Page 51 of Smoke

I jumped as I looked up from my computer to see Laurel standing in front of me. I’d zoned out so bad that I didn’t even hear her come in. My anxiety was at an all-time high. There were drugs in my shop… drugs. And not just any drugs. There were several bricks of cocaine. I couldn’t wait to get this shit out of here.

All week long, I’d been terrified of being here. In my mind, a cop or someone was going to show up, search the place, and I’d be spending the rest of my life in prison. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I hadn’t even gone to my training session with Devin because, what was the point now?

I was wracking my brain trying to figure out which one of my employees fucked Patrick—not because I cared, but because I needed to know who was feeding him information. Every timeone of them spoke to me, I looked for a sign of betrayal in their features. So far, I hadn’t been able to pinpoint the culprit.

“I’m okay, Laurel,” I said softly.

“I’m worried about you, Romi. You don’t look well.” She came in and closed the door. “Is there anything you need?”

I chuckled. “What I need… what I need, you can’t help me with. But thank you for your concern. I promise, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

She sighed. “Okay. Well, there is someone here to see you, and he said if you don’t come out, he’s coming in.”

I frowned. “Who is it?”

“Girl, that fine ass Smoke Dillinger. Is he giving you problems?”

“No, girl. Devin is nice.”

Her head jerked back. “Nice! Girl, do you know who that is? Ain’t nothing about that man nice. You have to be careful, Romi.”

“You can send him back.”

She looked like she wanted to protest but didn’t say anything as she stood and left the room. I tried to gather myself before Devin made his appearance. Just as I finished taking a few deep breaths, the door opened, and he stepped in, dressed in all black from head to toe. For a moment, my eyes perused his big, solid frame as he peered down at me with those piercing brown eyes.

He closed the door and came to stand in front of my desk. Placing both hands on top of it, he leaned in close to me. The scent of his cologne swept around me like a warm hug. My God, he smelled delicious.

“Ms. Romi… is there a particular reason you missed my class?” he asked in a low, deep voice.

“You make house calls to everyone that misses a class?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here? “

“Because I can be. Now, answer my question.”

“I… I may discontinue our sessions.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t want him to know that I’d been a weak ass pushover yet again.

“Romi,” he said firmly. “Look at me and tell me what happened. Did that nigga roll up on you again?”

I remained quiet.

“Did he show up here?”

“Devin—”

He held up a hand to silence me. As he stood to his full height, he pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call.

“Jaeda, I need a favor… I need you to access the camera footage fromPure Glow Beauty Bardowntown.”

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