The guy’s eyes narrow as his gaze slides over me, and I can see the intent there. His thoughts are clear: not worth my time.
Appearances can be deceiving. But I know something about what he’s looking for, so he’d better listen.
“Your brother Marcus gambled in my ring a couple of times in the last few weeks. The last time I saw him there was last Friday night. After hours, he tried to come in and rob me. He was desperate. Did you see any of that in him recently?”
The man’s face goes pale. He sucks in a deep breath through his nose before puffing the air back out of his mouth, and he steps back from me. The answer is clear.
“Yeah, shit. He tried to rob you? I knew he was in deep with a guy, that he owed a lot of money. But I never thought…” He runs a hand through his stiff hair, looking sick. “Where is he now?”
I need to ignore that question for a minute because I need mine answered first. “Do you know who your brother owed money to?”
He opens his mouth to speak, to give me the information I need, when a scream that shakes me to the bone reverberates through the bar.
The few patrons inside glance up at us, confused, but I’m already whirling and rushing for the door leading to the back.
It’s Naima who’s screaming, and my heart crashes against my ribs at the thought of what could be making her sound so terrified.
Following the sound straight to Carson’s office at the end of the back hallway, I find her standing just inside the door. I spin her around to face me, her black hair whipping around her cheeks as she meets my gaze. She’s still screaming, so I give her shoulders a little shake and the sound trails off.
“Baby…talk to me! What’s wrong?”
I evaluate her in a quick scan, dropping my eyes from her perfect face to her torso, down her legs and back up again, trying to discover where she’s been hurt, and then my eyes fly around in a wild chase to figure out who’s hurt her.
When they land on the body lying still on the floor, everything becomes so terribly clear.
“Damn—”
Naima’s heaving, her breathing coming too shallow, and I know this has pushed her over the edge. I glance at the body again, and see that it’s Marcus, the man we saw shot days ago, laying there.
What. The. Hell?
How is that even possible? I’m no biologist, but shouldn’t the body be…decaying or something by now?
I put my arm around Naima’s shoulders and lead her out of the office. We meet Carson in the hallway and seeing him sends a jolt of guilt swarming through me.
There’s a body…in his office. The body of a man I’ve been looking for…wondering about…for days. The fact that I’ve brought this war to his own personal turf now isn’t lost on me. Carson doesn’t deserve to have dead bodies popping up in his office.
Oily tendrils of mistrust thread their way through me, settling in a haze around my uncle. The only person in the world I can trust.
“What happened?” His voice isn’t his usually calm tone, but then again Naima’s screams would give anyone a heart attack.
My eyes not meeting his, I jerk my head toward his office. “Take a look.”
Naima’s head rests against my chest, and she’s gone scary-still, but I can’t get her out of here yet. I need to see Carson’s reaction. The man’s opinion means everything to me.
His muttered curse reaches my ears, and he spins around to face me once more. The confusion on his face jars me, and God, I don’t know anything anymore. How could my life have gotten so messed up in a matter of a week?
“This is all my fault, Uncle C.” I keep my words low, one hand going up to stroke Naima’s head.
His eyes widen, bewilderment showing up in his expression. “This isn’t even a little bit your fault, man. We need to call the cops. This…it’s out of our hands.”
My heartbeat kicks up again. “They’re going to blame you, Carson.”
He shrugs. “They’ll figure out the truth.” He stares at me, stark realization dawning in his expression. “Ace…you know I don’t know anything about this, right?”
My chest hurts. The tightness there just keeps growing and growing, and I’m so done with this day I can’t stand it anymore. I don’t answer him, just lead Naima through the bar and back to my condo because I want to keep her away from the mayhem that’s about to crash down all around this place.
Crash down all around me.
I was expecting the knock much sooner, but it doesn’t come until over three hours later.
I open the door to find a weary-looking Carson standing in the hall. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him this stressed-out and tired, and a pang of guilt hits me. Right before the mistrust turns in my stomach like a monkey wrench, twisting the awful emotion further into my soul.
“Can I come in?”
I glance back toward the bedroom door, picturing the sleeping form of Naima, curled into a ball on my bed. She’s out; been asleep for half an hour, and I gesture Carson into the kitchen through the foyer.
“You’re here.” It’s an obvious statement, but it means that he’s literally here, and not in police custody.
Carson gets it. Nodding, he squeezes both hands against the back of his neck and closes his eyes. “Been questioned. Called my lawyer. Other than them finding the body in the bar, there’s nothing that tells them I’m the one who killed him. And—”
He places a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. “I’m gonna be just fine, Ace. Whoever put that body in my bar knew it would mess with you, knock you off your game. Don’t let it happen.”
I drink him in, holding his gaze. I trust Carson. He’s the guy that, when he found
