Chapter 6 #3
Sitting at one of the barstools, Cannon opened his plate and eyed the ribeye, asparagus, and potatoes. It looked good as hell. He bowed his head and said grace before grabbing the knife and fork.
Cutting a piece of steak, he replied to his sister. “Somebody threw two bricks through her window tonight.”
Capri’s eyes widened. “Is she hurt? Did you see who it was?”
Cannon shook his head. “She’s good, but they were gone by the time I made it outside. It’s my fault I didn’t see shit. I should’ve been closer to the door.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I should’ve brought her here in the first place.”
Capri shook her head. “No, it isn’t. I’m sure they had it planned so that someone would be driving off as soon as the brick hit.
And you didn’t know that they already had her home address.
This job came at us quickly, and you didn’t get a chance to do any recon like you usually do.
You can’t beat yourself up about what happened.
She’s safe, and that’s because of you. That’s all that matters. ”
Glancing at his sister, Cannon smirked. Capri knew how personally he took his job. She knew he had the potential to obsess over everything he’d done wrong when something didn’t go according to plan, so she was always trying to reassure him in those moments.
“I hear you, Cap,” Cannon said, right before stuffing a forkful of steak in his mouth.
“I will say, though, if we were to expand our team, we’d have someone who could be in the field while you stick close to the client.”
“I already told you, I’m not ready to bring anyone else on right now.”
“Fine.”
They sat in silence, Cannon eating silently and Capri watching him, until she finally spoke up again.
“How is she in person compared to the picture in her file?”
Cannon looked up to see his sister grinning at him.
“Go home, Cap.”
She shook her head. “Nope. It’s late, and home is far. I’m sleeping here tonight.”
He just stared at her for a moment. The big brother in him didn’t want her on the road this late either, but he knew his sister.
She had already peeped that he was attracted to Nahla, and she had been wanting to set him up for years.
With the three of them under the same roof for the night, Cannon knew that there was no way Capri would be chill about this.
“She’s our client, Cap. That’s it. Don’t be in here botherin’ that girl.”
With her mouth hanging open in feigned surprise, Capri placed a hand on her chest. “Me, a bother? Impossible.”
“Man, I really ain’t got—”
He cut his statement short when he caught a whiff of Nahla’s scent.
She smelled like a mix of coconut and something else that he couldn’t describe any other way than warm cotton.
Whatever it was, it pleased him every time she was near.
It also made it difficult for him not to pull her into his arms and bury his face in her neck.
A few moments after he sensed her presence, she was in his line of sight when she approached Capri with a bright smile.
Extending a hand toward Capri, Nahla said, “Hey, I’m Nahla.”
Glancing at Nahla’s outstretched hand, Capri kissed her teeth and pulled her in for a hug.
“Girl, bye. I’m a hugger.”
Cannon shook his head but said nothing. Once she released Nahla, Capri said, “It’s nice to put a face to the name finally. I’m Capri, Cannon’s younger sister and business partner.”
Nahla seemed confused when she realized Capri already knew who she was, but understanding washed over her once Capri said ‘business partner.’
“I brought dinner for you guys, and I ordered you the same thing Cane always gets.”
Capri gestured to the unopened food container, and Nahla opened it. She did a little dance as her eyes scanned the plate.
“Girl, steak from The Rose Garden is my favorite. Thanks so much.” Nahla eagerly hopped onto one of the barstools. After saying grace, she dug in. Once she cut the steak, her smile grew wider.
“And it’s cooked medium? A woman after my own heart,” she said before taking a bite.
“Yay! That’s how I like mine, but if you want it cooked more, we could pop it in the oven. Cane gets his well done, and I told him that’s not how it should be done,” Capri said, rolling her eyes.
After swallowing her bite of food, Nahla said, “Exactly. When it’s well done, all the natural flavor is cooked out. I don’t see how people do it.”
“I hope my brother hasn’t been on your nerves. He can be a lot.”
Chuckling, Nahla glanced at Cannon for the first time since she entered the kitchen. “He is a little extra, ain’t he?”
“Finally, somebody who gets it!” Capri said dramatically. “I’ma give you my number, Nahla. If you ever need rescuing from your rescuer, hit me up.”
With a smirk, Nahla said, “I’m definitely taking you up on that.”
“Y’all can stop talkin’ shit like I ain’t sittin’ right here.”
Both girls glanced at him momentarily.
In unison, they said, “We see you,” before bursting into a fit of giggles. Cannon shook his head as if their little exchange annoyed him, but in all honesty, he was pleasantly surprised.
Nahla and Cap seemed to vibe instantly, and that never happened with his sister and anyone. Capri was all about work and family. She made it her business to keep him and his grandmother straight, and she never made time for herself.
Her social life was nonexistent, and she always said she didn’t have friends, because women were weird.
Cannon continued to eat silently as he watched his sister and Nahla laugh and talk like they were old friends.
Capri didn’t warm up to people easily. Neither did he.
But they both seemed to be taken by Nahla.
He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing yet, but it was nice to see his sister let her guard down for a moment.
Once he and Nahla finished eating, Nahla put her leftovers in the refrigerator before walking over to Cannon. He inhaled deeply, taking her in as she quietly took his empty plate.
“I was gon’ get that,” he said, admiring her body as she stretched over him to grab the water bottles he had finished.
