Chapter 23 Prime
PRIME
The last week had been all about gathering evidence of my mother’s wrongdoings.
She had taken so many bribes that it wasn’t even funny.
First thing was to drag all that shit into the spotlight.
I had Quest and Justice going through her online files, deleting any of her connections to the Banks family businesses.
We also deleted any connections to other folks’ businesses that we didn’t want to get caught up in trouble.
And now we were sending everything over to the DC DA—anonymously, of course.
I couldn’t wait to see the very thing she loved more than her kids—her mayorship—get taken away from her.
After that, I was going to take away her India. The bitch she liked to munch on. India made those calls to get my baby arrested, so she was gonna feel some of this heat too.
The only problem was, I needed to go back to DC to handle her. And I swear, I didn’t want to leave my family alone. But it would only be for a day or two.
Tonight though, we were having a family dinner.
Zainab had been craving Indian food all week. So I ordered from the best Indian spot in LA—butter chicken, lamb biryani, garlic naan, samosas, the works. Had it delivered and spread out across the dining room table like a feast.
Yusef came downstairs when he smelled the food. He was looking better these days. Still quiet, but his eyes weren’t as hollow as they’d been when we first got him back. Sloane was doing good work with him.
“Come eat, lil man,” I said, pulling out a chair for him.
Zainab waddled in, one hand on her lower back, the other cradling her belly. She was getting bigger every day. Beautiful as hell, but uncomfortable. I could see it in the way she moved.
“This smells amazing,” she said, lowering herself into the chair I pulled out for her. “Thank you, baby.”
“Anything for you.”
We fixed our plates and started eating. For a few minutes, it was just the sounds of forks against plates, the occasional “pass the naan,” the comfortable silence of family.
Then I cleared my throat.
“I gotta go to DC in a couple days,” I said. “Handle some business.”
Zainab’s fork paused halfway to her mouth. “What kind of business?”
“The Vivica kind.”
Her jaw tightened. She set her fork down slowly. “Prime…”
“She’s the reason you got arrested, Zai. She made those calls. Her and India. They served you up to the police and I can’t let that slide.” I kept my voice steady, but the anger was there, simmering beneath the surface.
“I’m not asking you to let it go. I’m asking you not to leave.” She gestured around the room—at herself, at Yusef, at her ankle monitor barely visible beneath her dress. “I can’t go anywhere. I can’t protect myself. I can’t protect him. And you want to fly across the country?”
“It’s only for a day or two.”
“A lot can happen in a day or two.”
She wasn’t wrong. I knew she wasn’t wrong. But I also knew that Vivica wouldn’t stop until she destroyed everything I loved. The only way to protect my family was to take her out first.
“This is how I protect us,” I said. “By making sure she can never come for you again. For any of us.”
Zainab stared at me for a long moment. I could see the war happening behind her eyes—the fear battling with the understanding. She knew who I was when she fell in love with me. She knew what I was capable of. And she knew that when I said I was going to handle something, I handled it.
“You promise you’ll come right back?” she asked quietly.
“The second it’s done, I’m on a plane home.”
She nodded slowly. Still not happy about it, but accepting. “Okay.”
“I’ll hold it down.”
We both froze.
The voice was small. Quiet. A little rough from disuse.
But it was Yusef.
I turned to look at him. He was staring at his plate, pushing rice around with his fork, like he hadn’t just spoken for the first time in months.
“What did you say?” Zainab whispered.
Yusef looked up. Met her eyes. Then mine.
“I said I’ll hold it down.” His voice was stronger this time. More certain. “While Prime is gone. I’ll take care of you, Auntie Zai.”
Zainab’s chair scraped against the floor as she pushed back from the table. She was around to his side in seconds, pulling him into her arms, tears already streaming down her face.
“Yusef. Baby. You’re talking. You’re really talking.”
He let her hold him. Even hugged her back, his thin arms wrapping around her as best they could with her belly in the way.
“Sloane helped me,” he said, his voice muffled against her shoulder. “She helped me find my voice again. I’m done being a baby. I’m done being scared.”
Zainab pulled back, cupping his face in her hands, looking at him like he’d just performed a miracle. “You were never a baby. You hear me? You went through something terrible. Something no child should ever have to go through. And you survived it.”
“I know.” He swallowed hard. “And when I’m ready… I’ll tell you what happened. At Rashid’s. What I saw.” His eyes flickered to me. “But not yet. I’m not ready yet.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” I said. “No pressure. No rush. You tell us when you tell us.”
“Can we finish eating now?” he asked. “The food’s getting cold.”
Zainab laughed through her tears. “Yeah, baby. Let’s eat.”
We went back to our plates, but everything felt different now. Lighter. The silence that had hung over Yusef for so long was finally broken. He wasn’t all the way healed—none of us were—but he was on his way.
And that was enough.
For the rest of dinner, we talked. Actually talked. Yusef asked what we were gonna name the baby. Zainab told him we hadn’t picked a name yet. He nodded, said he’d help us think of something.
“I’ll be a good big cousin,” he said quietly. “I’ll protect her.”
Zainab’s eyes watered. “I know you will, baby.”
I watched them together—my woman and the boy who’d become like a son to me—and felt so much hope for the future.
Later that night, after Yusef had gone to bed, I found Zainab in our room.
She was standing by the window, looking out at the LA skyline, one hand resting on her belly. The moonlight caught her silhouette, and for a moment, I just stood there, watching her.
