Page 176 of Justice II

“Is the baby moving?”

“A little.”

Her hand stayed against my belly until she felt a kick.

“Oh!”

She looked at Keenan, who leaned closer.

“Let me feel.”

Watching them wait for another movement had me smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. My son was here, asking about the baby instead of wondering when he would see me again. Dream had room to be loud and curious without anybody snapping at her.

Justice sat beside me and rested his arm along the back of the couch.

“We should start getting serious about looking for houses. I know we said we wanted to move in the spring, but we need to look now.”

“Can we get a pool?” Dream asked.

“Can I get a basketball court?” Keenan asked.

“Maybe we should have something built,” he laughed.

“That’s not a bad idea. It would be completely ours,” I chimed in.

“Let’s do it,” he agreed before kissing me. Keenan rolled his eyes because he was grossed out by it. I didn’t care. I loved these moments where I got to irritate him a little. I still had years to make up for.

I was glad that Justice was open to building a new home for our new family. This was the house that he and Monica built. So many bad memories haunted these walls. I wanted us to have a chance to make new ones.

Later, when the kids were asleep, I pried again. “Any word from intel about Storie?”

“Nah. Creed said he knows how trafficking networks work. She’s likely in another country by now.” He shook his head.

I hated that we didn’t know what happened to her, and I prayed that she had a quick death. But something told me she walked into fire all on her own. Something told me that this was just a plan that backfired.

But I was at peace. We were all together.

Epilogue

JUSTICE

It had been three months since Melody delivered our baby boy, Royce Banks. Our family felt complete, but it was time to make it official.

Our new home was being built, and we were planning an elaborate wedding. Today was the day of our engagement party.

The Freetown community was coming along, and we’d hired new contractors to finish construction. Several buildings were already complete, including our boutique hotel, Banks Regal. We were hosting the celebration inside its new restaurant, The Social, which had just opened.

Melody had worked with the event planner all week, and I could see where every dollar went. White orchids and blush roses covered the tables. Gold chairs surrounded them, and sunlight poured through the tall windows onto the marble floors.

I was proud of this place. We still had a whole lot of building left, but today I got to enjoy it with my family.

“Congratulations.” Quest came over and dapped me up. Aziza was in his other arm reaching for me.

“Thanks, man,” I said to him. “Hey, baby girl. My pretty niece,” I said while holding her close.

“I love you! Put me down!” she demanded.

I laughed and put her down, and she ran off to play with the other cousins: Idris, Kheris, Dream and Sarai. Dream was the leader since she was the oldest, though she kept telling me she didn’t want to play with the little kids. But Keenan and Yusef weren’t making any time for her.