4. Smoke
CHAPTER FOUR
SMOKE
“No!” Coast shot up in bed, sweat sticking to her camisole top as she caught her breath.
Taking in the luxurious room, a tight grimace flitted over her face.
Mozzi’s bedroom at the Blackmoor estate was grand, like the rest of the house.
She hadn’t gotten a chance to explore yet because she was so tired yesterday when she arrived.
His four-poster bed was black, with column style legs and marble tops on each post. The headboard had a mirror in it, go figure, and his blackout curtains left her unable to tell what hour of the day it was.
“What’s up?” Mozzi shot up beside her, pistol in his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It was just a dream.” She shook her head.
Pinching sleep from his eyes, he nodded. With a yawn, he lowered his gun into his lap and lay back down. Chest and tattoos exposed in a pair of Tom Ford boxers, she admired his physique.
“You gotta chill, Trouble. You’re safe here.” He reached out and stroked her back.
She’d been tossing and turning all night. He understood it. Probably was the first time she’d ever been in a situation like that.
“Then why you walking around holding that thing all day and night?” Coast nodded toward the weapon in his lap.
“Habit.” Mozzi shrugged.
She brushed some hair from her face and rested her fingertips against her forehead.
She had a slight headache. When she reached for the bottled water on the bedside table, she spotted an old photo in a frame on the edge.
Picking it up, she brought it to her lap and studied a young Mozzi.
It brought a smile to her face seeing his boyish grin and babyface features.
There was a beautiful brown skinned woman with him, standing behind him with her arms draped across his shoulders.
Behind them was a banner, and Coast could see that it was from an old Ree Heights Community Day.
“Is this Jane?” she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder.
“Yeah.” Mozzi draped an arm across his forehead.
“She’s beautiful,” Coast breathed, studying her simple Chanel romper and sandals with a hobo bag slung over one shoulder.
There was a diamond the size of a mini egg on her ring finger, and she sported gold diamond earrings with a Cartier bracelet on one wrist accompanied by a matching watch. It was simple, but she was fly as hell. The wild, thick afro and ivory headband gave her a retro style.
“Look at you all innocent looking.”
Her cell beside the water bottle buzzed against the marble top, and Coast swung her head to look at the screen. The minute her mother’s name flashed across, she rolled her eyes. She set the frame down and grabbed her phone and the water.
“Yes, Mother?” Coast looked at Mozzi over her shoulder.
He was half sleeping but kind of perked up when he heard her mention her mother.
“Coast, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Coast huffed. “It’s early. Where are you this week?”
“In Prague,” Marina answered.
“What the hell is in Prague?”
“Not a damn thing, which is why I’m out of here at the end of the week. When Bee called me, I’d been thinking about my next destination. I thought I might come visit you.”
“Why?”
“Oh, so you don’t want to see your own mama,” she accused snippily.
“You always said Ree Heights was too simple for you. Why come here now?” Coast fidgeted with a loose thread on the comforter of Mozzi’s bed.
“Because you’re my daughter. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other. I miss you,” Marina confessed. “I want to hear all about what you’re doing and your life—”
“Ma, I’m pregnant.”
She heard some clatter like the phone dropped, then scrambling like it had been picked up. Her mother’s breathing came through the line once again.
“I’m sorry. I think I heard you say…”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Coast, what the hell? Have you learned nothing from me and my mistakes?”
“You calling me and my brothers mistakes, Ma? Gee, so heartwarming and nurturing,” Coast drawled.
“You know what I mean—”
“No, I don’t know what you mean, actually. I never know what you mean. You’re just as selfish now as you were when I was a kid. I’m not doing this with you.” Coast threw the covers aside and scooted to the edge of the bed.
Mozzi didn’t like how worked up she was getting. Clearly, her mother brought out another side to her. Sitting up, he grabbed the phone from her ear and put it on speaker.
“‘Scuse me—”
“Who is this?” Marina sniped.
“Your future son-in-law. Sup. Yo, I don’t know the history with you and Trouble but check this out.
She’s trying to recover, and she’s pregnant.
I don’t want her getting all worked up and shit.
