Her Noble Protector

Chapter 1

“Y’all must be putting y’all whole coochie in these grits. My goodness! I ain’t ever had shrimp and grits taste this damn good that didn’t come from a hole-in-the-wall spot in New Orleans.”

I looked over at my best friend, Venus, as she spoke to the server who came over to our lively table to check on us.

Venus was a free spirit, like me, who didn’t have a filter at all.

She was dark skinned with kinky black coils.

She loved to rock the Bantu knot style or her natural, moisturized afro—when her hair cooperated.

There were many times when she’d call me crying over the fact her twist out or braid out frizzed up and didn’t come out properly.

I commended her. I preferred to keep my hair braided down with a different wig every day to reflect the type of time I was on.

Every color unlocked a different persona, which I had fun playing with.

“Girl, I can’t take you anywhere.” I shook my head as I filled my glass up with the strawberry mimosa from our bottomless carafe. I’d had three glasses of the strong brunch beverage. Venus was on her fifth or sixth and was feeling every drop.

The server giggled. “I don’t mind. The chef isn’t back there putting body parts in the food, but she is throwing down. I love ordering a wing combo on my break. The hot honey combo with the seasoned fries gets me right every afternoon.”

“Yeah, I’m going to need to speak to the chef personally after this,” Venus replied. She shook her head as she took another happy bite of her meal.

The server chuckled. “I will let the kitchen know you enjoyed your meal. Let me know if you ladies need anything else.” She gave us a gentle smile before moving on to the next table to check in.

“Vee, you’re a mess, girl.” Georgia laughed.

Georgia was the pothead of the group. She had long sister locs with hair jewelry. Her skin was blemish free with thick eyebrows and a nose piercing. She gave Denise Huxtable vibes in both style and appearance. She was more mellow than the rest of us but definitely knew how to have a great time.

“You know, out of all of us, Vee is the most unhinged one of the crew. She has no damn filter.” I shook my head.

“I love it, though. She keeps us on our toes,” Xandria added.

Xandria was a peanut butter toned woman with her hair dyed ginger with thick curls. Xandria was the youngest of our quad group. She was also the most successful of the group as she was still in college, getting her degree in law and a minor in politics.

Around the table were my besties: Venus, Georgia, and Xandria. We had all gone to the same private school. Most private schools got bad reps for only having “token” Blacks in their numbers, but Cade Academy prided themselves on being over 80 percent Black.

All of us came from affluent families in politics.

Venus’s dad was a judge, Georgia’s mom was a senator, and Xandria’s mom was the current governor.

Sonny Stone, my father, was the district attorney for Cade’s Cove County.

He handled a lot of criminal cases. Because of the mafia presence in the area, he’d had to put some notorious men in prison.

I typically minded my business with cases he took to court. It was beyond my wheelhouse.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed in the designer purse I had in the chair beside me.

I grabbed a napkin to wipe my hands before I retrieved the device.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. A picture of my father and me displayed across my screen.

I tapped the green check mark and put the phone up to my ear.

“Hey, Dad. What’s up?” I asked.

I continued to eat my catfish and grits.

The savory seafood sauce was the perfect connection to the smooth texture of the grits and the crispy skin of the catfish.

I was a huge foodie and had started a page dedicated to places in Cade’s Cove worth a visit.

I wasn’t Keith Lee with my influence, but the places I reviewed always had an influx of visitors after my reviews posted online.

“I need you to come home immediately.” The tone in his voice made me pause.

“What’s going on?” I put my spoon down and swallowed the current bite in my mouth. I leaned over to the straw in my mimosa to wash it all down.

“I’ll explain when you get home.”

“Which home?” I questioned.

“Stone Manor.”

“Okay. Let me close out my tab, and I’ll be on the way. I’m about forty-five minutes from the manor. I’ll send my ETA when I get in the car.”

“Come straight here. Please do not make any stops. This is a matter of life and death.”

The last time my father said those words, I’d come home to find out my mother and younger brother were both killed in a car accident. He’d lost half of his family that day. I was his only living child, and he’d kept a tight eye on me since then.

“You’re scaring me, Dad.”

