Chapter 26 Dreaux Davis
dreaux davis
. . .
a month later
“You’ve been acting weird all day. What are you hiding?” I probed. Peace and I had been together all day, but she seemed nervous about something.
“I have not been acting weird. I can’t believe you said that!” She shrieked, further confirming that her ass was up to something.
“Yeah, alright. You know I’m never wrong when it comes to reading people.
We can play this game all day.” I warned.
We had just left our dinner date, and I thought we were going back home, but Peace was going in the opposite direction.
She begged me to let her drive, which should have been my first clue that her sneaky ass was up to something.
My lil’ mama loved being a passenger princess.
She barely liked to drive the car I bought her because she preferred when I took her to work.
Belleza had gone quiet, and I had a feeling she was up to something.
I made sure someone was trailing my family, at all times, until we resolved our issues.
Raphael and Manuel were giving me the runaround about us ending our business together, so I knew they were up to something.
I still hadn’t told Peace about it, but I made sure to inform my homies so everyone could be on alert.
We pulled into Serenity Suites, a luxury hotel, and I glanced over at Peace.
She grinned, but didn’t know anything about why we were there.
All I could do was chuckle because I knew she was up to something.
It wasn’t my birthday or anything, but she had been catering to me all day.
It started with her paying for my haircut, then taking me to my favorite restaurant.
At first, I thought maybe she was trying to butter me up because she damaged something or spent too much money.
. Whatever the reason, I had no answers for what was going on.
“Come on,” she urged. Holding the door open for me.
“Lil mama, get the fuck away from my door. You got me out here feeling like a hoe. I was cool with the haircut, but I drew the line at you opening my door. Stop playing with me.”
She giggled, but I was dead ass serious. I was still the man in our relationship.
“You are being so dramatic. Come on, Unc.”
I gave her a deadly glare because her little ass had been calling me that for weeks. We were discussing our ages, and since I was two years older than her, she insisted on calling me “Unc.”
“I’ma beat yo’ ass. Keep on playin’.” I warned.
“Mmm, I like the sound of that. As long as you promise to do it while you’re fuckin’ me,” she purred. My dick jumped at the thought of smacking her ass while I fucked her from the back.
“Can you get our bags from the trunk?”
The fact that she packed our bags without me noticing left me stumped. I would have to start keeping my eye on her because she was too smooth for me.
I retrieved our bags and followed her into the hotel. It felt awkward standing behind her while she checked us in. In all my years on earth, no one had ever planned anything for me.
“Your room is on the eighteenth floor. You may take the elevators on the left. Enjoy your stay.” The lady at the front desk handed her the keys and showed us where to go.
I followed behind with the bags in my hands.
Once we got to our floor, I stopped Peace from opening the door.
I always liked going into the rooms first, so I could check the closets and under the bed.
It might have been my paranoia, but you could never be too sure.
My hand rested on my gun as I swiped the keycard and pushed the door open. I pulled it out when I noticed candles on the floor. There were also rose petals on the floor, which confused the hell out of me. Peace stood behind me, laughing, and I realized she had set this up for me.
“Baby, you are a nutcase! I knew you would take the key and check for yourself, but I didn’t expect you to pull out the blicky while I was recording. Now I can’t even post my cute little video because my man is crazy,” she whined.
“You should have warned me. I thought someone might have snuck in and was tryna do some funny shit. My bad.” I shrugged, reaching for the light switch on the wall. I still needed to verify that no one else was in the room with us.
When the lights came on, I stood there frozen. There were decorations everywhere and balloons hanging from the ceiling. When I turned back to look at Peace, she was holding her phone out. I assumed she was recording my reaction. I honestly wasn’t sure how to react, but it was unexpected.
My eyes widened when I noticed the bed filled with gift bags and baskets. I tried to think of what holiday we were celebrating, but I drew a blank.
“What is all of this for? Is there something I’m missing?”
“There’s no special occasion. I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for you. You’re always doing for everyone else, and you never ask for anything in return. I’m grateful for you and the way you show up for Promise and me. You’re a blessing to us all, and I wanted to say ‘thank you’.”
For the first time in my life, I was speechless. I sifted through some of the bags, and there were some really nice gifts inside. There were a bunch of designer items and some of my favorite brands.
“Where did you get the money to pay for all of this? I know you spent some bread because these shoes are $350.”
“My boss pays me very well, and my man doesn’t let me pay bills. I guess you could say I’m spoiled.” She snickered.
“Thank you, baby. I don’t even know what to say because you really outdid yourself. I wasn’t expecting any of this, but I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me. Everything I do for y’all is because I love you. It’s my job to make sure you never want for anything.”
“And it’s my job to make sure you never feel unappreciated or taken for granted. I love you, Dreaux Davis.” Peace stood on her tiptoes with her lips poked. I laughed because she reminded me of Promise whenever she wanted a kiss.
“I love you, too. This means a lot to me, and I hope you know I appreciate you, too. You came into my life and gave me something I didn’t think I wanted or needed.
I know without a shadow of a doubt you were placed in my life for a reason.
You taught me the true meaning of love. As men, we’re not supposed to show weakness.
