“Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just trust me, remember?”
“I trust you.”
“Then close your eyes and sleep. You’re safe. I promise.”
He pulled a blanket over me, kissed me one more time, then left.
I lay there in the aftermath, my body still buzzing my mind finally quiet.
He was right. I did feel better. The fear was still there, hovering at the edges, but it wasn’t consuming me anymore.
Because Prime had it handled.
More than that—Prime had claimed me in a way that felt permanent. Final. Like I was his now, and nothing could change that.
And despite everything—the lies, the secrets, the danger—I wanted to be his.
Even knowing it was only a matter of time before everything fell apart.
30
PRIME
I sat in my whip outside Zahara’s building for a solid ten minutes after I left. Just watching her window like a hawk. Making sure she was good. Making sure nobody was coming for what’s mine.
This shit wasn’t normal. I knew it wasn’t normal.
I ain’t never caught feelings like this before. Never felt this need to body anybody who looked at her wrong. To claim territory. To handle every damn thing in her world like it was my own business.
But here I was. Sleep-deprived. Running on adrenaline and passion. And all I could think about was how to make her life easier. Safer. Better.
She needed a commercial kitchen.
I pulled out my phone and called Justice.
He answered on the third ring. “What?”
“I need a favor.”
“Man, after that shit you pulled last night… I ain’t sure I’m in the favor-giving mood.”
“You called her a bitch. What’d you expect?”
Silence. Then a sigh. “Yeah, aight. My bad. That was out of line.” He paused. “But seriously, you put your hands on me over a woman, Prime. That ain’t like you.”
“Things change.”
“Clearly.” I could hear him moving around, probably rolling another joint. “So what’s this favor?”
“Commercial real estate. You still got connects in that?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I need a commercial kitchen.”
Another pause. Longer this time. “You about to start a caterin’ company, nigga? This is how you wanna spend your retirement?”
