Page 100 of Riot’s Revenge

My phone buzzed against the desk and my heart jumped before I could stop it.

Lucy’s name appeared on the screen. Disappointment settled heavily in my stomach, and Jenna saw it. “Go out tonight.”

“What?”

“Get out of the apartment. See friends. Do something that doesn’t involve sitting around waiting for him.”

I opened Lucy’s message.

Lucy: Girls’ night? I’ve got wine and Kate’s threatening to bring karaoke.

Despite everything, the corner of my mouth lifted. I typed back before I could change my mind.

Me: God, yes. But nobody is singing.

Lucy replied immediately.

Lucy: Coward.

For the first time all day, some of the tension eased from my shoulders. Maybe Jenna was right. I needed a night where I wasn’t Riot’s wife or the nurse who patched up members of the Dead Knights. I needed to be Maria again.

Kate arrived at Lucy and Reaper’s house carrying three bottles of wine and enough snacks to feed the entire club.

“You planning on staying for a month?” I asked as she dropped the bags onto the kitchen counter.

“You say that now, but when you’re drunk and desperate for chips, you’ll thank me.”

“I’m driving.”

Kate chuckled. “That sounds like a problem for sober Maria.”

Lucy appeared behind her with takeout containers stacked against her chest. “Somebody help me before I drop dinner.”

I took the containers while Kate went searching for glasses.

Within twenty minutes, the coffee table was covered in food, and Lucy had dragged every blanket she owned into the living room.

It was exactly what I needed. No leather. No guns. Just three women eating too much Chinese food while arguing over what to watch.

“We are not watching another serial killer documentary,” Kate announced.

Lucy reached for the remote. “Why not?”

“Because you spend the entire thing explaining how you would’ve caught him sooner.”

I laughed so unexpectedly that wine almost came out of my nose.

Kate pointed at me. “See? Maria agrees with me.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t need to.”

Lucy threw a cushion at her.

For a while, everything felt normal. Kate told us about Finn attempting to fix a leaking tap and ended up flooding half the bathroom. Lucy complained about Reaper leaving his boots in the middle of every doorway like he was deliberately trying to kill her.

I laughed until my stomach hurt, and for a few hours I forgot about the cold sheets waiting at home.