Page 69 of Traitor

The final blow lands without warning.

She smacks the coffee cup out of my hand, sending the remaining hot liquid splattering all over my already burned arm. It hurts like a motherfucker, but I barely flinch before—

BANG.

The door slams in my face. Hard.

I stand there for a second, staring at the wood, breathing heavily, processing the absolute failure of this interaction.

Well. That went about as well as expected.

Ely

I seethe, glaring up at the ceiling like the heavens have any fucking answers for me. That stupid bastard with his stupid fucking face. Bones has no idea what he's just stepped into. He should've stayed the hell away. Now? Now, I'm going to make him regret ever coming after me.

I have a few days of reprieve. A few days to prepare. To build the perfect plan.

I grab my bag and hurry out to my car, bypassing my usual route to the office. Amy rescheduled my morning meeting. Good. Because right now? I need Ria.

Ria is the kind of woman you never see coming until it's too late. Dressed in pastels, wrapped in sugar and honey, all bright smiles and sweet laughter. But underneath? A predator. A nightmare in pink lipstick.

I find her in the coffee shop, hummingOver the Rainbowto herself, wearing her signature pink apron, her golden curls bouncing as she wipes down the counter. She looks like a goddamn cherub sent to Earth to spread joy and cupcakes. Big blue eyes, dimples, innocence incarnate.

It's a lie.

Ria is a little psychopath. A dangerous, smiling, poison-wielding psychopath.

Her father ran a cult that worshiped venomous snakes. Every Sunday, since she was six, she was ‘gifted’ to a snake to be bitten, her father watching, calling it a test of faith. By fifteen, she had enough. She slit his throat during one of his sermons, let the cult members watch him bleed out, then sat in court, not guilty by reason of self-defense.

Trauma does funny things to people.

For Ria? It made her obsessed with poisons. Every plant, every toxin, every lethal little secret Mother Nature had to offer.

We bonded over coffee addiction, late-night benders, and the stupid decision I made one night to tell her my past. Stupid because I was in witness protection and I was supposed to keep my mouth tightly shut. But it went well. She told me her story and that's how a true friendship was born.

The coffee shop is empty, the morning rush long gone. It'll be packed at lunch, but for now, it's just us.

"Tempe!" Ria calls out, cheerful as always, her grin wide. But there's something mischievous in her eyes. "Guess what? I had an interesting customer this morning! Tall, brooding biker, walking around with a death wish. Since he tipped so well, I decided to put something special in his coffee."

I raise a brow, heart already hammering.

"He tried to give that coffee to me," I say, voice flat.

Her eyes go wide. Fake horror.

"Oh no! I hope you didn't drink it!"

"No chance in hell. I wouldn't take anything from him." I tilt my head. "Did he just buy the one?"

"Nope. Bought three," she says, her smile turning sharper. "I made all of them special."

I can't help the laugh that bubbles out of me. She's a menace. A deadly, deranged menace.

Ria leans against the counter, eyes gleaming. "So, what's the occasion? Why do you have that‘I'm about to ruin someone's life’look on your face?"

I sigh, dragging a hand through my hair. "As you figured out, Bones found me."

Her nose wrinkles. "Ew. But yeah, it wasn't hard to make the connection, hence the special coffee. Small town, I haven't seen a biker here in... well, ever! And given what you told me..."

---