Chapter 40
My office was too damn quiet.
That was the first thing I noticed. It was a couple of days after my meeting with Medgar.
I was in my office to bring together a team I trusted implicitly to finish this shit up.
I didn’t like the silence of the men here.
It wasn’t the usual quiet calm you get in an office perched above a city that typically moved slow.
This was a different kind. The wrong kind.
The kind that said everybody in the room was thinking the same shit and not one of us wanted to say it out loud.
I dropped into the head chair at the long glass conference table, the view behind me stretching over the compact downtown rows of restored warehouses and low-rise offices and the casinos perched on the Red River. The sun was blazing a buttery yellow, but the mood in here stayed cold.
Tex was at the foot of the table, ready to make technology give up the secrets I was damn near desperate to uncover.
Seth leaned back in a chair to my right, hands laced behind his head like he was trying to relax, even though the bounce in his knee said he was anything but.
Ajani Miller was across from him, tapping a pen against a legal pad like the damn thing owed him money.
Braeden Christopher stood near the window with his arms folded, unreadable as always.
And the great Optimus “Prime” Fontenot was posted near the door, scanning the room like he was expecting a threat to walk in.
Trell was a special case, a man who existed, but didn’t.
The other men had already been working at the edges of this. Now, I was bringing them to the center.
Finally, I spoke.
“A’ight. Somebody tell me what I’m missing.”
Seth scoffed. “Where you want us to start? The part where Trell ain’t supposed to exist? Or the part where he somehow everywhere at the same time?”
I shot him a look. He shut up.
Ajani cleared his throat. “Let’s start simple. Legally—and I do mean legally—Trell does not exist.”
He slid a file toward me.
“Birth certificate sealed. Previous identity scrubbed from all accessible federal systems. No hospital records. No DMV records. No utilities, no bank accounts, no phone contracts. It’s like somebody hit delete on the man.”
I flipped through the file, my temper ratcheting, slow and steady. Medgar had said this shit, but seeing it on paper? That was something else. I looked at Tex. He shook his head.
“Same so far, Khi,” he said.
“So, he a ghost,” I murmured.
“A ghost with excellent connections,” Braeden commented, voice low, unbothered. “This type of erasure doesn’t happen without a federal-level assist.”
Prime scoffed. “Or without daddy issues.”
“Oh, yeah. Definitely daddy issues,” echoed Seth. “Trell was hidden from Medgar, right? His granddaddy went out of his way to bury him. I mean above and beyond.”
Ajani leaned forward, eyes sharp, questioning. “The question is why now is he surfacing? Why target Farrah and you?”
That last part hit harder than I liked.
I exhaled slow. “After my pops was… after he died, I think my brain did some funny shit. I forgot my uncle had a son. I honestly did not remember ’til I was down there at Pollock. And now that son wanna tear my life apart? What kinda logic that make?”
Prime shrugged. “Trauma fucks with humans bad. It’s protective. How our psychology keeps us somewhat sane and functioning. As for the logic, all I can say is that family logic is the worst logic.”
“Speak for yourself,” Seth muttered.
Prime shot him a look. “I did. Loudly.”
“We need to understand Trell’s motive,” Braeden continued, ignoring them. “The disappearance makes sense—grandpops wanted to protect his mama from his foul ass daddy. But the aggression? The obsession? The way he moves? That shit not random.”
“Nah,” Ajani agreed. “Nigga got a reason. And the reason is probably the same reason Ramón Black’s been helping him.”
That name had us all paying attention.
Seth sat forward. “Yeah. About Ramón…”
He reached into his jacket, pulled out his phone, and placed it face-down on the table like it held a bomb.
“I put out feelers. I got a tip.”
I didn’t breathe for a second. “From who?”
Seth shrugged. “Somebody who likes me. Don’t ask.”
I stared him down until he held up his hands.
“Alright, alright. You really gotta lighten up, man. Ain’t nothing messy. Just somebody who owes me a favor.”
Ajani leaned in. “What was the tip?”
Seth flipped the phone, tapped a message open, and turned the screen toward us. Text message, no number, and words that taunted me.
Ramón didn’t help Trell outta loyalty. Trell got leverage. Strong leverage. Something big.
I frowned. “Ramón don’t scare easy.”
“Exactly why the leverage gotta be real serious,” Braeden said.
Seth nodded. “Whole time, y’all know Ramón ain’t have beef with you or Farrah. Man always neutral. So, why let Trell use his organization like its his own?” He lifted the phone again. “Because Trell holding something over him.”
Prime tilted his head. “But what? Money? Family? Secrets?”
Ajani shook his head. “Not money. Ramón got money. I ain’t convinced Trell does.
His grandfather’s money is gone. And not just family, Ramón’s had to protect his people before and done it with no problem.
That leaves secrets.” His gaze flicked to me.
“And if Trell’s willing to come after you, Farrah, our people, and Ramón?
