Series: I recognized my ex-husband Marcus the second he stepped out of room 1402 at the Grand Monarch Hotel, holding hands with his new fiancé.

Part 1 I stood frozen in my faded room service uniform, pushing a heavy stainless-steel food cart while seven months pregnant with a child he [more…]

The delivery van reeked of stale coffee and cheap air freshener. It was parked two blocks from the Grand Monarch, tucked away behind a laundromat [more…]

The hidden apartment was on South Shore, a cramped two-bedroom unit Devonne had set up years ago, a relic from his street days. The air [more…]

Sondra Boudreaux stood in the doorway, her shoulders hunched against the damp night air. Her expensive silk scarf was askew, and her usually immaculate hair [more…]

Across town, in the sterile comfort of a black luxury sedan parked discreetly on a side street, Duke Washington met with Commander Raymond Hollis. The [more…]

The suburban townhouse Tasha and Marcus shared was immaculate, filled with the kind of polished chrome and minimalist art that screamed “new money.” But the [more…]

The air in the auto repair shop in Englewood was thick with the smell of oil and burnt rubber. Devonne stood by a jacked-up sedan, [more…]

The Velvet Lounge was Duke’s private domain, a lavish den of mahogany and dim lighting. Marcus burst through the heavy office doors, the faint strains [more…]

The rain was coming down in sheets, turning 79th Street into a blurred watercolor of flashing red and blue lights. Tactical officers, indistinguishable in their [more…]

Three blocks away, in the sickly yellow glow of an abandoned laundromat, Devonne dragged me in, shivering and soaked to the bone. The air was [more…]