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I started toward my car before Sha called my name.

“Tahari.”

I turned, and his expression had changed.

“If she knows something, don’t let your feelings about that being your brother make you stupid.”

I stared at him. Three weeks ago, that might’ve pissed me off. Today, it didn’t.

“I won’t.”

Sha nodded once and headed back inside. I got into my car and sat there for a moment before starting it. The truth was that I didn’t know what I was going to say when I got to Ms. Gia’s. She was in a fucked-up position. That was her actual child, and she considered me one as well. Both of her sons were on opposite sides of something that had gone too far to fix with a conversation. One was hiding, and the other was trying to find him. I hated that for her. But I loved Mali. And every time I closed my eyes, I could still see Mr. Browne bleeding out all because Ghost had decided Maliah needed to die. Being my brother didn’t erase that. Being Ms. Gia’s son didn’t erase it either. My grace stretched, but only so far. I started the engine and pulled out of MB’s Auto. If Ghost had reached out to his mother, I needed to know. And this time, I wasn’t leaving her house until I believed the answer she gave me.

The drive to Ms. Gia’s gave me too much time to think. By the time I pulled into her apartment complex, I had gone through every person, place, and possibility connected to Ghost that I could come up with. Three weeks of looking for a nigga I had known damn near my whole life, and somehow, I still didn’t know where the fuck he was. That bothered me more than I wanted to admit. I sat in the car for a minute before getting out. I stared at the building. This used to be my home. Although I lost my head the other day, I had to thank Ms. Gia for a lot.

She was a mother to me when my weird-ass mother wasn’t. She fed me, gave me somewhere to live after my pops died, and treated me like one of hers whether Ghost and I were getting along or not. The last time I came here, none of that had stopped me from pulling my gun and searching her house after she told me Ghost wasn’t there. Thinking about it now made me feel like an asshole. I stood in front of the closed door for a while. The same door that I used to have a key for. After taking a deep breath, I raised my balled-up fist to the door and knocked a few times.

Ms. Gia opened the door a few seconds after I knocked. She looked tired, and although the apartment behind her had mostly been put back together since the FBI tore through it, there were still little reminders of what happened. A drawer near the door didn’t close properly, and a few things I remembered seeing around the apartment for years were missing. Her eyes moved over me before settling on my face.

“Tahari.”

“Hey, Ms. Gia.”

She stared at me for another second before stepping aside.

“Come in.”

I walked through the door, and she closed it behind me.

“I ain’t come here on the same stuff I was on last time.”

“I would hope not.”

I caught the edge in her voice and couldn’t blame her for it. I lost my head the last time I was here, and I’m man enough to admit that.

“I owe you an apology.”

That made her turn around. When we made eye contact, I continued.

“I was outta line coming in here with my gun out and going through your house like that. I know where my head was that night, but that don’t make what I did to you right.”

Her expression softened.

“You were angry.”

“I was, but you didn’t do anything to me. I should’ve respected that.”

Ms. Gia looked at me for a moment before giving me a small nod.

“Thank you.”

She walked into the living room, and I followed her. She sat on the couch while I took the chair nearby, and for a second, the whole thing felt strange. I had sat in this same living room more times than I could count. Ate here, slept here, got fussed at here. Now one of the boys Ms. Gia had spent years taking care of was missing, and the other one was sitting in front of her trying to figure out where he went. I leaned forward and rested my forearms against my thighs. I had to get down to business.

“You heard from him?”

The way her eyes dropped gave me my answer before she opened her mouth.

“Ms. Gia.”