Chapter 29
V Saint
“This shit stopped feeling casual a long time ago.”
Icame back into the room still on the phone with CK, talking about a delivery issue at the warehouse, but I stopped walking when I saw Sade asleep on the couch.
Laptop open on her lap, shoes kicked off.
Leftovers on the table, curled up under herself like she was cold, even with the heater on.
“Bro-Bro?” CK said through the phone.
“Hold on.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and walked over. She ain’t even realize she knocked out. The music still played low on her laptop while rain beat against the windows.
I grabbed it before it slid off her lap and set it on the counter.
“Yo, you there, my nigga?” CK asked again.
“Yeah. Call me in the morning.”
I hung up and looked back at her.
Damn.
This was the calmest I had ever seen her.
Her phone lit up beside her.
Marcus Hale
I stared at the screen while it buzzed in her hand.
That nigga was always popping up.
Before I could think too much about it, I grabbed the phone and declined the call so it wouldn’t wake her.
As soon as I did it, I frowned at myself. “Man, what the fuck am I doing…”
I set the phone back down.
That wasn’t my place.
Nothing about this was.
I walked off and grabbed my personal throw blanket from my duffel bag and covered her up. As soon as the blanket touched her, she grabbed onto it in her sleep.
I turned the music down lower and sat across from her for a minute.
I was really watching her sleep. That’s how I knew this shit was getting outta hand with my feelings.
Her phone lit up again.
Marcus Hale : You make it home safe?
I looked at the message.
That nigga was comfortable blowing up her phone.
Meanwhile, I was over here acting weird.
I leaned back against the chair and laughed low to myself.
This shit bad.
Sade moved around a little before her eyes opened slowly.
She looked around, confused for a second, before spotting me.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Long enough to start snoring.”
She frowned instantly. “I do not snore.”
I smirked. “Sounded like a baby bear fighting for survival. You need a C-PAP.”
She laughed tiredly and rubbed her face. “Why you ain’t wake me up?”
I looked at her for a second. “You looked peaceful.”
The words came out before I could stop them.
Sade looked at me funny after that, and I immediately stood up before the moment got weird.
“Come on. I’m walking you to your car before the rain gets worse.”
She looked down at the blanket wrapped around her. “You covered me up?”
“You looked cold.”
“Thank you.”
I grabbed my keys off the counter while she put her shoes back on.
The elevator ride downstairs was regular again. No weird tension. Just both of us, tired.
When we stepped outside, rain was still coming down hard enough to bounce off the pavement.
I walked her to her car while she held the blanket around herself.
“You keeping my blanket?” I asked.
She smiled sleepily. “Maybe.”
“Thief.”
“You rich. Relax.”
I laughed under my breath while she unlocked her door.
Before getting in, she looked back at me.
“Goodnight, Vaughn.”
“Night, ma.”
I stood there watching her pull off while rain soaked through my hoodie.
Marcus’s name kept sitting in my head, though.
$$$$$
I woke up the next morning, still thinking about Sade asleep on the couch.
I should’ve been thinking about work.
Instead, I kept hearing her sleepy ass voice saying goodnight to me.
I got to my office early with coffee and my laptop, trying to focus on numbers, but my mind kept circling back to her.
So, I typed Marcus Hale into my system instead.
Basic search first.
Real estate. Finance. High ass credit score. Business articles.
Regular nigga shit.
Then I saw the last name tied somewhere else.
Marcus Jewel-Hale.
I frowned.
“Jewel?”
I opened another tab.
Randy Jewel.
Same father. Different mothers. Mother gave him her last name.
I leaned back in my chair and laughed once under my breath.
“Of course.”
Out of every nigga in L.A., Sade ended up with that nigga’s brother.
Randy worked for Sade’s mother’s ex-husband, which was the real reason I ain’t fuck with him.
Now I really had to keep my eyes open. It didn’t say Marcus was linked to that, so I kept looking.
It looked like they were in different lanes and worked for completely different companies.
I kept scrolling.
Then I found a police report.
Domestic violence.
Four years ago.
Charges dropped because the girlfriend refused to testify.
I read the report twice anyway.
No jail time. No conviction.
Still sat wrong with me.
Marcus didn’t move like a street nigga either. Dudes like him hid their dirt behind calm voices and business suits.
I thought about telling Sade.
Really thought about it.
Then, I killed the idea immediately.
Nah.
That would make me look too invested, and I've already crossed enough lines with her, mentally.
So instead, I did what I do best.
I was going to watch the nigga.
I dug through his background for another hour before finally shutting my laptop.
One thing I knew for sure, though…
That nigga definitely wasn’t welcome around Crown Heights no more. He was food if he came around me or hurt Sade.