Page 13

RIOT

The second I saw her, the entire room disappeared.

It was like my pulse stopped just long enough to restart in a different rhythm. Slower. Heavier. Focused. She moved through the crowd like smoke—quiet, but impossible to ignore. That scent hit me again. Innocence. Purity. The same one I caught back at Boaz’s estate. I’d never forget it.

And now here she was.

Free? How did she manage to get out? And what about the other girls?

But her skin glowed under the low light of the bar, deep and smooth like melted cocoa. That black dress she had on? It was painted on her body. And those legs? Those thick, cocoa-dipped thighs and the slight sway of her hips? Her body wasn’t just a temple it was a whole sermon.

Rollo and Irina were laughing beside me, arms wrapped around each other like newlyweds. Rollo and I were close but he switched new girls every other week. This Irina chick was new and I didn’t trust her. But I didn’t trust most women.

My baby cousin Abra was already posted at the bar with a few friends, tossing her head back in laughter.

But I couldn’t hear a thing.

All I could do was stare at her.

And then she looked up.

Locked eyes with me.

Something shifted in my chest.

Like gravity picked a new direction, and it was wherever she stood.

I stepped toward her, slow and easy. Told myself to play it cool.

I didn’t know what she was doing here, but the universe was clearly on my side tonight.

She looked different in regular clothes.

More dangerous. More real. And even more beautiful.

I was already thinking about how to make her mine—then I opened my stupid ass mouth.

" The Virgin . Who let you out?"

Her face dropped like I slapped her. The softness in her eyes vanished, replaced with fire. She turned on her heel and walked away like I was nothing but a bad memory.

Fuck.

I grabbed her wrist, not roughly, but firm. Pulled her back toward me before I could think better of it. The touch of her skin sent a wave of fire through me.

"Don’t ever walk away from me," I said, my voice low.

She jerked back, but I held on. That heat in her gaze didn’t scare me. If anything, it pulled me in deeper.

“Don’t ever call me that again,” she snapped, her voice sharp but shaking just a little.

I leaned in closer, so close I could smell her perfume—something sweet and grown

“Don’t ever snatch your body away from me again,” I commanded.

She blinked, lips parting, just slightly.

Yeah. I saw it.

That flicker.

The fight in her didn’t fully mask the way her breath stopped. The way her gaze dropped, then came back up, defiant but unsure. I liked that shit. That fire. That backbone. But even more, I liked the way she started to melt when I spoke with intention.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said, finally easing my grip. “I just don’t know your name and that’s what Boaz called you.”

She looked at me for a long second. Then, soft and guarded, she said, “My name is Allure.”

I smiled. “That’s pretty.”

And it fit.

Allure.

She was hypnotic. Powerful. Deadly in the softest way.

I hadn’t even touched her, but I was already trying to remember what the hell I’d been stressing about all week.

The second she stood in front of me, all that tension from the office, from my brother, from the vineyard—gone. Just… vanished in her presence.

Now, up close, I could see all the parts I’d missed before.

Her eyes were like obsidian—dark, deep, endless.

Her lips full and natural. Her breasts pressed against the low neckline of her blazer dress, skin smooth and glowing.

Her waist curved into hips like poetry, and that ass?

Baby girl had weight back there. Real woman weight.

The kind you grabbed with both hands and it would still be spilling out. And I ain’t have no lil nigga hands.

“You want a drink?” I asked, my voice a little huskier than before.

She nodded, cautious. Curious. She looked back at Irina who was in her own little world with Rollo. I had to know why she was here. When I first met her at Boaz’s home, I figured she was a prisoner. Not someone who could come and go. Maybe I had it wrong?

I guided her gently toward the bar, let my hand brush the small of her back as I waved over the bartender.

“Prosecco,” I said. “Two.”

He popped the cork with a crisp crack and poured us both a glass.

I handed hers to her, our fingers brushing.

Her eyes lifted to mine again, softer this time. She looked up at me as if she had something to say but didn’t feel comfortable enough to say it.

“You wanna get some fresh air?” I asked.

She nodded again, and I led her through the open doors to the patio—where the night waited for just us.The night air wrapped around us as we stepped onto the patio, cooler than inside, but not cold.

Just enough breeze to kiss the skin. The music from the club was muffled behind the doors, the bass low like a pulse underfoot.

Out here, it felt like we were the only ones left in the world.

Allure stood at the railing, one hand wrapped around her glass, the other tucked beneath her arm. Her posture was loose, but her eyes stayed sharp. Guarded. Always looking past me. Like she expected something—or someone—to come snatch her back.

I leaned against the ledge beside her, sipping my drink. "You always this tense at a party?"

She looked away, but I caught the small smile tugging at her mouth.

“I’m just not used to crowds,” she replied.

“You were calm as hell when I saw you inside. Like you owned the room.”

“That wasn’t calm. That was survival.”

There it was.

The crack in the mask.

