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“I’m scared,” I admitted.
Merc’s hand hovered over mine for a second, as if he was battling with whether he wanted to touch me or not. Finally, he gave in, and I was glad he did when the warmth of his hand covered mine.
“Look at me,” he commanded. I did. “As long as I’m here, you don’t have anything to fear. You’re under my protection now, and that means I’d even go to war wit’ God behind you.” Merc chuckled. “Trust me… it ain’t shit that nigga will be able to do to you.”
I trusted him, maybe more than I should have, so I nodded.
“So what are you? A bodyguard or something?”
“Or something,” was his answer, making me smile. “Providing protection is a part of what I do.”
“What else do you do?”
His eyes shifted toward the sky. “I don’t think it matters anymore. Rey is going to be my last client. After him, I’m done.”
Nibbling my cheek, I wondered how deep I wanted to go. It seemed he didn’t want to offer up a lot of conversation, but seeing as he was the only person here I was comfortable talking to outside of a sleeping Rey, I decided to talk for as long as Merc would allow.
“Is today why you want to quit?”
“It’s not the reason, but it is confirmation that it’s time.”
“Well, thank you again for saving both of our lives. I don’t know what Rey is into to need this kind of protection, but he’s lucky to have you.”
Merc scoffed with a shake of his head. “So lucky he’s laid up in bed with a shot to the side?”
“It could have been worse.” When he didn’t respond, I continued. “Is Merc a nickname because of what you do?”
That made him smile genuinely. “Yes and no. I’m known in the streets as Merc because it’s short for mercenary, but it’s also short for Mercury, which is my government name.”
“Mercury,” I repeated, leaning more into his side unintentionally. “That’s beautiful and unique.” He looked at me, smiling with his eyes though his expression remained one of stone. “Can I call you that?”
“No one calls me Mercury.” His eyes lifted back to the sky. “But you can call me that.”
A smile lifted the corners of my mouth.
I feel special.
We sat outside for a while longer, looking up into the sky silently. When I started to get tired, I excused myself and retired to my room. After my shower, I took a couple of the Advil PM pills I’d brought, hoping they would help me go to sleep. I checked my notifications, and my eyes rolled at the missed calls from Steven. I started not to call him back, but that would make me just as bad as him.
He answered almost immediately with, “Where you at, and what happened at the store?”
“I told you what happened on the voicemail I left you.”
Steven sighed. “Are you okay, bae? Did someone try to rob you? Where you at?”
“I’m fine. I was shaken up, naturally, but I’m okay now. No one tried to rob me. They were shooting at a customer in the store. And I don’t know where I am, honestly, but I’m safe.”
“Can I come see you?”
My head shook as if he could see me. “No. I’m not allowed to give anyone my location, but I can come see you. I’ll just have to have a guard.”
“Okay. Tomorrow?”
“We’ll see,” was what I settled on. While a part of me was glad he seemed concerned, I was kind of over him for the day. I knew he wouldn’t tell me what he was doing earlier and why he was unable to answer my calls, so I didn’t bother asking. We talked for about thirty minutes or so, until the pills kicked in. And I was grateful they were strong enough to put me to sleep.
Chapter
Seven
