Page 148 of Riot

I pulled back slightly, looking up at him. “There’s something else.”

His brow ticked. “Go ahead.”

“The attack at the vineyard…” I swallowed. “It wasn’t Boaz.”

His body went still. All the heat in the room shifted.

“I know who one of the shooters was,” I said. “The one who whispered my name before he died. I saw his picture in an old album at my aunt’s place. It was Keontay. My brother Carmelo’s best friend when we were kids.”

Riot’s face darkened instantly.

“I didn’t put it together until I saw that photo. And then my brother called me to tell me that he knew I was at the vineyard. He was involved. I know he was.”

He stepped back, running a hand down his face. “You sure?”

I nodded. “Positive.”

“I wished you would’ve told me that at the time.”

Something shifted in his eyes. Gone was the softness from a minute ago. That tender rage he reserved just for me. What replaced it was colder. Sharper. Something old and dangerous rising to the surface.

He looked like war.

“I’m gonna find him,” he said, voice flat. “And I’m gonna kill him.”

My stomach flipped.

“Riot—”

“No.” He held up a hand. “He tried to kill me. He tried to killyou. At my event. With press, investors, politicians watching. That was a hit.”

I stayed quiet, heart pounding.

“He doesn’t get a pass for being your brother,” Riot growled. “He doesn’t get a pass foranything.”

I nodded slowly. “I’m not asking you to spare him.”

His jaw twitched.

“I just needed to tell you the truth.”

His hand found my face again, rough palm against my cheek. “You did.”

He kissed me then—deep, possessive, full of that wordless promise he carried in his bones.

When he pulled back, his voice was quiet. Dangerous. Absolute.

“I’m gonna put your past in the ground,” he said. “And then we’ll figure out the future.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. And by the way, Boaz and Avi are dead now.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I swayed on my feet.

"What?"

"They're dead. Both of them." His eyes stayed on mine, watching my reaction. "Handled it tonight."

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