Page 22 of Bully

That instantly made me feel like shit.

I didn’t care about being sat down… at all.

I did, however, care about being away from my girls.

Pulling her into my arms, I closed my eyes as she cried. Merc told me he’d handle Moore, which I appreciated, while Asylum went through his phone to see if he could access the footage. I held Innvy until her sobs turned into sniffles. When they did, I pulled her face from my chest and cupped her cheeks.

“Baby, I amsosorry I scared you,” I told her, remorse dripping from my tone. “When I saw him touching you and trying to convince you to leave me, I saw red. I wasn’t thinking about catching a charge because you know that don’t put no fear in me. I also wasn’t thinking about how that would trigger you. That wasn’t my intention.”

As I wiped the tears from her cheeks, I kissed the center of her forehead.

“I told you I would never do anything to intentionally leave you again, and I meant that,” I continued before kissing her nose, lips, and cheeks. “I won’t go to jail behind this, I promise you. I’m so sorry for scaring you.”

Sniffling, she nodded and wrapped her arms around me tightly.

“I just got you back, Bully. I’mnotgoing to lose you again.”

For some reason, her declaration made me smile. I held her close and kissed her neck. “You won’t, baby. I’m not goinganywhere.”

I held her for a little while longer and made sure she was straight before going to get several stacks of cash out of my trunk. It was enough to take care of his mouth plus some extra to make sure he didn’t snitch. If he did, my connections within the Memphis Police Department would keep me from being charged.

Asylum was able to pull up the camera footage from the other night, so after I wrote the license plate number down, I gave it to Merc so his team could track it. Ideally, I wanted to take care of Jo before Innvy left for Dallas tomorrow so she could be at peace and not have to worry about any threats at home.

* * *

2:00 AM

I sat in the darkness,waiting for Jo. His brother had already been taken care of in Nashville by the team Rocco had left behind. Apparently, Jo was from Memphis and was in Nashville handling business with his brother. I doubted my intuition when we saw him out and gave grace, when I should have handled him right then and there. This wasn’t anything new to me, and I knew I should have handled him before he had the chance to follow or touch me. Being with Innvy softened me and knocked me off my square. I didn’t want to handle that kind of business around her, but I wouldnevermake that mistake again.

The moment he stepped into his apartment and cut the light on, he jumped at the sight of me. Had I not been irritated from waiting three hours for him to arrive it would have amused me.

“How did you get in here?” he asked, looking around. Almost as if he expected me not to be alone.

“Is that what you want to be your last words?”

Jo chuckled as he took a step back. I had a feeling he was going to try and make a run for it, so I stood from the recliner I’d been waiting in. I’d already searched the apartment and moved all of his weapons… including the shotgun that was under his entertainment center.

“Are you really going to kill me because of what I did to your car?”

“I’m going to kill you because you went where my family feels safe and took that away from them,” I clarified, stepping in his direction.

Everything happened so fast. Two steps toward him, and he reached for his gun. Thankfully, I was faster. After sending three to his chest and two to his head, I stood over him so he wouldn’t be alone as his spirit left his body. Once it was gone, I wiped the chair and door down then went home.

12

Innvy

In Dallas

I hadn’t beenable to stop smiling all weekend. At the last minute, my assistant’s daughter got sick, so she couldn’t come to the vender event. Bully offered to take her place, and as hesitant as I was to have him as my helper, I agreed. There were five hundred people registered for the expo, and I knew not every one of them would come to my table. Well, I was in for a rude awakening, because word had started to circulate about Innvious and how we’d gone viral last fall, so I had a constant line of people.

Bully was so present and sociable. He was so fine I knew some women came to the table just to see him. Not one person who walked by, looked over, or expressed interest was able to leave without being swayed to buy something because of him. He handled the cash register while I did demos, packed orders, and answered questions. We were truly a team, truly partners, and that truth made me cry.

By the time the event was over, I checked the numbers, and we had three hundred and eighty sales. I cried. So many of them had already followed me on social media and joined my mailing list. I kept thanking Bully because I honestly wouldn’t have been as calm as I was without him. This was the first time he’d joined me at a vendor event, and I didn’t want to do it without him again.

His support was just what I needed to maintain my peace and keep a calm spirit. He was attentive and willing to do literally whatever I needed. And he had a charming way of bringing people over to the table so I could reel them in. Bully was absolutely perfect, and I’d be forever grateful to have him by my side.

We were so tired after the event Friday that we returned to our suite at the Ritz Carlton, ordered room service, then went to sleep. Yesterday afternoon, Bully treated us to massages and we went shopping before hitting up a lounge. We were supposed to leave on an early flight in the morning, and Bully told me not to make plans with my family today because he was going to take me on a date. Though I’d originally told my cousins I’d hang with them before I left, the idea of going on a date with my man appealed to me more. I told them I’d catch them on my next trip here, and seeing as they knew Bully had recently resurfaced, they completely understood.

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