Page 10 of Certified Pressure 4
When I turned, Kojo was still standing near the window with his hands clasped behind his back. That was how he always stood when he was trying to keep his emotions contained. For a moment, I just watched him. This was the man who had built this family beside me, the man who would move mountains if I asked him to.
I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my head against his chest. His hand came up slowly and rested on the back of my neck. I could feel the weight in his silence and the ache he was holding inside.
I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “Everything is going to be alright,” I said softly.
He studied me for a moment like he wanted to believe me, then kissed me slow and sure, like he needed to remind himself that we were both still standing. “I know,” he said lowly.
I brushed my fingers against his jaw and whispered, “Hold it together for him.”
Kojo nodded, his voice low and deep. “Always.”
I gave him a faint smile before turning back toward the door. I reached for Zurie’s hand. “Come on, sweetheart,” I said gently. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
Outside the room, security lined the hallway in perfect formation. They nodded when they saw me, each one of them alert, armed, and ready. I held Zurie’s hand firmly as we walked toward the elevator. She looked up at me. “Omá, can we go home now? I’m really hungry.”
“Yes, my love,” I said warmly. “When we get home, the chef will prepare anything you want. Pancakes, waffles, whatever your heart desires.”
Her smile stretched from ear to ear, and that made me smile too. No matter how dark the world could get, this child reminded me that innocence still existed.
When we arrived at the mansion, the lights were already on with the staff lined up in the foyer waiting for orders. I guided Zurie toward the kitchen where Chef Niala was waiting. “Make sure our little princess eats well,” I said to her. “Whatever she wants.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Niala said with a nod, already moving to prepare the meal.
Zurie climbed up onto one of the stools, swinging her legs happily as she looked through the menu on the counter. I smiled at her one more time before excusing myself.
I walked down the long hall toward my office. I closed the door behind me and sank into my chair, the silence pressing down on me.
For three days, I had barely slept. Every hour had been spent reviewing security footage, making calls, and chasing leads that led nowhere. Kashmere had vanished completely. But no one could stay hidden from me forever. I had found senators’ secrets buried under offshore accounts. I had found billionaireswho thought they could lie to me and vanish. Finding one brokenhearted girl would not be difficult.
Still, patience was my greatest strength. If Kashmere refused to come out of hiding, then I would simply move through the people she loved until she had no choice but to show her face. There were many ways to bring a person to their knees, and I had mastered every one of them.
I picked up my phone and dialed a number. It rang twice before a woman’s sultry voice answered.
“Are you ready to do what I told you to do?” I asked.
There was silence for a moment on the other end, then a faint, hesitant breath.
“That’s what I thought,” I said calmly. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
I ended the call and set the phone on the desk. For a long time, I sat in the quiet, my eyes drifting toward the family portrait that hung on the wall. My son had survived, but that didn’t make the anger in my heart fade. Pressure had made his mistakes, but he didn’t deserve this.
Kashmere had once stood in my home as a bride-to-be, a woman who swore she loved my son. Yet I had seen her weakness long before this. I saw it in the way she needed him more than she loved herself, and now her weakness had become destruction.
She had ruined her life and nearly taken my child’s.
And that, I would never forgive.
Eboni Keep in Nzuri Hall
Waking up in my husband’s arms felt like the kind of peace only he could give me. The room was quiet, the morning light slipping in through the tall glass windows, painting the marble floors with a soft gold hue. Kojo was still beside me, his breathing calm with one strong arm draped across my waist.
For a moment, I just watched him. Over thirty years of marriage, and the man still looked like the day I fell in love with him. His beard was fuller now, a bit of gray at the edges, but it only made him look stronger, wiser and more defined. His skin was rich and smooth, and firm against mine. I smiled faintly, remembering every version of him I had ever known, andrealizing that somehow, even now, I loved him more than I ever thought possible.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked at me. There was something about the way Kojo looked at me that always made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. He didn’t speak right away, but just brushed his thumb along my shoulder, and that small gesture was enough to tell me everything he felt.
“You haven’t slept much,” he murmured, his voice deep and low.
“Neither have you,” I said softly.
