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“See, Kenji hasn’t told you anything about our world. He has you running around blind. A key is automatically an invitation. This key will get you through any door as long as there is a doorknob.” Dante winked at me, and I felt queasy. The thought of Dante being anywhere near me made my stomach churn. “Like I said, how great is he really if he can’t tell you the basics?” Dante smirked, overly confident. I wanted to slap the smirk from his fucking face.

I didn’t like how Kenji’s lame ass was tryna play Kenji. He had me and my soulmate fucked up.

“Great enough for me to suck his dick like a champ, then swallow all his nut,” I replied, taunting Dante. If he thought he was finna keep playing with Kenji’s name, he had another thing coming. During our entire relationship, I had refused to give Dante head. There was something about his dick that never appealed to me. We’d argue about it all the time, but it never changed anything.

“You’re a stupid bitch,” he growled. Dante looked like he wanted to slap the fuck out of me.

“Yet, you can’t get enough of me,” I giggled childishly, sticking my tongue out at him.

He didn’t deny it, and that caused Amelia to smack her lips. “Dante, if you keep trying me, I’m going to kill this bitch.”

“Who, me? For what? I don’t want his ass.” My face twisted up at Amelia. She was crazier than she looked. She should have been trying to kill Dante, not me.

“Yo—” Amelia halted her words at the slam of the front door.

That had to be Kenji. I was so happy he’d found me when he did. “I’m in here, Kenji!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Amelia and Dante shared a fearful look with each other, then they hopped off the couch.

“Go wake those bitches up!” Dante yelled to Amelia, trying to mask his fear, but I could see it in his eyes. He was scared as fuck.

I laughed. It was funny how big and bad he acted when he thought he’d gotten away with kidnapping me. Now that Kenji was here, he looked like he was about to cry. Amelia raced out the room, only for her body to come flying back into the living room. She landed at my feet with a loud thud. A figure walked through the living room archway, and I expected to see Kenji, but the woman in front of me left me breathless.

“Who the fuck are you?” Dante growled, baring his fangs.

Tears clouded my vision. I kept blinking my eyes, thinking I was seeing shit, but no matter how many times I blinked, she was still there. My voice cracked, and my brows bunched together in confusion. “Mama?”

“Hey, Quinny baby,” My mama said, stepping into the living room.

I didn’t have many memories of my mama, but her face I could never forget. Not when Sutton had the same face as her. The only difference between Sutton and our mama was their height. Our mama was a few inches taller than Sutton, but that wasn’t saying much. Both of them were short as hell. I was in complete shock seeing my mama standing in front of me. She didn’t look anything like I’d expected her to. She was standing in front of me in a fitted black leather jacket over a white form-fitting belly shirt. The black latex pants fit her like a second skin, her black platform boots gave her a few more inches, and the gold “S”-shaped pendant rested on her chest. An oversized knife was strapped to her thigh. Her frizzy, jet-black hair was pulled up into a tight bun on top of her head. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

“Wwhat are you doing hehere?” I stuttered over my words. My brain was all over the place.

“Saving you,” she replied, smiling at me, but I didn’t return her smile.

My mama reached behind her, under her jacket, pulling out a gun that came straight from the Middle Ages. She pointed it at Dante and said, “Untie her right fucking now,” she commanded.

Dante hesitantly made his way over behind me. After a few seconds, I felt the ropes around my hands loosening. Next, I felt him taking the ropes off my legs. Just for the hell of it, I kicked the fuck out of Dante in the face. Immediately, his hands cupped over his nose.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” he whined, falling over to his side.

“That’s my girl,” my mama said with a proud expression on her face. Her saying that caused a ripple effect with my emotions. I stood up from my chair. My eyes were locked onto my mama. I was at a loss for words. This moment felt surreal.

A lot of things were flowing through my mind right now. I felt anger rising in the pit of my stomach. Yet there was still a spark of something else, joy maybe. As conflicted as these feelings were, I couldn’t ignore any of them. I spent so many years putting my mama to the back of my mind. I always told myself there was nothing for me to miss because she’d abandoned us. She didn’t even have the decency to check on us. It was like she went on with her life like Sutton and I didn’t exist. I never wanted to waste my energy on hating her when she couldn’t give an ounce of her own energy to raise us. But seeing her made me realize how much I did miss her and how her presence was really needed. I didn’t know if I should have smiled, cried, cussed, laughed, or yelled. All I knew for sure at this moment was I wanted Kenji. I needed him to help get me through this. If he was here, I knew he’d do everything in his power to make sure I was okay. I closed my eyes, picturing Kenji’s handsome face.

“I need you, Kenji.”

“I’m right here, Quinny.” My eyes popped open, frantically searching for Kenji. “Out here.” His voice flowed through my head, soothing me instantly.

I stepped over Dante and Amelia and went around my mama cautiously. I went into the hallway, looking for the front door. I spotted it to my right, heading full force in that direction. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn’t care to find out who it was. Once I got to the front door, I snatched it open, and there he was, standing in all his glory. Kenji smiled at me. His eyes sparkled with happiness. His infectious smile made my heart feel like it was about to explode. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back at him. I didn’t know how just seeing his face could make me this happy.

“Quinny, let me in,” His smile turned sinister, as he batted his glowing eyes,” Please.”

This was the moment that I finally understood Kenji was my soulmate. Without Kenji there was no me. Where Kenji ended I began and we connected in a never ended loop. In every life we were meant to be together. It got no better than My Soulmate.

Chapter 24

Kenji Touré