Page 76 of Smoke

Romi sniffled. “This isn’t the first time. We got to arguing about how he got in, and he dragged me back upstairs. I lost my footing, and I fell on my stomach. He didn’t even care. He dragged me back up the stairs and pushed me out. If… if it wasn’t for Ms. Sherry coming in a few minutes later, I might have lost my baby.”

“That son of a bitch,” Renay said, venomously. “This is why he has to go, Romi.”

“Renay—”

“No. He put you in here. He’s the reason my niece is fighting for her little life right now. Fuck him.” She turned to me. “You take care of this, Smoke. I’m begging you.”

“I got it,” I said, with no hesitancy. I turned to Romi, who was looking between the two of us. “Your sister is right, love. He’s only gonna become a bigger problem, and I’m all for eliminating a problem.”

She looked at me silently. There was a mixture of pain, hurt, and anger in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Just… make sure my shop is clean when this is all over. There’s a door in the basement. That’s where he’s been storing the product. It has a padlock, and he has the key. You’ll find it behind some shelves. I don’t care whatyou do with them; I just need them gone. However you want to handle it. Just… make him suffer.”

I smirked. “You ain’t said shit but a word.”

Renay squeezed her hand. “I like him.”

Romi reached out and stroked my beard. “Me too.”

Three Days Later

I was being dischargedfrom the hospital today, and I wasn’t ready to leave my baby. Currently, I was sitting in the NICU holding her, just staring at her. She already loved the skin to skin with me, and I loved it too.

“Mommy is gonna miss you so much,” I said, kissing her tiny fingers. “I’m gonna come see you every day, I promise.”

The sound of light taps on the window caused me to look up. There stood Devin. I smiled softly and waved him in. He’d been with me every day for the last three days. Even if it was just for an hour at a time, he was here off-and-on all day long. He brought me food. He took me on walks to build my strength and endurance after my cesarean. The man was just everything.

Much to my surprise, Salima and Sharina came to visit me as well. Of course, they had questions about me and their brotherin-law. They got to meet Korri, and by the end of the visit, they were claiming her and Juri as their nieces. As crazy as it was, I could really see them taking to my babies just from the way they acted with each other.

I waved him into the room, smiling as he approached me. “Hey.”

“Hey, love.” He leaned in and kissed me. “Hey lil’ mama,” he said to Juri.

She stirred slightly at the sound of his voice.

“She doing good today?”

“She is. We’ve just been chillin’ today, enjoying mommy and me time.”

He went to wash his hands before coming back over to stroke Juri’s head.

“She’s so damn little, man. Like, she could fit in the palm of my hand.”

I giggled. “In her defense, you’re a big man, Devin.” I looked down at Juri before looking up at him. “You wanna hold her?”

“You okay with that?”

“Of course.” I eased myself out of the seat and stood to my feet. “Take off your shirt.”

“You want me to start a problem in here?” he asked with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Take off your shirt, sir.”

He chuckled as he pulled the shirt over his head and draped it on the back of the chair. After he was seated in the rocker, I carefully placed Juri on his chest. She stirred for a moment, then settled in comfortably against him with a tiny sigh that made me smile.

“Shedoeslook super tiny against you,” I commented. “Cute, though. Look at you looking like somebody’s big papa.”

He chuckled. “Silly ass.” He looked down at Juri. “Tell mommy we are gonna be best friends, baby girl. We’re already locked in.”

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