14. Pressure
Trill-Land, Jungle Estate
“ M an… this shit gettin’ too crazy,” I said to Renza and Kay’Lo, exhalin’ slow as I leaned back in my chair. The blunt burned between my fingers, but it wasn’t even hittin’ the way I needed it too. My nerves was still hot from earlier.
Zaniyah could’ve died in my fuckin’ mansion.
That shit kept echoing in my head. There wasn’t a worse look than somebody comin’ up dead on my watch, and over somethin’ dumb like a fuckin’ crab cake.
“Shit wild, bro,” Renza said, his head tilted back.
“She lucky as hell ol’ girl knew where that damn pen was,” Kay’Lo added, sittin’ forward with his elbows on his knees. “That EpiPen saved her ass, but who the hell even put nuts in the food? Maybe she allergic to some other shit.”
I didn’t say nothin’ at first. I just stared at the smoke floatin’ toward the ceilin’.
“I’on even know. She said she told the chefs not to put no type of nuts in the food.”
Kay’Lo looked over at Renza, then Renza looked back at me.
“You think one of them did that shit?” Renza asked, brows up.
“Ion know what to think yet,” I said. “But if that’s the case, whoever it was better pray to God I don’t find out.”
I pulled from the blunt again and let the smoke roll out my nose. My chest was tight, but I wasn’t gon’ show it.
Kay’Lo sat back and rubbed his chin. “Look, I know this whole setup been movin’ fast… but don’t let one situation throw off the mission. Real talk, you brought them girls here to find somebody you can step into the next chapter with. This some crazy shit, yeah, but don’t lose focus.”
He was right…
That was the whole reason I agreed to this shit. The goal was to build the next generation, and find a real one—somebody that could hold their own next to me without crackin’. Somebody who ain’t just cute or fly, but somebody solid. But the thought of it all started to get heavy.
The expectations, the pressure, the idea of choosin’ wrong and dealin’ with the consequences.
Renza poured up a shot and slid it across the desk toward me. “Here, nigga. Take that and stop overthinkin’.”
I was just reachin’ for the glass when a soft knock hit the door three times.
I looked up.
“Nigga, you got a guest comin’?” Kay’Lo asked.
“Nah.” I stood up, slid the chair back, and walked over to the door.
When I opened it, Imani was standin’ there with her eyes all wide and soft. She looked like she’d been rehearsin’ whatever she was about to say for the past ten minutes.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” she said. “But I just wanted to check on you.”
I didn’t say nothin’ at first, but I did stare at her for a lil’ minute.
“How you even know I was up here?” I finally asked.
“I saw you walkin’ in this direction and figured you was in this room because I heard voices,” she replied, her voice all calm and innocent. “I just… I don’t know. I felt like maybe you needed somebody to talk to.”
I should’ve told her to go back downstairs, but somethin’ about the moment felt too tangled to press. After all, she did help save Zaniyah, even if it was too damn convenient.
“A’ight,” I muttered, steppin’ back to let her in. “Renza, Kay’Lo… I’ll link up with y’all in a sec. And make sure security lockin’ in, ‘cause she shouldn’t have made it up here that easy.”
“Got you,” Renza said, standin’ up and stretchin’. Him and Kay’Lo dapped me up and left without another word.
Once the door closed behind ‘em, Imani stepped in closer and looked around like she was takin’ mental notes of everything in the room.
“I’m sorry if I came off like all I do is cause drama,” she said, real soft. “That’s not me, Pressure. I came here to get to know you. Not argue with other women or start mess. I just… I care about how you see me.”
I watched her as I took another slow pull from the blunt. She was sayin’ all the right shit, but it was the way she was sayin’ it that made it feel off.
“I see you,” I said, finally. “We gon’ see where this goes.”
That was the truth. I wasn’t leadin’ her on, but I wasn’t fallin’ for the act either.
