Jabari

by Serena Simpson

  Table of Contents

  Jabari

  Acknowledgements

  Copy Right

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Where to find me and reviews

  Other books by the author

  Preview Thrice

  Jabari

  Book 2

  Series: The broken

  By: Serena Simpson

  Acknowledgements

  I want to thank all my fans who have been waiting for the next book in the broken series to come out. I heard you! Your continued support and the joy you express from reading one of books keeps me writing. Thank you.

  Always to my daughter. I love you.

  Copy Right

  Jabari – The Broken - Copyright © December 2017, Serena Simpson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  Cover Art by Melody Simmons

  Published by Serena Simpson

  Dedication

  Love transcends death and it always will.

  Chapter One

  All Brandi wanted to do was take her heels off and rub her feet. She did a quick hem on an off-the-shoulder dress and moved aside as the model sashayed out the shadows and onto the stage. The material swirled around her legs causing eyes to catch the subtle bling around the hem before they traveled upwards.

  The camera’s flash and the ooh’s and awes brought a big smile to her face. Her model came back and gave her a cheeky smile and a wink before she disappeared into the dressing room.

  Brandi pulled herself together and was ready when they announced her name. She smiled as they introduced her as the creator of the designs everyone loved. She waved and took pictures with multiple models, buyers and investors.

  Her smile faltered as her potential customers moved to another room to drink and mingle with the models still wearing her clothes.

  She slipped off her shoes to flex her toes as she decided how to make the fastest exit.

  “Your feet are hurting.”

  No shit, but she bit her tongue. It had to be a well-meaning man.

  “Sometimes shoes are not as much fun to wear as they are to look at.” She looked up to stare into Jabari’s eyes. Anything else got stuck in her throat. Why was he here?

  He was Quinn’s brother-in-law. That’s how she knew him. Part of her expected him to show up, but he couldn’t have picked a worse time. If it had been a month ago, it would have been game on, but now she’d have to pass.

  “Hi.” He made her heart pound fast. She waited a lifetime for the phenomena, too bad he came so late.

  “I watched your show. The dresses are modern and chic.”

  He was in a t-shirt and jeans. She wanted to laugh, but his face told her to take him seriously.

  “Thanks.”

  “I studied what came out of Paris this year. Your clothes look better. You have clean lines and used quality material. I think any female would enjoy wearing what you have created.”

  She picked up her shoes before carefully walking down the steps of the stage. There was a chair close by, and she sat before she fell.

  “You studied?”

  “I did. I also looked at what was presented in New York’s fashion week. There was one promising young designer there.”

  “I was there.”

  “I know, the promising young designer.”

  “Thank you.” She designed plus-size clothes, but she occasionally did a line for women considered underweight. Her thinner models loved her for it.

  “Are you going to your party?” They both turned to look in the direction of the music and the laughter. She shook her head. “I’m planning to sneak away. Too much noise.”

  She tacked the last part on because she didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

  He knelt in front of her making her feel small compared to him. Jabari was thick with broad shoulders. His waist could be called trim but only if you measured it against the width of his shoulders. He had the lightest blue eyes. They reminded her of ice, but they still made her breath catch in her throat. His hair was golden, not brown or blonde, and it was just a little longer than his collar. Thoughts of him spread out on a bed, her hands slipping through his hair was one of her many recurring fantasies about him.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip while trying to fan herself on the sly. Now that he was close it was getting hotter in here.

  “Where should we go?”

  “We?” She squeaked, but couldn’t help it. Her ‘we’ days were over. Now it was just her.

  “Yes, we.”

  She should fight this, but why bother?

  “I just want to go home.”

  “Have you eaten?”

  She shook her head dislodging her braids. He took his hand and smoothed them back until they were behind her ears. An involuntary smile came to her lips.

  “May I take you to dinner?”

  Her mouth opened and closed not sure how to respond.

  “Mekhi said women like to be asked and not told.”

  “He’s right. I didn’t drive; my car is in the shop. I took an Uber over.”

  “I have enough room for whatever you need to bring with you.”

  She nodded and stood still holding her shoes. Put them back on her mind shouted, but she didn’t want to, or maybe she just couldn’t. Her mind shied away from that reasoning as she led him to where her belongings were.

  There was a tremor of fear that went down her spine, but it fought with the attraction she felt. It was like meeting the man you know your mother would say stay away from, but life would be boring if you listened.

  “You watched the whole show?” Did she sound like she was asking for more praise? She wasn’t. It was just hard to believe that he had been here the whole time, and she had missed him.

