Page 39 of Rose

“We’re not gonna figure this shit out by pointing fingers,” Olivia spoke, keeping her tone neutral.

“We promised that man we’d find Lazarus and put him down, and that’s what we’re going to do.

I’ll comb through the original files and trace the incident timeline.

Sin, run that photo through citywide facial recognition.

I’d use the bureau, but I can’t draw suspicion. We keep this in-house.”

Savior nodded slowly, processing her words, until his father spoke again.

“Now she leading while your dumbass sits there smoking like a bitch.”

Savior froze mid-pull, the insult slicing through whatever calm he had left.

He stood slowly, towering over the table.

“Sav—wait!” Olivia called, but it was too late.

He was already gone.

Out the doors. Down the hall. Into the heat.

His father didn’t know the weight he carried every fucking day. The blood. The scars. The sacrifices. He led this family into a new era— built this empire. And the one time he wasn’t on the front line, it unraveled .

He needed to think.

No—he needed peace.

And there was only one person who gave that to him.

Someone whose touch grounded him. Whose voice silenced the war inside his chest.

Allure .

He hit the gas before the smoke even cleared behind him.

Right now, he needed her. Because she was the only thing that could keep him from becoming the very monster they were hunting.

???

Ahzii was curled up on her couch eating a bowl of fruit, Blindspot playing on Netflix.

It was a show she and William had started together but never finished.

When it popped up under her “Continue Watching,” she hesitated, but hit play.

Even though William was gone, watching it now brought a strange comfort.

It reminded her of the quiet, intimate moments they used to share, back when the world felt a little more still.

“I wish I could beat ass like that, Ace,” she muttered, tossing a piece of watermelon in the air. Her Rottweiler snatched it midair and plopped back down by her foot like he knew what was happening in the show.

The doorbell rang, slicing through her thoughts.

She frowned. Security never let anyone through without alerting her first. The only ones with unannounced access were her mother, Kyre, and A’Mazi. Kyre had just left… maybe she forgot something?

It rang again.

“Bitch, why are you ringing the bell? You literally have a—” Ahzii swung open the door, but her sentence died in her throat.

Savior stood there holding a bouquet of roses.

“Savior? What are you doing here? How did you even know where—”

He didn’t let her finish. He pressed his lips to hers and lifted her effortlessly with one arm, carrying her inside as he kicked the door shut behind him.

“Sav—” she tried to get his name out in between kisses.

When he finally let her breathe and set her down, she blinked up at him, catching her breath.

“Wassup, Allure,” he smirked.

She rolled her eyes, trying to act annoyed but already feeling her walls melting. “How do you know where I live? And how the hell did you get past security?”

“You met your man, Allure?” he asked, cocky and calm.

“I’m reporting Nick.”

“I’m his boss. File your complaint with me,” he said, settling on her couch like he owned it.

Ahzii’s eyes widened. “Wait. What?”

Ace ran up, tail wagging hard as Savior knelt to pet him.

“Wassup, son-son. Your mama trying to keep me from you, but it’s cool—I’ll see her in court. ”

Ace practically melted into Savior’s hand, and Ahzii sighed, already regretting letting him in.

“Back to you saying you’re Nick’s boss…” she prompted.

“You moved into a place without knowing who owns the building?”

“I didn’t think it was important to look up the damn owner,” she said, annoyed. “It was nice, in my price range, secure... Now I gotta move because it’s owned by a madman.”

Savior laughed, the sound low and amused.

“Yeah, you do. I don’t like not living under the same roof as my wife.”

She shook her head, laughing despite herself.

This man was insane. And maybe—just maybe—that was becoming her favorite part.

“So, you came over for your car?” Ahzii asked, half-joking. “I was gonna bring it back. When I was done with it, of course.”

Unknowingly, she found herself laughing and joking with Savior more than she had with anyone in the last year, and that unsettled her just as much as it comforted her.

“I came to see my wife.” Savior grinned. “Keep the car as long as you want. These are for you, too.” He held out a bouquet of red roses.

“Thanks,” Ahzii said, voice flat as she took the flowers and set them aside, trying not to show how they made her heart flip.

Savior glanced at the paused screen on her TV. “What you watching?”

“It’s called Blindspot . You heard of it?”

“Nah. But it look good off this scene.” He gestured at the TV. “Press play—she about to beat that nigga ass, I know it.”

He pulled her legs into his lap without warning, his hands starting a gentle massage over her feet.