She smiled like that meant more than it did and walked toward me, slidin’ her arms around my waist. I let her do it, even though my gut told me her intentions wasn’t sittin’ right.
I ain’t return the hug, but I did let her lean in and then pulled back.
“I’mma get with you later,” I said. “Got some shit to handle.”
She didn’t like that, but she nodded. “Okay. I just wanted to let you know I’m not the girl people try to make me seem like.”
We locked eyes for a second, and I could tell she was hopin’ I would say somethin’ else. But I didn’t.
She dipped out, and the moment she did, I grabbed my phone off the desk. It had been buzzin’ since Imani walked in.
When I saw Ka’mari’s name on my screen, I raised my brows. My heart didn’t skip or nothin’, but my mind shifted immediately. It’d been weeks since she called my phone about that hoe ass nigga.
“Fuck that,” I’m mumbled, rejectin’ the call.
Then she called again.
I let it ring, not wantin’ that energy in my chest.
But then came the text.
Can you call me please? It’s an emergency.
I stared at the screen. This wasn’t the type of message I could ignore, especially from her.
Runnin’ my hand down my face, I hit the call button.
“Pressure?” Her voice was low, and she sounded scared. She was whisperin’ like she didn’t want nobody to hear.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Donovan… he put his hands on me. I locked myself in the bathroom. I didn’t know who else to call.”
I was just about to tell her to call the fuckin’ cops ‘cause what the fuck she wanted me to do about it? Then I heard that nigga’s voice in the background.
“I know you not on that phone, Ka’mari! You talkin’ to that nigga?!”
I could hear his bitch ass bangin’ on the door, like he was hard and like I ain’t just put my Glock to his shit and hoe him in front of all his people weeks ago. His voice was all loud and bold like he ran shit.
My jaw clenched, and that’s when the other part of me woke all the way up.
“Where you at?” I asked, already walkin’ out the room with my shit on my hip.
“At home,” she whispered.
“I’m on the way.”
My blood was heatin’ up like I’d been waitin’ for this, and shid… maybe I had been.
Deep down, I knew this wasn’t about closure. This was about her.
And if that nigga Donovan lay another finger on her, he was gon’ pay for it in ways he couldn’t imagine.
While speedin’ my ass off to Sable Pointe toward Ka’mari’s crib, all I kept thinkin’ about was killin’ this nigga Donovan with my bare fuckin’ hands.
I was behind the wheel of my matte black Maybach GLS, my hands grippin’ the leather tight.
I ain’t even say shit to nobody at the estate.
I just grabbed my keys, dipped out, and hit the road, on a mission to fuck somebody up.
I already couldn’t stand that nigga Donovan. Somethin’ about his hoe ass was just off, and now he done put his hands on Ka’mari.
Even if me and Ka’mari wasn’t together no more, she was still mine in a way that nobody could change. First love type shit. That girl knew parts of me I ain’t even acknowledge so yeah, I was on go ‘bout her.
I ran a light, then another one, barely blinkin’.
My blunt was burnin’ in the ashtray untouched, and Key Glock was goin’ off in the speakers, but none of it registered.
I just kept picturin’ Donovan standin’ over her, yellin’ or swingin’ or pushin’ her like he had that right. I was gon’ break his fuckin’ body.
By the time I pulled up to Ka’mari’s townhouse my hands was damn near tinglin’ with rage. I parked crooked on the curb and jumped out before the engine even finished turnin’ off. My phone was already in my hand when I called her.
She picked up, but she didn’t say nothin’ to me.
Instead, I heard her screamin’ from inside the house. “Donovan, move! Get away from the door!”
That was all the fuck I needed to hear.
I took two long strides to the door, pulled my Glock from my waistband, and shot the muthafuckin’ doorknob clean off.
Wood splintered everywhere, and the door swung open like it was scared of me too.
I stepped inside like I owned the place—and in a way, I always had.
