Page 125 of Smoke

She smiled. “Let me see her.”

I turned the camera around so she could see Juri’s face.

“Hi, Juri Bean!” she cooed. “Oh, I’m so glad to see she’s not hooked up anymore. That means she should be home soon, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, turning the camera back on me. “She’s almost at her goal weight. As soon as they give us the green light, we’re outta here.”

She looked at me with adoration. “I love this soft side of you, Devin. It’s so loving and caring. I mean, I knew you could be like that all along, but this… this is different. I can tell you really love Romi and those precious girls.”

“I do, Ma. Shit is crazy.”

“To think you were worried about a little pregnancy. Now look at you over here loving on that baby like she’s yours.”

“She is mine.”

She smiled. “Well, I can’t wait to spend some real time with my newfound grandbabies. You should bring them for dinner on Sunday.”

“We’ll be there. Ma?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Can you help me with something?”

“Anything.”

“I um… I’ve been thinking. Eventually… when she’s comfortable, I want to move Romi and the girls in with me. You know my place ain’t really child friendly. I wanna give them each a space of their own.”

“Oh, Devin. I’d be happy to help you. I’m so proud of you, baby. I know I fuss a lot, but I’ve always been proud of you. You, Maceo, and Deja are my entire world. All I ever want is for the three of you to be happy.”

“I know, Ma. I appreciate you just letting us be ourselves. I love you.”

“I love you too. Let me get off of here before I start crying.”

I chuckled. “You just pillow soft, woman.”

“Pillow soft, but these hands ain’t.”

I laughed as we disconnected the call. Looking back down at Juri, I kissed her cheeks. Yeah, this was my baby. There was no doubt about that.

After leavingthe hospital and lunch with Korri, I called up Jaeda to get a location of Derrick Mathis. It had been a week since I left him assed out in the city. Videos of him surfaced online and were eventually taken down, but not before thousands of people saw it. According to my sources, he’d taken a leave of absence from work until it died down. Still, that wouldn’t help him with me. He could be touched no matter where he went.

Jaeda sent me his location, which was a little weird. He was at the old docks. The only reason I could think of for him being there was that he was meeting with his suppliers. People thought the only way they could safely smuggle drugs into the city was by way of water. Amateurs. If that was the case, we were gonna cut that shit short. I sent Roux and my uncle a text telling them to meet me there.

Luckily, both of them were already in town, so it wasn’t a hassle. We all ended up pulling in at the same time. Lifting my armrest, I retrieved a second gun and got out. Tucking it behind my back, I walked over to where my uncle and Roux stood.

“I thought you were gonna handle this nigga,” Roux said, crossing her arms.

“In due time, love.”

“You gon’ have to wrap this shit up soon, nephew,” my uncle said. “I don’t like having niggas moving in my city and I’m not doing shit about it.”

“I got this, Unc. I’m just making him suffer a little first. Let’s go see what he’s up to.”

We quietly moved through the maze of shipping containers until we could hear voices talking quietly. Peering around one of the containers, I saw Derrick standing with four other men all dressed in black. It didn’t bother me that we were outnumbered. All of us were good shots with quick reaction times.

I motioned for my uncle and Roux to follow me. As we made our presence known, Derrick’s head fell back and he groaned, making me laugh.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” I asked, coming to a stop. “Who’s this?”

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