She said it casually, but her fingers had started to tremble around her glass. I could feel it—something was wrong. Not the obvious wrong like a broken heel or a weird ex in the room. Deeper. Older. Like she was running from something and barely holding it together.

"What’s going on?” I asked, keeping my tone easy, but my attention locked on her face.

She hesitated.

Then sipped her Prosecco.

“I’m not supposed to be here,” she said finally, voice soft. “I… snuck out. Just for the night. I'm supposed to go back.”

“To Boaz?” I inquired.

She looked at me, with sadness in her eyes. “Unfortunately…”

“Something felt off about you and him when I was at his estate a few days ago delivering the tiger. I’ve heard that he keeps women caged in the basement. Are you one of them?”

Her face stiffened. The way she inhaled—it was like the mere mention of that place pulled the air from her lungs.

“Yes. He’s been holding me captive… kidnapped me when I was 16. I’ve been there for ten years. This is my first time I’ve been away from the compound since I arrived,” she spilled.

“Fuck. That confirms it then.” I needed to help her.

I don’t know why I felt so compelled to help this woman who was a mere stranger, but I needed to.

There was something about her that was different.

Something about her tugged at me. And I’d been thinking about her since the moment my eyes laid on her.

"Yeah… the stories I could tell.”

“How the fuck did you get out?”

“Well, he’s in the hospital…”

“Cancer?” I asked.

“How did you know?” she replied.

“I smelled it on him when I was there.”

“You can smell cancer?” She looked at me skeptically.

“I have the nose of a bloodhound. I could smell the innocence on you when I first met you.” I saw her eyes soften as she shook her head and smiled.

“My innocence has been used against me. He likes it because he says that it’s magical. That only I can take care of him and the things that he cherishes…” her eyes glanced over.

“It’s fucked up that he kidnapped you. What about the other girls?” It was almost as bad as my father, but I wouldn’t dare say that shit to her.

“He calls them… pets.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I figured that much. I thought he would have something other than the tiger. I mean I once sold him a rare pink peacock. But what about the girls?”

“No. Not the animals,” Her voice dropped. “He calls the girls — pets. There’s seven of them. In the basement. I take care of them. He rapes them on a rotation.”

I went still. He was just as bad as my father.

She turned away, eyes on the skyline. “They’re locked in glass cages.

He calls them sacred. I bathe them, feed them, get them ready for him.

He keeps me separate. I’m not good enough to be one of them.

Because of my scars.” She pulled back her sleeve so I could see the burn marks on her arm.

I didn’t care about those. Those were beautiful to me too.

But I was curious about how she got them.

Shit got me heated. Who the fuck was responsible for burning her.

I made a mental note to burn that muhfucka.

“Since he doesn’t want to rape me. He keeps me as his personal servant,” she continued.

Jesus.

I rubbed a hand over my jaw, trying to mask the heat rising in my chest. I’d seen some shit, but this?

This was a different kind of evil. And now I had to kill Boaz before the cancer did.

But now she was here. Standing next to me. Looking for a way out. Still talking like she had to go back.

“You ain’t goin’ back.” I said, like it was simple. But to me it was. If she made it this far, there was no turning back. Especially with me by her side.

“Boaz has people. He’ll come for me.”

“I got people too.”

She turned to me, her eyes wet but hard. “Who are you?” She asked.

“I’m Riot.”

“I know your name but what people do you have? You smuggle animals. How can you help me? I’ve heard a little bit about you from Irina but what do you really have?”

I let out a low chuckle and decided to not let her words offend me. She didn’t know who the fuck I was and that wasn’t her fault. Baby girl had been held captive since she was 16. She didn’t know shit.

“I’m Riot King, of the King Family.” I searched her eyes for recognition, and then it hit.

“Okay…”

“We own a major security and logistics company. We’re the folks behind the mob, the cartel, the Yakuza. We make moves, baby girl. So I got people and weapons. We been in the trenches for decades.”

I watched her relax a bit. She realized she was safe with me. Yeah, Boaz had people but I had way more.

I looked at her. Really looked at her. She wasn’t just beautiful—she was strong. Survived things most people would collapse under. And yet she still stood there, back straight, chin high, asking for help without begging.

Yeah, she was trouble.

But the kind I didn’t want to walk away from.

“So will you help me?” she asked.

“I got you,” I said.

She blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah. But we should leave soon while your girl is having a good time. Go to the bathroom. I’ll meet you there. There’s a side exit by the fire stairs. Irina’s too lit to notice anything right now. We move quick, we’re out before anybody notices.”

“Why are you doing this for me? This puts a target on your head.”

She was a target on my heart. That shit is so corny. I can’t believe I just thought some corny ass shit like that.

“Don’t worry about my why. Just do what I say. Go. Now.” I demanded.

She nodded and disappeared into the club.

I stayed at the railing, and sat the glass down, heart thudding like a warning.

Boaz wasn’t just rich. He was protected.

Helping her could open a war I didn’t have time for.

But I didn’t care.

Because if this girl wanted out?

I was gonna be the one to make it happen.

Even if it cost me everything.