Page 146 of Riot

And I believed him.

For once, I believed the devil.

But that didn’t mean he got to walk.

“This bullet ain’t for the winery,” I said quietly, lifting the gun.

Boaz’s eyes widened. “Wait?—”

“This is for Allure.”

One clean shot to the forehead.

His body jerked, then slumped. Blood rolled slow down his temple.

The machine beeped once and then went still.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the body.

This was justice.

Not revenge.

He caged her. Hid her. Stole her life.

And now he was gone.

“Clear the place,” I barked to the crew behind me. “Let’s go.”

They moved fast. Silencers still up. Gloves on. No prints. No noise. We were out in six minutes.

By the time we hit the van again, I was the last to climb in.

I didn’t say a word on the ride back.

Because the mission was done.

But the war?

The war was still unraveling.

And I didn’t know if I’d ever find peace again. Not until she looked me in the eye… and said my name like it still meant something.

Chapter 50

Allure

I sat at the kitchen counter, my fingers wrapped around a mug of chamomile tea I hadn’t touched.

It was cold now.

The sun had already gone down, and the brownstone was quiet. And it felt empty without his presence. I missed him so much and it had only been day. He wasn’t home and I wasn’t sure where he was. He was probably out handling business.

But when he walked through that door, I was going to tell him everything.

No more hiding. No more guilt dragging me in opposite directions until I split in two.

He deserved the truth.

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