Chapter 36 Prime #2
“But you DID. You left me with him. You let it happen.” She was crying again, but there was a sick satisfaction in her eyes.
The satisfaction of finally landing a blow that actually hurt.
“So don’t stand there and act like you’re better than me.
Don’t pretend you’re not a monster. We’re the same, Prime. We’re exactly the same.”
I stood there, frozen, my mind racing through every interaction I’d had with Thad since that night. The way he’d acted normal. Laughed at family dinners. Shook my hand like nothing happened. Smiled in my face while carrying that secret.
He’d violated a woman I was responsible for. A woman I’d promised to protect.
And then he’d walked back into my life like it was nothing.
“Prime.” Quest’s voice cut through the fog. “You good?”
I wasn’t good. I was far from good. But I couldn’t deal with this right now. Couldn’t process what it meant or what I was going to do about it. I had to focus on Zainab.
Thad would get his. But not today.
I walked back to Farah and crouched down in front of her. She flinched away from me, expecting violence, but I just looked at her. Really looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
She blinked, thrown off guard. “What?”
“I’m sorry that things got this bad. I never wanted you to get hurt like that. That wasn’t—” I took a breath. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. And I’m sorry it did.”
For a moment, something flickered in her eyes. Something almost human.
“What would it take?” I asked quietly. “For you to go away and leave me and my family alone? What do you want?”
She stared at me for a long moment. Then: “You.”
“Farah—”
“Come away with me.” Her voice was urgent now, desperate. “Leave her. Leave all of this. We can start over somewhere new, just the two of us. I have connections. I can get us new identities, new lives. We can disappear and never look back.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not? Because you love HER?” She spat the word like poison. “She’s in jail, Prime. She’s going to prison for murder. What kind of life is that? What kind of future?”
“She’s my future. Her and our baby. That’s never going to change.”
Something died in Farah’s eyes. That last flicker of hope, extinguished.
“Then I’ll never stop.” Her voice was flat. Final. “As long as I’m breathing, I’ll never stop coming for you. For her. For everything you love. You want peace? Then you’re going to have to kill me. Because that’s the only way this ends.”
I stared at her for a long moment. Then I stood up.
“Quest won’t hurt you. You have my word on that.” I walked toward the door without looking back. “I’ll figure out what to do with you when I get back.”
“PRIME!”
I kept walking.
“PRIME, DON’T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME! PRIME!”
The door closed behind me, cutting off her screams.
I stood in the hallway for a moment, my hands shaking, my mind spinning. Farah’s words echoing in my head. Thad’s betrayal burning in my chest. The weight of everything pressing down on me until I could barely breathe.
But I couldn’t break. Not yet.
Zainab needed me.
The county jail smelled like despair.
I’d been in a lot of dark places in my life, but there was something about this building that hit different.
Maybe it was the fluorescent lights that buzzed too loud.
Maybe it was the way everyone moved—guards, visitors, inmates—like they’d already given up on life.
Maybe it was knowing that my woman, my pregnant fiancée, was somewhere behind these walls.
I went through the security check like a zombie. Metal detector. Pat down. ID verification. Sign here, sign there, wait in this room until your number is called.
Finally, they led me to the visitation area.
Zainab was already there, sitting behind the glass partition, a phone receiver in her hand. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit that swallowed her frame, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, dark circles under her eyes.
She looked broken. Weary. Sad.
My heart cracked right down the middle.
I sat down across from her and picked up my phone. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Just looked at each other through the glass like we were trying to memorize each other’s faces.
“Hey, Goddess.”
“Hey.” Her voice was small. Tired. Nothing like the vibrant woman I’d fallen in love with.
“How are you holding up?”
She laughed—a hollow, humorless sound. “I’m in jail, Prime. I’m eight months pregnant and sleeping on a concrete slab and eating food that tastes like cardboard. How do you think I’m holding up?”
“I’m working on it. Camille’s doing everything she can—”
“They denied bail again.” She cut me off, her eyes filling with tears.
“The judge said I was a flight risk. Said I’d already proven I couldn’t be trusted to follow the rules.
” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I’m going to have this baby in here, Prime.
Our daughter is going to be born in a prison hospital. ”
“That’s not gonna happen.”
“You don’t know that. You can’t promise that.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have just stayed in the house. I should have called the police. I should have—”
“Stop.” My voice came out rougher than I intended. “Stop apologizing. You thought Yusef was in danger. You did what any mother would do.”
“But I wasn’t thinking. I just panicked, and now—”
“Zainab.” I pressed my hand against the glass. “Look at me.”
She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed and swimming with tears.
“This is not your fault. Someone set you up. They used your love for Yusef against you, and you responded the way anyone would. I’m not mad at you. I will never be mad at you for trying to protect our family.”
She pressed her hand against the glass too, lining it up with mine. We couldn’t touch, but this was as close as we could get.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you more.”
“I’m scared, Prime. I’m so scared.”
“I know, baby. I know.” I swallowed hard, trying to keep my own emotions in check. “But I need you to hold on. Can you do that for me? Just hold on a little longer. I’m going to fix this. I don’t know how yet, but I’m going to fix this.”
She nodded, but I could see she didn’t believe me. Couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t sure I believed myself anymore.
“How’s Yusef?” she asked, changing the subject.
“He’s okay. Worried about you. He wanted to come visit but I told him to wait until you were feeling better.”
“Good. I don’t want him to see me like this.” She paused. “How’s Mehar?”
“She’s holding it down for Sweet Zin. Call her when you get a chance. Let her know you’re fine.”
Something like a smile flickered across Zainab’s face. “That’s my sister. Always holding it down.” The smile faded. “I’ll call her and tell her I love her. And that I’m proud of her.”
A guard appeared behind Zainab, tapping his watch. Our time was almost up.
“I have to go,” Zainab said, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise.”
“Okay.” She pressed her hand harder against the glass, like she could somehow push through it and touch me. “I love you, Prentice Banks. No matter what happens. I love you.”
“I love you too, Zainab Ali. More than anything in this world.” I held her gaze, pouring everything I had into those words. “And I will never stop fighting for you. Never.”
The guard put his hand on her shoulder, and she had to go. She stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving mine, and let them lead her away.
I sat there for a long time after she was gone, my hand still pressed against the glass, staring at the empty chair where she’d been.
Then I got up and walked out of that building, feeling like I’d left a piece of myself behind.
My heart felt heavy as I walked into the bright LA streets.
The world kept moving like nothing was wrong with cars passing, people walking, life going on.
And meanwhile, my woman was locked in a cage and my cousin was a rapist and there was a woman in a warehouse who wanted my family dead and I didn’t know how to fix any of it.
I sat in my car for a long time before I could bring myself to turn the key.
Everything was falling apart. And I had no idea how to put it back together.
But I had to try. For Zainab. For our daughter. For the family I’d fought so hard to build.
I had to try.