Chapter 26
This weekend owed me nothing.
Meeting the Dillingers was quite the experience. I wasn’t sure what I was walking into with Korri and my sister there, but they made us feel welcomed. I got the feeling that it wasn’t just Devin that told the family about us. Everybody asked about Juri and wanted to see pictures of her. Of course, my man was the butt of a few jokes. He either threatened the jokers or took it all in good fun.
Jakobi finally made his move on my sister. It was funny to watch her fold. All that shit she loved to talk about what she would do to men went out the door the moment he asked to speak to her alone. She stood there grinning and blushing as he spoke to her. I’d never seen her act so shy with a man.
Then again, if Jakobi’s energy was anything like Devin’s, I could see how the charm would have her like that. Before we left for the night, we’d stopped by Devin’s home so he could grab some clothes. His place was nice, but very much a bachelor pad. While Renay and Korri explored downstairs, he had me follow him to his room, saying he had something to give me. I wasn’t sure what that something was, but I had my hopes up.
It was so much more than I expected.
He’d told me to have a seat on his bed while he went into the closet. When he came out, he was holding the all too familiar duffel bag. My heart instantly began to race, and my hand gripped the sheets as he set the bag next to me.
“Relax… relax. It’s not that. Open the bag.”
I was hesitant as I reached for the zipper with a trembling hand. When I pulled it back, I gasped. There was nothing but stacks of money inside.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
“Patrick. He was counting it up that night. I know it doesn’t make up for what he’s done and put you through, but it’s yours.”
“Devin… how much is this?”
“A half a million. You can take that and start your skin care line. I’ll match it.”
“Devin.”
“Romi.”
“Smoke!”
He chuckled. “You don’t even sound right calling me that, woman. I’m not gonna argue with you about this. Even if you don’t take it, I’ll make sure you get it in some way. Save us both the trouble.”
Messing with this man, I wasn’t going to have many more tears to shed. That night, after we got back to my place, I got Korri ready for bed. Devin and I showered together, and I found myself on my knees giving him a proper thank you.
It was Monday, and I was finally going to stop by my shop to visit and check on things. I’d been accessing everything from my system at home since I’d been out, and the numbers looked good. Danielle had been keeping me up-to-date on the ins and outs. I just wanted to pop in for a second to see everyone.
I’d stopped to see Juri for a little while before heading to the shop. It was around noon when I got there. Instead of going through the back like I normally did, I went in through the front. When I walked in, Danielle screamed as she jumped up from her seat.
“Boss lady!” She scooped me up in a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”
I laughed. “It’s good to see you too, Danielle.”
“Let me get a look at you!” She spun me around and snapped her fingers. “That snapback, though! Who had a baby?” Again, she pulled me into a hug. “We miss you, girl.”
“I miss y’all too. It’s weird being on maternity leave after eight years. I really have a whole newborn. A preemie at that.”
“We all hated to hear that you fell and went into labor, but we’re so glad you and baby girl are okay.” She pulled me into a quiet corner. “How are you for real, though? We heard about Patrick.”
“I’m fine, Danielle. Patrick and I have been over for months, and he didn’t want this baby. It’s sad he lost his life, but I don’t feel any type of way about that man.”
“I guess you haven’t heard…”
“Heard what?”
“Laurel is missing and a person of interest,” she whispered.
“Yeah… I heard that.”
“Apparently, they found all kinds of incriminating shit on her in her apartment. I heard it looked like she packed in a hurry and left town. They found her car abandoned on the side of the road. I can’t believe she would play in your face like that, Romi. Your opps are really closer than you think.” She shook her head. “Anyway, how is that beautiful baby?”
“She’s progressing. I actually just left her. I’m heading back after this. I just wanted to see y’all’s faces and check things out.”
“I told you I got this, girl. We’ve been on the grind after Big Daddy promised us that bag. Please don’t take offense to me calling him that. He’s just a big, fine man.”
I giggled. “I know, and I’m not offended.”
“So um… did you climb that tree yet?” She winked at me.
“No, Danielle. I’m still healing.”
“So what I’m hearing is if you weren’t healing, you’d be all up on him.”
