Page 16 of Hush Money & Hits
Pearce shook his head and sighed. Leaning back in his chair, he stared out of the window. “I can’t sit here and talk too much about him or his character because I’m a fucked up nigga myself. Granted, the people I’ve killed aren’t necessarily great human beings, but that’s not my job to decide. Still, for a dollar, I’ve wiped out a person’s existence on numerous occasions. You were going to be one of those people.” Pearce looked at me, and a chill ran down my spine.
I didn’t need him confessing his sins to me because I didn’t need him thinking he needed to eliminate me either. I just wanted to move to Florida, take my money, and go on about my business.
“I’m only telling you that because I’m done with it. I don’t want to do it anymore. I was never even supposed to take any jobs involving women. Just off the strength of him being my father, I was ready to go against my beliefs and do the job just because he asked me to. And the whole time, he’d done some snake shit like pay my shorty to leave town.”
My gaze lifted, and I took in Pearce’s handsome features. “Well, in her defense, your father is pretty intimidating.”
“Nah,” Pearce scoffed with an angry chuckle. “She knew me better than to know I’d let that shit fly. Shorty has never been money hungry and even if she was, she had access to everything I had. Taking his money when I would have given her double what he did was crazy.”
I could tell by the way his jaw muscles flexed, and his nostrils slightly flared that Pearce was pissed. And he had every right tobe. I wasn’t pressed to be in a relationship because I’d never run into a person that was half the man Pearce seemed to be. No one had ever made me feel safe. Protected. And I had damn sure never had a man that provided for me and made sure I didn’t want for anything. He seemed to be a different breed, and his ex had been a very lucky woman. But I still didn’t want to judge her because most people only told parts of the story that made them look innocent. From what I had seen, Pearce was a decent guy. But maybe he was a different person when he was with her. Maybe there were times he acted like his father. I didn’t know him for real. Only what he showoed me.
“What if she takes some time to think about it, and she comes back?” It wasn’t until the words left my mouth that a pang of jealousy shot through my core, and it confused me.
As soon as it was safe to do so, I was leaving town. Kalim and his son would be distant memories, so why would I be jealous at the thought of his woman coming back? Again, Pearce scoffed.
“Nah, ain’t no coming back. I love her. Would have done anything for her, but I’m far from a sucka. She made her choice. I’m moving her things out of my crib and just like that, we’re done.”
I could tell what she did hurt him. Pearce didn’t give that he was fronting for me. He was visibly hurt, but he was angry too. I could tell he really loved her and there it was again. The slight sting of jealousy. I couldn’t fathom being loved properly by a man like Pearce. At least he had shown me that men like him did exist even if I wasn’t confident that I’d ever run into another one.
We sat in silence for a bit while we finished our food. When my plate was free of food, I sat back and blew out a small breath. “That was amazing.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Listen, before all of this went down, I had a trip planned to Cabo. I don’t want to leave you alone forfour nights, so you can come with me. I’ll reach out to my travel agent and get her to book you a room. The trip is in a week.”
I shifted in my seat. “Okay but um, my mother thinks I’m at home. Seeing as how I’m healing from three gunshots, I know she’s going to want to come visit me. I don’t know what to tell her because I sure can’t tell her the truth.”
Pearce’s eyes remained trained on my face as he sat back in his seat. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “If you go see her, she won’t need to come see you. I can take you by there in a day or two.”
My brows hiked.
“I don’t have to go in. Depending on how long you stay, I could have my people watching the house.”
A low chuckle escaped from my throat. “This is crazy. I literally can’t leave the house unless I’m with someone.”
“You’re the only witness to a murder. Be glad that you know how that nigga moves and what the possibilities are. It might be a little weird and intimidating, but I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“And I appreciate that.” I rushed the words out. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful but not being able to go home or even go outside alone was crazy. “I really do.”
Pearce gave a head nod before he stood up and grabbed our plates. He took them in the kitchen, and I took that as my cue to finish clearing the table and help him put the food away. We cleaned the kitchen in silence. When I was done with my part, I decided to take a shower and start on my hair. All I could do was make the best of the situation.
CHAPTER 9
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 evenknow 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.
