Kianna used a wide tooth comb and leave-in conditioner to detangle Judah's thick hair while he flinched below her, being as dramatic as possible. He was definitely tender headed but Kianna knew damn well it didn't hurt as much as he was making it seem.

They were currently in the living room and he was sitting between her legs on the floor with his attention on Twilight that was playing on the flat screen TV. He wasn't a huge fan of this movie but he didn't have a choice on what they watched; he never did.

"Can you do it while I'm facing you?" Judah asked, squinting his right eye as she began to braid near his forehead.

"No, nasty. Stop crying." She said with a rat tail comb in between her teeth.

"I'll stop if you let me eat some p-,"

"You have a real addiction and you need therapy or something. Please leave my coochie alone. She's on vacation right now." She told him, letting a smile grow on her face at the sound of his laughter.

"Ain't nobody addicted girl."

"You ate my pussy eight times yesterday and twice this morning and it's not even noon yet. No exaggeration. You literally need a tolerance break."

"She love me, I can't help that. When you be sleep, she be whispering to me, like, 'please eat me'." He shrugged, and Kianna laughed at the way he changed his voice to a higher pitch.

"'Please daddy, please eat m-,"

"Judahhhhhh," Kianna dragged out with another laugh, making him join in.

"I'm telling the truth. I be listening to my baby." He wrapped his arm around her leg, shrugging again.

Kianna shook her head at him as she started on another braid, using strawberry scented edge booster to start it off. He normally made her use unscented but they didn't have anymore and neither of them felt like going to the beauty supply, so she had to use hers.

She was doing him six feed-in cornrows today because he was in desperate need of a new hairstyle. The braids he went to jail with were frizzy and dirty, so she also gave him a good wash and deep condition this morning. He lined himself up, and now, she was on the third braid.

Kianna originally wanted to do him some plaits because it was her favorite style on him, but Judah didn't like that style if his hair was too long. It only looked good to him if his hair wasn't longer than his chin, and it was currently touching his shoulders.

She personally loved when he grew his hair out. It was easier to drag him when he pissed her off that way.

"You so stinking handsome. I just love you so much my stinky handsome baby." Now finished with his hair, Kianna held his face in her hands, leaving kisses all over it.

"Girl shut up 'for I fuck you. Damn. You just told me to chill." He licked over his lips after she kissed them, making her laugh yet again.

"I love when you do your own cuts. You look so good." Kianna stood on the tip of her toes to bite his face, and then she smiled when he just let her. He was obviously used to it at this point.

Both of their heads turned at the sound of a door closing, and seconds later, Amina seemed to be sneaking from the same hall that Elijah's room was on, clearly unaware of their presence.

"Mm, mm, mm." Kianna clicked her teeth, and Amina immediately dropped her shoulders in a sulking position since she'd been caught, making Kianna laugh.

"You just got flipped in our shit and you tryna sneak out? Shitting me?" Judah instigated along with his fiancé, smiling at the sound of her laughing harder.

"Oh my goddd, can y'all please shut up? Just pretend like y'all don't see me. Oh my fucking gosh." She threw her head back with an embarrassed groan.

"Look at that limp bae. She got flipped, ain't it?" Judah looked over at Kianna.

"Flipped, twisted and folded like a fuckin' pretzel. Mm, mm, mm." She clicked her teeth again, trying not to laugh.

"Told yo' ass it ain't no point in tryna sneak out. Now look at you, caught." Elijah came from the same hall in just a pair of basketball shorts, and Amina had a shy smile on her face as wrapped his whole arm around her neck from behind.

"As if niggas ain't already know what was going on." Judah chuckled, beginning to clean up the hair products that Kianna used.

"Y'all didn't so shut up. Especially you, you been gone for three weeks." Amina pointed at him.

"My baby told me on the phone how you be sneaking off to leave her whenever she went to sleep, knowing she a light sleeper." He shrugged, and Kianna laughed yet again when Amina's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Best friend you knew? Bitch, really?! I for real thought I was being slick. Oh my god." She face palmed herself, causing Elijah to join in on the laughter as well.

"Girl, Eli never hid it from me. He literally asked me if I was ok with him shooting his shot like you my daughter or something." Kianna chuckled, watching Amina look behind her at him with a frown.

"You ratted us out? What part of sneaky link you don't understand? The sneaky or the link?" She asked.

"Oh I understand the link part perfectly. You should know. Can't even walk right." He let go of her to walk to the kitchen, making her jaw drop again.

"Heard that." Judah dapped him up with a smirk, and Kianna rolled her eyes at the both of them.

"Can't believe you been letting me sneak around for no reason." Amina said to Kianna when the men went into the kitchen together.

"Girl I literally told you when you first brought it up that you should go for it. I don't know why you bothered to try and hide it." She shrugged in response.

