Page 20

RIOT

Allure ran through my mind the entire drive back to the city.

No matter how hard I tried to shift focus—traffic, music, the sound of the engine—it always came back to her.

The curve of her mouth when she smiled. The way her eyes dropped when she got shy.

The strength it must’ve taken to survive what she did.

Ten years. Ten fucking years.

That’s how long she was held in that gilded prison.

I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Being kidnapped for a week would’ve been a nightmare—ten years?

That shit was unthinkable. If it had been me, I would’ve slit Boaz’s throat in his sleep and accepted whatever came after.

But she wasn’t me. She was a woman—young, outnumbered, and watched constantly.

She played it smart. Patient. Waiting for her moment. Hoping for a miracle.

And when it came, she ran like hell.

I hated that I wasn’t the one to rescue her. That I hadn’t stormed that compound and carried her out like some fucking avenger. But she didn’t need a hero. She needed an opening—and when she saw it, she took it. Brave as hell.

Still, I was grateful I’d been there to meet her on the other side. To offer her shelter. To give her the space to breathe without fear for the first time in a decade.

But none of that meant the danger was over.

The real work was just beginning.

Boaz was still alive. Barely, but alive. Sick, twisted, and dangerous even on his last leg. And he wouldn’t stop looking for her. Not out of love—but because he’d rather see her dead than free. His pride couldn’t take it. The Virgin, his prized possession, had escaped.

That was blood in the water for a man like him.

So now it was on me to make sure he never got the chance to come sniffing around again.

I had to kill Boaz. Not wait for the cancer to finish him off. Not let the courts play their game. I had to do it myself.

Before he could lay a single finger on her again.

Before he reminded her what it felt like to be afraid.

And before I reminded myself what it felt like to lose something that never really belonged to me—but I wanted anyway.

Bad.

It was just after noon when I pulled into the underground lot of the boutique in SoHo.

The city was awake—buzzing with that too-fast, too-loud, too-much energy it was famous for.

I should’ve hated it. The traffic. The noise.

The cameras. But today it felt good to move.

Gave me something to do while my mind ran in circles about Allure.

I found Abra already waiting inside, leaning against one of the marble columns in the store like she ran the place. She had on dark sunglasses and a slick high ponytail, scrolling on her phone as she waited for me. As soon as she saw me, she pushed off the column and crossed her arms.

“About damn time,” she said.

I gave her a chin nod. “Traffic.”

She pulled her shades down the bridge of her nose. “Where the hell did you go last night? Irina’s been blowin’ up my phone since sunrise. She said Allure’s missing.”

I raised a brow. “She ain't missing. She's with me.”

Abra blinked. “With you?” she echoed, like I’d just said I adopted a stray dog.

“Yeah. She needed help. I gave it.”

She let out a slow breath and stepped in closer. “Okay. You don’t have to tell me everything. But... Boaz and Avi got locked up. Did you have something to do with that?”

“Not directly,” I said. “But let’s just say it worked out in our favor.”

She shook her head, muttering, “Damn. They raided Irina’s penthouse. Tore that shit apart. She’s staying with Rollo now. She’s scared.”

“I’ll handle her when the time comes,” I said. “Right now, Allure is priority. You feel me?”

Abra studied me for a long beat, then nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”

“Appreciate it.”

She shifted gears like only Abra could. “So you’re taking care of her now?”

“Yeah. She’s been through some shit.” I hesitated, rubbing the back of my neck. “Ten years, Abra. That girl ain’t seen the outside since she was sixteen.”

Her eyes widened. “Jesus.”

“Exactly.”

“Irina never told me that,” she said.

“How well do you know her?”

“We went NYU together. We’ve been getting closer lately now that she’s spending more time in the city.”

“Her father is a dangerous man. And he’s just perverted as Silas. I realized that the other day when Creed and I ran up one of his sons. His son was in Silas’ network. When we killed him, his cousin told us that Boaz had broads in a basement that he uses as sex toys.”

“What the hell?! Irina has never told me that.”

“Yeah…”

“And Allure?” She asked as she looked at me.

“Allure was a servant. She wasn’t used as a sex slave. And since Boaz was in the hospital, Irina snuck her out for the party…” I explained.

“Jesus Christ. Irina’s gonna have to get over it. That girl ain’t never going back.”

“Exactly.”

A moment of silence stretched between us before she cleared her throat. “Speaking of people who need care—have you seen your mama lately?”

I sighed. “I know. I’ve been meanin’ to.”

“She’s not well, Riot,” she said gently. “She refuses to see a doctor. Keeps talkin’ in circles. Says weird shit about your pops. Keeps forgetting what day it is.”

I exhaled hard. “I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Good.” Abra paused. “She needs her sons right now.”

