Page 52 of Kentrell

The city might be small, but this?

This was way too close.

And if I didn’t find a way to untangle myself from this shit soon, somebody was going to bleed.

Maybe her.

Not me.

But somebody.

The highway blurred past me,wind slicing through the cracked window while Jon B’s“Don’t Say”rattled the speakers, the bass low and heavy in my chest. Loud enough to thump… but not loud enough to drown out the shit spinning in my head. Too much noise up there. My mama’s voice. Her confessions. Names she dropped… tying people together I didn’t even know were connected. Folks who weren’t supposed to have nothing to do with each other.

And Zoe.

Man… Zoe.

She was becoming a constant I couldn’t shake. Pushing her way into corners of my mind I used to keep clear. Making me think about things that never would’ve crossed my mind a week before I met shorty. Now? It felt like she was threaded through every damn thought.

My phone buzzed in the cupholder, cutting through my mental spiral. The Bluetooth system dimmed the music automatically, but I reached over and turned it down anyway. Habit. My thumb hit the phone button on the steering wheel, then tapped the volume down button just above it… lowering Jon B to a low crawl in the background.

“Yo.”

It was my brother, Wani.

“You good?” he asked, voice low like he already knew the answer.

“Yeah. Just left Whitmore.”

He went quiet for a second. “How she doin’?”

“Same. She was trippin’ over some honey buns I forgot to grab her, but she’ll be a’ight.”

He chuckled, that loud, carefree Wani laugh that always sounded like it came with a grin. “Shit, you just reminded me!” His voice boomed through the speaker. “I got her turtles, too. Just gotta get the hookup to sneak ‘em in again.”

“Man, don’t be getting my mama in trouble with your bullshit.”

“She love me.”

“She do,” I agreed, half smiling to myself.

A couple beats passed. I could hear voices in the background—laughter, music, something that sounded like a woman yelling for somebody to pour her another shot. The Velvet Room, or laid up with one of his hoes. Either way, the noise faded quick. Like he stepped into another room, closing the door behind him.

Which meant this wasn’t just a casual check-in.

“Whatchu on, Wani?”

“Nothin’ much. Just been moving.” He let out a long, tired-ass sigh. “Club’s back up now that Lex got the inspectors off our ass.”

“That’s wussup.”

“Yup,” he said. “VIP lit. New girls in rotation. Angels been on they best behavior—shocking as that is.”

I smirked. “They know you the draw.”

“Yes, Lawd!” His voice lifted with fake preacher energy, making me laugh for real this time.

“Business been booming, though. So you know Lex keep tryna spring up thesewhiteideas?—”

---