Page 123 of Smoke

“Did you say pistol-whip?” I repeated.

“Pistol-whip, girl.”

She proceeded to tell us about a time when them and this Titan guy were in the club in different sections. Apparently, some girl had been all over him all night, and Mia got fed up. She went over to confront him, and when the girl got smart with her, she pulled her gun out and hit her with it several times.

I gasped. “Oh my God! Mia!”

“So I’m a bit of a hothead. You’ve met my brothers.”

“Did she press charges?”

“She wanted to, but Titan paid her off and let her know what would happen if she didn’t keep quiet. Not that I cared. I mean, my daddy has pull. I would have walked. “

I thought back to Devin’s run-in with Chief Barry. I knew then that the Dillingers were a different breed. To confidentlyrun up on the chief of police and know they wouldn’t do anything to you was another level of having pull. I guess that was the pull Patrick’s father thought he had.

“I’m starting to see the connection with you and Devin,” I said.

“Smoke is crazy,” she said. “Like, the man is fool. Just the other night?—”

She stopped mid-sentence as her eyes settled across the room. We all followed her gaze to see Derrick Mathis sitting at a table with the girl I knew to be Dana, his daughter. He glared in our direction with so much hatred that I couldn’t tell who it was for exactly.

“Excuse me a moment,” she said, sliding out from the booth.

As she got up, I could see the gold gun attached to her waist. She walked over to where Derrick stood and leaned to speak to him with her hand on her pistol. Whatever she said caused his daughter to grab Mia, who swiftly chopped her in the throat.

“Shit!” Shar exclaimed, wincing.

Mia left the table as Mr. Mathis quickly got up to assist his daughter. He made haste in grabbing their things and leaving the restaurant without even paying the tab. Mia slid back into the booth with a smile on her face.

“Anyway, what was I saying?”

Salima shook her head. “We aren’t just gonna gloss that over. Who was that?”

I answered. “My baby daddy’s father and sister.”

“The one that was behind him harassing you?” Shar asked.

“The one and only.”

“Oh, well never mind. I’m sure whatever you said was warranted, Mia. Whatdidyou say?”

“That if he didn’t get up and leave, this whole restaurant was going to see him assed out again.”

“Again?” Shar, Salima, and I asked.

Mia proceeded to tell us the story of how they snatched him up, stripped him down, and dropped him ass naked in another part of town after dark. I tried not to laugh, but the image of Mr. Mathis roaming the streets with nothing on both amused and disgusted me. Devin hadn’t told me that tidbit of information, but I guessed that was part of his plan to terrorize the man. Either way, I didn’t care. He had his son terrorize me for far too long. It was about time he got his karma.

I satacross from Chief Barry in my office.

When he walked in the shop a few minutes ago, I didn’t know what he would possibly want to speak about, but I should have known it was some bullshit.

“Mr. Dillinger, tell me why Mr. Mathis came by my office claiming you, your sisters, and another young woman kidnapped him?”

“If he was able to come by your office, he clearly wasn’t kidnapped. You see how that doesn’t make sense?”

“Smoke.”

“Barry, I’m running a legit business here. I don’t have time for you or your delusional ass citizens fucking with me. Do you think if I kidnapped someone, they would live to get away?”

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