This woman had been through hell. Arrested. Humiliated. Locked away from everyone she loved. And she was still standing. Still fighting. Still carrying my baby like it wasn’t adding thirty extra pounds to her frame.
She was the strongest person I knew.
“You just gonna stand there staring?” she asked without turning around.
“Maybe.”
I crossed the room in three steps. Wrapped my arms around her from behind, my hands finding her belly like they always did. The baby kicked against my palm, and I smiled.
“She’s active tonight,” I murmured against her neck.
“She’s always active. This girl don’t ever sleep.”
“She gets that from me.”
“Unfortunately.”
I laughed, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. She turned in my arms, facing me, her belly pressed between us.
“Promise me,” she said.
“Promise you what?”
“That you’ll come home.” Her eyes searched mine. “I know you have to do this. I know Vivica has to pay for what she did. But I need you to promise me that you’ll come back. That you won’t do anything stupid. That you won’t get yourself killed or locked up trying to get revenge.”
“I promise.”
“Say it again.”
I cupped her face in my hands, made sure she could see the truth in my eyes.
“I promise I will come home to you. To Yusef. To our baby girl. Nothing in this world could keep me away from my family.” I kissed her forehead. “You hear me? Nothing.”
She nodded slowly, then pulled me down for a real kiss that was deep and desperate, saying everything words couldn’t.
“Make love to me,” she whispered. “Before you go. I need to feel you.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice.
I kissed her deep, my tongue sliding against hers, tasting the nectar in her mouth. My hands found the hem of her nightgown and pulled it up and over her head. No bra. No panties. Just her—all that soft, deep cocoa skin and those full breasts and that round belly carrying my seed.
“Turn around,” I said against her lips.
She obeyed, turning to face the window, the LA skyline spread out before us.
I pressed myself against her back, letting her feel how hard I was through my sweats.
My hands came around to cup her breasts, heavy and swollen.
I rolled her nipples between my fingers and she moaned, pressing her ass back against me.
“You know how crazy you make me?” I growled in her ear. “Walking around here with all this body. Got me wanting to stay home and live between your thighs.”
“Then stay.”
“Can’t.” I slid one hand down her belly, down between her legs. She was already wet. Dripping. “But I’ma give you something to remember while I’m gone.”
I pushed my sweats down and bent her forward slightly, one hand on her hip, the other guiding myself to her entrance. I teased her with the tip, sliding it through her wetness, bumping her clit until she was whimpering.
“Prime, please—”
I pushed in.
Slow. Inch by inch. Letting her feel every bit of me stretching her open. She gasped, her hands flying to the windowsill to brace herself.
“That’s it,” I groaned. “Take all of it.”
When I bottomed out, I stayed there for a moment, buried deep, feeling her pulse around me. Then I started to move.
Long strokes at first. Pulling almost all the way out, then sinking back in deep. Her moans fogged the glass in front of her. I gripped her hips tighter, watching myself disappear inside her over and over.
“Look at you,” I said, my voice rough. “Taking this dick like a good girl. Like you was built for me.”
“I was,” she panted. “Only for you.”
I picked up the pace. Harder now. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room. She was throwing it back, matching my rhythm, her ass bouncing against me every time I thrust forward.
“Fuck, Zai.” I reached around, found her clit, started rubbing circles. “This pussy got me addicted. Can’t nobody else ever have this. You understand me?”
“Yes— oh God, yes—”
“Say my name.”
“Prime!”
“Louder.”
“PRIME!”
I felt her clench around me, her whole body trembling as she came. But I wasn’t done with her yet.
I pulled out, turned her around, and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her onto my lap.
“Ride me,” I commanded.
She straddled me carefully, her belly between us, and sank down onto my dick with a moan that made my toes curl. From this angle I could see everything—her face twisted in pleasure, her breasts bouncing, her belly brushing against me every time she moved.
She started slow, grinding more than bouncing, getting used to the angle. Her hands gripped my shoulders for leverage. I let her set the pace, let her take what she needed.
“That’s right, baby.” I gripped her ass, spread her cheeks, helped her move. “Use me. Take what’s yours.”
She sped up. Started really riding me, lifting herself up and dropping back down, taking me deeper each time. The bed creaked beneath us. Her moans got louder. I could feel her getting wetter, could hear the obscene sounds of her pussy swallowing me whole.
“I’m gonna miss this while I’m gone,” I groaned. “Gonna be thinking about this pretty pussy every second I’m away from you.”
“You better.” She rolled her hips, clenched around me on purpose. “Don’t let none of them DC bitches get any ideas.”
“Ain’t nobody but you, Zai. Never gonna be nobody but you.”
I pulled her down for a kiss, swallowing her moans as she started to shake again. I felt her second orgasm building, felt her walls fluttering around me.
“Come for me,” I demanded against her lips. “Come on this dick so I can fill you up.”
She broke apart with a cry, her nails raking down my back, her pussy gripping me so tight I couldn’t hold back anymore. I grabbed her hips, thrust up into her hard, once, twice, three times, and then I was coming too, spilling deep inside her, groaning her name like it was the only word I knew.
We stayed like that for a long moment. Foreheads pressed together. Hearts pounding. Her belly warm between us, our baby girl moving like she knew something important just happened.
“Come home to me,” she whispered.
I kissed her forehead. Her nose. Her lips.
“Always,” I said. “I promise.”
I meant it.