  “I did. I stayed in the background not wanting to disturb you.”

  She nodded but stayed quiet. He thought if she saw him, she would be off her game. He was right, and it was a little humbling. Since she first met him all she could think about was him. The fantasies came hard and fast. He made her want to throw caution to the wind and grab for the gold ring. Commonsense eventually reared its ugly head.

  She should have known better there was no ring for her, not even a brass one.

  “I’ll carry those.”

  How could she have forgotten he was there? “Thanks,” her lips lifted in an automatic smile. It was her first real one since her doctor’s appointment.

  “Maybe we should postpone dinner; I'm tired.” She was fighting to keep her eyes open even as she tried to hold her smile in place for him.
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  “I’ll take you home, that way you can get some rest, and order in.”

  He moved across the room and picked up the bags she had been fussing over. She would get the rest of her clothes tomorrow.

  “Thanks,” she followed him out of the room her shoes still in her hand. Great, she would have time to eat alone. It was all she did now, eat and stare at the television she refused to turn on. It no longer mattered to her what was happening in the world.

  They walked in silence until they came to the doorway. She looked down at the cement and then at her bare feet. The shoes would have to go on.

  “Don’t.” His words had her stopping to stare into his eyes. “Leave them off and wait here.”

  She nodded and watched him walk off still holding her bags. Tomorrow she would kick ass and defy the world. Today she needed to curl up on her bed and rest.

  She watched as a car pulled to a stop, her mouth opened in awe as Jabari got out.

  “Please tell me this isn’t your car.”

  “It’s mine. Is there a problem with it?” He walked over to her and picked her up making her head spin for a minute as she adjusted to being held in his arms.

  “Problem?” She sputtered not sure what to say. He placed her in the passenger seat of a Rolls Royce.

  She waited until he got into the driver’s seat. “This is on my bucket list.”

  “Bucket list?”

  “You know the list of things you want to do before you die. Riding in a Rolls Royce is on mine. I never figured it would happen because of how much they cost.”

  She leaned her head back on the rest and stared at the roof of the car. It glittered like they were driving under the stars.

  “It’s kind of ironic.”

  “What?”

  “I’m talking to myself.” She gave a shake of her head. She was drifting more often now. “Have you ever wondered if the universe grants your one last request?”

  “No, that would require me to think about my death.”

  “Are you one of those macho guys who thinks they will never die?”

  He shook his head and turned his ice-blue eyes on her. The depth of grief in them rocked her to her core. He mourned for someone. Would she want to leave behind a legacy of suffering like what she saw in his eyes?

  “What if you could never die?”

  She stayed silent for a while as she thought about it. Considering the position she found herself in, that should speak to her soul, but it felt a little unsettling. “I’m tempted to say yes to that proposition, but isn’t it just the flip side of dying too early? To live alone in a world where everyone leaves you. I wouldn’t like that.”

  He turned his blues to her again. The pain made her soul cry out. Her fingers drifted of their own accord and touched the back of his hand as he shifted gears. The need to comfort him was smothering like a pillow.

  “Getting over the deaths around you will never be an easy feat if it is even possible.” One tear slid down her brown cheek. She shed it for both of them because life wasn’t fair.

  The silence in the car was heavy reminding her of a thick blanket. She nestled back in her seat; she could get used to being driven around in such luxury. One side of her mouth kicked up in an ironic smile. An image caught her as she tried to close her eyes.

  Someone was in front of the car.

  “Stop!” It came out as a scream.

  The wheels came to a sudden stop. Jabari placed a hand out making sure she didn’t launch towards the windshield, but he stopped the car so smoothly there was no fear of that.

  “There was someone on the road in front of the car. Did you see them?”

  “There wasn’t anyone there.”

  She turned wide brown eyes to him.

  “I saw him. He was there. You must have hit him.” Please let me have seen something. Everything had been spinning out of control lately. Sometimes she saw things that weren’t there.

  “Stay here.” He got out the car and walked around before he knelt looking underneath. He got back in.

  “No one is there.”

  “Sorry.” Her hand was over her heart it was racing out of control. She had been convinced someone was there. Her final legacy would be punctuated with the fact that she was crazy.

  “Please take me home.” She met ice blue eyes that were bright with worry and wished things could be different.

  He nodded and put the car in drive.

  Chapter Two

  “This is my place.” They walked through the door of her condo. “It’s one of the smaller units, but it’s only me… And my cat. I found him last week. Fie, where are you, baby?”