"It was really because I didn't know how Judah would feel about it. You know he still iffy with trusting me and stuff.. I didn't know if he would give me 'permission' to be with his brother, you know?" She sat down next to her on the couch, leaving her bag on the floor.

"Mina y'all grown as hell. Even if you didn't have his 'permission', he couldn't stop y'all."

"Yeah that's what Eli was saying. I guess I was overthinking it chile..prolly 'cause I got ptsd from being shot and shit." She said, holding back her laughter when Kianna frowned over at her.

"Want me to do it again?" Judah walked back into the living room, now eating a banana.

"Naw 'cause then I'ma really be the one behind getting you locked up." She raised her middle finger at him, and he shrugged with a smirk while Kianna rolled her eyes at both of them.

"Bye bestie. Bye TT pretty baby," Amina kissed Kianna's cheek before kissing her belly, and Kianna wrapped her arms around her for a hug.

"Bye sista. Call me." She waved at her as she headed for the door, and Amina waved back.

"You really got my best friend traumatized, you know that? She be playing but she be serious too." Kianna told him when he took Amina's previous spot on the couch.

"Well y'all shouldn't have pissed me off then. It was your fault." He shrugged again, pulling the peel of his banana down.

"You're an asshole."

"Yeah and I be eating yours." He said without hesitating for a second on his comeback, and Kianna reached over to mush his head when he let out a laugh.

Judah shook his fist where two star shaped diamond rings danced without any light shining on them, now stained with Kara's blood. She laid on the ground with a face that was now completely unrecognizable and bleeding from every hole on it; her nose, ears, mouth and even both of her eyes too.

"P-p-please," She begged; a cry that he was all too familiar with. It was usually the last words of every person who ended up in this chamber at his warehouse.

"Hit that shit mama. I'll buy you a new car if you give me a target shot." Judah placed his blunt to his lips, looking over at Kianna who raised a Glock 19 in the air, switching the safety off.

"Kianna, plea-," Kara was cut off as three bullets went right between her bleeding eyes; three perfect shots.

"Fuckin' show off, man." Shelly shook his head at the both of them, and Judah laughed, blowing smoke from his nostrils.

"What, that was three? You want three cars?" He looked over at her, and she nodded her head before pulling his down to give him a kiss.

"I want a hellcat, a Chrysler 300, and I want my own truck too." She wiped her lip gloss from his lips that formed a smirk at her request.

"Yo, Shelly, you heard that?"

"Know I'm on it for lil' sis already." Shelly waved him off, pulling his phone out to put in an order with the dealership Judah owned a percentage of for the vehicles she named.

Judah blew smoke out of his mouth in the opposite direction, letting Kianna clean his hand off with a baby wipe even though it was about to get bloody again because he still had to handle Traydon, who was hanging from the ceiling by his broken arms; courtesy of Kianna's father, Matteo.

Matteo was actually the one who revealed the evidence that connected Traydon to both Judah's arrest and the death of Kianna's first child. It appeared that Traydon put plenty of thought into this meticulous plan, and it would've succeeded, had it not been for Matteo.

Now, Judah was unsure of how Matteo got said evidence or how he knew what was going on right under Judah's nose, but Judah knew better than to question him. It was similar to how he knew certain things; money talks and bullshit walks.

Everything was now peaches and cream for Judah though. Traydon and Kara were both taken care of, Renee never made it out of the warehouse alive, his fiancé and their family were safe, and Rico was officially in the clear; thanks to help from Matteo, again.

They went to see Rico at the hospital an hour ago, and everything checked out as far as Judah was concerned. He would still keep an eye on Rico and allow him to work here with Shelly, but he was as clean as a whistle; Traydon even unintentionally admitted to his innocence.

Now, Judah just hoped that things stayed the way they were. He was looking forward to putting all of this behind him, and leaving it completely alone by tomorrow. Quick and easy; he was done. Building his own family was the only thing he wanted to focus on.

"Look the other way KJ." Judah pulled on a string to turn a chainsaw on, and at the use of her nickname, she did as told. She knew that he was serious because he used her nickname instead of her real name, ironically enough. Usually it was the other way around.

Traydon didn't even bother to fight or plead for mercy because he'd witnessed the very scene way too many times. No matter how much he begged and beseeched, there was no changing Judah's mind. It was unfortunate that someone he considered a friend was now hanging from his ceiling, but hey, he put himself there, so Judah didn't feel bad at all.

Behind Traydon was Shelly with the same machete that killed Baby K, and Kianna's blood was still on the blade. He thrusted the weapon through Traydon's back, and Judah watched it exit through the bottom of his stomach in the same place of Kianna's wound.

