He was a man trained to notice everything.
His hands were clenched in his lap as he slowly breathed through the embrace. The last hug he’d had was from Evan a year and a half ago. Affectionate moments were too far between for him to ever get used to it. He’d been taught that emotions were weaknesses his enemy could exploit.
His mother carefully pulled away when she noticed he wasn’t reacting in the same manner as her. “I’m sorry.” She sniffed, wiping at her nose with the white cloth in her hand. “You don’t feel the same.”
I’m not the same. “I’m sorry about Ev. He didn’t deserve this.” He knew his tone sounded cold and disinterested, making him pause and try a different pitch. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
His mom shook her head vehemently. “No. The two of you were inseparable growing up. You would’ve been with him, and those bastards would’ve got both my boys.”
His gaze went to Meridian and his mother’s followed. She stared at his partner, perhaps not quite knowing what to think about his detached expression or the firm set of his full lips. He sat as straight and rigid as Ex, tightly packed muscles just about concealed beneath his expensive suit.
“And you are?” his mother asked, seeming to gather herself.
Meridian wet his lips—a sign he was just as uneasy as Ex—and mumbled mechanically, “John Smith.”
Ex didn’t marvel at how Meridian had gotten his cautious mother to come with him when she didn’t even have his name, only a hardened face and unapproachable posture to go on. And yet she’d gotten into a car with him. But his partner had a gift of wearing whatever mask necessary to get a mark to trust him, at least long enough for him to get close enough to...
She frowned and turned back to him, timidly reaching for his fist. He let her pat his cool skin.
“I knew you were still on this earth, Xavier. I could feel it,” she whispered. “It wasn’t because they said there was no body to recover, but because I’m your mother and I know your spirit would’ve come to me if you’d died.”
Xavier glanced at the cross around her neck.
“But you have to leave now.” The tears had started to fall again and Ex flexed his hands when he had a foreign feeling to reach out and touch her. His mom looked tired and much older than her sixty-one years. “This city is in a war, and infested with drug gangs and violence. It’s no place for a disciplined man. I don’t know what you do in the military. Evan would never say much. But he said you were important. Don’t linger here, especially not for me. I’m gonna be moving to New Haven with John.”
He already knew this. He’d seen when Mr. Harold had been promoted to the New Haven district manager position at his Amazon job, and was able to put two and two together when she’d put her house on the market a week later.
“I just can’t take it here anymore. I think there’ve been thugs outside my home because I went to the police all those times. Trying to scare me. As if taking my Ev wasn’t enough,” she gasped as if struck by an immense pain in her chest and before he knew what he was doing, he’d reached for her hand and held on. She seemed to gather a bit more strength when she glanced at their connection then clutched him back. “I’ll leave a forwarding address with the post office.”
“Don’t,” Ex said. “I’ll find you.”
His mom swallowed, her gaze darting to Meridian who hadn’t made a move, but Ex was very aware of him. “Even the cops couldn’t help me. Or any of us who’ve complained that still live in my neighborhood. There’s a big-time police drug task force here that the mayor put together a few years ago, but they refused to help me. Or they couldn’t help me. Their hands were tied, I don’t know. But my son’s killer roams the streets freely, enjoying his life while I—”
Are the police corrupt? He saw the subtle shift in Meridian’s posture. He was obviously thinking the same thing. How could it be so difficult to get an arrest when Evan was an innocent victim of a drive-by that had happened in broad daylight? Where were the eyewitnesses? Had there been no one on the street at the time? Were all of the street cameras broken? Ex let out a long breath, releasing his rage.
His brother’s murderer had gotten off scot-free.
His mom looked damn near frantic as she begged him. “You have to leave Atlanta. You’re all I’ve got left. Please. Go and never come back here again, Xavier.”
He couldn’t stomach being the one to cause her more grief. He did what he did easiest. He lied without feeling the slightest amount of guilt. “I will, Mom.” As soon as we’re done here. He’d leave after they’d delivered everyone responsible for terrorizing the neighborhood into a grave just like his brother’s. And he wouldn’t lose sleep over it.