“Nah,” Cane said, cutting him off. “Wrong answer.” He then readjusted his grip on the man so that his elbows bent in front of him and his hands were in a prayer position. Cannon then pressed the man’s hands against his own throat and pressed his shoulder into the guy’s chest area.
He also tightened his grip on the other guy’s neck and focused on him.
“You got ’bout five seconds to tell me somethin’ that’s gon’ keep you breathing.”
He had no intentions of killing these men, but they didn’t have to know that.
“It was Allen. Deputy Allen Miller! He’s our superior. He just told us to scare the reporter. That’s it,” the guy choked out.
Pissed, Cannon tightened his grip on them both. “Scare her? Y’all were ’bout to catch charges for property damage, obstruction, and attempted assault, ’cause I got the shit on video. Dumb asses.”
Both guys looked even more scared now. Cannon studied them. They were both young cops, clearly being groomed to be just as crooked as their sheriff.
Cannon’s jaw flexed. “I would never be dumb enough to send the video to your shady ass police department, but I got friends in high places. You want me to send it to them? Or you wanna walk away?”
Cannon could have sworn he saw tears in the eyes of the one struggling to breathe.
“Listen, we don’t want trouble. We were following orders, all right? We were just told to leave a message. That’s it.”
With a cold stare, Cannon said, “Then, here’s mine. You tell your boss that if he sends another one of you bitches after the reporter, he ain’t gon’ get ’em back. Y’all will do well to remember that too. Understand?”
They both nodded quickly.
“Good. When I let you go, get y’all’s asses in that car and go home. You can tell ’em this in the morning. Cool?”
Again, they nodded frantically.
Cannon released them with just as much force as he’d hemmed them up with, then he took a step back. His eyes remained on them until they got in their truck. He pulled out his phone and recorded as they drove away, as a reminder to run the truck’s plates once he got home.
Once their vehicle was no longer in sight, Cannon released a slow and steady breath, methodically allowing the adrenaline to simmer. He glanced at the ground and picked up the tire iron before pausing briefly.
As he was about to move, he sensed slight movement behind him, so he slowly turned.
And there she was.
Standing just behind the glass doors of the well-lit lobby was the woman whose honor he’d just defended. Because of the lighting, he knew he had a better view of her than she did of him. He briefly considered remaining a shadowy figure in the night, but something within—something illogical—wanted her to see him.
He lifted his head and pulled his hoodie back slightly as their eyes locked. He allowed himself a moment to admire her in the flesh. She was even more beautiful, with her silky straight hair in a messy bun atop her head, and orange sweats. He only wished the glass wasn’t between them.
As he studied her eyes, he realized she wasn’t what he expected. She didn’t seem reckless or naive in that moment. She was alert. Aware. Observing.
He shook his head slightly, trying to come back to his senses. After giving her a slight nod, he turned and walked away, toward his vehicle.
Back in his car, Cannon watched and waited after about five minutes of nothing. Nahla emerged from the glass doors. Without even looking around, she quickly got into her car and wasted no time pulling out of the lot.
Shaking his head, Cannon started his car.
She was really leaving in the middle of the night after witnessing that.
He would say that he couldn’t believe it, but it wouldn’t have been true. He was getting to know Nahla better, and she didn’tstrike him as the type of woman who would let a minor incident shake her.
Once he felt she was a good way down the road, he went to his tracking app on his phone and followed it. As he trailed behind with his headlights off, his thoughts were onher.
The way she traced his face with his eyes, like she was memorizing every detail, reminded him of himself on the job, and that intrigued him more. The fact that she got her ass in the car to travel in the middle of the night infuriated him, and her beauty aroused him. In a matter of minutes, Nahla had managed to become Cannon’s headache and his habit, because there was no way he was leaving her alone after this.
He officially felt obligated to keep her safe, and that was precisely what he intended to do.
Knock.Knock. Knock.
