Page 2 of Smoke

She waved me off as she headed to help a customer. The sound of the bell ringing above the entrance caused me to turn my head in that direction. In stepped a beautiful, caramel-complexioned sista with shoulder-length locs. She was dressed in pink scrubs that hugged her small curves. Shorty couldn’t have been more than five feet six compared to my six feet four.

Those brown eyes and plump, oiled lips drew me to her beautiful face. Damn, she was fine. So fine, I almost missed the pudge in her belly. When she saw me staring at her, she smiled softly and made her way over. Her eyes widened as people tended to do when they saw just how big of a man I was up close.

She swallowed hard and adjusted her face.

“Excuse me, can you help me?” she asked in a soft, sultry voice.

“What can I do for you?”

She extended her hand. “I’m Romi Mitchell. I’m… I’m uh, I’m looking to buy a gun.”

“I’m Smoke?—”

“Smoke?”

“I apologize. Devin. Smoke is a nickname.” I shook her hand. “I’m the owner.”

“Oh! Now that makes sense. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. You have any idea what you’re looking for?”

“I don’t. I don’t really know much about guns.”

“May I ask why you need one? Not trying to get in your business. I just wanna make sure I’m not helping you participate in a crime.”

She held up her hands and shook her head. “No, no. It’s for protection.” She was hesitant as she looked around for a moment before speaking. “Is there somewhere we can speak in private?”

“Uh… sure. Follow me.”

I led her off the showroom floor and down to my office, all while trying to remember if it was presentable after Peach left. Instead of going there, I opted to take her to one of the unoccupied conference rooms. Once inside, I closed the door and pulled out a chair for her.

“Thank you,” she said, easing down into it.

“How far along are you?”

Her hand immediately went to her stomach. “Oh… I’m nearing seven months.”

“Really? No offense, but you don’t look big at all.”

“I know.”

“Boy or girl?”

She smiled as she rubbed her belly. “A girl. Juri Angel Mitchell after two of my favorite book characters.”

I chuckled. “That sounds like something my nerdy little sister would do. Congratulations. Is this your first one?”

“No. I have an eight-year-old little girl named Korri.”

“Is she excited to be a big sister?”

“She is. She thinks she’s gonna have her own little doll baby.” Her smile dropped. “That’s kind of why I’m here. My ex… he’s been harassing me for months now. He’s had me followed. He’s had my place of business broken into and my house.”

“Excuse me for asking the obvious question, but why haven’t you gone to the police?”

“Don’t you think I would if I could? His… his father holds an important title to the city. Going to the police only makes things worse for me. I’ve seen that firsthand.”

“I can’t imagine it would be worse than shooting him,” I said flatly.

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