I knew this layout like my own. I spent hella nights in here…
eatin’, talkin’, fuckin’, dreamin’. I built part of my life in this house, and now it was filled with screams and fear.
I followed the sound of her voice upstairs. My boots hit the hardwood with force, and each step felt like a countdown to somebody’s last breath. Her bedroom door was cracked open, but her screams was comin’ from the bathroom inside it.
Just as I stepped in the room, I heard the wood on the bathroom door split and cave in.
This nigga really kicked the door in…
The second I laid eyes on his bitch ass, I didn’t hesitate. I raised my arm, aimed straight for the back of his leg, and pulled the trigger.
POP!
That nigga dropped to the floor screamin’ like a toddler.
“OH MY GOD!” Ka’mari screamed as she came runnin’ out the bathroom, tears streakin’ her face, her hair wild. She was wearin’ a white tank top and some shorts. Even in panic, she still looked like heaven to me.
But I couldn’t focus on that right now.
“Nah, bring ya ass here,” I growled, steppin’ past her and grabbin’ Donovan by his raggedy-ass collar. Blood was pourin’ out his leg, but I ain’t give a fuck. He was still conscious enough to cry and flinch, so he was good enough to get handled.
I dragged his ass into the bathroom, slammed the toilet seat up, and dunked his face in it like it was a goddamn baptism.
“Since you wanna act like a filthy-ass mutt, lemme help you find your reflection,” I snapped, holdin’ his head down while he kicked and screamed. “You puttin’ hands on women now? You like that shit? That make you feel like a man, huh?”
He was tryna lift his head, but I shoved it back down, harder this time. The water splashed, and he started gaggin’.
“Bet you wasn’t barkin’ like this when she was screamin’ at you to move away from the door, was you? All that tough shit gone now, huh? Whole clown.”
Ka’mari stood at the doorway frozen, her hands clutched over her mouth. She looked scared, and for a second, I heard myself breathin’ heavy, like I had just blacked out and came back.
I let his head go and let him collapse back on the tile. His leg was so soaked in blood it looked like somebody spilled wine.
“Get up,” I barked. “Sit your stupid ass in that corner and don’t say a fuckin’ word ‘til I tell you to.”
He tried to talk, but I pulled my gun again and pointed it low.
“Sit the fuck down.”
He dragged himself to the corner like a wounded dog, leanin’ on the bathtub for support.
I turned back to Ka’mari. She was still starin’ at me, her lips parted, and her chest heavin’. There was fear in her eyes, but not fear of me… it was fear of all of this. What it had come to and what she had let happen.
The sleeve to her tank top was slid halfway off her shoulder, and I saw a bruise peekin’ out near her collarbone.
I stepped toward her slow.
“You gotta call the police next time,” I said, my voice lower now. “I ain’t fuckin’ Superman, Ka’mari. You call me like that again and I might not make it in time, or actually come back and kill that nigga.”
She looked up at me, and for a second she didn’t say nothin’. Then she reached out and gently grabbed my hand.
That one touch pulled somethin’ in me I ain’t felt in a long time. It was real soft, and careful, like the way she used to hold me when I was losin’ my mind and didn’t wanna admit it. The way she used to look at me when she thought I wasn’t payin’ attention.
Her eyes were searchin’ mine like she wanted to say somethin’ else, but she didn’t.
Instead, she whispered, “Thank you.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, not trustin’ myself to say much else.
“Get your man to the doctor,” I muttered, pullin’ my hand back slow. “And tell him next time, I ain’t aiming for legs.”
With that, I walked past her and made my way back down the stairs. My heart was still poundin’.
I climbed back into my Maybach, wiped the sweat off my forehead, and sat there for a minute in silence.
I did what I had to do. But damn… I still didn’t feel better. Not with Ka’mari’s handprint still lingerin’ on mine, and with the memory of her eyes burnin’ through me like maybe…she wasn’t as over me as she wanted the world to believe.
And that part fucked me up the most.