Page 140 of Smoke

Devin chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to break in the new place.”

I laughed because it damn sure was.

I killedthe engine on my truck as I pulled onto the street where I learned Derrick Mathis had been held up in another house. I’d pulled up at his office the morning after the fire, and no surprise, he wasn’t there. So I grabbed Deuce and Mia and went to his house. When his wife answered the door, Mia grabbed her up and put a gun to her head while my brother and I searched the house for that nigga.

Again, he wasn’t there.

His wife was crying and shit, saying she didn’t know where he went. She claimed he packed a suitcase and left the house in a rush once he was released from the hospital after Roux shot his ass. He left his phone and anything that could be used to track him. He didn’t even take his car.

What piqued my interest was the fact that she slipped up and said their daughter was the one that drove him and how she was MIA too. I had Jaeda look into her, and lo and behold… the bitchwas the owner of the car seen speeding away from the scene of the fire.

After doing a deep dive into her finances, Jaeda found that she made a purchase that day for a few suspicious items, including a gas can and a crowbar, which she used to pop open the back door of the beauty bar.

I put word out to the street team to let me know if anybody saw her car, but that led to a dead end. The car was still in town, but she had sold it. My first thought was to put a bounty on their heads, but that wasn’t enough. Anybody could kill them on sight, and I wanted to be the one to take them both out.

Earlier today, I got a message from someone on the street team. He said he was two cities over when he saw Derrick and his daughter at a gas station. Apparently, he followed them and sent me the address.

Now, here I was.

I surveyed the house and the street as I screwed the silencer on my gun. There wasn’t a car in the driveway, but there was a garage, so maybe it was inside. Either way, neither of them were making it out of that house alive.

The neighborhood was quiet and empty. Most of the houses here were boarded up, and it looked almost deserted. Given the location, I was comfortable walking down the street and not looking suspicious at all. With the silencer and my gloves on, I exited the truck and made my way down the street. When I was about two houses away, I dipped into a backyard so I could get in through the back door.

Carefully, I made my way up the steps and peered into the window that led to the kitchen. It was empty. A light came on in the back of the house, and from my position, I could tell that it was a bathroom and could see Derrick closing the blinds.

Quickly and quietly, I picked the lock and let myself in. I could hear music coming from somewhere in the back. Aftercarefully closing the door, I made my way through the house, checking every room. His daughter wasn’t here, and if she had somehow seen me, she had a damn good hiding place. It looked like they were planning to lay low for a while then dip because I found both of their passports along with his wallet and her purse.

Tossing the items back on the table where I found them, I headed toward the bathroom I saw Derrick in. The music masked my approaching footsteps and the opening of the bathroom door. With my gun raised, I snatched back the shower curtain and shot Derrick in both knees.

He crumbled to the shower floor, crying out in pain. I covered his mouth and slammed his head into the porcelain tiles.

“Shut the fuck up with all that damn crying. You knew this shit was coming.”

I lifted my booted foot and stomped his head.

“You gon’ run from me, nigga? Like I didn’t owe you this ass whupping for putting your daughter up to burning down my lady’s shop? Where that bitch at?”

Derrick spit out blood and a piece of his tooth.

“She… she’s not here…” he managed to get out. “Please… don’t hurt my baby girl.”

I laughed. “You think I care about that being your baby girl? Where was your concern for your family whenmybaby girl was fighting for her life because of your son? Where was your concern when you allowed that bastard to terrorize the mother of your grandchild? I’ll tell you where it was. Worried about a fucking dollar. How much was it worth to you, Mathis? What are you willing to sacrifice, ’cause I’ll die about mine.”

Aiming the gun, I put another bullet in his chest. He gasped, eyes wide as he grabbed his chest. Slowly, the life began to drainfrom him. I watched as blood trickled from his lips. When he was almost gone, I leaned into him.

“Good riddance, muthafucka.”

Standing, I sent a final bullet right between his eyes. I stood there, glaring at him until the sound of footsteps caused me to turn around. I was met with the wide eyes of his daughter, Dana Mathis, staring at me from the end of the hall.

When I started out of the bathroom, she dropped the bags in her hands and sprinted in the other direction. I ran after her, but by the time I made it out of the house, she was climbing into the car and cranking up. Raising my gun, I shot out the passenger windows as she backed out.

The car stopped for a moment, but as I approached it, the bitch floored the gas and tried to back over me. I jumped out of the way just in time for her to run into the porch before peeling off on the road. I cursed under my breath as I climbed to my feet.

The good thing was, if she was trying to lay low, she would probably be using cash. She couldn’t leave the country because her passport was still here. I was sure she had spoken with her mother to know I’d been looking for them, so it wasn’t safe to come back to the city. At this point, it was a waiting game. I went back into the house and grabbed her purse, Derrick’s wallet, and both of their passports before heading back to my truck with the sounds of sirens in the distance.

I didn’t get her tonight, but that bitch was as good as mine.

I shookmy head as I watched my pops laid out on his couch, watching TV. Juri rested on his chest while Darlyn was knocked out on the arm of the chair with her foot against his face. Theman looked peaceful and content. Since Romi was out with the girls, I came to check up on my old man. I’d been ripping and running so much lately that I hadn’t had much time with him.

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