Chapter 23
The only thing on my mind right now was murder. This nigga Jerome was already on my shit list for fucking over my sister. Then he goes and puts his dirty-ass paws on my woman. Yeah, his bitch ass was about to see me.
“So how are we playin’ this out, bruh?” Ryan asked from the passenger seat, voice low like he was trying not to wake the block.
We sat two cars down on the tree-lined street where the houses sat back from the curb behind trimmed hedges and clean driveways. It was late in the evening, so it was dark out. The only light shining came from the streetlights.
“I want to put the nigga in the dirt, but my niece loves his bitch ass. But this nigga is definitely about to feel me. Feel me?”
“Aw, shit! My boy coming out of retirement. Let’s get it!” Ryan was too hype to wreck some shit.
“Nigga, I may not be in the streets no more, but I’ll lay a nigga out in these streets. The fuck you mean, retirement? I never left.” I looked over at Ryan before climbing out of my truck. He followed right along with me, chuckling.
I threw my hoodie over my head, checking my surroundings. The block was semi-dark, and the street was quiet. We made it up the driveway, and when we got up the porch steps to the door, I checked the locks and was surprised this nigga didn’t even have his door locked.
“This nigga got company,” Ryan said, pointing to the woman’s heels and clothes in the middle of the floor when we walked inside the house.
I only saw Jerome’s car in the driveway, so I didn’t expect him to have company. Whoever the bitch was, she must’ve parked on the street.
We hit the stairs, since we heard the loud music coming from that direction.
I guess this nigga was in here making love to his bitch from the way he was playing some R&B shit.
We hit the room the music was coming from, and sure enough, he was in here fucking.
Jerome was butt naked, lying on the bed, while a bitch rode him like her life depended on it.
Without speaking a word, I pulled my gun from my waist. I aimed it at the Bluetooth speaker on the nightstand and fired a single shot.
The speaker exploded into a shower of plastic and sparks.
The music cut off mid-lyric and silence filled the air.
The bitch screamed instantly, high and sharp.
She lost her balance and tumbled off the bed before looking at us like she’d seen a ghost.
Jerome bolted upright, hands flying, eyes wide in complete panic. “What the fuck, man! What the hell is y’all doing in my house?!” he yelled, sounding like a bitch.
“I think you know the answer to that. Get the fuck up!” I grabbed Jerome by the back of his neck and tossed him to the floor. I smacked him across the face with my gun, causing blood to leak from his mouth and nose.
“Ahhh!” Jerome screamed. “I’m sorry. I was just pissed that she was pregnant! That was supposed to be my baby!” Jerome spat the words out fast, venom slithering off every syllable. He was trying to stand tall, but the tremor in his voice gave him away.
“Man, shut the fuck up! You sound stupid. You fumbled a good woman, and now you mad that she moved on?”
“Fuck you! Zanova was my bitch first! That pussy forever mine!” Jerome shouted angrily.
I reached down and grabbed his jaws tightly. I shoved my gun into his mouth, ready to pull the trigger.
He froze like a puppet with its’ strings cut—his eyes bugged out, body shaking like a hoe in church, and stuttering as the gun blocked whatever bullshit her was trying to say.
“Nah, my nigga… Zanova was just yours for a season. She’s about to be mine for a lifetime.
” Quickly, I pulled the gun from his mouth and brought it down on his face again for calling my woman out of her name.
“Now, I’m only gon’ ask you one time, and one time only. What hand did you use to touch my wife?”
He tried to move away, but my hand still held his jaw so that he couldn’t.
He groaned, tears rolling down his face as his nostrils flared.
He knew what was up. After a long, ugly minute, he lifted his right hand like a man giving up a white flag.
I positioned my piece, and without hesitation, I squeezed the trigger.
He screamed, a raw sound that echoed through the room, and his hand collapsed, useless and slick with blood. He clawed at it like that would somehow stop the pain.
I leaned down until my face was leveled with his.
“I’m only letting you live because of my niece.
But if you come near Zanova again, I promise you, the next bullet will be in your skull.
” Tightening my grip, I clenched my jaw because everything in me said I should kill this nigga.
