Rashid.
The man who’d made me. The man I was going to have to unmake.
“Where were you today?”
Zainab’s voice pulled me back. She was watching me with those dark eyes that saw too much.
“Had a meeting.”
“With who?”
I hesitated. But she deserved the truth. All of it.
“Rashid.”
Her whole body went still. “You saw him? Face to face?”
“At the cigar bar. Tried to find a middle ground. Offered split custody—Yusef spends time with both families.”
“And?”
“He said no. I knew he would, though.” I kept my eyes on the road, but I could feel her gaze burning into the side of my face. “Said Yusef belongs with his blood. With Meech. Said women can’t raise men and he’s going to reshape that boy into something worthy of his bloodline.”
“That’s insane.”
“That’s Rashid.”
She was quiet for a moment. Processing.
“So what now?”
“Now I take Farah. Use her as leverage to get Yusef back.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “And then I kill Meech. And Rashid.”
The words hung in the air between us. Heavy. Final.
“Prime…” Her voice was soft. Careful. “Rashid raised you. Trained you. He’s the closest thing to a father you’ve ever had.”
“I know.”
“And you’re just… you can do that? Kill him?”
Rashid wasn’t just my mentor. He was the only man who’d ever believed I could be something. Killing him meant killing the version of myself he’d created. And I wasn’t sure who I’d be on the other side.
“I don’t want to,” I admitted. “Part of me still sees him as the man who saved my life. Who gave me purpose when I had nothing.” I exhaled slowly. “But he took Yusef. He’s hurting that boy right now—I know he is, because I lived it. The discipline. The punishments. The breaking down.” My jaw tightened. “And he threatened you. And Goddess, that shit won’t stand.”
“He said that?”
“He meant it.” I finally looked at her. “So yeah. I can do it. Because protecting you and Yusef matters more than any debt I owe him. More than any history we have.”
Her eyes were glistening. She reached over and put her hand on my thigh. Warm. Steady.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry you have to choose. I’m sorry I brought all this chaos into your life.”
“Don’t.” I covered her hand with mine. “You brought light into my life. Everything else—Zoo, Rashid, Meech—that’s just the cost of keeping that light safe. And I’d pay it a thousand times over.”
She squeezed my thigh but didn’t say anything else. Didn’t have to.
We pulled up to the penthouse building and I helped Mehar inside. She was barely conscious, mumbling something about needing a shower, and Zainab got her settled in the guest room.
