Page 27

ALLURE

Riot had become my sanctuary.

I hadn’t meant for it to happen, but it did.

The more days that passed, the more I felt tethered to him.

Not just because he saved me, not just because he gave me a place to feel human again—but because, somehow, he made me feel safe.

Like I could breathe without glancing over my shoulder. Like I wasn’t prey anymore.

But that safety came with questions I hadn’t answered yet.

Was I falling for a man who lived by violence?

A man with blood on his hands and enemies at every corner?

Maybe. But even that truth didn’t shake the strange calm I felt whenever he was near.

And yet, a part of me—deep, quiet—kept whispering: be careful.

I couldn’t afford to depend on someone else to give me peace.

I wanted to build a life of my own now that I was free.

I wanted to make something that belonged to me and no one else.

I really wanted my fashion empire and a place of my own.

There was no way I could go from being a captive of Boaz to living off another man.

I was grateful for Riot and I was falling for him.

But I wanted to see what it was like to be on my own for a bit.

I also wanted to know what really happened to my father. Who took him from me? Why did no one came looking? I couldn’t move forward until I had those answers.

I left Riot’s room and wandered through the hallways until I reached the glass room, his sanctuary of another kind. The terrarium and aquarium room. The temperature dropped the second I stepped in, cool and thick with moisture. The sound of slow-moving water trickled from one of the tanks.

Exotic fish glided through neon-lit tanks, their scales catching every color like living jewels. To the right, massive glass terrariums stretched wall to wall. Inside one, a large emerald green python uncoiled itself, lifting its head, tongue flicking the air.

I stepped closer, my heart pounding as the snake slithered toward the glass and hissed.

My heart jumped, but I didn’t back away.

There was something strangely hypnotic about it. Dangerous, yes, but elegant. Beautiful in its stillness. I pressed my palm against the cool glass, and just as I did, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I stepped back and pulled it out, screen lighting up with a notification.

New message from cousin Diori:

“OMG… I can’t believe it’s you. Please tell me this is real. Can I call you??”

My stomach twisted. I was so glad she finally got back to me. I had been holding my breath for days.

I tapped the message open with trembling fingers and hit the call button before I could overthink it. The phone barely rang once before it connected.

“Allure?” Diori’s voice cracked like she couldn’t believe it either. “Is this really you?”

Tears welled in my eyes the moment I heard her. “It’s me.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, and just like that, she started sobbing. Loud, messy, relieved sobs that made something sharp twist in my chest. “Allure. I—I thought you were dead. We all did.”

I pressed a hand to my mouth, fighting the sob rising in my own throat. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to hear your voice again. Everything’s been so crazy.”

“I missed you so much,” she cried. “You just vanished. One day you were there, and then—then nothing. We were still in high school. I kept thinking you’d show up somewhere, that it was all a misunderstanding. But then no one ever found you!”

Her voice broke.

“What happened to my father?” I asked gently. “Where’s everyone now?”

She sniffled. “After your father was killed, you mother moved to Baltimore to get away from all the drama. She’s still hurt that she doesn’t know who did it.

And is still hurt about your disappearance.

She wanted to start over and lay low. But Carmelo is still in New York.

He’s been running the family business ever since. ”

“How is he?”

“Honestly?” she sighed. “A mess. He’s trying to hold it all together, but he’s no Lionel. A lot of our men have gotten pinched over the last couple years. The money doesn’t flow like it used to. Carmelo’s too emotional. Makes sloppy moves.”

I chewed my bottom lip, taking that in. “Why won’t he just take the money and get out. Start a legit business?”

“You know those niggas got too much ego to ever give up the game. Besides, he doesn’t know shit about starting a business. He can barely run the drug business,” she gave a half hearted laugh.

“Damn. I need to speak to him. Do you know who killed my father?”

A heavy silence answered me first. Then she said, low and cautious, “No. But he had enemies, Allure. A lot of them There are so many people he did business with who got burned. So many rivals. Honestly, your father has been on a downward spiral ever since you went missing. The business has been falling apart and Carmelo will be the death of it.”

I nodded to myself, the ache in my chest tightening. “I have to find out. I need to know who took him from me.”

“I get it,” she whispered. “If I hear anything… anything at all, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you,” I said, swallowing hard. “Can we meet up?”

“Hell yes,” she said without hesitation. “Please. I need to see you with my own eyes to believe it. What about this weekend?”

“I’ll try,” I said. “It depends on how things go. But I’ll do my best.”

“Okay.” She paused. “Carmelo needs to see you, too. He still thinks you’re gone. Wants revenge, but he’s lost. He needs his sister back.”

“I want to talk to him. Can you tell him to call me?”

“I will,” she promised. “And Allure?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m so glad you’re alive.”

A soft smile tugged at my lips. “Me too.”

We hung up a minute later, and I stood there in the still room, breathing through the aftershock of that call. My heart was pounding, my thoughts spinning.

Behind the glass, the snake still stared at me. Unblinking. Poised like it could read everything running through me.

“I’m gonna have to talk to Riot about you,” I muttered. “You shouldn’t be locked up either.”

It felt too familiar. Another beautiful, dangerous creature trapped in a tank, staring out at the world it was never allowed to touch. I pressed my hand to the glass again and whispered, “You deserve better too.”

Then I turned and left the room, the weight of reunion and reckoning pressing into my chest, but my spine was straighter than it had been in years.