Page 79 of Memphis

I shrugged. “Maybe a little.”

“Mm-hmm, and once I got past that concern, I didn’t want you to worry about me arresting you,” she said all matter-of-factly.

My mouth dropped open. “W-what?”

“The bureau knows about The Agency,everythingabout it. We’re one of your clients.”

48

“Wait, what?” Bo blurted. “What did you say?”

“The bureau has hired The Agency many times to eliminate threats to our country. Of course, we use aliases,” Umber explained.

“Uh…” I mumbled.

“For instance, Judge Baxter? Us.”

“I…what?” I stammered because…huh?

“Therefore, The Agency is a protected entity. I couldn’t arrest you all even if I wanted to. I don’t want to, by the way.”

“That means…all this time, you knew?” I asked.

“That you were an assassin? No. I knew you didn’t give a damn about a facial, though. You picked the world’s worst cover,” Umber advised me.

“You ain’t lying about that,” Lilith agreed.

“Fuck both of y’all,” I gritted.

“Anyway, I figured it out a while back. I noticed a gun at your ankle sometimes. Plus, you give off murdery vibes,” Umber continued.

“Wow,” I said.

“And I know about Ray and Bo. I also know you lowkey frisked me when I arrived today, Ray, and that you’re using a cell phone jammer right now,” Umber shared.

“Damn, I was hugging you, not frisking you, sis-in-law,” Ray lied.

“Nigga, please,” Umber retorted.

“So…you don’t be hiking and picking weeds?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I do hike andforage, but catching bad guys is what pays the bills.”

“Damn, if Daddy only knew about his girls,” Lilith mused.

“Right,” I said.

EPILOGUE

There we were again—my wife and I on one side of the table, my family on the other. Tavares and Zaccai flanked my mother, and Layla sat holding Zaccai’s hand, her new engagement ring glistening. My brother had finally popped the question. Those two were a match made in Hades for sure.

We were at the company compound for a meeting I’d called. My new security members were stationed throughout the building and outside on the property.

“First, thank you all for coming,” I began.

“Of course. We wouldn’t miss it. I…uh, you look good. I hate this is my first time seeing you since you were injured,” my mother expressed.

I shrugged. “Had to be careful. Wasn’t sure who I could trust other than my wife.”

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