Chapter 36 Mekhi （Interlude）
(An Interlude)
The night pressed close against the windows of my bedroom, the little city spread out and alive below, lights blinking, horns honking, sirens wailing somewhere in the distance.
Even after everything, the sound of emergency vehicles still had me tense, jaw locked, like my nerves hadn’t caught up to the fact that everything was supposed to be good now.
Good. Right.
I stood in front of the glass, a tumbler of whiskey in my hand I hadn’t touched.
The ice had melted to nothing while my mind twisted and turned.
Trell’s name felt like venom. The raid disguised as a bomb threat helped spread the poison.
My mother’s lie sat at the center. All of it was connected, but I couldn’t see the picture being drawn.
Carlos’s voice echoed in my head. Sometimes the truth don’t come from the people you expect.
Medgar.
I hadn’t thought about him in years. I remembered him at my father’s funeral, eyes red, face torn up. He’d disappeared into the system not long after, locked up on financial charges, the last of my father’s family with whom I’d had contact. My father died and they buried us with him.
Something about Carlos’s tone stuck with me.
I walked over to my desk, still cluttered with reports from the day, contracts I hadn’t signed, things that used to feel important. Now they just looked like noise.
I hated noise.
Grabbing my phone, I selected a familiar contact. She answered quickly.
“Kimora?”
Her voice came through, tired but polite. “Yes, Mr. Venzant”
“Get me clearance for a visit to the federal prison at Pollock. I need to see Medgar Venzant.”
She hesitated. “That’s your uncle, right? Should I tell them what it’s regarding?”
“Nah,” I said. “Just set it up. Sooner the better.”
“Understood.”
The line went dead. I stood there for a while longer.
“Mekhi?” Farrah’s voice was soft, sleep-warm.
“What’s up, Little Thug?”
“Come sleep with me.”
I felt myself smile. It was the best offer I’d had all day.
“I’m coming.”
I told myself to put the Gillian stuff—and myself—to bed for the night.
Something in my chest twisted tight as I thought about the instructions I’d given Kimora.
I didn’t know if I was walking toward the truth or straight into another trap.
But I was done waiting on answers. If my mama wouldn’t give them to me, I’d dig them out myself, even if it meant getting blood on my hands all over again.