Chapter 8 #2
“Imani’s house.” I smirked like I was telling tea to my home girl, but my heart was burning.
Jo’s mouth dropped. “I knew she couldn’t be trusted,” she hissed, shaking her head like she’d been waiting for this moment.
“Man, let me handle Dre,” Noah jumped in from the side, trying to sound tough.
Rich rolled his eyes so hard I thought they’d stick. “Man, shut the fuck up.”
“For real,” Southside added. “We already established you wasn’t built for this life the day you sat in the car smokin’ and vibin’ while gunshots flew past your dumb ass.”
“Enough, y’all,” I cut in, lifting my hand, trying to defuse it before it blew up. “This ain’t the time.”
The room fell quiet for a moment, but the tension was thick... Everyone was waiting for the next move. And deep down, I knew something was coming. Something big.
I knew Noah took everything to heart always had. So, when Southside and Rich came at him about that day, I already knew he was about to spiral. And even though I knew I shouldn’t have been coddling him, not now with everything going on, I couldn’t bring myself to let him drown in it either.
Especially not now. Not with Dre back. Not with him slowly peeling back the mask and letting his team fall into place. I knew Seth would handle that. He always did. Me? I was focused on planning my life and finally living it. Fully. Freely. Fearlessly.
But right now, my little brother was hurt. And his pride started to look like rage.
“Noah…” I started, but he cut me off.
“Stormi, you know I ain’t have nothin’ to do with that, right?” His voice cracked slightly, and he turned to me, eyes searching mine like he needed the truth to keep breathing.
“I know, Noah,” I said without hesitation.
“Then why the fuck these niggas thinkin’ they can keep comin’ at me sideways about it?” he snapped, stepping forward like he was ready to square up with both Rich and Southside.
“Man, lil’ nigga, this ain’t what you want,” Rich said, stepping up too, eyeing Noah like a meal. “I been owe you an ass whoopin’ anyway.”
I stepped in fast, sliding between them before things got outta hand. “Rich, can you help moms with Shiloh?”
Rich gave a half-smirk, the kind that made the air in the room feel tight. “Bet.” He walked off slow, but the look he threw over his shoulder said he wasn’t done.
Noah scoffed, still heated. “Leon gets the same treatment. He the one begged Stormi to save Dre’s life, but I’m the one gettin’ treated like the enemy. I want that nigga to pay for what he did to my sister. But nah I get the cold shoulder.”
“Noah,” I said softly, trying to bring him back down. “We’re not blaming you. I don’t blame you. And right now, that’s all that should matter.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, but your husband and his boys do.”
Southside didn’t say a word just smirked and walked off, heading straight for the stairs like he couldn’t even deal.
Noah’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “See? That right there.”
“Noah, drop it,” I said, stepping closer. “I know you had nothing to do with the shooting. None of us knew what Dre was on. Not even Seth.”
Noah looked at me, a long pause before his voice got quiet. “Not even your daddy?”
I exhaled slowly, my chest tightening. “I don’t know, Noah. I don’t know that man. And honestly? I don’t want to.”
Jo had told me enough. And the way he acted in the hospital that day. He was never a father to me. Just a ghost with too many shadows behind him.
“Maybe I should pay Leon a visit,” Noah muttered. “Mr. Super Save a Nigga might know where his lil’ nephew at.”
“Noah, leave it alone. Let Seth handle it.”
He turned on me now. “Why Seth always gotta handle everything? He ain’t the only man in the family, Stormi! I been protectin’ y’all for years. Especially Jo. Or you forget them nights? You forget how many niggas I stopped from goin’ upside her head?”
He looked like he was staring into a memory. One I spent years burying. Nights filled with yelling, fists, and broken glass.
I didn’t speak right away. He needed to sit in that moment.
Feel it. Heal from it. Me I’d already done the work.
I didn’t let those memories live rent free in my mind anymore.
I replaced them with joy Jo’s laugh, S3’s adventures, Shiloh’s sleepy smile.
But I knew how much that pain shaped him. So, I didn’t deny him his emotions.
Jo reached for him gently. “And I thank you, Noah. For every night you stepped up. For every time you shield me when I couldn’t shield myself. But I don’t want you to worry about that again. I’m doing everything I can to make sure you never have to.”
He looked at me, the weight in his eyes damn near crushed me. “Yeah, whatever. I see how y’all changed. I handle my shit on my own now.”
And just like that, he turned and walked out the front door.
Jo sighed behind me. “I’ll handle him, Stormi,” she said, already heading after him. “But tonight? We watchin’ Love the type of steady that always made me weak. “That’s the only time I’ll allow you to stoop to her level. I know you needed that, so I let you have it.”
Before I could open my mouth, his tongue was already sliding past my lips, claiming me like always. One second, I was standing, the next I was weightless in his arms, laid across the bed like he owned me. Leave it to Seth… chaos was all around us, and he still wanted me like breathing.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I said, interrupting our moment. I needed answers, I wanted to know what was going on.
“I’ll handle it; don’t worry,” he replied, trying to finish what he had started.
“Seth,” I said interrupting him again.
“It’s handled. Dre mom thought she could save her sons life by going to the police.
They have nothing, they’ll never have anything.
Some new detectives want to make a name for themselves and not get on board with the department.
I’ll handle them like I’ll handle Dre and his moms. Stop worrying. Your husband got you.
“I’m ready for this to be over,” I said.
He froze, then looked at me with those eyes that carried both love and war. His hand wrapped tight around my throat, not to hurt, but to remind me who he was. His other hand lifted my leg high, and in one push he slid inside me like he’d been starving for me.
I gasped, but my body welcomed him because, mad or not, I couldn’t stay off him any more than he could stay off me. If it hadn’t been for the shooting, he would’ve been inside me right after I had Shiloh.
His thrusts grew rougher, each one a vow he didn’t know how to put into words. My chest tightened; not from the sex, but from the silent promise I felt in every stroke. He was telling me he’ll take care of things. That we would survive this. And God help me, I believed him.
He flipped me over fast, like his patience had burned out, entering me from behind.
My back arched instinctively, my body bending to him like it always did.
He smacked my ass once, hard, before gripping my waist tighter, pounding into me like I was his only therapy.
Every thought in his head poured into me with each thrust, and I could feel his chaos unraveling.
“Look at me,” he growled, fisting my hair until I faced him.
Our lips crashed, messy, consuming. His tongue tangled with mine, and just before my body broke apart, he whispered, “I love you.”
We shattered together. His release filled me as mine drenched him, the kind of union that left no space between us.
I collapsed face down on the sheets, my chest heaving.
Seth lifted me like I was weightless, carrying me into the shower.
The water rushed over us as he bathed me gently, every touch softer than the man the streets knew.
But when he dressed and laced his boots, I knew. He wasn’t done. That war outside wasn’t finished, and he was going back into it.
And all I could do was pray the man who just whispered “I love you” inside my ear would make it back to me and the boys.