  Jabari closed the door behind her and walked into the intimate space. Everything around him was soft and thick. He took a deep breath inhaling Brandi’s scent that covered everything she owned. The beast inside of him stopped clawing at the walls of his control and settled down. He wanted to flee because he hadn’t known peace for so many centuries that he was sure this was a trick.

  Brandi was small compared to him. Her head would tuck nicely against his chest. She had beautiful brown skin that he wanted to caress and a mouth that he wanted to kiss. Her hair was done in braids that remind him of the defenders in the caste system on Rios IV. He had to shake his head a created like him would never be granted a defender for a mate, and she was his mate. Her brown eyes were circled with a green line that intrigued him.

  Recently, he had learned that human females were more complicated and intriguing than he first thought, but he never expected her.

  “You have a nice place.” His voice was so soft that she had to turn to look at him. The look in his eyes made her want to cough to clear her throat. She dropped her gaze instead.

  “Thanks. You can set the bags over by that door.” She pointed across the room.

  He turned to take in her cream-colored walls. The disparity between stark white and her walls was apparent to him. They made her condo feel warmer. Her furniture was done in shades of bronze with gold and red. The space caught the soft light; the room radiated peace and warmth. He moved and stopped when he heard a small cry of distress.

  “I believe your cat is under the couch.”

  She walked over and bent down allowing both hands to settle on the cushions before she knelt.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Nah, I’m fine.” As fine as I’ll ever be according to the doctors, but he didn’t need to know that.

  A sweet smile touched her face, under the couch was her black-and-white kitten. She put out her hand, and he hesitantly walked to her. She pulled him to her and turned to sit with her back against the couch.

  “I found him a week ago. He was hanging around the door to the building. People were coming and going ignoring him. The minute he saw me; he clutched onto the leg of my pants. He’s young, but his mom was nowhere to be found. The vet said he was seven weeks so that makes him about eight weeks now.”

  She was running her fingers over his head as he shivered in her hand.

  Jabari put the bags down and knelt beside them.

  “He’s small.”

  “I know. I can’t get him to eat, but that’s to be expected.”

  “Why?”

  “The vet said he’s dying. I should have put him down, but one look into his blue eyes, and I’d do anything for him.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Fie, short for defiant. People were trying to get him to go away, but he hung around until he found me.”

  She brought him close to her chest before looking up at Jabari. “Thank you for the ride home.”

  It was time to get rid of him, so she could lie down.

  “You’re welcome.” He reached down and took her arm helping her to stand.

  “What are we eating?”

  She looked at him her eye's narrowing. Did she say she would cook for him? She could have taken an Uber home.

  “I was planning on going to bed.”

  “What about your cat?”


  “He doesn’t eat. I’ll put more cat food out for him but what I put out earlier is probably still there.”

  “Will you be okay if I leave?”

  She raised a brow, cocked a hip and placed a hand on it.

  “I’ll be back.” He moved toward the door, and soon it was shutting behind him.

  “Men.” Her smile turned into a grimace. The pain attacking her body took over now that she didn’t need to keep up the appearance of being well. “Fie, you and I are a pair made in heaven. We’re both dying, and the only ones that care are the two of us.”

  Her shoulders sagged, and her foot dragged a little as she walked into the bedroom. She placed Fie on the bed before she sat. On her nightstand were the pain meds the doctor prescribed. Today she had refused to take any so that her head would be clear. It worked, but her body wanted the pain to end. Reaching over she picked up the two she laid out earlier and tossed them back with the warm bottle of water sitting beside them.

  “Now I have to decide if I can take a shower or not.” She stood and took off her clothes before making her way to the bathroom. Fie’s bowl was still full.

  “I wish you would eat a little for me.” He gave her a soft meow before lying down on the cool tile to wait for her. She stepped into the shower. No sense arguing with her cat. His actions reflected how she felt.

  There was a time when washing away the cares of the day worked for her. It relaxed her, now all she could do was hurry, so she didn’t end up on the floor of the shower. Turning the water off, she grabbed a large towel and walked back into the bedroom. She’d eat tomorrow she told herself as she put on a pair of jogging pants and a hoodie. She crawled into bed. It was the sound coming from the outer room that made her stop.

  Someone was in her condo. How did she get broken into this far off the ground? She lived here because it was safe. She placed a finger over her lips to cue Fie to be quiet before she tiptoed into the other room. The living room was empty, but the same couldn’t be said about the kitchen.