Page 86 of Hurt Me Not
“You must really hate him.”Understatement of the century.
She gave me a lingering look before adding, “If they talk, I’ll kill them and you too. I hope you know that.”
“Heard you loud and clear,” I said through gritted teeth. “Now I need addresses.”
She took a long, unhurried drag from her cigarette.
“Get ready, because you can’t write these down.”
It was hours later when I finally made it back to my apartment. The sun was up, and I walked upstairs to see if Pearl was still asleep. When I heard the shower in her room, I decided to take a quick one too to get rid of the stench of vodka and cigarette smoke.
Making my way downstairs again, I sat down on one of the kitchen island stools, knowing she’d be coming down soon, looking for something to eat before we had to leave.
My head was throbbing. Dahlia had given me some good information on where my father might be hiding, but it was still up to me to run with it. I should have seen it coming. She was only looking out for her own interests.
I’d sent the addresses to Jax the minute I got inside my car, asking her if she'd be willing to send some men to scout the area. It was still early, so I didn’t expect her to reply, but a message from her minutes later said she'd be on it and report back whatever she found.
Thank God I kept her in my life, even though she is a pain in the ass sometimes.
I barely made it out of there alive, and I knew dealing with my father would be even harder. Especially since he wasn't one to fight fair. I was totally out of my element.
I need to protect myself and Pearl. I need to do better.
Even with the shooting lessons and all the self-defense training, I knew it wouldn’t be enough. It had started in college as a means to work out my frustration, but I’d gotten good at it,especially at the range. Probably because every time I shot that gun, it was my father’s face I saw.
Still, I knew it wouldn’t cut it.
My phone was already starting to buzz with incoming emails from work. Along with everything else, it was almost too much to bear.
But then I heard Pearl walking downstairs, already ready for the day in a cute little dress that made me smile for the first time in hours.
“Already up so early? I missed you in bed," she said as she met me in the kitchen, coming to stand between my legs.
"I couldn’t sleep. I was just waiting for you," I lied.
I didn't like lying to her, but I also didn't want her to worry, especially knowing she had someone gunning for her.
I didn't want her to have to think about any of this. I wanted to make all her problems go away.
“Oh?” she asked and cuddled up close to me. My heart skipped as soon as her hands were on me. “Are we doing something this morning?”
“Breakfast before work,” I said, and wrapped my arms around her. “You pick the place. Whatever you want.”
I couldn't get over how good she felt in my arms. How right. I regretted not realizing how I felt for her in high school and not having the guts to take it to the next level. Her warmth seeped into my body and started working away all the stress without even trying.
I wanted to pick her up and go back to bed so I could get even just a little bit of sleep, but I was needed at work, especially because today I had two board members meeting us before lunch.
Pearl let out a happy squeal. “I know exactly where to go!”
I let her drag me to the entrance, happy that she was so excited but not looking forward to the fact that I was likely going to hate whatever breakfast she chose.
It didn’t matter.
For Pearl, I would do anything.
Chapter 21
Pearl