So, if you ain’t coming here with the best intentions, I suggest you keep it moving to the next continent. ”
Coast smiled. It was nice having someone have her back like that. Her brothers were both mamas’ boys and Marina could do no wrong in their eyes. Only they could talk shit about her when she got set in her ways.
“Oh, I’m definitely coming now. Coast, does your father know you out here knocked up?”
“I haven’t talked to Daddy in weeks.”
“Sounds like it’s about time for a family reunion. Get your rest. And as for you…”
“Yes, ma’am?” Mozzi chimed in.
“Take care of my daughter and her baby.”
“No question.”
The call ended, and Mozzi eased onto his back. Coast scooted closer so she could lean in for a kiss. It was the first time she’d initiated it, taking him by surprise. He cocked one eye open at her after resuming his position with his arm over his head.
“Thank you. Sometimes talking to her drives me crazy,” she muttered. “I’m going to take a shower.”
She hopped out of bed and padded over to his bathroom, and Mozzi stared after her.
Coast brushed her teeth, flossed, and used mouthwash as the steam from the shower filled the space.
The thought of her family coming to Ree Heights was a little overwhelming, but also out of her control if and when it happened.
She allowed the hot water in the shower to wash over her flesh.
The doctor told her to keep her wound covered for the time being, so she did what she could to avoid the bandage getting wet.
Ten minutes later, she stepped into the cool bathroom atmosphere.
She grabbed Mozzi’s robe off the back of the door and slipped into it, wincing as pain ripped through her shoulder.
Loosely tying it around her waist, she emerged into his bedroom.
Seated on the edge of the bed, he allowed Dr. Roche to examine him with the stethoscope against his chest. Coast reached down to tie her robe around her a little tighter when the two of them looked in her direction.
“Good morning. It’s good to see you moving around. How are you feeling?” Dr. Roche queried, satisfied with what he heard from Mozzi as he removed the stethoscope from his ears.
“Still some pain for sure, but I’m good.” She nodded.
“I would like to take a look at your wound and get you rebandaged. Go ahead and get dressed from the waist down. I’ll get Mozzi fixed up first.”
“Okay,” Coast agreed.
She grabbed a pair of Mozzi’s sweats from his dresser and a t-shirt before stepping back into the bathroom to change.
By the time she emerged, he was on the edge of his bed, smoking a blunt with his cell phone against his ear and irritation marring his features.
The minute his eyes connected to hers, he hung up and set his phone beside him.
Dr. Roche removed his gloves. Mozzi eyed him carefully when he examined Coast in a nearby black leather chair in the corner of his room.
It was more like a small apartment, with a section arranged like a living room in front of a 70-inch TV mounted above his fireplace.
“Looks good.” Dr. Roche nodded and prepared to change her bandage. “What’s your pain level?”
“About a six.” Coast turned her nose up.
“You are welcome to take Tylenol as directed on the bottle. If that doesn’t cut it, I can prescribe something stronger. Take them as needed and let me know if there are any complications while doing so. Otherwise, how do you feel?”
“I’m starving. That’s good, right?” Coast teased with her brows lifted.
“Very good.” Dr. Roche chuckled. “Let me check your blood pressure after this, and you should be good to go. If you experience any dizziness, spotting, or the pain level increases, do not hesitate to reach out to me.”
“Thank you.” Coast smiled and let him do his thing.
Once he was done, he packed up his medical bag and left the two of them alone and she pulled the t-shirt over her head.
Mozzi put his blunt out in the ashtray and placed his feet on the ground.
She admired his abs and the way his boxers hung off his waist. A cocky smirk filled his face when he caught her eyes roaming his frame.
Mozzi stroked some of her wild hair behind her ear.
“I’m gonna shower, and we can head downstairs to see what’s up for breakfast.”
“Okay.” She observed him walking away, and the minute the bathroom door shut behind him, she hopped up to grab his phone.
It wasn’t locked, which surprised her as she swiped to his call log first. He didn’t have names in his phone.
Everyone was under a letter. R, L, and G had been blowing him up and leaving messages.
His text notifications showed he had over one hundred that he hadn’t even read.
Curiosity got the best of her, and the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her to stop there, but she tapped on the message icon anyway.
She was still holding the phone when another one came through from G, so she was able to read it without addressing the thread and tipping him off.
G: This game is over, Mozzi! Call us back!