Series: Strip off that coat and go clear dirty plates in the banquet hall, Nia—you're staff tonight, not family, my mother-in-law Evelyn snapped, her voice echoing across the candlelit grand ballroom.

Part 1 My husband Marcus didn’t defend me; he just smirked and slid my chair back so the caterers could herd me toward the kitchen [more…]

The master keycard felt cool and heavy in my hand. It was cold steel, not the flimsy plastic they gave out to guests. My fingers [more…]

The auction had proceeded, but the air remained thick with unspoken tension. Evelyn sat stiffly at her table, refusing to meet my gaze, her jaw [more…]

Heavy footsteps thudded up the communal stairs of my apartment building. They were coming fast, too heavy for the usual residents. I froze, the receiver [more…]

I spent the next two days moving between forgotten safe-houses Deacon had outlined on his map – derelict apartments in fading commercial districts, abandoned storefronts [more…]

The MARTA tunnels were a maze of stale air and echoing silence, occasionally broken by the distant rumble of a train. I knew Evelyn’s people [more…]

The footsteps grew louder, closer. I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat. The glow from the boiler room cast eerie, shifting shadows. “Nia.” [more…]

A guttural roar tore from Evelyn’s throat. Her face, usually a mask of cold composure, twisted into something ugly and primal. “Get her out!” she [more…]

Cassius Washington stood at the foot of the marble staircase, his presence filling the massive hall. The removal of Evelyn’s enforcers had sent a clear [more…]

Cassius picked up the parchment, his movements slow and deliberate. He pulled a small, silver-framed magnifying lens from his coat pocket, a tool as antiquated [more…]