9. Pearce
PEARCE
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I made sure Rico was behind me in his black Escalade.
Rico was an ex-police officer that made money doing private security work, and he was good at what he did.
I didn’t give him specifics. I just told him to watch Vanya’s mother’s house and make sure nothing out of the ordinary happened.
As long as I was paying his hourly rate, he wasn’t going to ask too many questions, and that was how I preferred it.
I couldn’t stand Kalim’s ass, but I’d never tell anyone what he’d done and that he wanted Vanya dead.
Even when I damn near despised his ass, I still had a sense of loyalty to him.
Loyalty that I wasn’t even sure he deserved.
“Rico is in the black Escalade that’s following me.
He’s going to park near your mother’s house but not directly out front, so she won’t notice.
He’s an ex-cop, and he’s good at what he does.
If I tell him to watch that house like a hawk, that’s what he’s going to do. ”
“I honestly appreciate you. I really kept thinking that I was going to die because I know the kind of connections Kalim has. I wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d let me go on about my business after I looked him in the face as he shot me.
I don’t even know why I thought he’d care that I said I had evidence, and it was going to the police if anything happened to me. ”
“I can’t say that he wouldn’t care, but he’s for sure the type to call your bluff. He wasn’t going to fold. You were going to die, but I don’t even want to keep saying that.”
Vanya didn’t answer. Instead, she looked out of the window.
Trusting me couldn’t be easy for her. It didn’t matter what I said.
I had Kalim Moore’s blood pumping through my veins.
More than likely, she felt I could switch up at any moment.
Glancing over at her, I decided to try and lighten the mood.
“Your hair looks really good. I can’t believe you did that yourself. Injured shoulder and all.”
“Any other time I would have cried and given up. But the fact that it took a full day and about four hours yesterday isn’t too bad considering the facts.”
I wasn’t gassing shorty to make her feel good.
Her hair really did look nice. I guess it was true that she had nothing but time on her hands.
When I pulled up in front of her mother’s house, I saw that Rico was still directly behind me.
When I put the gear in park, he drove around me and went up the street just a bit.
“You staying like two hours, right?” Vanya nodded and placed a hand on the door handle. “Chill.” I spoke as I got out of the car and rounded it to open the door for her.
Vanya gave me a bashful smile. “Thank you,” she mumbled while easing past me.
It was easy to tell that I made her nervous.
She wasn’t wrong for feeling that way. For the past day or so, I couldn’t look at her without seeing images of how she worked that pole at the club.
Shorty was a seductress. Even as I watched her saunter up the walkway, I had to admit that she exuded sex appeal.
The way she moved was soft and feminine.
With little to no effort, she possessed the kind of traits that would make the average man hard. I wasn’t an exception to the rule.
The longer I watched her walk away the stiffer my dick became.
Finally, I turned to walk back to the car.
While she was at her mother’s house I was going home to bag up Tasha’s things.
I wasn’t even going to be a petty nigga.
I was taking everything to her mother’s house.
Anyone else might have put it in the trash.
In fact, a lot of other men wouldn’t let her leave with the expensive items they bought her.
I didn’t give a damn. She could take it all.
As I drove toward my destination, I couldn’t figure out who I was angrier with.
Tasha or Kalim. With each passing year, I always told myself I’d make a little more effort toward our relationship.
Despite his ways, I would think of reasons why it was best to mend our relationship.
That man was so stuck in his ways and obsessed with having everything his way being cordial with him was damn near impossible.
There was a lot I could forgive but him thinking he could dictate the woman I married was some shit that I couldn’t accept.
At my house, I grabbed a box of large trash bags and began the process of removing Tasha’s things from my space.
Every time I thought about the fact that she hadn’t called or tried to reach out to me in any way it stung a bit.
The good thing was, it was beginning to sting less.
Wherever she was I hoped she was happy. That was a genuine prayer.
I wasn’t a miserable enough person to wish bad on anybody. Not even my father.
When the task was complete, I checked the watch that was clasped around my wrist and saw that an hour had passed since I dropped Vanya off at her mom’s house.