Judah cut through both of his arms with the chainsaw, causing his body to drop from the ropes that kept him hanging from the ceiling. He screamed in agony as Judah did the same to each of his legs, creating a bloody mess.

He spelled his own name on Traydon's chest with the chainsaw before making his last move the most lethal move. The miniature blades on the chainsaw cut through the skin, vertebrae, muscles and nerves of his neck, sawing his head completely off.

Shelly then put Traydon's head into the manual meat grinder on a table, and Judah inhaled from his blunt with a satanic grin on his face at the sound that came from the machine as the head was chopped into small chunks. The sounds of the bones crushing together was his favorite part.

Usually, Judah would send the heads of his victims off to their parents or next of kin's home; a few times he even had it dropped off in front of the police precinct. Surprisingly enough, he no longer had the balls to do that. Kianna taught him that he didn't have to involve and horrifically taunt other people when only one person did something wrong.

So, in the grinder Traydon's head went.

"You good?" Judah now stood next to Shelly, both of them watching the remainder of Traydon's body go up in tall flames.

"Always. You know I'm with you for life, brother." Shelly shrugged without a care in the world.

"You good?" He returned the same question.

"Always." Judah repeated, throwing the small roach of his blunt into the fire before dapping Shelly up.

"I'll take care of this. Gon' and get lil' sis outta here." Shelly said once he released him from a hug, and Judah nodded, patting his shoulder twice in a way to express his appreciation.

"C'mon mama. Let's go home." After walking over to her, Judah held his hand out to help her stand up.

He made sure she was still facing the opposite way as they stepped onto the elevator, and when the doors closed, he finally moved out of the way.

"Did you have fun?" Kianna asked, looking up at him.

"Somethin' like that." He shrugged with a smile, and she matched his expression, rolling her eyes.

Judah looked away from the NBA 2K23 game he was playing, opening his mouth to taste the macaroni Kianna was holding out to him. After a few seconds, he nodded in approval, getting a second bite on his own.

"It's good?" She asked.

"As fuck. Yo, I can't lie baby, I ain't have faith in you. That shit bussin' though, for real." He was as blunt as always, making her laugh.

Kianna decided that she would start cooking meals for them instead of having chefs or Maria do it. She was never taught the skill or basics of cooking, but she knew how to follow directions well and Maria gave her a homemade cookbook of recipes for her to use, so it wasn't hard at all.

Tonight, she was making pot roast with carrots and potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, candied yams, corn bread, and greens with turkey neck. For dessert, brownies and ice cream, of course. That combo was her favorite and main pregnancy craving.

The cooking process was taking some time-the roast had literally been in the crockpot for seven hours now-but it was coming along well so far.

"Well thanks for the honesty. I'm glad you like it." She chuckled, leaning over to kiss his cheek before heading back to the kitchen.

Just as Judah pressed play on his game, his phone began ringing.

"Boss, you have company. Lucci." One of his security guards spoke, making him pause the game again and raise up from the couch.

"Let 'em through."

"Uh, he already at the front door. He said you was expecting him." The guard responded.

"Aight. Good lookin'." Judah pulled the phone from his ear after pressing the power button to end the call, heading for the front door.

"Who is it, baby?" Kianna asked with a small frown on her face. They weren't expecting anyone, at least, not to her knowledge.

"Yo' dad." He answered before swinging the door open, revealing Matteo who stood there with three men behind him, each holding a bouquet of long stem dark red roses from The Million Roses.

Judah didn't ask any questions and only stepped to the side, letting them walk in. His eyes followed the three men who headed to the kitchen as if they were familiar with the house, dropping off the roses on the first island counter.

"Thank you.." Kianna had a genuine but slightly confused smile on her face, rubbing over one of the petals. She loved roses, thanks to her man. He had them delivered to the house weekly and it was always her favorite package to sign for.

"What're you doing here?" She then asked her father, glancing down at her roses again.

"Nothing concerning you, my love. I was wondering if I could talk with Judah. Father to father." He did a hand motion at the three men, causing them to walk back out of the door.

Kianna looked over at Judah, and he gave her a head nod to let her know that it was ok. The two men then walked out onto the patio together, and Matteo closed the double glass doors behind them.

"You had an eventful day, I hear.." Was the first thing he said.

"Thanks to you." Judah replied calmly.

"Indeed. It was the least I could do, for my daughter." He pulled a chair back and sat down in it, then reached down in his pocket and pulled out a thick cigar. Judah was surprised that people actually smoked those.

"You here for payment or somethin'? 'Cause my baby ain't here yet. Come back in four months." Judah said, wanting him to just say what he was here for.

"Is that how you talk to your father-in-law?"

"I hate small talk." Judah told him.

"As do I. It is clear that no talk with you will ever be small, though." He chuckled. "I am not here for 'payment'. And speaking of, you have nothing to worry about, I can assure you that."

