Free GRIND (The Silver Nitrate Series Book 1) by Tiana Laveen

you, Paw…” He kissed him on the cheek.
    The old man gave a slight nod before falling into an even rest, disappearing from the conversation altogether. Zen backed away slowly, then turned to leave. On his way out to the car, he slipped his phone out of his pocket.
    “Yo, Elijah, what’s up, man? Glad you answered. Look, I know you’re at work right now, and that’s perfect, actually. It’s what I need to talk to you about… I need something and I believe you can help. Let me tell you what’s going on…”

Chapter Five

    E very Sunday morning, Silver called her mother. If she missed this self-imposed ritual, she felt somewhat unsettled, as if a vital task hadn’t been fulfilled. She was a Brooklyn girl, and that’s where the family was, but once Take-Two Interactive Technologies had hired her several years earlier, she made the move to Syracuse and had been there ever since. She tried to get to Brooklyn at least twice a month to see the family, and since Mama didn’t have a car, she didn’t expect her to make the long, four-hour commute. She’d do the honors.
    Both of her younger sisters were away at college. Ruby was attending North Carolina A&T State University, finishing her bachelor’s degree, while Topaz was studying abroad in London, obtaining her second PhD. Silver was the middle child, with double sibling bookends… two sisters below her, and two older brothers before her. Unlike her and her sisters, her brothers had not been given such names reminiscent of gems and precious metals.
    As a child she despised her name; it led to incessant taunting, but now, she rather enjoyed it. When she’d asked her mother as a little girl why she’d named her that, her mother had simply replied, “Beautiful girls deserve beautiful names.” Apparently, Mama didn’t think her sons were beautiful, or perhaps, there was some gender bias. Either way, it didn’t concern her enough to inquire. Her eldest brother, Bryce, was named after their father.
    Bryce was barely around, and his comings and goings were typically unknown. He worked hard as an athletic recruiter, was well known and well liked. She loved Bryce to death, but his career goals kept him away from the family too many times to count.
    Gregory, on the other hand, was still living at home, suckling off Mama like some newborn pig. They’d get into it every now and again, but their disagreements never went anywhere, unless one counted him disconnecting a call in a huff a sign of progress. He reminded her too much of David, always in the middle of some shit, expecting service and favors but giving little in return.
    Nevertheless, she loved each and every one of them, and talked to her mama and sisters often. Mama had raised them all to have high self-esteem, to embrace their individuality, but she’d stressed the importance of getting an education. Mama had a high school diploma and was a straight A student; regardless, she regretted not going away to college before starting a family. She brought it up often, making it clear how she’d limited herself when the world was so big, and she wished she could have expanded her wings. Still, she never made Silver or her siblings feel bad because she’d gotten married young and started a family. That had been Mama’s choice, and she was a good mother despite her challenges… especially after Dad had left.
    Silver sat on her comfy living room couch with a Titiana Groovy Blue cigar in one hand and a glass of Casamatta red wine in the other. She gazed at the time displayed on her Blu-ray DVD player, knowing it was too damn early to be drinking, but what the hell; one only lived once.
    Reaching out for her iPhone, she dialed her mother’s number. The woman answered right away, but all she could initially hear was Con Funk Shun’s ‘Love Train’ blaring in the background.
    “Oh, so you went way back this morning, huh?” Silver teased as her mother began to sing the lyrics in a hysterical off-key pitch.
    “You