Page 105 of Endo

Silence.

His men scatter, shouting as they retreat to their trucks. No one even looks back.

The gun slips from my hands, falling to the sand as I drop to my knees. My chest heaves, my hands trembling as the weight of what I’ve done crashes over me.

“Lena.”

I look up to see Reign kneeling beside me, his eyes dark and searching as he reaches for me, his touch is steady as he pulls me into him.

“It’s over,” he murmurs, his voice low but firm. “You did what you had to.”

I nod, but the tears come anyway, hot and unstoppable.

Behind us, the others rally around Revel. Wolfe and Talon secure the area, making sure Owen’s men are gone for good. Cece hovers close to Revel, her face pale but set with determination as she presses a towel against the bullet wound on his arm.

“Ambulance is on the way,” Talon says, his voice tight.

Revel grins weakly, his head lolling to the side. “Took you long enough,” he jokes, his voice faint but teasing.

“Shut up, Revel,” Cece snaps, her voice cracking. “You’re not allowed to die. I’ll kill you myself if you try.”

His laugh is soft, but it’s there. “Noted, Cece.”

Reign pulls me closer, his hand brushing over my hair as I try to steady my breathing.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the fight is over.

And this time, we won.

38

REIGN

Ride Out - Kid Ink, Tyga, Wale, YG, Rich Homie Quan

The garage feels lighterthese days. Less tension, fewer shadows. Life—for the first time in a long time—feels... manageable. Not easy, but good. Simple. It’s a feeling I’m still getting used to, like a wound that’s finally starting to heal.

I sit on the edge of the workbench, a wrench in my hand, turning it absently as I watch Revel lean against his bike. His arm’s still in a sling, the bullet he took for me keeping him out of commission for a while. Not that it’s dulled his tongue.

“You still owe me for taking that bullet,” he says, his tone casual, but the smirk tugging at his lips gives him away.

I toss the wrench onto the bench with a clatter, shaking my head. “Oh, yeah? What do you want? My bike? My soul?”

He chuckles, his grin widening. “Nah, bruh. I’m good with watching you grovel over Lena. It’s more entertaining.”

I roll my eyes, though there’s no real heat in it. “I’m not groveling.”

“Sure you’re not,” he quips, arching an eyebrow. “Just packing up her entire life and moving it into your apartment because she bats those pretty eyes at you?”

“She didn’t bat her eyes,” I protest. “She needed a place. Her apartment was trashed. You were there.”

Revel snickers, shaking his head. “Convenient excuse. You’re whipped, and you know it.”

I don’t argue. Hell, maybe I am. Moving Lena in wasn’t something I had to think about. Watching her sift through the wreckage of her apartment after Owen’s men tore it apart was like watching her world crumble all over again. She tried to play it cool, brushing it off like it didn’t matter, but I could see the cracks beneath the surface.

It wasn’t a question of if she’d stay with me. It was a question of how fast I could make it happen.

The team didn’t hesitate to step up either. The day after we finished clearing out her place, they showed up with a new fish tank—a big one, top-of-the-line. It doesn’t replace Blue, but when Lena saw it, her smile was the kind of thing you’d do anything to protect. We named the new fish Turbo, for Cruz. It felt right, like a small way to honor him without letting the grief swallow us whole.

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