“And if you think about calling the law, your death will be so gruesome, it will be talked about for years.” I stood, tucking my gun into my hoodie, hesitating to walk out.
Nodding at Ryan, I cued him that it was time to go and walked out the same way I got in.
On the ride to my next destination, Zanova began blowing up my phone.
I silenced it just as I pulled up to Paige’s house.
I knew Zanova was worried about me, but there was no way I was letting her punk-ass ex get away with putting his hands on her.
Just like I wasn’t letting Paige get away for the fuck shit she did to me.
Cutting my engine, Ryan and I climbed out of the truck just in time to see my cousin, Xina, and her girls piling out of an old Honda CR-V, music still thumping low from the speakers.
Six deep, all of them posted like they were stepping straight out of a fight night flyer.
Hoodies, ponytails, boots, and a look in their eyes that said they meant trouble were sported by all six women.
“What’s up, cuz?” Xina grinned, walking up with that confident bounce in her step before pulling me in for a quick hug.
She was a blood relative from my father’s side. Xina was always sharp with her tongue and even sharper with her hands. She ran a boxing gym for underprivileged kids, teaching them how to fight smarter and stay out of the streets. But right now, she was clearly in go mode.
“What’s good, X? Appreciate you pulling up,” I said, dapping her up. “But I said a few of your girls, not the whole damn crew.”
She laughed, tossing her braids over her shoulder. “Nah, we like to play tag-a-bitch-in when we fight.” Her girls cracked up behind her, all talking slick and hyped like they’d been waiting on a reason to get active.
“Damn, X,” one of them said, stepping forward with a smirk. “You ain’t tell us your cousin was Mr. Tequila King himself.”
She had that kind of smile that came with an agenda, eyes sweeping me from head to toe. She was ready to eat a nigga up, and Ryan noticed and started laughing under his breath.
“Girl, don’t start…” Xina warned, shaking her head. “That man taken. Plus, he don’t fuck with crazy bitches.”
The chick sucked her teeth, still smiling. “Shoot, I am a little touched. But I take my meds. But okay, boss lady. I’ll chill.”
They all laughed.
“Y’all ready?” I asked.
Xina nodded, her tone switching from playful to business in a heartbeat. “Always. I ain’t beat a bitch since last week.”
Her girls straightened up, cracking knuckles and adjusting hoodies. The laughter was gone now, and the energy shifted.
Ryan leaned toward me. “Man, this about to be lit as fuck.”
We all walked up to Paige’s house. I knocked on the door since I didn’t see a bell.
A few seconds later, I heard footsteps before the door came swinging open, and there stood the woman of the hour.
Paige froze when she saw who it was, her face going pale in an instant.
Before I could step back, Xina slipped past me and sent a right hook to Paige’s face, sending her flying backward into the house.
We all quickly filed inside as Ryan shut and locked the door.
“’Mir? What is this?” Paige asked, voice trembling as she tried to act innocent.
“I told you to leave me the fuck alone. But nah, you had to poke the beast. You made a false claim on me, trying to get me jammed up on some shit that could’ve ruined me. I told you, the next time that you come at it, you were going to pay the price. This is your price.”
I stood back, and Xina and her crew began throwing blows, fucking Paige up. She was trying to fight back, but it only made it worse. I didn’t condone beating women, or being the one to coordinate women being beaten, but Paige needed to be taught a lesson.
After about five minutes, I called off Xina and her girls. They all made sure to get one last lick in before they backed off, leaving Paige bloody on her living room floor. I walked over and leaned down, making sure not to get her blood on me.
“This is your last warning, P. I’m only letting you live because of your daughter.” I watched her swallow hard as the color left her battered face. “You know me well enough to know that my word is my bond. If you come near me, my home, or my place of business, your daughter will be an orphan.”
We all filed out of the house like nothing had happened.
This wasn’t about victory for me. This was a final line drawn for both Jerome and Paige.
Both had crossed the line, and both had now been warned.
Paige had been stripped of what little excuse she’d had left to fuck with me.
Jerome now had to function with a fucked-up hand.
I’ve done what I had to do to protect what was mine, along with my future wife and I’s peace.
An hour later, I was walking into my house. The first thing I did was get rid of my clothes and hit the shower. When I walked into my bedroom, dressed in nothing but a towel, I stood at the foot of my bed, watching my queen sleep in the middle of my huge bed.
