Chapter 27 Peace Graham
peace graham
. . .
I tossed and turned all night because I was worried about Dreaux. There were a lot of things he didn’t tell me about his life, but I wasn’t stupid by any means. People don’t set houses on fire for no reason, and I had a feeling it had something to do with his street life.
I could tell by his demeanor that he was angry and ready for war.
The last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt or locked up.
Justice assured me that Dreaux was okay, but his words offered no comfort.
He came into the room around five in the morning and went straight to the shower.
I trusted Dreaux, so I didn’t think he was doing anything sneaky, but I still had questions.
He climbed into bed and pulled me into his chest. I thought he would address our little conflict at the hospital, but he passed out as if nothing had happened.
“What’s on your mind, lil mama. I keep waking up because your ass is huffing and puffing. What’s up?”
“Where did you go last night?” There was no point in beating around the bush. I needed answers.
“The less you know, the better,” he mumbled. His eyes were still shut, and his arms were wrapped around me. I shifted my body so I could look at him. He needed to see how fucked up he had me.
“You’re gonna need to come up with a better answer because that bullshit is not flying with me.”
He peeked with one of his eyes, staring at me as if I had lost my mind.
“Don’t start, Peace. It’s too early for this shit.”
“I don’t give a fuck how early it is. You need to answer my questions, and you need to answer them now,” I demanded.
Dreaux sat up in the bed with his back against the headboard.
I waited patiently for him to explain what was going on.
I watched as he grabbed a blunt from the nightstand and lit it.
My anger rose as he took his time smoking.
After he exhaled the smoke for the third time, I got ready to cuss him out, but he finally started to speak.
“Remember the woman who showed up at the office acting crazy?” I nodded briefly, recalling that nut job who was looking for me.
“We were business partners, and the lines were blurred. I tried to end things, but she became obsessive. She’s a very dangerous person, and I’ve made an enemy of her.”
“Is she the one who set fire to your house?”
Dreaux scratched the side of his beard, letting me know he was frustrated.
“Yes, and she killed the people I had watching the house. She doesn’t like the fact that I’m trying to end our business and personal relationship, and she won’t go away quietly.”
“I’m gonna assume the business you’re referring to isn’t legal. Am I right?” Dreaux stared straight ahead before he focused his attention on me.
“I have my hands in a lot of different ventures, both legal and illegal,” he admitted.
“You’re basically telling me you made a deal with the devil and now she wants to collect. Is that why she was so upset when she came to the office? She knew about me?”
“Yes. I tried to break things off with you because I wasn’t sure how far she would go to mark what she felt was her territory. It worked for a while, then I couldn’t stay away from you.”
The revelation left me floored as I began to put the pieces together. When Dreaux had people following me everywhere, I thought he was trying to assert his dominance over me. He claimed it was for my protection, but he never explained what I needed protecting from.
“Why would you keep me in the dark? You could have saved us a lot of drama and bullshit if you had told me what was going on. Hell, you left me unprotected because I had no idea there was any real danger.” The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
When I attempted to get up from the bed, Dreaux grabbed me and placed me in his lap. I fought against him, but there was no use. My strength was no match for his.
“I fucked up. I was trying to figure it out on my own, and I was in over my head. I should have told you what was going on, but since you didn’t know about the other part of my life, I thought it was best to keep you in the dark. I underestimated how far she was willing to go.”
“Do you love her?” For some reason, the question lingered in my mind. There must have been some reason she refused to let go. At least that’s what I told myself. I couldn’t understand why any woman would want to be with a man who didn’t share her feelings.
“No, I don’t. It was never anything more than sex and money for me. She had the connections I needed to elevate my career, so I thought it was a good idea. I messed up when I added sex to the equation.”
Hearing my man talk about having sex with someone else bothered me more than I cared to admit. I understood Dreaux had a past, but now his past was overlapping with our current.
“What now? If she is capable of setting your house on fire with your family in it, then it sounds like she is too far gone.”