I was sure I had time to drop Tasha’s belongings off to her mother.
Vanya was probably enjoying being somewhere other than my home.
It was a nice crib, but anyone would begin to go stir crazy from having to stay inside.
I thought about putting her up in a nice hotel and letting Rico guard her while I was in Cabo but with everything that she had been through, she’d probably enjoy getting away herself.
Taking Tasha in Cabo had been my way of trying to get her away from the stress her mother caused her.
Since that wouldn’t be happening, I decided to invite Vanya.
That way I could vacation in peace without having to worry about my father sending his goons after her.
There was no way I could be sure that she didn’t know about her cousin’s plan to rob my father.
But if she was in on it, I was sure she’d learned her lesson.
I was truly trying to put some good into the atmosphere by helping her.
If she wanted to be a dummy and do some underhanded shit, I wouldn’t feel bad about letting Kalim split her melon. Woman or not.
When I pulled up in front of Maria’s apartment, she was sitting on the porch with one of her friends.
I only ever saw them together when they were high or trying to get high.
Wasn’t sure if that was what you could call a friend, but I really didn’t give a damn.
Maria’s brows furrowed as I walked toward her with numerous large bags.
“What’s all that?”
“Your daughter’s stuff. If she doesn’t want it, you can toss it in the dumpster.”
When I saw the way her friend’s eyes lit up, I knew they were going to rifle through the bags and sell anything they could in order to get money for heroin. And I didn’t give a fuck. Maria had to put on of course, but I could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes.
“You just gon’ pack my daughter’s stuff up like she was never there, huh?”
Her audacity made me scoff. “I’m not even a disrespectful nigga, but shut the fuck up with the dumb shit. She left me. Fuck am I supposed to do? Keep her things safe and sound until she decides whether or not she might want to come back to me?”
“Give her a chance to explain when she’s ready.”
“She can’t explain shit to me. Fuck outta here.” Dropping the bags, I went to the car to retrieve the last three. Once they were on the porch, I got in my car and peeled off. Fuck Tasha and fuck her mama too.
I was ten minutes away from Vanya when she texted me and told me she was ready.
As I was getting out of the car to open her door, she walked outside.
Rico was still parked in the same spot. When I gave him a head nod, he pulled off.
Watching Vanya walk toward me was awakening my dick per usual.
Maybe it was because it had been a little minute since I had sex.
Or maybe it was because I wondered if she could work a dick just as good as the way she worked that pole at the strip club.
“Thank you.” Her tone was low, and her smile was small and bashful.
Inside the car, I looked over at her. “Did you enjoy your visit?”
“I did. I’m thinking of moving to Florida, so I told her I was going down there for a few days to check it out and see how I like it. I hate to lie, but if I tell her the truth, she’d have a heart attack.”
“We can hit Florida on the way back. What part you thinking about moving to?”
Vanya’s lips parted slightly, and her eyes widened just a bit. I assumed that wasn’t something that she expected me to offer.
“Um, I don’t know if I’m ready for the hustle and bustle of Miami. I deal with it here in Diamond Cove, but Miami might be a little more in terms of people, traffic, and tourists. But I don’t want to be more than an hour away from there either.”
“I can make that happen for you,” my head bobbed slightly.
“I know I say it a lot but thank you. I really mean it.”
I gave a slight nod. “You hungry?”
“No. My mother cooked. I could use something sweet though.”
“Just like a black person,” I chuckled. “What you want?”
“Since we’re already near The Cobbler, you can stop by there. Their honey apple cobbler is so damn good.”
“Bet.”
I was less than two blocks from The Cobbler.
When I opened my door, I noticed that Vanya hadn’t touched hers.
She was getting used to me opening doors for her.
Rather than giving a verbal thank you when she was out of the car, she smiled.
She led the way, but I was close behind.
Vanya knew exactly what she wanted, and I did too.
Vanya’s eyes dragged the length of my frame. “You work out?”
“Yeah. I try to get in the gym at least three days a week.”
She pushed out a sigh. “As much as I hated dancing, it kept me in shape. I feel like just sitting around is going to have me big and lazy.”