“Like white on rice.”
“I know that’s right! I love that for you. I hope he’s good to you and those girls. We love a good stepdaddy.”
“He’s great… He really is.”
That was the truth. Devin Dillinger was all man, and what a man he was. I almost told that man I loved him this weekend. It was too soon. I still had so much to learn about him, but every part I’d experienced over the last two months, I’d grown to love. How could I not love him after all he’d done and been to me?
“Look at you smiling like a woman in love,” Danielle said. “Let me find out you’re taking another Dillinger out of rotation. I need to put my bid in for the last brother.”
I giggled. “I hate to break it to you, but that man loves him a BBW.”
Danielle clutched her invisible pearls. “I guess I’m out then. I’m not mad at it. I hope he finds the baddest BBW.”
“Me too, girl. I’m gonna let you get back to work. I’m gonna go speak to the girls, and then I need to grab a few things from my office before I leave.”
“Okay, boo. It was good to see you.”
We shared another hug before I headed back to the suites. I took my time greeting my team and catching up with them. All of them had been checking up on me in our group chat, here and there, but it was good to see their faces. Finally in my office, I grabbed what I needed. As I was about to leave out, the door opened, and Danielle poked her head in.
“Before you go, there’s someone here to see you.”
“Oh?”
I noticed the look on her face as she stepped aside, and in walked the last person I expected to see… Derrick Mathis. I swallowed hard as I stepped back.
“Ms. Mitchell,” he said, staring at me with a blank expression. “A moment of your time.”
Danielle closed the door before I could protest.
“What do you want?” I whispered.
“How about you have a seat.”
“I’m fine standing,” I said, reaching into the crossbody around my neck. The moment my hand touched the cold metal piece, I relaxed a little. That was until he took a step closer to me. I pulled the gun from my purse and aimed it at him.
“Stop,” I said, firmly.
He chuckled. “No need for all of that. I just came to chat.” He raised his hand in surrender as he took a seat. “It’s about my son.”
“I have nothing to say about your son. Whatever happened to him was on him.”
“Is it now? I have thoughts on that. I assume my son told you what we wanted since you seem so hostile.”
“What would he have told me?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Let’s cut the bullshit. You know what I want. I’ll be more than generous in buying you out.”
“It’s not for sale.”
“Doesn’t have to be. I mean, think of what you could do with the money. The facts are you now have two children with no father… one of them being my granddaughter. I’m sure you could use the money.”
I scoffed. “Your son isn’t even in the ground yet, and you’re worried about what you can get from me? You’re disgusting.”
“I’m a businessman. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll comply.”
“You know what’s funny? Your son told me that same thing, and look where he is. Seems to me you need to be careful about who you threaten.”
He chuckled. “Well, Ms. Mitchell. That sounds like a confession to me. If I were to pass that information along to the police, what do you think they would do? Imagine coming up the lead suspect in a murder case. Business would suffer. You might even be held without bail until you go to trial. That could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Who knows? Meanwhile, bills aren’t being paid. You fall behind in taxes, and the bank takes possession of the property, and guess who still ends up with it? Me.”
A smirk spread across his face. I wanted so badly to pull the trigger right now.
“You wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?” he asked, standing. “Personally, I’d choose the easy way. Nobody gets hurt. Nobody loses their freedom. Your children get to keep at least one parent. Everyone gets paid. If we do it the hard way, not only will you suffer the most, but so will your children. Well… not my granddaughter. I’ll make sure she gets placed with me and my family. After all, we can give her the best of the best.”
I cocked the gun. “If you ever come near my daughter, I will fucking kill you. You understand that? You can rot right next to your abusive bastard of a son. Get the fuck out.”
“I’ll let you think about it. You have until after my son’s funeral on Saturday to make your decision. Good day, Ms. Mitchell.”
He left the office, and I finally lowered my gun. I fought back the urge to scream. Just when I thought this shit was over, it was starting up again. Was I not meant to have peace? Did I not deserve that? How was it fair to work your ass off for something and people just decided they wanted to take it for their own benefit?
I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I was tired of this shit.