18
Quest
Bryce’s intel turned out to be real. While Mega wasn’t at his house, that stash on Benning Road was fully intact. About half the cocaine Dimonte stole from my trucks was still sitting there in vacuum-sealed bricks stacked behind a false wall in the basement. There was cash too, maybe forty grand in rubber-banded stacks stuffed in a duffel bag, but nothing else. Nigga must’ve been spooked when he ran because leaving product behind like that is something you only do when you think staying is worse than losing it.
He’d left a couple of young Vipers in charge who opened fire the second Mekhi and I came through the door. They were young and scared and their aim was trash. Ours wasn’t. We put both of them down before the third clip dropped and called the clean-up crew before the bodies hit room temperature. That was probably the last time Mekhi and I would ever collaborate on anything. I promised him I’d find Mega and that’s where it ends between us.
I looked at that cocaine for a long time before we left. Half of what Dimonte stole. Which meant half of what Rios had been moving through my trucks. I filed that away because it might be useful later and I wasn’t in the habit of throwing away leverage.
The next morning I called Serenity. Straight to voicemail. I called again. Voicemail. Third time, same thing. My sister was either asleep, ignoring me, or didn’t have her phone on, and based on our history it was probably the middle one.
I traced her location because I’m her brother and that’s what we do in this family whether she likes it or not. Her phone pinged at Rita’s house, which was the best possible place she could be right now so I relaxed a little.
I drove over there because some conversations need to happen face to face and this was three of them at once. I needed to check on my grandmother, check on my sister, and ask Serenity about Mega’s habits. That’s a full afternoon at Rita’s, which also meant I was eating whatever she had on the stove because Rita was always throwing down in the kitchen.
Rita opened the door before I knocked because she’d heard the car in the driveway. She was blind but that woman heard everything. I swear her ears had gotten sharper since her eyes went. She was wearing a housecoat and slippers and her gray hair was in two braids and she looked like a sweet old lady but she was so much more than that.
“There’s my oldest grandson who only visits when he needs something,” she said, reaching up to touch my face the way she always did. Her fingers moved across my jaw and my cheekbones like she was reading me. “You look tired. And you’ve lost weight. Are you eating?”
“I’m eating, Grandma.”
“You’re lying but I’ll let it slide. Come in.”
I sat at the kitchen table while she settled into the chair across from me. She was right. I wasn’t eating much because I had been on the move. Food seemed like distraction when I had the casino, Mega and Mehar on my plate.
“Where’s Serenity?” I asked.
“She went to the carryout. Should be back soon. She’s going to be staying with me for a little bit. Did you know that?”
“Nah, I didn’t. I been… busy.”
“Busy.” Rita folded her hands on the table. She couldn’t see me but I could feel her eyes on me anyway. That was Rita’s gift. She didn’t need sight to see through you. “You’ve always been busy, Quest. Busy running, busy building, busy handling everybody’s problems except your own. When are you gonna sit still long enough to deal with what’s actually eating at you?”
“What’s eating at me is a long list, Grandma.”
“I’m not talking about the business or whoever you’re fighting with this week. I’m talking about your father. About finding out Alexander wasn’t your blood. You haven’t dealt with that, baby. I can hear it in your voice every time you call. You’re carrying it around like a suitcase you won’t put down.”
“If it ain’t one thing it’s another,” I said.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one I got right now. There’s a lot going on. Mehar was kidnapped. I got her back but the woman who took her is still out there and my best friend is protecting her. The nigga who shot up our casino is in the wind.”
“Lord.” Rita shook her head slowly. “Those Ali girls are trouble.”
“Ain’t they.”
“They seem worth it though.” A small smile crossed her face. “I gave your grandfather even more trouble than that and he still married me twice.”
“What?! Twice?”
“That’s another story for another time, boy.” She waved her hand like she was shooing a fly. “But you, you have a lot on your plate. And you have to grieve Alex not being your father or it’s gonna eat you alive. Grief don’t care how busy you are. Itwaits until you’re quiet and then it eats you from the inside. I’ve watched it happen to too many men in this family.”
“I’ll grieve by putting a bullet in Vivica’s head.”
“And how you gonna do that? She’s locked up.”
“Come on, Grandma.” I leaned back in my chair and extended my hand toward her. “You know I’m resourceful. I learned from the best.”
