Chapter 190

Alyssa POV

The house we pull up to hours later actually looks... normal.

Not some abandoned, half-collapsed shithole like I’d pictured. No broken windows. No graffiti. No front door hanging off the hinges.

Just a small, weathered house tucked in the woods, its cracked driveway swallowed by weeds, a wraparound porch sagging a little but still holding steady.

It looks like a real family lived here once.

Like kids ran barefoot across the porch.

Like someone fell in love sitting in a rocking chair, watching the sun sink into the trees.

The image squeezes something deep and aching inside me.

Zuri.

I want her to have that kind of life.

A real one.

Like the one Nina gave her in my dream.

The second the van stops, King and Niko jump out, weapons drawn, clearing the perimeter with smooth, silent precision.

Mason stays with me, his hand resting on my knee like he’s ready to throw himself in front of a bullet