“I’m not trying to, princess, but it is very serious.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m heading out now.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I hung up the phone and slid it back into my purse. I finished my mimosa and let out a sigh.

“Well, ladies. I have to go. Family matters.”

The table audibly protested as I pulled out three crisp hundred-dollar bills. It was more than enough for our meals and a generous tip to our server, who was an absolute doll.

“Aww. You sure you have to leave now? Do you want to wait for a to-go container?” Xandria asked.

I shook my head. “I’ll come back for it another time. My dad called and said it was a family emergency. I’ll keep y’all updated on what’s going on when I get clued in.”

“Girl, keep yo’ money. This was my treat, remember?” Georgia held my money back for me to take.

“Nope. I’m leaving early, so it defers to me. Do not piss me off, Gee.”

“You just gon’ be pissed, bookie butt. Take your money and go home to your family.” Georgia smirked.

Instead of going back and forth with her like I usually would, I accepted defeat and took my money back.

They all stood and gave me hugs before I waved goodbye and headed to my car.

The all-black luxury SUV had purple accents because purple was my favorite color.

When I got in, I shared my route with my father, turned on my favorite songs playlist, and headed out.

“Yeah, something bad has happened,” I said to myself as I pulled into the circular driveway of the Stone Manor.

The maintenance men barely made eye contact with me as I parked my car behind the white SUV with the tinted windows.

There were more cars in our driveway than usual, which was another indicator of the severity of the situation.

I took a deep breath, grabbed my purse, and walked up the stone path to the front entrance of the main house. Stone Manor comprised one main house and six surrounding homes. We also had a golf course, a spa, a lake, and a small ranch. The ranch had goats, highland cows, and horses.

When I was a little girl, I got whatever I asked for. One thing I had been obsessed with was farm animals. Daddy ended up getting a ranch built on our property so I could have my personal petting zoo. I loved all my animals.

The air in the Stone Manor was eerily silent.

No one spoke to me, even when I spoke to them first. I was an extrovert through and through, so I typically communicated with everyone.

Plus, I always respected those who we paid to work around the property.

Everyone loved me and treated me like their little sister or daughter.

Today, I felt like a pariah, a leper, a reject.

As I walked into the first-floor kitchen, I noticed my favorite kitchen staff member. Giselle was closer to my age than the other staff members. Daddy had hired her a few years ago. We clicked instantly. Plus, she could throw down in the kitchen.

“Hey, Giselle.”

“Hey, beautiful.” She replied with a gentle smile.

I released a breath. “Oh, my goodness. I almost thought you would ignore me like everyone else.”

She shook her head. “Of course not.”

“Can you tell me what all the fuss is about? Why is everyone looking at me like I got cooties or something?”

She chuckled. “It’s not for me to tell you. Your father is in his office.”

“So you do know what’s going on?

She nodded. “I do. We were all briefed about an hour ago.”

“Did someone else die? Is Daddy dying?” I asked in a playful tone.

Giselle grimaced. “It’s best if you talk to your father.”

The smile on my face fell as I nodded.

“Fine. I’ll find you before I head back to my place.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

The rest of the journey to the office was uneventful. It was no use in probing the staff for answers since they all looked like it physically made them ill to look at me. My pace quickened.

The mahogany-colored wooden door came into view.

I took a deep breath. When I pushed open the door, I took in the scene.

Daddy sat behind his desk in a room full of men in black suits and sunglasses.

None of the men looked familiar, but I assumed Daddy hired them as security, just based on the attire they wore.

Like the rest of the staff, they remained silent.

“Hi, my princess.” Daddy greeted me. He stood and closed the distance between us. He gave me a quick peck on the top of my head and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Thank you for joining me on such short notice.”

“What’s going on? Why is everyone looking like someone died? Don’t tell me you’ve found more family members to kill off.”

“Sunni, please have some decorum.”

I frowned. “Okay, but I’m serious. The last time we met with this much tension in the air, Mama and SJ passed away. If I’m going to prepare to go to another funeral, I’m getting my jokes off first.”

“No one is dead.” Daddy sighed.

“Okay, cool. What’s the emergency that cut into brunch with my girls? I was in the middle of the best catfish and grits in the city.”

Daddy rubbed a hand down his face. “Have a seat.”