That means he thinks he invincible. Means he thinks whatever he’s holding is enough to survive this. ”
Braeden stepped forward. “So, we identify the leverage, and we break it.”
Simple words for a hard-ass job.
“Okay,” I said. “How we find out what Trell got?”
Seth smirked. “Already working on that. My source said they could dig deeper if we give ‘em time.”
“Time we don’t have,” I muttered.
Ajani set his pen down. “Then we create pressure. People like Trell? They make mistakes when the walls close in.”
“So, I guess I start closing walls,” Prime said.
I nodded my appreciation.
“He’s definitely slipping up. Couldn’t resist coming to the scene of the trouble he caused here.
By the time I realized it was him or someone working with him, he was gone.
I didn’t want to give anything away to Turner, either.
I want this nigga, want him to stay not existing, so no one knows the difference when I end his existence. ”
“I think Farrah’s got his number. Obsession will drive an already weak-minded nigga crazy. And crazy men do anything. So, we gotta proceed like he’s dangerous. Like he’s prepared for war.”
Prime grinned. “I love war.”
Seth glared. “Corny as hell. But let’s get this figured out so my nigga can rest,” he said, looking at me.
“Rest?” I scoffed.
“You look like you ain’t slept in three days.”
“I feel like it, too,” I said.
Ajani tilted his head. “Worried about Farrah?”
There was no use in lying; I respected every man in here too much for that. “Worried about Farrah,” I confirmed.
Prime let out a low whistle. “Yeah, that tracks. Pretty girls bring big problems.”
“Pretty girls bring men who don’t know they in love with pretty girls big problems,” Braeden corrected, smirking.
I scowled at him. “We here to talk business. Not my love life.”
Ajani smirked. “Shame. That’s the only part of your life that’s entertaining right now.”
Seth cleared his throat to get us back on track. “A’ight. Let’s break this down into moves.”
We spent the next two hours mapping possibilities, discussing Ramón’s weaknesses, Trell’s likely hideouts, his possible motivation. Ajani drew diagrams. Prime suggested aggressive, strategic tactics that made Seth nod in awe. Braeden listened and filled in the gaps.
“A’ight,” I said. “We move careful. We find Ramón. We make him talk. Then we find Trell and end this.”
“You’re the target, but Farrah’s your weak spot. Keep her close,” Ajani advised
I nodded. “And we protect her at all costs,” he added.
“Always,” I vowed. “We—”
I stopped as my phone buzzed in my pocket, vibrating hard against my leg. I pulled it out, planning to ignore it, but then I saw Steel’s name. My whole body went tight. I answered it and put it on speaker before setting it on the table.
“Go ‘head,” I instructed
“Khi,” Steel said, voice low and clipped, “I’m following Farrah to lunch like you asked. I’m taking the long route, but…”
“But what?” My voice came out sharper than I meant it to.
“I picked up a tail.”
Everything in me snapped to attention. “Describe it.”
Steel exhaled in a soft “whoosh.” “One man that I can see. Dark truck. Suburban, looks like. He staying three cars back, but he switching lanes when I do. He’s good, but not that good.”
A Suburban. There were millions of them on the roads, probably. But this one… I just knew. “Can you take his ass out?” I asked, my decision immediate.
No way was I risking her.
“Hold up.” Ajani said, his hand out like he was a damn crossing guard. “Wait.” His eyes were sharp, calculating. “What if it’s not Trell? If you take out the tail now, we lose the lead to him.”
My fist tightened on the table. “Ajani—”
“Let him follow Steel,” Ajani insisted, calm but firm. “Let him think he’s slick. Let him think he made the choice. And when he parks his dumb ass at that wing spot, we can have someone on the way to grab his ass. Take him alive. Farrah ain’t even gotta know.”
Prime nodded. “I like alive. Alive talks.”
“He’s coming on our territory. It’s our spot,” Seth pointer out. “They got Steel and Jarell with them and Bucky and Marbles always there. You know I don’t play about my sister, either.”
“Fuck!” I cussed because they were right… and because I hated that they were right. “Steel.”
“Yeah?”
“Lead Farrah to the wing place.” I paused. I hated even saying this shit. “Let him follow you. We gon’ trap these niggas, beat them at their own game.”
“A’ight,” he said. “I got her. I’ll keep it clean.”
“You better,” I said quietly. “Steel, can’t shit go wrong—”
“It ain’t,” Steel cut in. “I’ll bring your girl back in one piece.”
The line disconnected. I grabbed the phone, jaw clenched so tight it hurt.
Ajani straightened, his gaze boring into mine. “You know I wouldn’t have said it, if I didn’t think it would work. I get how you feel, but this is a chance—”
“Yeah,” I cut him off. “I understand that. Can we go now? It takes an hour on the best days. And now this construction on 20…”
Seth smirked. “Chill. We ‘bout to catch a ghost. Think we got time to get some of them fancy Ghostbusters costumes? I wanna have the thing that sucks ‘em up.”