Chapter 6
Cannon found the home security app on his phone and pressed the button that lifted the garage door. Once he drove in and lowered the door behind them, he glanced toward his passenger seat.
They had just arrived at his safe house on the outskirts of Jasona.
Nahla had dozed off about thirty minutes into their forty-five-minute drive.
Cannon was happy she had settled, but annoyed that someone had gotten close to her.
If she hadn’t ducked in time, she would have been hit, and that would have been his fault.
Cannon had a feeling the Lyle Police Department knew where Nahla stayed, and his first thought was to take her to another location.
Because Nahla wasn’t adjusting well to the boundaries he’d set for her, he went against his own judgment and let her stay at her house. That was a dumb move, and he knew it.
He was glad she wasn’t harmed, and felt determined to keep it that way, no matter what. Nahla was a journalist, so while it was probably normal for her to go into the office every day, he knew she could work from home.
Cannon sighed as he thought about the argument they were likely to have about this new rule.
He hadn’t known her long, but he had already discerned that Nahla wasn’t the type to be told what to do.
She was used to calling the shots in her own life, and that clashed significantly with the way Cannon handled things.
He was also a shot caller, and he hated feeling like he had lost control of a situation. Whenever he felt control slipping from his grasp, he tended to overcorrect a problem so that there was no room for error. That was what was happening here.
The people against Nahla had gotten close, and because Cannon had no idea—yet—how far they were willing to go, he was keeping Nahla close until further notice.
He allowed his eyes to slowly graze her face and body before clearing his throat. In a tone that was gentler than usual, he said, “Nahla.”
She didn’t budge. Shaking his head, Cannon tried again. “Nahla, we’re here.”
Still nothing.
With a sigh, he lifted his right hand and extended it toward her.
Tucking his bottom lip between his teeth, he gently brushed her hair away from her face, causing her to stir.
Leaning closer to her, Cannon repeated the gesture.
After a few moments, Nahla’s eyes fluttered open and met his. Cannon had to pause.
He thought her eyes were beautiful before, but being this close made him realize that beautiful just wasn’t good enough.
They were dark brown and piercing, but there was a gold fleck in them that he hadn’t noticed.
They were also very telling. When the brick barely missed her face earlier, there was apparent fear and alarm in them, but now, they were relaxed and trusting.
“We’re here?” she asked softly. The question prompted Cannon to shift his gaze to her slightly parted lips. He wanted to kiss them, and that urge snapped him back to reality at once. Removing himself from her personal space, he nodded. “We are,” he said, before getting out of the car.
He walked around to the passenger side of his vehicle, opened the door, and helped her out. As he retrieved Nahla’s bags, he heard her say, “This garage is huge.”
He didn’t respond until he pressed the button to lower the trunk.
“It is. Come on.”
Cannon began walking toward the door, and she followed silently. He placed a finger on the pad beside the door, and after a couple of seconds, the pad beeped, then they heard a soft click. Cannon opened the door and allowed Nahla to enter the home first.
Once he was inside and had the door locked, he continued through the large home. He turned down two hallways before he made it to his destination. It was the third door on the right side of that hall, and he opened it to reveal a spacious bedroom.
“You’ll sleep in here.”
He set her bags close to the door and felt Nahla’s body brush against his as she slid past him to enter the room. Cannon straightened himself and watched her as she observed the room.
After walking around for a minute or two, Nahla glanced at him. “Did you decorate this room?”
He chuckled. “Nah. My sister did.”
Nodding, Nahla said, “Makes sense. It’s beautiful.”
The room was fully furnished and designed with cream and gold elements. It was the most feminine-looking bedroom in the house, so Cannon figured she’d like it.
“I’ll let her know you think so. Come on.”
Because she liked to debate him on almost everything, he expected her to make a fuss about them leaving the room he just told her she’d be staying in, but to his surprise, she set her purse on the bed and approached him silently.
“Lead the way,” she said.
He took her back through the home, and this time, they stopped in the living room.
