"You just don't look....safe." Essence said while sipping her drink. "Naw, I only ain't safe for the niggas that hate me." "But for you, I'll be real cautious..."

Lay'lani's life been hell behind closed doors-pretty smiles covering bruises, silent cries no one ever hears. Her boyfriend Man-Man? Ain't just abusive... he's obsessed. Controlling. Feared in the streets. And when she finally tries to leave, he makes one thing clear-if he can't have her, nobody can. Then Da'joun steps in. Lowkey but dangerous. The one who sees through her pain. He never asked to fall for her-but now that he has, he'll do anything to protect her... even if that means killing for her. Now with a baby on the way, enemies circling, and Man-Man hunting her like prey-every moment is borrowed time. This ain't just a love story... It's survival. How far would you go to protect the one you love... when love itself could get you killed?

This is not a romance. But along the way, they might find love.

"𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨... ...𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, ...𝘴𝘰, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳." BWWM Where two different people meet, and subsequently...fall in love. @n0tte_n3ra for the cover! No age requirement!!!

"𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 '𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 .."

For her & her son, she'll find the strength to let go, love again & rebuild.

"You taught me the real meaning of love again" 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿: @Dreamgirlmyaah

one text leads to another....

"𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦." In which she just wants to show him something different.

The saga of Benji and Karma continues... Completed