Quasim: King Inferno (Season Four: Inferno Gods, #1)

by Jahquel J.

If you’re familiar with a Jahquel J. book – book one we set the scene, build the characters and scenarios.

Book one is a slow burn – the drive on the highway when everything is peaceful, your hair is blowing in the wind and your favorite song is on.

The sequel is when you sit up and realize that somebody is following you and may have to spin s...

The Delgatos and Infernos took me in and gave me the family I’ve always wanted. The women nurtured and loved me like no other, and the men protected me like one of their own.

Although he acted scared of me most of the time, those small moments when he allowed himself to feel and live, I could see our life together.

“You didn’t think I wouldn’t come, my love? Come on now.” He held his arms out, and I rushed into his embrace, as he hugged me tight. “I wouldn’t fucking miss this for the world. You fought hard for this, baby… no more. I prayed for this, and God is finally hearing me.”

“You Rayce’s God mama, so I need to know what the hell you got going on… we all know you don’t make good decisions when it comes to men.” Meer faked a cough. “Like your husband.”

“Both of you make excuses for him, and honestly you need to stop. He’s a grown man and he should communicate with me. Instead, I get a scripture every Sunday and a generic check-in with me… I’m tired.”

Stabby, I think you need to take some time for you,

Life is too short to sit around and wait for someone to choose me.”

“This your fucking fault. Had you just trapped my brother, we wouldn’t even be here right now. I would be celebrating being an uncle again and a God father.”

“You know I’m not doing this to make him jealous, right? Life is short and I just want to find the one… live the life that could have been snatched from me.”

Tired of always feeling like I had to put the work in to get the guy. I wasn’t the perfect woman, or person. I had my own share of trauma and trust issues; however, I was a catch. I was worth the chase, worth lowering his walls down to let me in.

Blair was so fragile, yet mighty.

She needed me, and at the same time, I knew I needed her. She had the power to break that block of ice that resided inside of my chest.

Feeling that pain of coming into a home without my family was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

My only concern was her being comfortable, physically and in life.

Anjo and I had a mutual respect for each other that just worked. It was the reason I was so in love with her and kept trying to convince myself that I was tripping.

Blair felt like one of Gam’s cookies after a stressful day. The perfect cure for whatever you were going through, and I never wanted the feeling to end. Never wanted to lose her.

My scriptures every morning always kept me levelheaded, and closer to God.

I like to say my secret power was having a praying grandmother. Gams made sure we knew the bible front and back, and that we stayed rooted in the church. Me and Meer grew up in the church, Meer singing and me playing the piano.

The thought of some woman I had never met having this strong hold over me scared the shit out of me. I wanted to protect her and didn’t even know her story yet. She didn’t need to tell me her story, because her eyes told me before she could mention her name.

Blair Underwood calmed something inside of me. I had no choice but to make her mine because I didn’t think I could live without her.

Except, like a pussy, when she told me she wanted to be my wife and have my babies, I folded. Ran away like a fucking coward because I wanted those same things. I had wanted to put babies in her since the night I scooped her up from homie’s lap in Miami. Seeing another man touch what was mine had me so mad that I couldn’t function.

“Life seems so bleak right now, Sim… I know it does. There’s going to come a time when the pain isn’t as strong, and the sun will come out, and you’ll actually smile. I know it seems far and unattainable right now, but I know that God has a plan for all of us… I know he does.”

“I wouldn’t say you scared him, Blair. All you did was show him the possibility of loving again and having that life that he has probably written off.”

The Delgatos had accepted me as family and treated me like it. Capone and Cappadonna treated me like their little sister.

“Come here, let me get a look at you… my small little child has grown up… not stabbing nobody or nothing. Right, Stabby?”

If he thought I was going to answer his questions when he had been ghosting me and not giving me any answers to my question, he had another thing coming.

My blood boiled seeing him talking to another woman because in my mind, he belonged to me. I was allowing him time to get his fears out before he chose me in the end.

I wanted my own kind of love that was special and reserved for just me with my person. I’ve spent all of my life chasing that kind of love and I have never been able to catch it. Each time I thought I did; it was nothing but a façade that quickly fell apart right before my eyes.

I wanted to give love and receive the same kind of love that I knew I could give to someone. I’ve filled so many cups in the past while mine remained empty. As much as I was in love with Quasim, I wasn’t going to wait for him.

I wasn’t going to give love only to be ghosted in the end. My heart couldn’t take that, and I refused to follow the same path I had in the past, ignoring the red flags because I just wanted to be loved.

The little cat and mouse game used to be cute, but my heart couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t take loving someone that didn’t give me the same energy back.

Quasim was a leader in every sense of the word. He was the kind of man that demanded things, and they happened. I couldn’t pretend that his dominance wasn’t a turn on for me. I craved a man to lead me and dominate my life in the correct way.

“I just know love when I see it, and the both of you love each other… both too damn stubborn to admit that shit.”

“A lot comes with me, Anjo. I don’t want to ruin another person’s life… I can’t do that shit, no matter how much I want it. I would rather allow you to have happiness elsewhere.”

“Let me decide that. You’re making that decision for me and that’s not fair to me. Quasimmy, how can we share what we did in Italy, and then you come home like I’m nothing. Like everything we shared and did was worth nothing.”

“You mean everything to me, Blair… fucking everything. I don’t want you to ever think you mean nothing...

Blair had never said those words to me, it was the way she stared at me. How she became so choked up within a simple conversation. I knew she loved me because I loved her, too, and wanted to tell her.

“The eyes that tell me you would give up everything for me… you love me and would do whatever when it comes to me.” “And will,” she whispered.

“Come pray with me, my love,”

“I want everything that comes with you, Quasim Inferno. I’m not stupid, and I know that you have done things, but that doesn’t take away from the man that you are. You are a good man, and that is the reason I fell in love with you. Baby, you are someone who would share your food with me because you knew I couldn’t finish my own. How many times have you texted and asked me about chemo, even coming to one to sit with me. Simmy, you beat up my landlord and bought me a building because I complained about having to find a new studio space.”

“I don’t care about the other side. All I know is that nobody can come tell me nothing about you. I want to walk through the fire with you if that’s what it takes, because like I deserve to be loved correctly, you deserve the same. Baby, you’ve gone so long without being loved that your first reaction is to reject it… reject me.”

This woman was simply existing in my world, and she had the power to bring me to my knees. She didn’t even know how much she had me wrapped around her fingers. It was Blair’s world, and I was just the nigga making sure she always remained protected in it.

Blair had this light about her that couldn’t be put out. Even in the midst of her own storm, she found a way to be there for those that she loved. Her heart was so pure, and you didn’t find a lot of women with a heart like hers.

Give me the white straight jacket because all my control and common sense went out the window. Like Blaze said, it was all gas no sense behind the future Queen Inferno.