She froze. Not because of the massage—it felt too good—but because that show... that moment... wasn’t meant for anyone else. That was hers and William’s.

“Nah.” She cleared her throat. “Let’s watch something else. It’s in the middle of the season—you’re not gonna understand.”

“That’s not the reason,” Savior said, still massaging her feet.

Her eyes narrowed. “How you gon’ tell me what my reason is?”

“Let’s just watch something else, Allure.” His tone didn’t waver, didn’t match the sudden tension building in hers.

“No. Say what’s on your mind since you know so much,” she snapped, her voice a little too sharp, the wall going back up.

Savior turned to her, calm as ever, never stopping his hands. “Allure... I was taught to read people young. The second I said ‘press play,’ you tensed up like I just proposed to you.”

She didn’t speak, but her silence confirmed more than words.

“So my guess is, you used to watch this show with somebody you loved, and watching it with someone else feels like betrayal.” His voice stayed soft, firm. Knowing.

Her heart paused—he was dead-on, and it scared her.

“You swear you know everything,” she muttered, rolling her eyes, trying to pull her feet away.

He didn’t let them go.

“I don’t,” he said. “And I’m not here to take up space that still belongs to someone else. I respect your boundaries, Allure. I’m forever on your timing.”

That stopped her. Made her breath catch.

Savior wasn’t trying to force his way into her healing. He was just… here. Present. Patient.

And for the first time in a long time, that felt safe.

As Ahzii flipped through shows, pretending to be undecided, she kept glancing at Savior. Something was off. His body was here—massaging her feet like he had all the time in the world—but his spirit? Somewhere else.

She debated whether to ask. Asking meant caring. And she wasn’t supposed to care. But her mouth moved before her mind caught up.

“Savior…”

His eyes shifted from the TV to hers as his hands slowed on her legs.

“What’s wrong? You’re more tense than usual.”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “So you be paying attention to me, huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “Fuck it. Forget I asked.”

He chuckled, low and gravelly. “Got into it with my father. Over business.”

She gave a small nod. Sarai had already hinted at the strained relationship between Savior and their father.

“Must’ve been a bad argument?”

Instead of answering, Savior plucked a piece of fruit from the bowl with his eyes.

“Can I get one?”

“Only if you elaborate on what your father did that has you upset.”

That made him chuckle again, a little bitter this time.

“It’s nothing new. Nothing I do ever satisfies that man.

I could run the whole fucking world and he’d still find a way to say I failed.

I’ve done more for this family in four years than he has in ten, and I still don’t get my credit.

But I’m used to the shit. He’s been like that my whole life. ”

His voice was calm, but his jaw tightened, and Ahzii saw right through it.

“That doesn’t make it okay, Sav. No matter how much you brush it off, it does bother you. His opinion matters. Not hearing what you need to hear from your father creates a hole—one that don’t just go away.”

Savior leaned back like her words hit too close. “Watermelon, Allure.”

She rolled her eyes but fed him the fruit anyway.

He took it slow, dragging it out as his mouth pulled it from her fingers, then sucked the juice from her fingertips.

Her breath caught, arousal flickering between her legs.

She looked away, hiding the heat rising to her cheeks as he casually went back to massaging her feet.

“What about your mom? Does she support your decisions?” she asked, needing the distraction.

“Pineapple this time?”

She gave a quiet laugh. “Only if you answer. Honestly.”

“All I know how to be is honest, Allure.”

She waited, eyes on him.

“My mom carries the guilt. She wasn’t the mother I needed her to be. My father ruled the house, and she never challenged him. She watched me break and kept quiet.”

“Damn…” was all Ahzii could manage. Her heart ached for the little boy who had to become a man too soon.

“Pineapple, please,” he said, bringing the tension back down.

She laughed again. “Damn, and they say you’re patient.”

She picked up a piece to hand it to him, but he leaned in, stopping her.

“I want you to feed it to me… with your mouth.”

His voice was low, smoky. Her spine tingled.

Ahzii hesitated, but the heat between them left no room for restraint. She placed the pineapple on her tongue and leaned forward. Savior met her halfway, his mouth covering hers, tongue sliding in to claim the fruit.

But he didn’t stop there.

He kissed her slow and deep, drinking in every drop of pineapple juice she had left. His lips moved with purpose—hungry and intimate—until a moan escaped her throat, soft and uncontrollable.

When he finally pulled away, her eyes were half-lidded, heart racing.