She laughed softly. “Who are you, Marz? I don’t want to go from one dangerous situation to the next. You… the way you… how do we know they aren’t dead?”
“I’ll find out how many ran away and how many I hit. I know Iman is still alive. I have photos I can show you later. I don’t want you to see that right now, but I will need you to look and identify Jay. If he’s still alive…”
Her head shook as she stood and began to pace. “How long do I have to stay here? Will I be able to go to work in the morning?”
“You mentioned an email,” I deflected, not wanting to tell her I didn’t know how long she’d have to stay. “Can you cancel it?”
“Yes. I only told them I had to do it from the office to buy myself some time.”
“Good. Go ahead and cancel that for me. Save it as a draft. That email can be leverage that keeps you alive or theammunition he needs to try and kill you. I have to talk to him to know which one.”
Heir’s pacing stopped as she looked at me. “I appreciate you saving me, but I don’t want to pull you into my bullshit, Marz. Especially if it’s going to risk your life.”
A quiet laugh escaped me as I stood and walked over to her. “I’m a protector by nature, and I’ve risked my life for less. Trust me, bae. It ain’t shit I won’t do to keep you safe.”
“I wanna question why, but I also just want to sleep. My head is killing me.”
“Okay. I’ll show you around and get you settled before talking to my people.”
“You’re not leaving me, are you?” she asked as we walked out of the living room.
“Nah. I’ll be here as long as you are. I may have to leave to make a move, but I’ll always come back.”
Her pout made me smile, but she nodded her agreement. I showed her around the two story house before leading her to the primary bedroom. I told her she could shower and try to relax while I got some answers. We kept new hygiene products and clothes for both genders in all sizes at our safehouses, so she had something to change into, but I promised her I’d get her a few of her things from home tomorrow if it was necessary. After making it clear to her that she needed to avoid talking to Jay and letting anyone know where she was, I left her alone and headed outside to the guest house. When I imagined Heir returning to my orbit, I never imagined it would happen like this.
HoursLater
There wasn’t much to find about Jay online. He had a basic social media profile and landing page as a realtor. While I looked into him, I checked the cameras around the house on the monitors. I didn’t believe Jay had gotten Heir’s location before she stopped sharing it with him, but I wanted to keep an eye on the house just to be safe. Even with there still being two guards outside, she was my responsibility.
Everyone had been gone for about three hours. I’d thanked them for pulling up and assured them that I’d call if we needed anything. For now, all we could do was wait. I wanted to talk to Jay and Iman individually before coming up with a plan. In case Jay was alive and tried to contact Heir, she gave me her password and phone before she went to sleep. She’d told her parents that she was staying with a friend for the night, and while I wished I could assure her that this would be over quickly, I couldn’t say.
I dropped a lot of bodies behind her today, and Iman didn’t strike me as the kind of man to take that lightly. Now that I knew what Jay looked like, I could confirm that he had run out of the back door with Iman and that I hadn’t sent a bullet through either of them. What fucked with me most was learning that she’d been with Jay for almost two years and he didn’t hesitate to agree to kill her on Iman’s command. As I fed Jay’s phone number to the software Eze’s techy ass left behind, the sound of Heir’s scream gained my attention.
As I jumped up from my seat, I looked at the monitor for the camera in her room. No one was in there with her, so she must have had a bad dream. Still, I hopped the stairs by three to make my way to her as quickly as I could. I told the guards they could stay outside as I charged down the hall. Setting my Glock on the dresser, I watched as Heir rocked from side to side. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them as she fought back her tears and shook her head. Her fear mademe want to go put a bullet in Jay and Iman’s brains, but I’d been trained to play the long game and not be so reckless. As much as I didn’t want to wait, I had no choice.
I walked over to the bed and made my way behind her. As I wrapped my arms around her trembling body she said, “I’m sorry. I had a bad dream.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I assured her, rocking her slightly. “What you went through today was traumatic enough. Add to that being in an unfamiliar environment after the man you loved betrayed you… You’re entitled to a nightmare.” Her body relaxed just enough for me to gently tilt her neck and kiss it. “You know what would be a nightmare for me?”
“W-what?”
“If I woke up in the morning to you running out on me again.”
That got a giggle out of her, causing her body to relax even more.
“I’m not running away this time. I regretted leaving the way I did last time. I don’t think you being the one to save me is a coincidence. I can’t process my feelings for you yet, but I want things to play out differently this time, Marz.”
“Things will definitely play out different this time around. I promise,” I guaranteed her before kissing her cheek. With most women, I was never affectionate. With Heir? That shit came easily. It was harder to keep my hands off her. Her trembling stopped as I ran my fingers through her hair. “I also promise that you’re safe here, Wifey. I ain’t gon’ let nothing happen to you, aight? Whatever happened was just a dream. I got you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered before yawning, slouching against me and turning slightly.
As I rocked her and massaged her scalp, I covered her face with soft kisses. It didn’t take long before she was asleep in myarms. Instead of getting out of bed, I decided to hold her in case she had another bad dream. Plus, much too much time had passed since the last time I had her in my arms.
We had a hell of a lot of time to make up for.
Chapter
Six