Chapter 19 Mehar
MEHAR
“Okay, so deposits are up twelve percent from last month,” I said, balancing the phone between my ear and shoulder while I flipped through the ledger.
“And we moved almost double the cinnamon roll orders for that corporate event last week. The red velvet with cream cheese frosting? Girl, people are OBSESSED. I had a woman call asking if we could do her whole wedding in just that flavor.”
“That’s my baby!” Zainab’s voice was warm through the phone, but I could hear the tired underneath.
Being on house arrest in California, while pregnant, with a murder trial hanging over her head—honestly, I didn’t know how she was keeping it together.
I would’ve lost my whole mind by now. “What about payroll? Everyone getting their hours?”
“Handled. How are you feeling though?” I asked. “And don’t say ‘fine.’ I can hear it in your voice, sis.”
She sighed. One of those deep, tired, pregnant woman sighs. “Tired. Swollen. Ready for this baby to evacuate my body so I can stop peeing every twenty minutes. You know she’s using my bladder as a squeeze toy now?”
“Glamorous.”
“Girl, you have NO idea. And don’t even get me started on the heartburn. I had a piece of toast yesterday—TOAST—and my chest was on fire for three hours.”
“But Prime’s taking care of you, right?”
“He’s been… yeah.” Her voice went soft in that way it always did when she talked about him. Disgusting, honestly. In the best way. “He’s been everything. And Yusef is right down the hall. Having them close helps.”
“Good.” I meant it. After everything—and I mean EVERYTHING—my sister had been through, she deserved some peace.
Even if it was temporary. Even with everything still hanging over her head.
“You just focus on growing that baby and not going into labor on somebody’s courtroom floor. I got things handled here.”
“I know you do.” A pause. “Mehar, I don’t say this enough, but… thank you. For real. For stepping up. For holding it down. I couldn’t do any of this without you.”
My throat got tight. Damn. “Girl, stop. You gonna make me cry in this office and mess up my mascara.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.” I swallowed hard. “That’s what sisters are for, right? We show up. That’s what we do.”
We talked for a few more minutes—nothing heavy, just regular stuff. How the new espresso machine was acting up. Whether we should add a vegan option to the menu. She didn’t ask about my personal life and I didn’t volunteer anything.
Some things were easier to keep close. I didn’t want to jinx it.
I thought about Thad.
I smiled before I could stop myself. Just thinking about that man made my face do things without my permission. He was… different. Patient in ways I wasn’t used to.
We’d been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now. He always took me out to nice restaurants. Listened to every word I had to say. He was kind, and beautiful. I felt lucky to have a Banks. My sister found her knight in shining armor in this family and so did I.
I hadn’t told Zainab about him yet. Wasn’t sure why. Maybe because it still felt fragile, like if I said it out loud, the universe would snatch it away. Or maybe I just wanted something that was mine for a little while. My secret. My joy.
I gathered my stuff—purse, keys, phone—and tucked the ledger in the safe. Double-checked the alarm, hit the lights, and headed out the back door into the parking lot.
I was halfway across the lot when I heard footsteps creeping up on me fast.
I turned, but not quick enough. An arm wrapped around my chest and yanked me backward. A gloved hand clamped over my mouth, swallowing my scream.
My body went into survival mode before my brain caught up. I thrashed, kicked, tried to bite through the leather covering my face. But he was bigger. Stronger. His grip was iron as he dragged me toward the shadows. This was precisely why I needed to conceal carry and take personal defense classes.
No. No no no no no. NOT AGAIN.
And just like that, I wasn’t in the parking lot anymore. I was back in that house. Back on that floor. Ahmad’s weight crushing me, his hands pinning my wrists, his breath hot and sour against my face while he took what he wanted.
Be still. Stop fighting. This is your duty as a wife.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Could only fight even though it wasn’t enough, it was NEVER enough—
Then the arm let go.
I stumbled forward, gasping, and spun around to see—Thad?
He was THERE. Like he’d materialized out of thin air. Fists flying, connecting with my attacker’s jaw, his ribs, anywhere he could reach. The other man—ski mask, all black, just a shadow—tried to swing back but Thad was on demon time.
“Get the FUCK off her!”
One more hit and the guy crumpled. Scrambled to his feet. Took off running into the darkness like his life depended on it.
Which, judging by the look on Thad’s face, it probably did.
