Chapter 9 #2
“There you go,” he said, kissing the other side of her neck.
Now move your left foot back a little. It’ll help you stay balanced.”
“Okay.”
“Aight, you wanna keep your arms locked like this,” he said, shifting his hands to her arms, “but not stiff. You ain’t fighting the gun. You’re steadying it.”
He caressed her skin briefly, and his gentle yet firm grip caused a moan to escape Nahla’s throat.
“Focus, Nahla,” Cannon said before grazing her elbow. “Now, bring this in tighter. When you pull the trigger, the gun is gon’ kick back a lil bit, but as long as you keep your frame where it is, it won’t be too bad at all.
“Keep your hands high on the backstrap to control the recoil. And always keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Aight?” he asked, placing his hands over hers once again.
“Okay.”
“Good. Now, you see that lil green dot at the front of the gun?”
Nahla nodded.
“That’s the front sight. I want you to focus on that—not the target. We’re gonna line the front sight up dead center, and the bullet will go where your eyes go. You ready?”
She nodded again, slower this time.
“Aight. We gon’ do it together the first time. I’ma count to three, and I want you to squeeze the trigger, nice and slow. One, . . . two, . . . three.”
Cannon kept his hands loosely over hers but allowed her to squeeze the trigger.
“How was that?” she asked, excitement in her voice.
“That was damn good,” Cannon said honestly. Surprisingly, she did exactly what he instructed her to do. He half expected her to jerk the trigger more or try to lower her arms too early, but she remained steady and squeezed like it wasn’t her first time.
“Okay, move. I wanna do it by myself this time.”
Cannon laughed but released her.
She shot again. With him no longer steadying her, there was a little kickback, but Cannon readjusted her and repeated his earlier instructions about her stance. She went again. And again. Each shot got a little cleaner, and he was glad to see that she was enjoying herself.
Nahla emptied the magazine before she finally took a break. She handed the gun to Cannon then took a seat on the bench.
“That was fun,” she said, grinning.
Cannon glanced at her as he removed the magazine from the gun. After setting it on the ledge, he sat next to Nahla and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Yeah, you might be a natural for real.”
Grinning, Nahla nodded. “I knew I would be.”
“Man, watch out,” he said, playfully pushing her away from him.
Nahla grabbed his arm and paused. She turned it and peered at his forearm more closely. On it was a tattoo of an eagle, globe, and an anchor.
She glanced at him with a slight frown. “You’re a marine.”
Glancing at his own tattoo, he said, “I was.”
“What made you leave?”
Cannon tensed immediately, and he could tell she noticed it. “I’on wanna talk about it,” he said, standing. He grabbed the gun and put a few more rounds in.
He didn’t want to end their little outing on a sour note, but he wasn’t willing to talk about that marine shit. Not today—maybe not ever. Doing his best to soften his expression, he focused on Nahla again.
Her beautiful eyes were sad now, but she didn’t push the issue further. Cannon extended a hand to her, and she grasped it, allowing him to help her up. He positioned her in front of him.
“You got another round in you?” he asked.
Nahla remained silent for a few seconds before finally responding with, “Yeah.”
Cannon handed her the gun.
Their ride home had been silent for the most part, but Nahla noticed that Cannon kept checking the rearview mirror with narrowed eyes.
Tired of the silence, she asked him, “What is it?”
Instead of replying, he said, “Tell me somethin’, La. When you went to Lyle last weekend, did any of the interviews you had scheduled cancel last minute? Was there anyone you were supposed to meet up with that went ghost?”
Her eyes rolled to the ceiling as she thought about it. “Uh, the Whites. But they didn’t go ghost. They were supposed to be my first meeting, so I called them as soon as I arrived. They answered and let me know they weren’t comfortable talking anymore.”
“Uh-huh,” was all he said.
“Why do you ask?”
Again, he ignored her question and asked one of his own. “Have you found any evidence that proves the Whites were victims in this shit? Did they give you any information about the actual land they lost?”
“No, they were supposed to tell me specifics at the meeting. Why?”
“’Cause I think the sheriff knew you were coming. I think somebody tipped them off, and it could’ve been the Whites.”
Her eyes widened a little. That could be a possibility, but it never even crossed her mind. Nahla had gotten so excited that so many families agreed to talk to her that she never slowed down long enough to consider that her enemies could have planted some of her sources.
“I was thinking that was the case, but the fact that I didn’t even notice anyone drive past my truck slowly yesterday confirmed it. They didn’t know you were there, because it was a last-minute trip that only we knew about.”
“Wow,” she said in disbelief. How did she miss all of that?
Cannon reached over and caressed her thigh.
“Don’t worry ’bout that. Knowing now means we can plan better. Aight?”
She sighed. “Okay.”
“Now, I’ma need you to hold off on your next story.”
Nahla’s face turned up immediately. “Cannon, I told you th—”
He cut her off. “You trust me?”
She exhaled and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I trust you.”
He glanced at her. “You wit’ me?”
Nahla grazed her bottom lip with her teeth. “I am.”
“If we can make them believe the press conference intimidated you, and that you’ve backed off, we can make moves without their eyes on us. I want them to get a lil comfortable.”
Cannon pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant Nahla had never been to before and parked the car.
“If you trust me and you believe that I got you, let me handle this part. Can you do that, La?”
Looking into his eyes, she nodded. She did trust him, and she could do that.
Leaning over, he kissed her lips gently. “Then, let’s go eat.”
Later that night, they were cuddled up on the sofa watching a basketball game. Cannon was engrossed in the game, while Nahla internally replayed the day’s events.
The gun range.
Their closeness as he gave her a shooting lesson.
The way he handled her with care.
The way he shut down on her when she asked about the Marines.
That last part put things into perspective for her. They really had just met, and there was so much about him she didn’t know. There also seemed to be so much that he was guarding.
Maybe that should have been a red flag. Perhaps she should have felt pushed away, . . . but she didn’t. It may have sounded crazy, but even though he didn’t open up about his past, she still felt like she learned something new about him.
Today confirmed for her that he wasn’t always as emotionally available as he had been the night before.
He didn’t make a habit of being vulnerable, but he did it with her when he told her how he felt.
That one truth had her feeling special, and it gave her hope that he’d continue to let down his walls as their bond grew.
She learned that wounds lay beneath his silence. She was sure that there was one hell of a story that shaped this beautifully intelligent, calm yet dangerous man.
Nahla wasn’t sure which terrified her more: the sheriff’s potential retaliation . . . or the fact that somewhere between yesterday and today, she fell for the man who was determined to keep her safe.