It’s our job to figure shit out and be strong no matter what.
I’m thankful to you because you’ve been there for me during some of the hardest times in my life, and you ain’t judge me.
You’re a rare jewel, and I don’t plan on letting you go. ”
I had a hard time letting people do things for me because I was so used to doing everything on my own.
Justice got on me about it all the time, but it was a part of who I was.
I never wanted to be a burden to others, so I learned not to expect or ask anyone for anything.
The fact that Peace wanted to do something special for me made me feel loved and appreciated. You couldn’t put a price on that.
We spent the night making love, and I made sure to turn my phone off so we weren’t interrupted. At the rate we were going, Peace would be pregnant in no time. I wasn’t tripping, though, because I wanted a family with her. I planned to put a ring on her finger and give her my last night one day.
“Hello?”
“Aye, I need you to get here asap. Some shit went down, and it’s not looking good.
” Tech barked into the phone. My eyes were barely open, but the urgency in his voice let me know it was serious.
Peace looked like an angel as she slept on my chest, and I hated to bother her, but I needed to get up.
I moved her over as gently as I could, then set up in the bed.
“How did you get this number?” It took a moment for me to realize he had called me on the hotel phone.
“Aye, I need you to turn your phone on and call me back asap. This is an emergency, and I can’t say what I need to on this line. I hung up and powered my cell on as quickly as possible. My palms were sweaty, and I could feel my heart beating wildly.
“What’s going on?”
“Belleza. She’s on a rampage, man! Dreaux, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she set your house on fire!
” He roared. My brain stalled as I tried to understand what he was saying.
My first thought was that my sisters and my daughter were at my house.
I paid good money to have a detail on my house at all times, so it made no sense.
How the fuck did she even get that close?
“What the fuck are you saying, Tech? Did anyone get hurt? Fuck!” I paced the room as every terrible scenario played through my head.
“The fire department was able to get them all out, but—”
“But what? Where are you? Is my baby girl straight?”
“Promise is fine. Justice and his wife went with them to the hospital. Your phone was off, so they couldn’t reach you.
Ciyani mentioned the hotel’s name, so I decided to call the front desk.
The police are here, so I can’t say too much.
I got some people tracking her now, but we need to move on this tonight.
She’s gonna try to go into hiding, so if we don’t get her now, we’re gonna be looking over our shoulders,” he urged.
He spoke nothing but facts. Belleza knew how dangerous I was, and touching my family was her way of getting a reaction out of me.
If we didn’t get to her now, who knew how long it would take to find her.
“I’m about to head out there now. Please call me if anything happens before I get there.”
“I got you. I’ll give you some time to check on your family, but I’m gonna hit up the crew so they can be on standby.”
When I stepped back into the room, I saw Peace moving around frantically. She was packing up all our things and talking on the phone. Her eyes were filled with tears, which set off all kinds of alarms.
“Thank you for watching after my baby. Please tell her we love her and we’re on the way. Okay. Thank you. Keep me posted.”
She disconnected the call and wiped the tears from her eyes. When I stepped over to her, she threw her arms around me. When she broke away, I leaned down and kissed her lips.
“Whatever happened, we’re gonna be okay. You hear me?” I reassured her as I held her face in my hands.
“Okay. I trust you.”
We packed all our things and headed to the hospital.
The moment we got there, Peace scooped Promise up from Ciyani’s arms. The doctors assured us she was okay and that there was no cause for concern.
She received a breathing treatment, but she would be fine.
When I asked for an update on my sisters, they informed me of their conditions.
Dana suffered a few first-degree burns. Dominique and Danae suffered minor smoke inhalation, but aside from that, they are doing okay.
They were all receiving oxygen to give their lungs a chance to recover.
Apparently, Danae carried Promise to safety, and she covered her face with a shirt until they made it out.
“You good, bro?” Justice shook my hand as we stood in the waiting room.
Tech stood next to me as we discussed the plans.
The police asked me a few questions, but since I wasn’t there, I couldn’t offer them much help.
They asked if my cameras were active, but I told them they had been down for maintenance.
Belleza was mine, and no one was gonna stand in my way.
“I’m straight. I appreciate y’all for showing up. I should have never turned my phone off.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this. Belleza is unstable, and that isn’t your fault.”
“Where are you going?” Peace questioned as I said my goodbyes to everyone.
“I gotta handle some business. Justice is gonna take you to their house for the night. Once I’m finished, I’ll come get y’all.”
“Wait, what do you mean? Are you seriously about to leave?”
I took a deep breath, not wanting the conversation to turn into an argument.
“Yes. There’s an emergency I need to tend to. I shouldn’t be home too late, but if I am, I’ll call.”
Peace scoffed. “ I can’t believe you right now. What could possibly be more important than being with your family? Your sisters are still being treated. I’m sure whatever it is can wait.”
I had never been in a situation where I needed to explain myself to anyone, but I realized that was part of relationships. I reached for her hand, but she pulled away from me.
“I love you. I’ll see you later.”
Now wasn’t the time to go back and forth, so I decided to revisit the conversation later on. I signaled to Justice to let him know I would hit him up later. My trigger finger was itching, and the only thing on my mind was revenge.