twice.Three times.

Nothing.

It hits me then…this is the same point where our drones malfunctioned and spiraled from the sky.Whatever shorted them out is killing my car too.

On foot it is, then.

I open the door and step out into the night, taking a hard look around before I start walking.

I’ve had my suspicions about this place since the moment the walls went up.To get permits for walls this high, you’re either the government, or youownthe government.And when even Red Cage Investigations—the people who can dig up dirt on God himself—refused to offer details, no matter the price?Yeah.My suspicions locked in on the latter.

What kind of king doesn’t know who’s living in his city?

Truth is, deep down, Iknew.But kept hoping to be proven wrong.Didn’t want to accept it.That it was her.That she’s been this close all along.Watching.Knowing.And still choosing to stay away.

Didn’t want to face the sting of rejection again.To be left waiting like some fucking lovesick fool.

Lovehad always been my worst fear.The idea of someone having that kind of power over me?Over my reactions, my emotions?A goddamn nightmare.

Never, I told myself.Not me.Not in a million years.

And yet, here I am.Everything I swore I’d never become.

It was easier to believe she was off somewhere in the Italian Alps.Rejection stings less when there’s distance.But when she played her little games two weeks ago, reminding me she’s watching, it waseverythingmy bruised pride and ego needed.

Pathetic, isn’t it?To be that desperate for scraps of her attention.

And yet without it?Might as well put a bullet in my head.Because without her, there’s nothing left for me in this world.

Only her.

I trek up the uneven path, my Brioni oxfords protesting with every damn step.Definitely not built for this terrain.

As I reach the wall, I activate the chip embedded in my arm.I keep it muted ninety-nine percent of the time.But Sorayadidsay something about it also being an access key.

Time to test that theory.

There’s no obvious gate, no clear entrance.So I press my palm to the cool surface and start trailing the perimeter, step by step, listening for anything, searching for a hollow point.

Until…

Beep.Click.

A door-sized section of the wall retracts upward.

Bingo.

I walk through.But barely five feet in, I hit a second wall, identical to the first.Before I can curse, the one behind me seals shut, and another section ahead retracts, opening the path forward.

Again, I walk through.And there it is, engraved into a boulder to my left:ThreeFours.

Son of a bitch.

A sprawling neighborhood unfolds ahead.Scattered dome-style houses.Amenity buildings.Artificial fountains, lush green lawns, vibrant gardens blooming in perfect defiance and contrast to the dry, rugged terrain outside these walls.

Different.Unexpected.But strangely…peaceful.A paradise carved out of nowhere.

How the hell did they build all this in just one year?