Jackson didn't sleep after Alex dropped him off at his penthouse; he lay in bed staring at the ceiling until dawn, his mind replaying the surveillance photos and imagining scenarios that made his stomach churn, and by eight AM Saturday morning he was dressed and driving back to Oakwood Street with grim determination.

The scotch had worn off, replaced by cold clarity about what he needed to do; he would confront Aryyah and this Cletus Morgan directly, would make clear that their relationship ...