Zeke
Monday | 3:15am
Every breath wasa knife to the ribs and every step sent a jolt of pain through my body. The ER doctor had mumbled something about bruised ribs, a possible hairline fracture, and stitched me up. Then, he gave me some weak-ass painkillers and a list of things to avoid. But none of that mattered, not with everything at stake right now. The pain just proved I was still in the fight.
“Try not to exert yourself too much, Mr. Montgomery.”
Right. It wasn’t that easy when your daughter’s been kidnapped by a cold-blooded bastard, and your past is catching up faster than your prayers. The longest fucking day in history.
I stumbled through the front door, the creak of the hinges cutting into the quiet like a confession. The moment I stepped inside, I felt Evelyn’s presence before I saw her. She stood dead center in the foyer like this was my judgment day in a long, silk robe. Her arms were crossed, her long hair was wrapped up and her face was stone.
“Where have you been?” I didn’t answer. My jaw ached too damn much, and I didn’t have the patience. Her gaze dropped to my face. “And what the hell happened to you?”
Still, I said nothing. I limped past her, every step like dragging a cross I’d built myself, heading for the liquor cabinet in the living room like it was the only altar that still listened.
“Ezekiel.” Evelyn’s voice rose behind me. “Don’t walk away from me.”
I reached the cabinet, grabbed tequila, and took a shaky gulp. Slowly, I held the bottle. “Where’s the necklace, Evelyn?”
She paused mid-step. I watched her left eye twitch enough for me to see the guilt. “…Excuse me?”
“You fucking heard me.” I took a slow sip, letting the burn remind me I was still alive. “The one I bought you on our fifteenth anniversary. The one I damn near drained my account for. The one I just tried to pawn to help get our daughter back, only to find out it was a fucking fake!”
Her jaw tightened. “And what were you doing pawning my jewelry in the first place?” I could see the disgust blooming behind her eyes, the venom curling around her words like smoke.
I glared, hands shaking. “Don’t act surprised, Evie. It’s why your parents cut you off. The shady preacher!”
“And don’t act like you didn’t know what I’d do when you lied to me.” Her voice was low now, deadly. “I sold the real one the day I found those hotel receipts in your coat pocket. Remember? Your little weekend revival in Charlotte?” She tilted her head. “The blonde bitch? See, I didn’t confront you. I didn’t scream or shout. I didn’t expose you to the church. I just handled it.”
I blinked. “You… sold it?”
“I sure did,” she spat. “I sold it to pay off the mortgage you were months behind on and didn’t tell me. You were out here selling salvation while we were drowning in foreclosures and shut-off notices. I did what was necessary because you left me no choice. Where is all of our money, Zeke?”
“You meanmyfucking money!”
“Where is it? Huh? Blown at the racing track? The underground gambling place or…” Evelyn stepped closer to me with her face screwing up something terrible. “…or has your double life finally caught up with you?”
I took a step back, but the weight of her words hit harder than any shove could. My mouth opened, but nothing came out. My jaw clenched, and I felt like the room was closing in around me.
Evelyn crossed her arms, disgust curling her lip. “You think I didn’t know about Tanya in Detroit? Or Lisa in Baton Rouge? You thought you were slick. Preaching in pulpits by day andsliding into cheap motels by night. And don’t get me started on the son in Tallahassee.”
My eyes snapped to hers. “What son?”
She laughed bitterly. “Don’t insult me, Zeke. Renee IGetMoney Jones posted the boy on Facebook three years ago. He’s the spitting image of you. You had the nerve to comment with a Bible verse and then delete it like that was going to erase your guilt.”
I rubbed my face, sweat starting to bead at my temple. “You don’t know what you’re talking…”
“I do,” she cut in sharply. “I know everything. I know about the hush money you sent out last spring. I know you dipped into the backup account to pay off a bookie, and there’s hardly anything left! I know you’ve been losing thousands trying to double our savings at those card tables with men who will kill you when you can’t pay.”
“Evelyn...”
“Save it.” Her voice broke then, and for a second, I saw the pain beneath all that fire. “You think I stayed because I’m weak? Because I didn’t know? No, Zeke. I stayed because I thought we had something worth salvaging. I thought maybe, just maybe, if I prayed hard enough, fasted long enough, turned the other cheek enough that you’d come back to me. To us. Maybe that’ll never happen.”
Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.
“You broke me, Zeke. Over and over. Quietly. Publicly. Spiritually. And I let you. But I’m done pretending this is holy.I’m done covering for you. I’m done lying for you. I’m done trying to revive something God himself walked away from a long time ago.”
I staggered back, breath knocked out of me. “You don’t mean that.”
Evelyn was silent for a moment. Then, slowly, she walked over and looked down at me like I was a stranger. She stepped closer, calm now, deadly in her resolve. “You sicken me. So go on, keep preaching lies. Keep chasing shadows. Just know you’ve finally lost the only real thing you had left.” Then she turned and walked toward the door without looking back.
She left me standing there in a quiet house that used to be a home, holding a bottle of liquor that couldn’t drown a damn thing anymore, surrounded by failure. And it hit me that I was just another broken man trying to pray himself out of a grave he dug with his own greed and lies.
