Quasim III: King Inferno (Season Four: Inferno Gods Book 3)

by Jahquel J.

The moment you borrow another’s flame to light your path, you’ve already dimmed your own. Imitation isn’t inspiration — it’s desperation. There’s only one me. Like there is one you.

That was the hardest part of losing someone. You longed to hear them again, knowing that you wouldn’t.

“Sim, you better not fucking die on us, nigga… you got Elijah and your seed coming into the world. You already promised your next seed was gonna be my God baby… can’t have Goon ass out here upstaging me.”

“You strapped, Aimee… never mind, you a Delgato; yo ass always strapped.”

“You not losing either of them. Quasim just being fucking dramatic. That nigga owe me like ten stacks because I won a bet… his ass better not die.” I looked up at him as he smiled down at me. “Cappy, not funny.” “I’m dead fucking serious… matter fact, let me go ask his new wife where he keep his bread.” He continued as he kissed my forehead a few times, trying to make me feel better. “Meer ain’t going anywhere … he pissy as hell. They not letting him through the pearly gates smelling like that.”

“Cherish is the one on the pink bike… Cherie’s cousin.” “Time to send her with her cousin.” Blair looked straight ahead as a tear slipped down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.

There was a big difference between being inspired and trying to rip the skin off the person you were inspired by and replicate everything that they do.

Niggas needed to ride their own wave, be their own person – you ain’t hear that from me, though.

I’m gonna look at his scans and paperwork and make sure shit is right… they don’t call me Dr. Delgato for nothing, feel me?”

“B, just because I’m a dentist doesn’t mean that I’m not skilled in any of this… Hassan ain’t the only doctor around this bitch.”

Do you know how comfortable and safe a man had to make you feel for you to completely let go?

I couldn’t tell you what something cost, or what gas my car or bikes took because Meer handled it all. I never saw the hospital bill after having Rayce, because it was handled. Everything in my life was handled because that man put me in this place I had never been before.

Fuck soft girl era. He put me in my secure girl era. A place where I felt s...

My brothers hadn’t put money into the account they opened for me since I married Meer. As much as I knew that they wanted to continue to place money in my account, there was respect there. They respected that Meer didn’t want them taking care of me anymore, and they stopped. I never had to go into my pocket for anything.

Quameer Inferno was meant to be a husband and a father. He made sure we were taken care of and loved… and I loved that for me.

As much as I enjoyed having him lead our family, it was my turn to step up and make decisions for us. One of them was moving into our new home so he could recover. He refused to move from the private hospital until his brother was awake, and I respected that. The minute that he opened his eyes, he would be mov...

I stood there and watched them and watched as Blair held him and closed her eyes. She was always meant to be a mother. Her nurturing spirit had always been so refreshing and comforting, even in college. If you were sick in college, Blair was the one who went to the cafeteria and tried to put together a meal for you to feel better. She always put in the effort to let the people she loved know that they were loved.

I hated having a good heart at times. It pulled at me during the wrong times. I remember when I was about to kill a man, I stopped because he didn’t want to be shot in the face. Pussy was worried about his mama burying him, so I shot him in the chest. I was a good person because I could have released all those bullets in his face. Very sweet. Very I’ll let you decide how you wanna go.

We can pretend things never happened all we want, but spilling your cereal will have you in the fetal position, reliving trauma you thought you unpacked.”

“How many guns do you keep around?” Syn blurted. “I am a gay Black man that will blow up a down low man’s spot in a heartbeat… a lot.”

We were the blind leading the blind because we both knew we weren’t wrapped too tight. Then we decided to go and have two kids that were missing screws. Anytime I saw that look in Blaze’s eyes, it reminded me of his mother.

Pop was more like me with his. We were quiet and leaned back. Almost like we had it on reserve, but when that bitch came out nothing good came out of it.

It was easy to make children but harder to stick around and become fathers. When you became a father, you had to continue to be one through the ups and downs. There was...

Your child would always be your child, even when they grew up and had children of their own.

He took the money and shoved it into the front pocket of his shirt. A shirt I had made for him when I was in seventh grade. It was worn, and had seen better days, but he wore it.

A good man. A true leader was one that wanted his people to eat without him.

You would think after finishing three twelve-hour shifts that I would be taking my ass home to sleep. Instead, I was at this fancy ass grocery store, pushing this little cart around and debating if I wanted to spend sixteen dollars for some organic pineapple juice. The fuck they do to the pineapple, milk the bitch with their bare hands?

All of the Gods meant something to him, and we were all one big family. Bikes and violence may have brought us together, but at the end of the day, it was all love. We rode for one another, always, and that was because we were family.

“Hoe, is you a fucking wizard?” I nearly screamed, trying to understand what the fuck just happened. How the fuck did we come through this door, and everything was completely different? I felt like I stepped into a Granger novel with a talking cat named Quan.

“You said my best friend is a dumb fucking bitch?” Menace questioned me.

Baby Bop is pregnant, too, right?” Me and Corleon both looked at Menace as he stared between us, confused, with a serious expression on his face. “Her name is fucking Blair, Menace!” I couldn’t help but to laugh because he never seemed phased whenever Corleon constantly corrected his ass. “I know how pregnant women can get.” “Very hormonal… they need a lot of support and low stress.” He screwed his face up. “You said you wanna fuck the stress out my wife?”

Fuck being a passenger princess in the car, I wanted that to be their life for everything.

Even when we started to have more kids, the minute they even looked overwhelmed, I was hiring a full staff to relieve their stress and allow them to be mothers that didn’t require stress.

I was possessive and when I marked you with this cum, that meant you were mine.

much on his mind, and

I ran my hand down her thigh, feeling guilty that I put her into this life. It was easier to run from her because I never wanted this to become our reality. I was prone to fucked up shit happening to me.

There was this pure glimpse of love that she held in her eyes, only reserved for those she truly cherished. When it came to me, it was something else. It was her praying, showing, and reminding me that she loved me. She chose me. Chased me. Fought for me when I had no fight for myself. Reminded me.

Every time our eyes met, they gave me that reminder that I deserved her. I deserved good things, and my wife was a good fucking thing.

Two people who had been wrapped in trauma for so long that happiness didn’t feel possible. The warmth of love didn’t seem attainable, no matter how much we both prayed for it. We were two people wrapped in love, pain, and trust that you didn’t find twice in this lifetime. A trust that scared most people, but not us.

If Aimee Delgato ever needed a reminder that she was pressure, I would be there to remind her. Every time.

Growing up, I could get my nails any color I wanted except red. Red was associated with being grown, and I couldn’t disagree more. How was the color of nails and long hair considered grown on a little Black girl?

Zoya needed to stop playing because she knew she wanted this nigga. I knew one thing; she needed to give this nigga those chocolate fucking babies.

“No, you all need to realize that she has a mental illness and while there isn’t anything wrong with that, she is receiving the help, and that is more than some people do. I feel for you, babe, but you have a man that wants to love the socks off you… stop being scared and be honest with him.”

Hubby: Have a safe flight, my love. Love you more than you know… the world needs more beautiful Black women like you. And your boys need you.

“Gods burn the faces of their enemies,” I started. Blaze smirked. “The flames burn slow because the Gods are Inferno,”

Felt more like me in this moment than I had for the past few months.

“What’s your name, baby?” “Unin.” She said. “That’s a unique name… what is it short for?” “Uninterested.”

Pain had to occur so you could see how good things could get, and so you could appreciate them. We often became so accustomed to the good, that we became ungrateful for things.