Page 56

ALLURE

Irina’s body shook in my arms. She didn’t make a sound, not at first. Just buried her face in my shoulder, fingers fisting the back of my shirt like I was the last thing tethering her to this reality. It wasn’t until I pulled her tighter that the sob finally broke loose—sharp, gutting, raw.

I’d held women before. Screaming girls in Boaz’s basement. Cracked-open souls trying to piece themselves back together in the dark. But this… this was different. This was grief before the confirmation. Dread that bloomed in the absence of closure.

“I can’t breathe,” Irina whispered.

“You are,” I said gently, stroking her curls. “You are.”

I felt bad for her. She had lost all of her family and was mostly on her own now. I knew the feeling all too well.

She pulled back, eyes red, mascara streaked down her cheeks like war paint. “Where is he, Allure? Why would he just vanish like this? Rollo’s not… he’s not reckless. Not like that. And even if he was—he’d call me. He’d check on me.”

My throat ached. I didn’t know what to say.

We were sitting on the couch in Riot’s brownstone, the oil diffuser spread the scent of amber through the room. Everything felt dim. Even the light in our eyes. I had a bad feeling about Rollo

“I keep thinking I’ll hear his keys at the door,” she said, voice breaking again. “I keep thinking this is a mistake. A mix-up. Maybe he left his phone. Maybe…”

But we both knew.

We knew it in the same way you know a storm’s coming before the sky turns black. It’s in your bones before it’s on the radar.

I didn’t realize I was crying until a tear hit the back of my hand. I wiped it away quickly, like grief needed permission to stay. It didn’t.

Riot came in a few minutes later, the front door clicking shut with quiet finality. His shoes were still dusty from wherever he’d been, his jaw tight with murder. I didn’t have to ask—he wore the answer in the lines of his face.

He looked at Irina, then at me. “It was Havoc,” he said. “He took Rollo.”

Irina whimpered, curling inward.

Riot walked over, crouched down, and rested a hand on her knee. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. But it’s what we’ve got.”

“Why?” she croaked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But he left blood. Rollo’s phone. Like he didn’t care if we found out.”

I inhaled sharply. “He wants you to come for him.”

Riot’s eyes cut to mine. “Yeah. He wants war.”

He stood up, pacing once before raking a hand down his face. “And I think he’s the one who’s been poisoning Ma.”

“What?” I asked, voice rising.

“The lead test came back clean. No contamination in the paint, water, pipes. The lab says it’s probably being introduced through food. Meaning someone’s been dosing her intentionally. Slow. Steady. With a purpose.”

Irina shook her head like she was trying to wake up from a nightmare.

“Havoc?” I asked.

“He’s already made it clear how he feels about us,” Riot snapped. “You think he wouldn’t? You think he cares about what happens to her now?”

“No I wasn’t saying that. If he would betray you with my brother, he would def harm your mother. Babe, calm down.”

“I fuckin’ can’t. Rollo? My mother?!”

Irina’s whole body folded, and Riot caught her before she collapsed fully.

“I got her,” he muttered, lifting her gently. “She needs to rest.”

He disappeared down the hall, and I sat there staring into the fire, the wine in my glass untouched. My stomach was too tight. My skin too full of ghosts.

He came back five minutes later, rubbing his neck.

“I gave her a Valium. She’ll be out for a while.”

I poured him a glass and handed it over without a word.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“You’re stressed. So much has been going on. But we’ll make it through.”

“Thanks, babe.”

We sat in silence, sipping wine like it was holy. Like it could cleanse the rot we’d all been marinating in.

“I’m scared,” I said softly.

He turned to me. “Of what?”

“That this doesn’t end until one of y’all’s family is in the ground.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll handle Havoc before he can hurt anyone else. I promise that,” he said as he leaned for ward to kiss me.

The kiss deepened, his tongue sliding against mine like he was trying to taste the fear right out of my mouth.

His hand found my thigh, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.

I moaned against his lips, needing the distraction, needing him to make me forget everything that was falling apart around us.

"Riot," I breathed as he pulled back, his eyes dark with something that wasn't just desire. It was desperation. The same kind I felt clawing at my chest.

"I need you," he growled, voice rough. "Need to feel somethin' other than this rage."

I nodded, understanding completely. We were drowning in death and betrayal, and the only life preserver we had was each other.

He lifted me my thick voluptuous body like I weighed nothing, carrying me to his bedroom. The door clicked shut behind us, sealing us away from the horror waiting outside. He set me on the edge of the bed, then dropped to his knees in front of me.

"Let me take care of you," he murmured, hands sliding up my thighs, pushing my dress higher. "Let me make you forget."

His fingers hooked into my panties, dragging them down slowly. The cool air hit my heated skin, making me shiver. But then his mouth was on me, hot and demanding, and I couldn't think about anything else.

"Oh God," I gasped, fingers ran over his deep waves as his tongue worked magic between my legs. He groaned against me, the vibration sending shockwaves through my body.

He ate me like a man starved, like I was his last meal before war. His hands gripped my thighs, spreading me wider, giving him better access. I fell back on my elbows, hips rolling against his face as he devoured me.

"That's it, baby," he murmured against my slick flesh. "Give it all to me."

The tension that had been coiled tight in my belly finally snapped. I came with a cry, back arching off the bed as waves of pleasure crashed over me. He didn't stop, working me through it until I was trembling and oversensitive.

When he finally pulled back, his lips were glistening, eyes wild. "I ain't done with you yet," he promised, standing to strip off his clothes.

I watched through heavy-lidded eyes as he revealed all that dark tatted skin and muscle. My body was already aching for him again, needing more. Needing everything.

He crawled over me, settling between my thighs. "You mine," he said, voice fierce. "No matter what happens with Havoc, with any of this shit—you mine."

"Yes," I whispered, pulling him down for a kiss. I could taste myself on his lips, and it made me moan.

He pushed inside me slowly, both of us groaning at the connection. For a moment, we just stayed like that, foreheads pressed together, breathing each other's air.

Then he started to move, and the world outside ceased to exist. There was only us, only this moment where death couldn't touch us. Where betrayal was just a word and not a knife in our backs.

"I love you," I gasped as he drove deeper, harder.

"Love you too," he growled, burying his face in my neck. "So fuckin' much."

We came apart together, clinging to each other like survivors of a shipwreck. And maybe that's what we were. Maybe that's all anyone could be in this life. Just trying to stay afloat while the waves tried to drag us under.

Afterward, we lay tangled together, sweat cooling on our skin. Reality was already creeping back in at the edges, but I pushed it away. Just for a few more minutes.

"We gon' get through this," Riot said quietly, fingers tracing patterns on my bare shoulder. "All of it."

I wanted to believe him. But somewhere in the city, Havoc had Rollo. My brother had ruined The King’s Vine reputation. And me and Irina no longer had family.