Meeting his eyes with hers, she said, “Now, you don’t have to,” before turning toward the trash can.
With a messy ass smile on her face, Capri said, “I’m gonna turn in for the night. Nahla, it was so good to meet you. I’ll make sure I catch up with you before I leave in the morning.”
Heading over to the sink, Nahla said, “Please do. It was great meeting you too.”
Capri stood from her barstool and winked at her brother before quickly exiting the room. As Nahla washed her hands, Cannon’s phone rang. He saw it was his grandmother and placed it on speaker, before standing and stretching his arms.
“What up, Mama?”
He immediately grinned when he heard her attitude-filled voice. Mama Porter was one of two people who could force a smile out of him.
“Don’t ‘what up, mama’ me, child. Where have you been?”
“I’ve been on a job. My bad for not checkin’ in,” he said as he watched Nahla grab a paper towel and dry her hands.
“Yeah, it is your damn bad. Capri told me you’re protecting the young girl who’s been writing them good old stories in the paper. Miss Nahla Avery.”
Cannon chuckled and glanced at Nahla. He noticed that she was trying to hide a smile as she headed for the door.
Just as she was passing him, Cannon lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.
It probably wasn’t professional or appropriate, but he wasn’t ready for her to disappear yet.
She had spent the last hour or so chopping it up with his sister, and Cannon was feeling low-key jealous. He wanted some of her time too.
She gave him a questioning frown but made no effort to remove his hold on her. They just stared into each other’s eyes silently.
“Yeah, I am,” he finally replied to his grandma.
“You make sure nothin’ happens to that girl, hear? I read her story about them folks in Lyle, and it broke my heart. I know them racist police prolly got it out for her, so you keep her close, now.”
Cannon chuckled, while Nahla’s face heated, and her smile widened. “I plan to, Mama.”
“You care about her, huh, son?”
Both Nahla and Cannon froze.
“I’m doin’ a job. Plus, I just met her, Mama,” was all he could think to say. He was now regretting putting her on speaker phone.
With a scoff, his grandmother said, “Your sister said the job was just for one day, but now you’re on day four. You ain’t gotta convince me, child. I know you better than anybody.”
Knowing better than to debate with his grandmother, he just said, “I hear you, Mama.”
“And call me tomorrow so I can talk to her. I wanna tell her that she done did a good job wakin’ the paper up. I read her stories every week.”
“She’s right here. She can hear you.”
“Oh! Well, hey, baby! I’m sorry that there are some fools out there causing you to need protection, but I’m glad it’s my grandson doin’ the protecting. Nobody does it better than him.”
“Thank you so much. It warms my heart to hear that you enjoy my stories. I’m also very grateful to have your grandson keeping me safe.”
“Did he feed you?” Mama Porter asked. Nahla and Cannon’s eyes met, and she had to cover her mouth to stifle her laugh. That was precisely the question Cannon said she would ask.
“Yes, ma’am, he has.”
Kissing her teeth, Cannon’s grandmother said, “Oh, child, please call me Mama Porter. You’re family now.”
“Thank you, Mama Porter. I appreciate that so much.”
“Of course, suga. Well, I’m gonna get outta y’all’s hair. I just had to fuss at my grandson for a minute. Now, Nahla, don’t let that boy boss you around too much. That’s all he tries to do with me.”
Nahla laughed aloud that time. “I’ll do my best.”
Cannon smirked. “You’ll fail.”
Shaking her head, Nahla replied, “I don’t doubt it.”
“You be nice, Cane. I’ll talk to y’all tomorrow. Love ya.”
“Love you more, Mama.”
Once he hung up, the two gazed at each other more. He had not yet released her, and she had not yet said anything about it. To be honest, Cannon was loving every second of being this close to her, so if she didn’t want to put distance between them, he wouldn’t be either.
Breaking the silence, Nahla said, “I love your family.”
“They clearly love you too.”
Tugging at her bottom lip with her teeth, Nahla looked away. It took several seconds for her to meet Cannon’s eyes again, but when she did, she asked a question that caught him off guard.
“What about you?”
“What about me, Nahla?”
“Your grandmother seems to think you care about me.”
“Mhmm.”
“You are protecting me ‘pro bono’,” she said, pairing the last part of her statement with air quotes.
“Because you need protecting,” he said.
“Because you think I’m worth protecting,” she said softly.
He chuckled. “Prolly.”
“Doing this for free seems like something you’d do for someone who mattered to you.”
He quietly observed her for a minute. Nahla was something else. She didn’t seem timid about what she was saying or afraid of what his reaction might be. She seemed sure. Her confidence had his dick hard.
“I ain’t say all that,” Cannon replied, trying to control his face. Nahla had him wanting to smile for about the fifth time that day.
She shrugged. “You didn’t have to.”
She held his gaze for a minute longer, their eyes communicating things that neither of them was ready to say.
Eventually, Nahla pulled away from him. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep. Good night, Cannon.”
She left the kitchen as gracefully as she had entered it, and Cannon sat there for the next thirty minutes with his thoughts racing.
Even if he didn’t want to admit it to her, Cannon knew that Nahla’s bold statements had truth to them. He felt a pull toward her that was undeniable yet confusing. All he knew for sure was that he would stay on this job for the rest of his life if it took that to keep her safe.
The woman had him feeling things, and oddly enough, he wasn’t trying to stop it.