I nodded, the guilt tightening in my chest like a fucking vise. “Thanks for lookin’ out.”

“Someone’s gotta do it.”

Abra was one of my closest cousins and someone Mama had taken under her wing. Mama was grooming her to take her spot in the company one day but she wasn’t there yet. She still had a lot to learn. But she was proving herself to be valuable every day.

We moved through the store together, the scent of expensive leather and soft musk trailing behind us. I let Abra take the lead, picking out clothes for Allure. She had an eye for size and style. Said she knew just by watching how a woman carried herself. And I trusted that.

“She’s curvy, huh?” Abra asked with a smirk as she pulled a silky two-piece off the rack.

“Yeah,” I murmured, thinking about Allure’s thick thighs and the way her ass filled out my sweats.

“Soft curves?” she pressed.

“Soft everything.”

Abra chuckled. “You’re already sprung. Damn. I didn’t think it’d hit you this hard.”

I didn’t answer that. “Look, I gotta go to the Apple Store and pick up a phone for her. I don’t wanna be in this girly ass store no more. Hit me when you’re done.”

“Okay,” she laughed as I walked away.

I wandered down the block and went into the Apple Store.

As we waited for one of the workers t help me, my eyes scanned the boutique’s open floor—and that’s when I saw them.

A man—mid-30s, regular build—crouched beside a toddler in pigtails. He adjusted her tiny sunglasses and wiped something off her cheek. She looked up at him like he hung the damn stars.

My chest pulled tight.

Seeing them tugged at me. There was a part of me that had a strong pull to be father and husband one day. But I wasn’t sure if that were for me. There were too many skeletons in my closet, too much blood on my hands. But watching that little girl wrap her arms around her daddy’s neck?

It gut punched me.

Would I ever get that?

Would I ever have a family? A kid that looked up to me like I was something good?

A part of me didn’t think I deserved it.

Another part wondered if it was too late to try.

I bought the newest iPhone in gold. The salesperson asked if I wanted it set up in-store. I declined. I’d do it myself. Less people in her business that way.

As I waited for the receipt to print, my eyes kept drifting back to the father and daughter.

He was now carrying her on his shoulders, laughing as she clapped her hands and pointed at something outside the window.

The ache in my chest spread to my throat.

I cleared it and thanked the cashier as I grabbed the bag.

On the way out, I texted Abra. She said she’d had the boutique send everything to the house—four shopping bags’ worth. Dresses, sets, underwear, and some soft joggers. Even picked out a pair of designer slides and a silk bonnet.

“She’s gonna love it,” she wrote. “You owe me a spa day.”

Fair.

I then had her meet me at a café so we could discuss business before I headed home to Allure.

The café was quiet—low jazz playing in the background, just enough clatter from the espresso machine to remind you the city was still breathing outside. I slid into the corner booth where Abra was already waiting, a cappuccino in one hand and her iPad open in front of her.

We went over invoices, pending permits, and client renewals. I tried to stay focused, to keep my head in the numbers, but it was no use. Every few seconds, my mind wandered.

To her.

Was she okay?

Did she eat?

Had she cried again?

Did she feel safe?

Is she okay with being alone?

Abra was talking but her voice was muffled under the current of thoughts crashing against the back of my skull. I nodded when I was supposed to, made comments here and there. But I wasn’t present.

I was too focused on her. What the hell was this? I do not know this woman. But her presence caused a shift in me.

“Riot,” Abra snapped her fingers.

I blinked. “Huh?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Where the hell did you just go?”

I leaned back in the booth, exhaling. “Nowhere. Just… tired.”

“Bullshit. You’re thinking about her.”

I didn’t say anything.

“You like her.”

“I’m just looking out for her.”

“You’ve looked out for other people before and didn’t act like this,” she said. “You’re different. Soft, but also… focused. Like she’s your mission now.”

“She ain’t a mission,” I said, eyes locked on the steam curling off my untouched coffee. “She’s… she’s somethin’ else.”

Abra let that sit for a second, then pushed her iPad aside and folded her arms. “So what are you gonna do?”

I shrugged. “Keep her safe. Handle Boaz. Then figure out the rest.”

“The rest being…?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know yet. She’s been through too much for me to push anything. But I can’t lie. I’m drawn to her. And not just ‘cause she fine.”

“She is fine, though,” Abra teased, taking a slow sip of her drink.

I cracked a smile. “Yeah. She is.”

There was a long pause before Abra said, quieter, “You ever think about having a real life? Wife. Kids. All that?”

I glanced out the window. “Lately… yeah.”

“Think she could be part of that?”

I didn’t answer right away.

But the silence?

That was loud as hell.

Abra nodded like she’d heard it anyway. “Don’t fuck it up.”

“I don’t plan to.”