TRUE COLORS || MR. DALVIN.

[ Chapter 27 ]

BIANCA'S POV

I sat awkwardly on the couch of the unfamiliar home, watching tensely as Nate brought a damp washcloth back to me and gingerly wiped the trail of dried blood off my neck and collarbone.

Music played softly in the background and I recognized it as Heatwave's Always and Forever, and now that song was completely ruined for me.

"Nate, be honest with me," I said, terrified out of my mind, "Why am I here?"

He looked at me, a serious look in his eyes as he bent down in front of me and traced his thumb across my jawline.

"I like you, that's why."

"I mean the real reason. There's no way you can sit here and say that," I said, shaking my head, "Like if you're gonna kill me, at least be honest with me." He snorted.

"I'm not killin' you," he said, "I don't know what gave you that impression."

"You killed Mrs. Huang and her family, I think it's alright for me to be suspicious. If the fact that you just snatched me off the street in broad daylight wasn't enough," I said sharply.

"Mrs. Huang killed herself," he said, throwing the washcloth off to the side, "But again, I'm not killing you."

"Then what am I doing here?"

"You got a debt to pay," he said, and I pressed myself as much as against the couch as I could, trying to gain even the tiniest bit of space between us.

"Debt? I don't owe you a damn thing," I said, and he clicked his tongue.

"I didn't say you did, did I?" He asked.

"Then what the fuck is that supposed mean, if you're not talking about me?" I questioned, confused as fuck.

"I'm talkin' about your little boyfriend and his peoples," he said, and my face screwed up.

"He's not my boyfriend," I clarified.

"Okay, boyfriend, nigga you occasionally fuck in exchange for attention, same shit. They owe me simply 'cause I didn't do what I said I would. They fucked with my family, and I shoulda killed they asses last night - but I didn't do it," he said, his jaw clenched, the subject obviously touchy for him, "Even though I should've. And that took a lot for me to do. I deserve compensation."

"And you want compensation from me? I don't have anything to do with this," I said, words coming out quick, almost tripping over one another.

"They don't got anything I want - but you do. And sometimes in life, you gotta make sacrifices for the people you care about. Kinda like your Uncle did."

"Now what are you talking about?"

"Darrell knows a lot more than you're aware of. Nigga paid a lot of money to get me to stay away from you, but I've never been good at upholding my part of the bargain," he said, shrugging.

I didn't know what to say to that. Nothing was making sense anymore. How the hell did Darrell know what was going on? How did he figure out that this nigga was stalking me before I did? Was I really that damn dense?