Page 153 of Riot

I didn’t turn at first. I couldn’t. Shame glued my feet to the floor.

But then I felt her.

Mimi stepped inside, slow. Real slow. Her eyes landed on the body, then moved to me—still holding the gun like I was frozen in a moment I’d never come back from.

For a second, I thought she might scream. Thought she’d drop our baby, back away, say I’d gone too far.

But she didn’t.

She smiled.

Just a little.

“You really did it.”

I swallowed, throat raw. “I had to.”

“You do got it in you,” she whispered, she complimentde.

She stepped closer, heels clicking against the floor, calm as ever. Then she looked me dead in the eye and said, “Now you gotta get to Creed and Riot. End it. For Malia. For Us.”

I nodded, slow. The weight of what I’d just done was pressing against my lungs, heavy and suffocating.

“I will.”

But deep down, I didn’t know if I was climbing toward justice, or just digging my own grave one bullet at a time.

Chapter 52

RIOT

Rollo still wasn’t answering his fucking phone. Three missed calls. Two texts. A voice memo. Nothing.

I paced the living room of my brownstone like a caged panther, tension pulling at my muscles. My mind kept flipping through scenarios—none of them good. Rollo didn’t ghost. Not like this. Especially not after a hit. Not after we cleaned up Boaz.

And I needed to talk to him.

Because what Allure just dropped on me? It changed everything.

It wasn’t Boaz who’d sent shooters to the winery. It was her brother, Carmelo. When I killed Lionel, I didn’t even factor in his bitch-made ass. He’s always been a non-factor. After the death of his daddy their empire pretty much died. He couldn’t run shit. Hell, his daddy barely could.

But now?

He was on my fucking list.

Creed sat on the edge of my couch, silent but alert, hands steepled in front of him like he was trying to hold the whole damn world together with knuckles and willpower.

“You sure about this intel?” he asked finally, lifting his head. “Carmelo?”

“She’s sure,” I muttered. “Allure said the guy she recognized used to run with her brother. And after what Lionel did? After finding out her whole family knew and let it happen?” I shook my head, jaw tight. “Yeah. She’s sure.”

Creed sighed through his nose. “So we hit the wrong target.”

“No,” I snapped. “Boaz needed to die either way. That sick fucka was overdue. But Carmelo hit my business. My people. That makes him a different kind of problem.”

Creed nodded. “So where is he?”

“Allure’s been working her cousin Diori for info. She cracked this morning. Said he’s got a crib in Flatbush. Real low-key. Like he don’t wanna be found.”

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