“And I said give her a fucking minute!” I barked.
The woman didn’t jump or budge but eyed me with equal rage. “She’s my cousin, and I want what’s best for her too.”
“I don’t doubt it. But right now, this is what’s best. I’m not about to argue with your li’l ass over this either. Keep pushing, and I’m gonna push your tiny ass right out that door.” Chanel was petite, but her cousin was shorter and much slimmer than she was.
“Nigga, I’ll put a bullet in your ass before you can lift a hand at me.”
“Aye! Don’t be fucking threatening me.” I mugged the shit out of her, shoved Chanel behind me, and walked her cousin down until she was on the threshold of the room. “Now get the fuck outta here.” My voice was a low, deep growl.
She narrowed her eyes at me and replied, “Only because she hasn’t shut your ass down for talking to me like that will I step away and give you space. But you’ll have to deal with me later.”
I slammed the door in her face and turned back to Chanel. I pulled her into my arms and held her while she finished crying.
I lifted her chin with my fist and stared into her teary brown eyes. “Hey, you can’t stay here tonight. You need a safe place to go,” I suggested after a few minutes.
“There is no safe place to go.” Her usually seductive voice trembled with fear.
“I promise there is. Just get whatever you think you’ll need for as long as you’ll need it. I’m not talking about one or two dayseither. We’ll have to give them time to investigate, get this place cleaned up, and then figure out your next steps. I’m thinking two or three weeks minimum.”
“I can’t let them run me from my home, Ashton,” she argued as her cousin and another officer stepped back into the room.
“And you can’t stay here when there’s an unknown psychopath on the loose either,” Tommi countered.
“I’m sure they won’t be so quick to come back here after all this attention.”
“Ma’am, I hate to be the one to admit it, but sometimes the perpetrators are bolder than you might expect. When you’re dealing with someone like this, who may have mental health issues, they aren’t predictable. It would be best for you to leave home for a while,” the lead officer stated.
“We can’t have you here while we do our investigation, Nelli,” Tommi explained, calling her by a nickname I had never heard before but sounded like it stemmed from childhood.
Chanel wiped her face and sniffled. Nodding, she replied, “Okay. I’ll get some things.”
As she packed her bags, I turned back to her cousin and the officer and explained everything that happened at the stadium. They were both aware of it but were not aware that the same color paint had been used in both instances
“You ready?” I asked when Chanel finished packing.
“Yeah,” she replied softly.
I took her bags while she hugged her cousin who whispered to her. The entire ride to the elevator, she held her head high, faced forward, and pressed her shoulders back. She maintained that aura throughout the lobby and parking lot. It wasn’t until we were in my truck that her shoulders slumped, and she rested her head against the window. I reached over and squeezed her knee.
“Where are we going?”
“To my place first and then to a safe space.”
Her head popped up.
“Trust me.”
After another twenty minutes, we reached my place. I picked up Titan and a few things we would need. He happily hopped in the back seat, and I let the window down for him.
“Where are we going?” she asked after a while.
“Some place safe that’s outside of the city limits.”
“How do I know that you’re not the one terrorizing me?”
“One, I was on the court when your car was damaged, and I was with you when the apartment was damaged, I’m assuming based on the timeline the police gave. Two, I have no interest in terrorizing you when I’ve got so much shit going on in my life. Three, though you’re a pain in my side, you’re kind of cool, and I like having you around.”
She smiled and reached back and rubbed Titan’s muzzle.