He turned to me immediately, chest heaving, eyes wild. “Mehar. Look at me. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I couldn’t answer. My whole body was shaking so hard my teeth were chattering. The tears just came—big, ugly sobs that I couldn’t control no matter how hard I tried.
He didn’t hesitate. Just pulled me into his arms and held on tight.
“I got you,” he said against my hair. “You’re safe now. He’s gone. I got you.”
I grabbed fistfuls of his jacket and held on like he was the only thing keeping me from drowning. His heart was pounding against my cheek. His arms felt like walls. And slowly—so slowly—the panic started to loosen its grip. I had never been so grateful for his stalkerific ways as I was right now.
“How—” My voice sounded like gravel. “How did you—”
“I was coming to surprise you. Saw your car still here, figured I’d wait until you came out.” His hands rubbed up and down my back. “Then I saw that piece of shit grab you, and I just…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t let him hurt you.”
“Come on.” His voice was gentler now, the rage banking into something softer. “Let me get you somewhere safe.”
I nodded. Couldn’t drive like this. Couldn’t be alone like this.
He walked me to his car—that sleek black Audi I’d ridden in before—and helped me in like I was made of something precious. By the time he got in on his side, the shaking had downgraded to a tremble.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked. “Your place? Or…”
“Yours.” It came out before I could think. “I don’t want to be alone right now.” Serenity had been spending more and more time with Mega.
Something flickered in his eyes. But all he said was, “Okay.”
Thad’s apartment was nice. Like, NICE nice. Clean lines, modern furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows with a view. I could tell by the minimalism that he had money but no one to share with.
He set me on the couch and disappeared. Came back with a glass of dark liquor and pressed it into my hands.
“Drink. It’ll help settle your nerves.”
I took a sip. The burn felt good going down, warming me from the inside out.
He sat next to me—close enough to touch but not crowding. “Can I check you? Make sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”
I nodded.
His hands were careful as he looked at my arms, my wrists, the places where that man’s fingers had dug in. There’d be bruises by morning—I could already feel them blooming under my skin—but nothing was broken.
Nothing except that little voice in my head that had started to believe I was finally safe.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?”
“For being like this. A whole mess.” I stared at my glass. “I thought I was past it. Thought I’d healed. But when he grabbed me, I was RIGHT back there. With Ahmad. Feeling like that helpless little girl who couldn’t fight back, no matter how hard she tried.”
“Hey.” His hand found my chin, tilting my face up to look at him. “You DID fight back. I saw you. You were scratching, kicking, doing everything you could. That’s not helpless—that’s survival.”
“But if you hadn’t shown up—”
“I did show up.” His thumb traced my jaw. “I’m here right now. And I’m not going anywhere.”
The way he was looking at me. Like I mattered. Like I was worth protecting.
I kissed him.
Didn’t plan it. Didn’t think it through. Just… reached for the one good thing in the middle of all the bad.
He kissed me back. Soft at first, testing, making sure I wanted this.
I did. Lord, I did.
The kiss got deeper. His hand slid to the back of my neck, angling my head so he could taste me better. I could still feel the Banks reserve on his tongue, the heat of him, the way his whole body was coiled tight like he was holding himself back.
“Mehar.” He pulled away just enough to speak. “We don’t have to do anything. Not tonight.”
“I want to.”
“You sure? After what just happened—”
“I NEED to feel something good.” I held his gaze, let him see everything I was feeling. “I need to feel like my body belongs to ME again. Please, Thad.”
Something shifted in his face. That careful restraint cracked open to show something hungrier underneath.
“Okay,” he breathed. “But we do this your way. Whatever you need, however you need it. You’re in charge.”
We made it to his bedroom somehow. I barely clocked the details—big bed, gray sheets, city lights through the windows—before his mouth was on mine again and my brain stopped working.
But when he tried to ease me down onto the mattress, my whole body locked up.
Just for a second. Just a flash—Ahmad’s face above me, his weight pressing me into the bed, his hands around my wrists while he grunted and I stared at the ceiling waiting for it to be over—
“Wait.” The word scraped out of my throat. “I can’t. Not like that.”
Thad stopped immediately. Took a step back, hands up like I was a spooked animal. “What do you need? Tell me.”
I breathed. In and out. Shoved the memories back down into the box where they lived.
“I need to be on top.”
He didn’t ask why. Didn’t look at me like I was crazy or broken. Just nodded, got on the bed, and lay back against the pillows.
Waiting. Patient. Eyes dark with passion but his body completely still.