“Nahla. We’re here.” He reached over and brushed the hair away that had fallen in her face, and that prompted her eyes to flutter open. Immediately, she looked at him and smiled, triggering the weird shit in his chest.
Once she sat up, Cannon exited the car and walked around to let her out. As soon as she hopped out of the truck, she raised her arms above her head and stretched. His eyes involuntarily followed the movement.
This woman is something else, man.
Shaking his head, he opened the door to the house, and they both headed straight for the kitchen.
“Are you hungry?” Nahla asked, opening the refrigerator.
“As hell,” Cannon replied.
“Your sister bought just about everything you can think of to cook, so what do you have a taste for?”
Cannon smirked. “You gon’ cook for me twice in one day, Nahla?”
Nahla glanced back at him. “It’sLa, and I’m going to cook forus. What do you want?”
“Surprise me. I ain’t picky.”
He watched as she started pulling things out of the refrigerator.
“Don’t mind if I do,” Nahla said.
Nahla moving around the kitchen as if she owned it, turned him on just as much as Nahla staring out the passenger’s window. Cannon chuckled. He was feeling her something serious.
He admired her silently for a while, but when she bent over to turn on the oven, he spoke up to distract the other parts of his body.
“I gotta show you somethin’, La. But I don’t want you to let it get you upset, because I’ma handle it.”
He noticed her freeze momentarily before placing the potatoes in the oven. Once she closed the oven door, she turned to face him.
“Show me.” On the surface, she seemed composed, but he had spent the last day and a half observing her and could see the worry in her eyes.
“You heard what I said, though? Don’t let it affect your day.”
“Okay,” she said, not sounding convincing.
He shook his head, not wanting to present this video to her, but knowing that she would see it with or without him.
“Come here.”
She did as he asked, and he handed her his phone and sat back as she pressed play. As she watched the video, Cannon watchedher.
He watched as her expression shifted from shock to anger to resolve. One thing he didn’t see was fear, and part of him admired that in her. Once it was done playing, she silently handed him back his phone.
Calmly, she said, “This just means that I’m on the right track. It means they’re nervous about what I’ve uncovered.”
“I agree,” Cannon said. Just because he agreed didn’t mean he wanted her to keep this going, though. He recognized how many people her work would potentially help, but his priority was her. Besides, it was bigger thanjust herat this point. She officially meant something to him, so losing her behind a story about a criminal enterprise wasn’t an option.
He wanted her to let the story go for her own safety, but he knew that wasn’t an option, either, so he had to devise a plan that would keep her safe while she continued working on this.
“You know this means nothing to me, right?” she asked. A lone tear fell from her eye, and she swiped it away quickly. It caught him off guard because nothing in her expression or tone seemed sad. She continued.
“This means nothing to me,” Nahla repeated. “I’m not stopping. Not after this. The people whose lives they’ve messed up deserve my perseverance.”
“I don’t expect you to give up, La,” he said.
They stared into each other’s eyes for the longest time.