There were two sofas, a love seat, and two large recliners in the room.
He relaxed on one end of the large sofa and placed his arms on the back of it.
Briefly, he allowed his head to fall to the back of the couch, and he closed his eyes.
He had been worried about getting restless and bored after finishing up his last job, but Nahla Avery had had him on go since the moment he laid eyes on her. For the first time in days, he felt tired.
He heard movement beside him and opened his eyes to find that Nahla had elected to sit in the middle of the same sofa as him. Her shoes were off, and she was tucking one leg under the other. Cannon licked his lips as she turned her body toward him.
They stared at each other for a while, but Nahla was the first to break the silence.
“Do you live here?”
“Nah. It is mine, though.”
He watched as she gave the room a once-over. “It’s quiet here.”
Cannon nodded. “Intentionally so.”
“So, . . . why did you bring me here?”
“To keep you safe. I already told you that.”
“But this isn’t realistic. We were in the car for a while, right?
I work in the city. My siblings and I take turns caring for my father, and I need to check on him tomorrow.
I appreciate that you wanted to get me away from the chaos for the night, but I would be better off in a hotel that was closer to my life. ”
Cannon shook his head. “This isn’t for the night, Nahla. You’re stayin’ here till further notice. I know that you can do the bulk of your job from home, so that ain’t a problem, and when you need to check on your pops, I’ll take you to do that.”
Nahla’s face screwed up immediately. “Until further notice? Are you insane? I don’t know you, and I didn’t hire you. You cannot make me stay here.”
“As much as I’d prefer us to be cool while I’m with you, if you make me prove that I can and will make you stay here, I’ll do that for you.”
She stared at him with her mouth open slightly.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He didn’t respond.
After a while, she folded her arms, pouted, and slumped back on the sofa.
The mild tantrum she was trying to throw had Cannon’s dick hard.
He loved the way her full lashes covered her eyes as she narrowed them at him.
As his eyes lingered on her bottom lip, which was currently poked out as she frowned, he had another urge to devour her mouth with his.
He had protected plenty of beautiful women in his career, but Nahla was the first one he found himself this attracted to. Although her beauty was unreal, this pull he felt to her had to go beyond looks. There was something about this woman that had him feeling things that made him nervous.
One of his biggest strengths on the job was his ability to keep a cool head in tense, high-risk situations.
He never let danger or threats rattle him, and that type of focus made it easier to keep his clients—and himself—safe.
When those bricks smashed through her window, though, he felt anything but cool.
He felt pissed and reckless, which weren’t the best emotions to have while making decisions.
As he admired her now, all the feelings stirring within him only confirmed what he already knew.
Cannon would crash the hell out about Nahla.
She sighed before biting her lip. “But . . . why is this place better than a hotel? It’s just a house. Even if someone figured out which hotel I was staying at, they wouldn’t know which room I was in. I also have siblings I could stay with.”
“Your siblings ain’t keeping you safe. I am.”
“But my brother cou—”
Cannon cut her off because he didn’t care to hear the end of that statement. He didn’t need her brother’s help doing his job.
“And you just almost got snatched up at a hotel, and you wanna go back to another one?”
She shrugged. “It would be closer to everything.”
“That’s the problem. I’on want you close to nothin’ but me, until I get a better understanding of what we’re up against.”
He noticed her eyes soften when he said that but ignored it and continued.
“This house is safer than a hotel because of anonymity. No one knows it’s here, and the security is top-tier. We can debate this all night, but it won’t change what’s happening. It would be easier for both of us if you just accepted your new address.”
“You really feel like you’re gonna be able to keep me safe?”
“I know I will.”
“Even though I’m going forward with my investigation and story?”
He nodded.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re goin’ forward within the boundaries I’ve set.”
Nahla kissed her teeth. “You love that word, huh?”
“Boundaries save lives, Nahla.”
“And what if I cross one?” Her brow was raised.
Holding her gaze, he said, “Then, you’ll learn why I set it.”