Page 103 of Mia

I relaxed as the car came to a stop. He hopped out first to greet the man and probably ensure nobody shot him. I looked to see my father-in-law walking over to the man as well. Mia sat next to me, her leg bouncing anxiously. I rested my hand on her knee, and it stilled.

“Hey,” I said, turning her face to mine. “We’re good, mamas. I promise.”

She simply nodded.

“Give me a kiss.”

She was quiet as she leaned over and pressed her lips to mine. When she tried to pull back, I palmed the back of her head and kissed her deeper. I forgot all about my parents being in the back seat until my father cleared his throat.

“All right, son, damn. Let the girl breathe.”

A smirk spread across Mia’s face as our lips parted. It was the closest thing I’d seen to a smile in days.

I turned to my father. “Did you forget you and Ma ran me out the house a while back because y’all were making out like teenagers? If I’d stayed around any longer, I would have seen all your business and be scarred for life.”

“Shut up, Titan,” Mama said, waving me off.

Pops laughed. “Mind you, we were in our house.”

“That’s my house too. You said I was always welcome home, and I felt very unwelcome at that point.”

“Son, part of being welcomed is knowing when to leave. Your mama and I just gave you a little incentive.”

I shook my head. “Get out would have sufficed.”

They both laughed as we opened the car doors. We filed out and came to a stop in front of the house.

Quaid turned to address the group. “Everybody, this is Nolan. He’s the guy I was telling you all about.”

Everyone spoke or gave him a head nod.

“Nice to meet you all. I’m glad I could be of service. I’ve already got a home base set up inside.” He patted the truck. “And we’re mobile. I’ve been working heavily with Quaid and Ms. Jaeda for the last couple of weeks, and I think I’ve pretty much gotten Mr. DuPont’s schedule down to a science. He seems to have become pretty routine lately. He makes the same stops, calls the same numbers. I’ve accessed his calendar so I can see every meeting and event he has scheduled.”

“What about Jazmine Franco?” Mia asked. “I need her whereabouts tonight.”

“I can get that for you.”

My father cleared his throat. “Baby, we just got off a long flight. I think you need to rest first.”

“No, Daddy. I tried to help that bitch, and she flipped on me. She’s the first person to go.”

He sighed. “I understand that. But you need to get some rest. That’s not a request, it’s an order.”

She started to say something, but I threw her a look.

“I’ll make sure she takes a nap,” I said.

Mia’s head snapped in my direction.

“We said we were doing this the right way,” I reminded her. “Let’s go take a nap, and we can handle her tonight.”

Her jaw twitched as she stared at me. “Fine.”

She walked past everybody and headed for the front door. I blew a breath, feeling all eyes on me. When I turned my head, I was right.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s your wife,” Deuce said. “Hardheaded as a muthafucka.”