Dreaux hesitated before answering, causing me to face him.
“I don’t want you to worry about anything other than taking care of Promise. All you need to know is that I’ve got it under control.”
I wanted to believe him, but a part of me still felt like he was keeping things from me.
Eventually, we both fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until Promise barged into the room, demanding her daddy cook her breakfast. We were still at Justice’s house, but she didn’t care one bit.
As I got ready to take a shower, I heard a phone vibrating in the room.
I searched through the sheets until I stumbled across Dreaux’s phone.
I never felt the need to go through it before, but my curiosity got the best of me.
When I clicked the message, it was from an unknown number, and its contents left me uneasy.
Unknown: You were a fool to think you would be able to track me down. Last night was a warning. Next time, I’ll be sending you a picture of your bitch with her head cut off. You should have never crossed me.
My hands shook as I looked towards the door to make sure nobody was out there. Once I saw the coast was clear, I sent her a reply.
Dreaux: Tell me where you are, and we can handle this one-on-one. You wanted my attention, and now you have it.
I was treading in dangerous waters, but I thought if I confronted her myself, she would leave everyone else alone.
Dreaux thought I was naive, but Chop taught me a lot when we were together.
He was always afraid of someone coming after me, in retaliation, because he robbed so many people.
I learned how to shoot a gun and use a knife, too.
I wasn’t in the streets, but I knew enough about them to survive.
Unknown: Come alone and don’t try any funny shit. I have eyes and ears everywhere. Meet me here at eight and not a minute later.
Dreaux: Bet.
As soon as she sent the location, I forwarded it to myself and then deleted the interaction. I meant what I said to Dreaux about pulling my weight. He already had enough on his plate, and I didn’t need him trying to protect me. If this Belleza woman wanted me so badly, then she would get her wish.
Instead of going back to my place, Dreaux took us shopping for clothes and then brought us back to Justice’s house. He picked up Dana, Dominique, and Danae from the hospital and brought them over.
Around seven, I asked Ciyani if I could borrow her car.
Dreaux left twenty minutes prior, claiming he had some errands to run.
My stomach was a ball of nerves, but I needed to do this.
It was the only way to protect my family.
A part of me thought about what would happen if things went wrong, but I pushed those negative thoughts to the back of my mind.
It was time for me to stand on my own two feet.
I stopped at my place to grab the gun Dreaux gave me when I first moved in. It was hidden in my closet to keep out of Promise’s reach. When he gave it to me, he showed me how to load and shoot. I didn’t bother to mention that I already knew how to use one, because I didn’t want him to judge me.
Once I secured the gun, I changed into all black and put my hair into a ponytail.
I wasn’t a killer or a criminal, but I’d watched TV shows to know the basics.
The location she gave was twenty minutes away, so there wasn’t much time to waste.
I tucked my phone into my pocket and headed out the door.
I attempted to drown out my thoughts with music as I drummed my fingers across the steering wheel.
My stomach twisted with nervousness as I got closer to the destination.
I underestimated how dark it would be when I finally arrived at the location.
I circled the location to see that it was a butcher shop.
There were a couple of cars parked nearby, but I wasn’t sure if they belonged to anyone in the building.
Since she was expecting Dreaux, I figured I could use it to my advantage.
I parked a few streets over and gave myself a pep talk.
Once I got my nerves under control, I got out of the car and tucked the gun in the back of my black jeans.
I grabbed my hoodie, pulled it over my head, and began walking to my destination.
Given the rundown condition of the building, I wasn’t worried about any cameras. The area seemed desolate, aside from a few businesses scattered throughout. A couple of the windows were boarded up, but I noticed a few lights shining through.
My back was pressed against the wall as I watched my surroundings. I had no idea what I was walking into, so I needed to be on alert. Once I got closer to the door, I retrieved the gun. The door was already open, so I peeked inside to see if I could hear anything.