Her voice faded behind me as I pushed through the crowd. She’d be pissed. Might even stop fucking with me after this. Didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the woman walking toward the parking garage with shopping bags swinging from her arms like she didn’t have a care in the world.
I watched Zahara and the other woman exit through the glass doors. Followed at a distance, keeping enough bodies between us that she wouldn’t notice. She was laughing at something her friend said. Living her best life.
That was about to end.
They got into a nice car. Not the piece of shit she used to drive when she lived in Southeast. Something newer. Something expensive.
Prime’s money, probably. The Banks family treating her like a queen while my son’s blood was still on her hands.
“I jogged to my car—black Tahoe, tinted windows, the one I used when I didn’t want to be seen”
Found Zahara’s car heading for the exit. Fell in behind her. Not too close. Not too far. Just enough to keep her in sight.
She turned right. I turned right.
She switched lanes. I switched lanes.
The light ahead turned yellow. Zahara’s car slowed.
I closed the gap. One car length between us now. Close enough that she’d see me in her mirror if she looked. Close enough that she’d feel me back here.
I wanted her to feel it.
Wanted her heart to race and her palms to sweat. Wanted her to know that death was riding her bumper and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
The light turned green. She hit the gas.
So did I.
She had no idea who was behind her. No fucking idea that the last face she’d ever see was already in her rearview mirror.
27
ZAINAB
“Zainy, what’s happening? Who is that?”
Mehar’s voice was high and tight, her hands gripping the dashboard as I weaved through traffic, the black Tahoe filling my rearview mirror like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
“It’s Zoo.” I ran a yellow light, heard horns blaring behind me. “Nigel’s father.”
“Nigel? Who is that?”
“It’s the boy Yusef killed.”
The words came out flat. Matter-of-fact. Like I was reading a grocery list instead of confessing my nephew’s darkest secret.
Mehar’s head snapped toward me. “What?”
“Nigel was bullying him. Had been for months. It got physical. Yusef…” I swerved around a minivan, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my teeth. “Yusef shot him in self-defense. But Zoo doesn’t see it that way. He’s pissed I helped cover it up.”
“Yusef?” Mehar’s voice cracked. “He’s twelve years old, Zainab. He’s a CHILD.”
“I know.”
“He killed someone?”
“I KNOW.” I checked the mirror again. The Tahoe was closer now. One car length. Half a car length. “And if we don’t lose this man, we’re going to be next.”
