“Good. I need you alive, and so do the people who trusted you with their stories.”
Her chest tightened at that.
“Thanks, Mr. Hill,” she said, meaning it. The fact that she felt compelled to call him and not her father spoke to the bond theyshared. It was kind of sad, but since she and her dad weren’t too close, she was highly grateful to Eli Hill.
“Thanks for believing in this story.”
“No disrespect to the people involved, but Nahla, I believe inyou.”
That made her smile. Mr. Hill continued.
“Take a minute for yourself and settle down, okay? I’m going to check in with you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll try.”
With that, they hung up. Nahla lowered her phone slowly and continued her deep breathing. This had been a whirlwind of a night, but she knew one thing: She refused to give up her story.
But, maybe, just maybe . . .
She could finally admit that she wasn’t in this alone.
Cannon checked his watch when he heard the garage door lift. His sister said it would take her an hour to reach the safe house, but she made it there in forty-five.
After a couple of minutes had passed without the front door opening, Cannon stood with a frown.
The hell was she out there doing?
He walked out of the living room and through the kitchen before opening the door to the garage. His sister’s car was parked beside his, and it seemed to be turned off, but there was no movement coming from it. Cannon descended the steps, approached the driver’s side of her car, then opened the door.
His sister was sitting with her arms folded and her face tight.
Smirking, Cannon asked, “The hell you still sittin’ out here for?”
Capri rolled her eyes. “Waiting on mybrotherto act like the gentleman my grannie raised him to be.”
Cannon chuckled. Their grandmotherhadraised him right, but Capri’s ass was just spoiled. She acted like she couldn’t see doors when her big brother was around. Cannon would never admit it to her, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“My bad, Cap,” he said, extending a hand toward her. She sat, mugging him a few seconds longer before flashing Cannon a smile and placing her hand into his. Once Capri was out of the car, she whisked past her brother.
She said, “The food’s in the passenger seat,” before heading inside the house.
Shaking his head, Cannon closed the driver’s door, rounded the car, and retrieved a large paper bag withThe Rose Gardenprinted on it. He was immediately reminded of how hungry he was, because it was one of Cannon’s favorite places to eat. He knew his sister had ordered his go-to meal, and couldn’t wait to eat.
Once he made it back inside, he placed the food on the kitchen island then headed into the living room, where he found his sister chilling on the sofa with the remote control in her hand.
Without looking at him, Capri said, “You need to call Mama. She’s about ready to cuss you out.”
Cannon dropped his head and sighed.
“Why am I gettin’ cussed out? I just saw her last week.”
“And you know that’s not enough for her. Whenever you’re in town, she wants to see youat leastevery other day.”
It was true. Cannon’s line of work kept him away from home more often than not. He always made sure his grandmother had whatever she needed, but it didn’t stop her from worrying about or missing him.
“I know. I’ve just been caught up with this case. I’ma make sure I pull up on Mama tomorrow, though,” he said, wondering how Nahla would feel about that. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight any time soon, so it wasn’t like she had a choice.
“Yeah, thecase. Let’s talk about that.”
