This half-collapsed house wasn’t far from the shop—forgotten, empty, but still standing as if it had something to prove. Dealers had used it for years. A hole in the world no one would miss. I slit the throat of the man inside, then lit it without thinking. I watched it go up like a matchstick palace, the flames licking high and hot, and I stood there until the heat got too close and the happiness settled in my chest.
Rio found me. He’d followed me, watched my back, and didn’t yell. Didn’t lay into me. Just stood beside me in the dark, watching the building crack and groan as it fell. Then, he’d grabbed my arm, pulled me toward the truck, and said quietly, “You done?”
I hadn’t answered. Couldn’t. He hadn’t waited for me to explain; he told me not to be so fucking stupid and drove us back to Redcars in silence. Later, when I’d stopped shaking, when I could finally look him in the eye again, he said, “You want to burn something, you can. But youhaveto talk to me first, and I’ll have your back, and you have control. That’s the deal.”
“And if I don’t?”
He’d stared at me, then made me promise. And I did.
Then Stockton had happened. Somehow, he’d taken control of me and made himself my safe place.
Now, sitting on my bed like it was his right, he was waiting and letting the silence stretch until I filled it.
“I did what I had to,” I said finally, not quite looking at him. I’d lost control, seen Ricardo with his hands on Killian, and the red mist had descended. I’d only been there to watch, following up on a patternI’d analyzed with three missing men, and somehow, it had become a rescue mission. I only meant to get them away. I hadn’t meant to kill.
But Ricardo had touched Killian.
How did I explain that to Rio?
Rio’s eyes didn’t waver. “Don’t bullshit me, Jamie.”
“I’m not.”
“How many did you kill?”
“Three, people-traffickers. I burned to cover it up is all.” I glanced up at him. “I didn’t go there intending to burn.”
He didn’t move, didn’t flinch. Just breathed slowly and deeply.
“You could’ve told me where you were going.”
“I didn’t plan on burning anything.”
“Youfeltit coming.”
I didn’t deny it. I’d felt the need for days, and part of me had known I was going to let it out, but I thought I’d have time to talk to Rio, to keep my promise to tell him.
Rio sighed. “I don’t care what it is you need or why. I need to know so I can protect you.”
My throat felt tight.
“I know,” I said. “I do.”
His hand touched my shoulder gently—no squeeze, no lecture. And for a second, I could breathe again. “Tell me what happened.”
“Killian was there,” I said quietly.
Rio’s eyes widened, not in surprise—more as if he’d been expecting that name to come up sooner or later.
“And?” he asked, voice still calm. StillRio. I took another sip of coffee. It had cooled, but I barely tasted it. The words sat heavy on my tongue, not because I was ashamed, but because saying them out loud meant they were real. I couldn’t pretend it was just a moment, something that hadn’t sunk its teeth in.
“Jamie, talk to me? Did he see you kill? Did he see you burn?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus, Jamie!”
“And I went to his place,” I blurted. “After.”
