Page 29 of Hush Money & Hits
“I’ve had a few good nights at the club,” I lied with a smile. “That should cover your rent and utilities next month, I hope. If you find a job, let me know, and I’ll cover Nevaeh’s daycare for a month.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she choked out a sob. “Why on earth would you do that for me? Oh my God, thank you. I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay you back.”
“You don’t have to pay me back. Stop questioning your blessings. Obviously, I feel like you deserve it, and I’m in the position to help. So, I did.”
Jan put the box down and threw her arms around me. “Thank you so much. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I swear. Oh my God,” she hugged me even tighter.
For the first time since I got shot, I had to thank God for the mess I ended up in because of Kalim. His ass was in jail where he needed to be, and I was prayerfully free to walk around without looking over my shoulder. I just wanted my life to return to normal. And even though I still wanted to move eventually, for the moment I planned to stay and look after my mother. I was also in the position to help her, and that made me happy. Jan thanked me ten more times, and I finally went up to my apartment.
My lease was up in two months, and I wanted to move somewhere a little nicer. I knew I couldn’t just run through the money that I got from Kalim and Pearce, but I also didn’t have to pinch pennies anymore. Pearce. The thought of him took my breath away. It had been days, and I missed him something terrible. Wondering if he was with Tasha made my belly churn. We’d both been busy. We left Cabo confused, stressed, and a few more things. I knew he wasn’t too broken up about Kalim, but Tasha showing up had to make him feel some kind of way. A way that he more than likely didn’t want to share with me.
I needed to get my things from his home, but a part of me was afraid to call. If Tasha had squeezed her way back into his life it was going to sting just a bit. Pearce was never mine to have but damn having him for a little while was fun. Inside the apartement, I surveyed the living room and kitchen like it wasmy first time being there. Thinking of the circumstances and Tee made my throat feel like it was closing up. I laughed through tears as I thought about how she would have been gassing me for dealing with Pearce. She would have been proud that I finally stopped acting like an old maid and got myself some dick.
For the hundredth time I wondered why she would ever try to cross a man like Kalim. I’d never get my answer. I couldn’t even really ask Marlon because I wasn’t even sure he had the capacity to give me a real answer. With my phone in hand, I sat down on the couch and unlocked it. Calling Pearce felt awkward. I wasn’t in my feelings about him not reaching out. We both had a lot going on. While I was grateful Marlon was alive, I was annoyed that we had to leave Cabo so soon.
The phone trilled, and my heart rate increased. I had no clue why I was nervous but I was. The line picked up, and my stomach tightened.
“Hello?”
The voice filled with attitude didn’t belong to Pearce. It was a female and if I had to guess, I’d say that female was Tasha. With flaring nostrils, I kept my tone even. “Hi. May I speak to Pearce?” her being there didn’t change the fact that I needed my things.
“He’s busy at the moment. Who is this? I’ll tell him you called.” Either shorty was having a terrible day, or she knew exactly who I was. I also doubted the message would be delivered, but I gave her my name anyway.
“Vanya.”
“I’ll tell him you called.” And just like that, she hung up in my face.
The next day, I walked out of Diamond Cove Community College with a smile on my face. I had registered and paid for an esthetician class. I was proud of myself. For once, I finally felt like I had a solid plan. Excited was an understatement. I had two weeks before class started, and there was so much I wanted to get done before then because from the day school started, I wanted to be locked in and focused. My next stop was the grocery store and Family Dollar to get some cleaning supplies and other household items. Knowing that Kalim was in someone’s jail cell made me feel all giddy inside. He had way bigger fish to fry than me. The detective handling the case had reached out to me, and I ignored him. I wasn’t testifying against Kalim. I wasn’t that bold.
On my way to the store, I realized that Pearce never returned my call. I hated to act like I was rich because I wasn’t, but the things I had at his house could be replaced. I refused to call him more than once. I blew out a deep breath. I knew the shit had to end one day. I would always be indebted to him. He had history with Tasha, and I’d never be mad if he chose her. I wasn’t even ashamed of the fact that I was envious of Tasha. With a sad smile, I glanced down at the wedding ring on my finger.
I took it off anytime I went around my family, but that day I had slipped it on. Just wishful thinking on my part. In a weird way the ring made me feel close to Pearce. It was sick, but it made me feel better, so it was what it was. I’d get over him in due time because I always did. Whether it be from relationship troubles or man troubles, I always seemed to bounce back, and I had to thank God for that.
I had just finished at the supermarket and was on my way home when one of the dancers from Kalim’s club, Breshay called. My brows hiked because I hadn’t heard from Breshay since I got out of the hospital. She did visit me once, and she also called a time or two to see how I was. I didn’t fault her for not keeping up because we weren’t close, and everybody had their own shit going on.
“Hello?”
“Hey, girl. How have you been?”
“I’ve been pretty good. I can’t complain. How are you?”
“Girl, nervous as hell. I made good money at the club, and now Tori is saying he doesn’t know what’s going to happen with the club. Kalim’s son is refusing to run it now for whatever reason.”
That wasn’t odd to me because I knew the history with Pearce and Kalim. “He might find someone else to keep things afloat for him. Shit, Tori already does it. He can keep doing it. Or maybe Kalim will sell it.”
“You don’t know what happened?”
“What you mean?” I asked with a frown. “You talking about Kalim being arrested?”
“No, I mean Kalim being killed. Someone got to his ass in the shower at the jail. Stabbed his ass fifteen times.”
CHAPTER 15
PEARCE
I saton my couch with my phone in my hand confused as shit. I had gone through my call log in search of a number, and I saw that Vanya had called me three days ago. Only, the number wasn’t red, so it wasn’t a missed call. And I didn’t talk to her. It only took two seconds for me to realize that it had to be Tasha. She had been with me for the past four days. Regardless of how I felt about what she did, I still went to comfort her when her mother over dosed. That led to her coming home with me and me agreeing to pay for the funeral even though she had the money that my dad gave her to leave me. Just another one of those good deeds I was trying to put out into the world.
I was by Tasha’s side when she picked out clothes for her mother, met with the funeral home director, and cleaned up her mother’s apartment. I was there for moral support and nothing more. Tasha slept in my bed, and I slept on the couch. Of course, she didn’t like it, but there wasn’t really anything she could do about it. I wasn’t interested in having sex with her. While she was still grieving the death of her mother, I got word of Kalim’s death and for a good ten minutes it felt as if the world stopped spinning.