The only light coming from the television mounted on the wall gave my baby a glow.
It was soft but bright enough to see her curled up, one hand resting on her stomach, the other tucked under her cheek.
Her curls spilled across my pillow, her lips slightly parted, her chest rising and falling slow and peaceful.
For the first time that night, my shoulders eased.
This woman was my peace. My purpose. And I’d burn the whole fucking city down if it meant keeping her safe.
I sat on the edge of the bed, just watching her. She looked so fucking sexy. Her skin seemed to glow even more since finding out she was carrying my baby. Leaning down, I brushed my thumb across her jaw. She shifted a little, sighing, and whispered my name in her sleep. That was it for me.
I dropped my towel, then removed the sheet from Zanova's naked frame and got into bed.
Gently turning her over on her back, I spread her legs open, and the soft scent of her body wash crept up my nose.
Her pretty pink pussy stared at me, fat and hairless, and my mouth watered for a taste of her sweet honey.
I licked my lips as I spread her lips open and dove in.
“Damn, I love her flavor,” I thought as I dipped my tongue into her hole. Even in her sleep, she got wet for a nigga.
A few licks in, and I heard her moan, then grabbed the back of my head. Her hips began to slowly move in small circles. “Babe, no. Stop. I’m still mad at you.”
“Your mouth is saying one thing, but this pussy is leaking like a faucet, Nova baby. Make that make sense, love.” I chuckled, then went back to sucking and slurping on her middle.
“Shit! I… I can’t help it. It’s these hormones,” she whispered in a soft moan.
When I told Zanova what my plans were tonight, she begged me not to do it. She said Jerome wasn’t worth my freedom. But fuck that. He touched what belonged to me, so he had to pay. I couldn’t let him slide.
“Damn, Nova baby. This pussy tastes good as fuck…” I groaned, gripping her thighs while sucking her clit. “Why is this pussy so wet, baby?” I slipped a finger in her asshole, working it in and out at a fast pace. At the same time, I sucked her clit and circled my tongue around it.
“Because of you, Samir! I love you, baby! Oh God! I’m coming!” she screamed and came in my mouth.
When I finished drinking up all her cream, I sat up, my beard leaking with her cream. I placed her legs in the crook of my arms and slid inside of her slowly.
“Fuck! It doesn’t make no damn sense for this pussy to feel this good!” I growled and began fucking her shit out the frame.
Zanova had her eyes closed, face balled up, fingers gripping the sheets. The beautiful fuck faces she was making had a nigga ready to nut. As I made love to her, all I could do was thank the man above for Jerome fumbling her heart.
“Look at me, love. I want to look into your eyes when I nut in this good-ass pussy.”
She did as I asked. Her eyes were heavy, glossed over with heat she couldn’t hide. She fought to keep them open, moaning as her teeth sank into her bottom lip.
“I love you, Nova baby. You and my baby are my only priority. I’ll body anything moving if they fuck with y’all.” I was giving facts and long, deep strokes.
“I… I know, Samir! Shit! I know, and I love you more. Sssss!” She hissed, fucking me back from the bottom. I gently let her legs down without breaking my rhythm. I grabbed both of her breasts and sucked on her left nipple, biting down gently as I grunted and released deep inside her.
Everything about Zanova—her honesty, her strength, her fire—broke something open in me. I kissed her slowly, tasting her breath, her warmth, her truth. Every move between us felt like a promise. Every heartbeat synced until it was hard to tell where I ended and she began.
When I was sure I had emptied everything I had inside of her, I stayed there, savoring the moment with her. We both were quiet, just listening to our breathing and the sound of our hearts. I brushed a hand over her cheek, my thumb catching the tear that had slipped down.
“Samir, I trust you with everything in me. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”
“Damn, woman,” I whispered against her skin. “You tryna to have me shopping for rings.”
She laughed softly, the kind of laugh that settles in your soul.
Her fingers traced lazy circles over my chest as her breathing turned to normal.
Whatever tomorrow brought, none of it mattered right now.
Because in this moment, wrapped up with her, I had everything I ever wanted. And I wasn’t letting go.