“For what?”
She turned her head against the seat to look at him. “For letting me into this part of your life. For being a man of your word. For being you.”
He didn’t say anything right away. He reached over, took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles.
“You are my life now, Ken. Ain’t no parts you don’t get. All I need in this life of a sin…”
“Is Ken.”
“Exactly. Just you.”
She held his hand tighter and let the quiet carry them home.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A WEEK LATER
Rolani was twenty minutes early.
He parked near the front of the facility, cut the engine, and reclined the seat back. He’d been waiting for this day for almost two years and didn’t know what else to do with his hands now that it was here.
Robin, his baby brother, would be released today, two weeks ahead of schedule. He didn't know why it had him anxious. This was his brother, his right hand, the person he'd ride for without question. But two years locked up changed a man.
He wasn’t going to come home the same, and Rolani knew that. He prayed he could welcome him back easily. Help him readjust. Be there the way he’d always been there for him.
Robin had been sitting down for some bullshit Monshay engineered from inside a relationship that had been rotten since the jump. Rolani had seen it coming. Had tried to tell Robin without telling him directly, the way you did when a man was in love and you knew the truth would only push him further in. Robin hadn’t listened. Robin never listened when it came to Monshay, and it had cost him his freedom, his daughter’s childhood, and two years he wasn’t getting back.
“I hope the nigga learned his lesson,” he said to no one as he pulled up his playlist. Tee Grizzley’s First Day Out knocked through the speakers, bass vibrating through the truck, and he nodded his head to the beat until a call from Kennedi flashed across the screen.
He smiled despite himself and answered. “Hey, baby.”
“Did you get him?” Her voice was bright, already excited.
“Not yet. Still waiting.” He leaned back further. “I think you may be more excited than I am.”
“Because I am. We’re basically besties.”
He laughed. “Besties, huh?”
“Yup. He’s a good person who got caught up in some bad ish. I can tell.” She paused. “You do what I asked you?”
“Yes, baby daddy.” He could hear her moving around in the background. “Dr. Khalifa said she’ll call you this afternoon.”
“Aight. The last of your stuff made it over?”
“The movers just left. Your place is officially our place.” A beat. “And the apartment is ready for Robin. The lease is already transferred. He can walk in and breathe.”
He shook his head slowly. This woman. She’d set this into motion without him even asking. Just cleared out her place and handed it over so his brother had somewhere to land and some privacy to get his shit together.
“You didn’t have to do that, Ken.”
“I know. But I wanted to. Monroe needs stability.” A beat. “Now go get your brother. Call me when y’all leave.”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He set the phone down and sat with it for a moment. Robin was coming home. Kennedi had moved in. Monroe was thriving. The baby was due in a few months. Life was moving fast, but for the first time in years, it felt like it was moving right.
