Page 33 of Bully

“What about you, Merc?” I asked with a grin.

“I’m in,” he said, shoving the rest of his chips in.

“This too,” Bully said, handing him a ring. I wouldn’t attempt to guess how many carats it was, but it was three times as big as my first ring.

“Bae…” I whispered, speechless. My eyes watered. Every man at the table wore smiles and looks of pride as they set their cards on the table—face down.

“Looks like you won,” Bully said, pushing the pot, and the ring, toward me. “Though, having you and Princess makes me the real winner. I love you, Innvy. Thank you for giving us a second chance.”

My eyes blurred from my tears as I picked up the ring. Bully made his way around the table, kneeled, and slipped it onto my left ring finger. As our friends cheered us on and clapped, I lowered myself and embraced my man.

“Was this a surprise?” he asked in my ear with a smile. “Special enough?”

“It’s absolutely perfect.”

* * *

Early May

About a month passedsince Bully graced me with my new ring. I didn’t want to jinx it and say things were perfect between us, but they were. Innah and I had settled into Bully’s home and made it our own—and for me, it was better being back with my baby. We were a real family now, and I couldn’t ask for more. She was crawling and saying more words. My work schedule was lighter but my profit was higher because I rented out the three spare rooms to other estheticians who paid rent.

Bully was working with the schools just until the end of the month, then he’d be free for the summer. He was supposed to start in August but couldn’t stay away for that long. I couldn’t wait to see how we’d spoil Innah and show her more of the world. I knew she was far too young to remember anything we did during her first summer on this Earth, but we’d have tons of pictures to show her.

It was such a beautiful day that I decided to pick Innah up myself after work and take her to the park. Bully didn’t give me that much of a hard time about it since it allowed him to go to happy hour with his brothers. As the sun started to set, I decided it was time for us to head home.

While I walked to the car, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked around, eyes landing on an older gentleman who was on the phone. When I looked at him, he immediately looked away. It wouldn’t have been the first time a man eyed me, so I didn’t think twice about it. Once I got Innah settled in her seat, I made my way to mine. We didn’t even get a full five minutes into the drive and she had already fallen asleep.

My laughter turned into panic when my Wagon jutted to a stop as smoke filled it. Seeing as I hadn’t had it for more than two months, I had no idea what could have been going wrong. I pulled over to the side of the road and groaned before quickly hopping out to grab my baby. Before I could dial Bully’s number, a black town car pulled over behind me. Since I didn’t know what was wrong, I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to help. I wouldn’t mind allowing them to try if they were about to offer.

The back passenger door opened and a tall older man stepped out. I was pretty sure I’d never met him before but there was something about him that was familiar. He buttoned his suit jacket as he took long, confident strides in my direction.

“Need some help?” he asked with a wide smile.

“Yes, I believe so,” I replied, looking down at a still sleeping Innvy. “I don’t know what happened. It just started smoking and stopped.”

“I can take a look under your hood if you’d like.”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

“Do you want to sit in the car while I do?” he asked, opening the door to pop the hood.

“Oh no, we’re okay. Thanks.”

His head bobbed once as he eyed me from head to toe, then proceeded to round the Wagon. I stepped off to the side to avoid traffic and hoped it was something he’d be able to fix quickly. If not, I’d have to call for a tow truck and hope Bully wasn’t too far away to come and pick us up.

17

Bully

The laughterand conversations around me faded when I pulled my phone out and saw a picture of Innvy holding Innah on the side of the road. I checked the contact again because I was confused as to why PJ would be sending it to me. It looked like he’d taken it from the inside of a car. Shortly after, I saw Rocco standing next to Innvy. She looked like she was paying close attention to what he was saying.

Not bothering to call PJ, I dialed Innvy’s number. She chipperly answered after a few rings with, “Hey, bae.”

“Where you at?”

“Um… down the street from the park. My car started smoking and stopped and this man is helping.”

“Who?” I asked, shooting up from my seat, though I knew who it was.

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