"You wanna perform surgery on my daughter an hour after she's born. You don't think that's worth worrying about?"

"It's procedure where I'm from. I have it, my parents had it, my siblings have it, cousins..so on and so forth. I swear to you it will not hurt the child, not during or any day after." Matteo lit the cigar before placing it to his lips.

"What's it for? And don't sell me none of that health shit."

"Well, it's the truth. The tradition started when my great-great-great-great-great," He counted on his hands, making Judah roll his eyes. "grandfather was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. He died three days after the diagnosis and the symptoms only started to show drastically a week before the diagnosis."

"His son was only 12 at the time; the youngest Boss of my family to ever be. The chip is to keep that from happening again; you can probably guess what it was like for a 12 year old to run an entire mafia by himself." He chuckled again.

"I'm not understanding why my daughter gotta get it if she not even apart of y'all lil' mafia. Kianna not even apart of it."

"That is barely true. At any moment if I were to pass, Kianna would take over. She has no choice, believe it or not. Men from the mob would fly out and forcibly take her back and make her Boss. It is why I have just adopted a teenage boy.. I know my daughter has no interest in her heir to the throne, and I am the first to have a child that has no mob ties."

"I am allowing her to live her own life, because I ruined my chance of being her dad. I am her father, yes, but I am not her dad. I know it's my fault. That's why I'll do whatever she asks of me to make it up."

"I really don't like you but you know that you still have time, right? She ain't went nowhere. She's right there and you right here. You got time to be a dad my nigga." Judah lit his own blunt, grabbing the ash tray from the middle of the table.

"Eh, I'm aware, but she wants nothing to do with me, and I'm learning to accept that for what it is. My wife always told me that would be the outcome.. I often dream of a second chance though."

"Why you give her up in the first place?" Judah wondered aloud.

"It was my wife's idea. I was rarely at home, and she was always caught in the crossfire of-you know, my business endeavors..and she made the decision on her own to put her up for adoption in the states to get her away from the life we lived completely."

"You could've went back and got her though."

"Yes.. but Isabella, she begged me not to. And many men had already threatened to rip my child up limb by limb if they ever saw her in Italy. The decision wasn't what I wanted, but it was best for Kianna. I grew on the idea of her living a stress free life, even if it meant that I could not be apart of it." Matteo sighed quietly, glancing through the glass doors at Kianna.

"Sometimes I cannot believe that she's real. I am always watching her, every day since the day of her birth, but still, she's unreal. She's a doll; just like her mother. Just all around perfect." He tapped his fingers on the table before clearing his throat.

"I said all of this to say, I want you to take care of her. Good care of her. No more killing, no more dealing and no more death near her. Today was the last day that she should witness anything like that, especially now that the child is close to being here."

"I planned on it anyway and I'm sure you know that." Judah said, causing him to nod his head.

"I also came to apologize to you. We got off on the wrong foot; people doing things and pretending it came from me..I would never harm my daughter or anyone that she loves, within reason. You have the wrong image of me and I wanted to clear that up."

"Although you are far from the man I envisioned her to spend her life with; I cannot say that I am displeased with the way that you treat her-well, now. I almost had your head on a stick for the beginning days, but lucky for you, I was not made aware until weeks later." Matteo glared in his direction, and Judah rubbed the back of his neck like he didn't know what he was talking about.

"Anyway, thank you, for being the man that I could never be. You know, leaving the bad things behind to be with your family. I was never strong enough to do that, but I am glad that my grandchild will have a father like you. I am sure that you will do a great job as both a husband and a dad." Matteo ashed the cigar and left it in the tray, standing up from his seat.

"Well then, I'll be seeing you soon enough. Take care of my daughter, I beg. You don't want to see me when I am upset, son." Matteo gave him a head nod, walking back into the house without waiting on a response.

"Kianna, may I have a word, please?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and she hesitantly nodded, turning off the sink faucet to give him her attention.

"I yearn for the day that you allow me to be half of the father that your future husband already is. He is a good man and I'm glad that he keeps you happy. Know that I am always here for you, for anything, at any time. Don't ever hesitate to reach out, yes?" He grabbed her hand, lightly kissing the back of it.

"Thank you.. I really appreciate it." Her face displayed a broad smile of unfeigned gratitude.

"I will do whatever for you, my daughter. I love you very much. Take care, la mia bambina." He then kissed each of her cheeks before heading back towards the front of the house.

When the door shut, she looked over at Judah who now stood at her side with a confused expression on her face. Without needing her to ask her question, Judah just shrugged his shoulders because he had no idea what that was all about either.

"Well..the food ready yet?" He asked, and a smile set in on his lips as he watched Kianna throw her head back with a laugh.

Ok fr y'all I'm done no more bad shit happening 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 book almost over