My chest tightened. “What do you mean something happened?”
“She got up, got fully dressed, shoes and purse and everything, talking about she needed to get down to the club before Rosalee messed up the count. She called me Everly, Justice. And then she asked me where her gun was.”
I closed my eyes and pressed two fingers against my temple. The exhaustion from the raid was already deep in my bones, but this was a different weight settling on top of it. Rita was the foundation of our entire family. She had been sharp, present and commanding for eighty-five years. The thought of her standing in an apartment calling her granddaughter by a stranger’s name and asking for a revolver made something twist inside my chest that I couldn’t push down.
“When she snapped out of it, she looked so confused,” Serenity continued. Her voice cracked on the last word. “She went to her room and laid down with her shoes still on. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m scared, Justice. I think we need to get her looked at.”
“You did the right thing calling me. Keep your eye on her. I’m coming up there.”
“Today?”
“First flight out.” I glanced at Prime, who had been watching my face throughout the entire call. He could read the situation without hearing a word of it. “I’ll be there by night. I’ll fill everybody in once I’ve seen her myself.”
“Okay.” She exhaled and I could hear the relief in it. “Thank you.”
“That’s what I’m here for. Lock up, keep the security on, and try to get some sleep. I’m on my way.”
I hung up and stared at the phone for a second before sliding it into my pocket.
“Rita?” Prime asked. One word but it carried everything.
“Yeah. Serenity says she had some kind of episode. Got confused, didn’t know where she was, called Serenity by a different name. I need to get up to Hartford and see what’s going on.”
Prime’s expression shifted into something heavy and still. Rita had raised him when Vivica couldn’t be bothered. She wasthe closest thing to a real mother he’d ever had and I could see the worry land on his face even though he was trying to keep it together.
“You need me to come with you?” he asked.
“Nah. Go get your family. I’ll handle this and keep you posted.” I dropped a twenty on the table and stood up. My body ached from the raid and my mind was already racing through flight times.
“We just finished one war, man. I’m praying this ain’t the start of something we can’t fight.”
Prime didn’t respond to that. He didn’t need to. We both knew there were battles that bullets couldn’t win, and if Rita’s mind was starting to go, this was going to hurt worse than anything the Rios family could’ve ever done to us.
I walked out of the diner into the cold morning air and pulled up the airline app on my phone. There was a six-fifteen flight to Hartford out of Reagan. I booked it before I even reached my car.
50
Quest
Prime marched through the door like I’d personally ruined his life.
“Nigga, what you want now? I miss my wife. I’m tryna leave!” He barked at me.
“Damn, I just need you to do a quick favor and then I swear we’re done.”
He dropped into the chair across from me and looked at the test kit sitting on the table. His eyes narrowed.
“The fuck is that?”
“I need you to take a paternity test.”
The chair scraped back so hard it damn near left marks on the floor. Prime was on his feet with his whole chest out looking at me like I’d spit on his shoes.
“A WHAT?” He pointed at me. “Nigga, have you lost your goddamn mind? I have NEVER stepped out on Zainab. Not once. Not ever. You got me fucked up if you think I’m out here doing some foul shit like that. I would never disrespect my wife or you! You of all people should know that.”
I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. The vein in his neck was doing that thing it does when he’s about two seconds fromputting hands on somebody. This man was ready to fight me over a question I hadn’t even finished asking.
“Bro. Calm down. Sit your paranoid ass down.”
