Chapter 36- Sam
“This ain’t over, bitch!” The words cracked through the air the second we stepped outside. Mark’s voice, full of ice, echoed off the courthouse steps.
“I didn’t marry you to have you divorce me!” he shouted, eyes wild, suit wrinkled as he walked in our direction.
Zane stiffened next to me, and I stepped in front of her before he could get in her face.
“Nah,” I growled, squaring up before I even thought about it. “But you sure as hell ’bout to get the fuck outta her life.”
Mark’s face twisted like he bit into something bitter. “Why are you even speaking to me about my wife?” he snapped, pointing. “You’re just some nobody construction worker playing family. You’re a nobody.”
I smiled. That slow, dangerous one that always came right before I did something reckless. “Better than you on your best day, bruh. You lost her, not me. Get the fuck on.”
The way his chest was puffed up, the way his jaw clenched like he was choking on his own pride—I could see he was ready to swing. I wanted him to, so I could beat his ass again. The adrenaline rushing through my veins had me ready to go.
“You wanna go again?” I stepped forward, my voice low, taunting. “Let’s finish what we started.”
People were watching. Phones were out. And I didn’t care. Because fuck Mark. He was the only one with something left to lose. And I was ready to strip it from him—his job, his freedom, his life if he kept playing with me and mine.
“Back up!” a deputy shouted, rushing over just as we got chest to chest. Hands were suddenly on me, another officer grabbing Mark. “Let’s go! Separate!”
“You ain’t shit!” Mark roared as they dragged him back into the building. “You won’t keep her—she’s too goddamn expensive for you! You aren’t me. You think a paycheck-to-paycheck ass nobody can replace me?”
I yelled back, “Ain’t nobody tryna be a narcissistic motherfucker who can’t fuck his wife right! Bitch, I got money. And I’mma blow it on her.”
“Sam!” Zane’s voice cracked sharp in my ear.
I turned to her. She was doubled over. Her hands were on her knees, and her face was twisted up like pain had sucker-punched her straight in the gut.
“Oh shit,” I muttered, rushing to her side. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
She grabbed my wrist. Hard. “My water—Sam—it just broke.”
“Call an ambulance!” I yelled.
One of the courthouse staff was already on their phone. I knelt beside her, trying to stay calm as a puddle formed beneath her feet. She was breathing fast. Too fast. And my hands shook as I brushed sweat off her forehead.
“I got you,” I whispered, even though I was two seconds from losing my shit. “I got you. Just breathe, baby.”
Her mother came barreling down the steps like she’d been shot out of a cannon. “What happened?”
“She’s in labor,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Her water broke.”
Zane groaned, low and deep, her body already starting to tremble.
The ambulance pulled up in under five minutes. They loaded her in quick, asking questions I barely processed as I tried to stay calm. Her father answered most.
I started to climb in behind her. “Sorry, sir, there’s no room. The hospital is two blocks up on Ulmerton from here.”
I kept myself from snapping and turned to head to my car as they took off. My heart was beating so fast. Zane’s mother stopped me.
“Did that make you feel better?” she asked, dead serious.
I blinked at her. She wasn’t yelling. She was scolding me like my momma did—and would’ve if she was there. The disappointment in her eyes hit harder than any punch Mark would’ve thrown.
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded. “It’s okay. I like you, Sam,” she said, lowering her voice. “You’re good to my daughter. I see that. But this?” She pointed back toward the courthouse. “This can’t be how you handle situations when it matters. Not now. Not when she needs you clear-headed.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “You’re right.”
She nodded, softened a little, then pulled me into a quick hug. “Now let’s go. If you make me miss my grandbaby being born, you gon’ have to fight me next.”
Tocara came out of nowhere blocking our path. She had stopped at the restroom. “What’s going on, where’s Zane?
“You missed a lot, but Zane’s about to have the baby.