Page 3 of Deuce

“You didn’t tell me you like to hit women you assume had no protection. You’re just lucky it’s my brother and not my father. He would have beaten you to death with his bare hands.”

“Look… I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry and it won’t happen again.”

“I know it won’t.”

“Please…. Tell him to let me go.”

I handed Mia my gun and the silencer.

“I don’t think I felt the sincerity in that apology,” she said, screwing the silencer on.

“I’m—“

Before he could finish, she pointed the gun at his groin and fired. Jeremih screamed in pain. I brought my foot up and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall backwards in the chair. His body hit the floor with a hard thud. Agonizing groans poured out of him.

“Shut yo’ bitch ass up!” I snapped. “You can dish out those licks but can’t take a little pain?”

Woody laughed. “I’m pretty sure she shot him in the dick, boss. That’s more than a little pain.”

“Please!” he begged. “I’m sorry!”

“That’s not good enough.”

Without another word, Mia emptied the clip in him. I’d never been so fucking proud. It was a beautiful mess. To say it was her first kill, she didn’t seem nervous at all. She handed the gun off to me.

“Bastard,” she mumbled.

I sighed as I tucked my gun away. “Well, now he’s a dead bastard. You hungry?”

“How can you eat after that, Deuce?”

“Cause a nigga is starving. Woody, call the crew to dispose of this bitch. We’re done for the night.”

“Will do.”

I draped an arm around Mia’s neck and led her out back to my car. The moment we stepped foot in the back alley, she rushed from my side and threw up. I shook my head as I walked over to hold her hair back.

“You know you have to have a strong stomach for this shit if you’re gonna join the family businesses, Mia.”

She stood up straight and wiped her mouth. “I know, Deuce. My mama has been preparing me for this my whole life. I know what I’m getting into.”

Mia’s mom and our dad claimed to have had this whole whirlwind romance type of shit. They met on a mission andwhile they got their targets, they got a little more than they bargained for with baby sis. Ms. Maddie, her mother, ended up going off the grid when the mission was over. Pops said he looked everywhere for her, but it was like she didn’t want to be found.

Five years ago, she showed up on his doorstep with Mia in tow. She was only fifteen at the time. Being an only child, she was excited to meet Pops and us. He couldn’t deny her and didn’t try to because she looked just like him. After a shit show and a whole blow up about her keeping Mia a secret for fifteen years, she was welcomed into the family.

There was never a secret about what our parents did for a living. Mia thought she was just gonna jump headfirst into this life when she turned eighteen. Pops put a stop to that. Nobody fully joined the organization until they were twenty-one. The years in between were spent training. Of course, Ms. Maddie trained her, but Pops insisted on training Mia himself.

She was more than capable of handling Jeremih, but as her brother, it was my responsibility to have her back. Most of us had different mothers, but my relationship with my siblings was as solid as they come. It didn’t matter what they could handle. There was no way I’d ever not be behind them.

“You did good, kid,” I said, slapping her shoulder.

“I’m not a kid, Deuce. I may be the baby of the family, but I’m not a baby. I’m twenty-one.”

“A fresh ass twenty-one. No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my baby sister.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

I chuckled as I looked down at my vibrating phone. It was my father asking if things had been handled. I let him know that it was done and he told me to bring Mia to him.

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