“You don’t understand the right thing, or my lady wouldn’t be in handcuffs.” My fingertips ran across the butt of the gun in my holster. “Who arrested her in the first place?”
I canvassed the area and stopped on the person I had never seen before. All it took was for me to invade the short man’s personal space for him to shake.
“Mr. Sinner, I didn’t know Ms. Blackstone had ties to you until my partner said something. It wasn’t my intention to step on your toes.”
“Where are her car keys?” I asked.
He lifted his hand to show the keyring hanging from his pinky. I snatched the metal so hard I knew I dislocated his finger. I didn’t have the chance to check his partner before I smelled Kannon’s perfume mix in the wind. The scowl on her face confirmed she didn’t believe she had done anything wrong.
“Fix your face, and go to your truck,” I declared, only a few steps away from her.
“No! These idiots threatened to impound my car!”
“Why are you testing me? Do what the fuck I said.”
The woman I knew as Yari walked over and hugged Kannon. “Call me when you get where you’re going.”
“Nah, her ass is on punishment. She’ll text you,” I replied before the reckless woman had the chance.
Kannon’s bottom lip sank to her chest as she stomped over to where Echo held her passenger door open for her. I handed him my key fob, then pointed to Kannon’s crew.
“Make sure they get home safely. I’ll pick my truck up from you in the morning.”
“Bet. Come on, Thing 1 and Thing 2!” Echo yelled, instigating a playful banter between himself and the ladies.
The tension in Kannon’s truck was thick. I waited a few minutes before I pulled off. All the things that could’ve happened to her made my head spin, and her lack of accountability furthered my silence.
“Why are you so mad, Neptune? They pulled me over for no damn reason.”
“There was a reason! You were drinking and speeding. You weren’t even supposed to be driving.”
“If you wanted to make sure I was straight, you should’ve taken me home,” she declared. “Where are you taking me? I don’t feel like lying up in your honeycomb hideout.”
“I’m going to take your ass home if you don’t chill,” I argued. “If you didn’t want me in your mix, you shouldn’t have dropped my name. Yo’ass must be really drunk saying my name to the police.”
“You talk like you’re well connected. I wouldhopeyou had some pull.” She crisscrossed her arms over her chest. “I would’ve called my daddy, but I didn’t want to hear how much of a fuck up I am. I should’ve bailed myself out.”
I cut my eyes in her direction. “Man, I don’t want to hear that shit. You’ve been pissing me off all night. You know my nameholdsweightin the city, but you’re in the casino, fighting some jealous bitch like you didn’t have the power to make a call.”
For the first time since we met, Kannon listened without issuing a comeback. She didn’t push me away when I squeezed her thigh, but she didn’t look at me. Her lips stayed pouted, and her eyes remained attached to passing cars. We only made things official a couple of weeks ago, but from the day she met up with me to apologize, I knew she would be mine. From day one, I wanted her to prove me wrong and stick around.
“Do you trust me, Kannon?”
“Yes,” she replied without missing a beat.
“Then act like it. I have never given you a reason to doubt me, and when I did, I addressed it.”
Despite my annoyance, I put Kannon’s mind at ease and made the hour-and-a-half drive to my house in the hills. When I drove up my driveway, I could feel her watching me. I thought she would fire off questions when we entered the six-bedroom house, but Kannon remained mute until we stepped into themaster bedroom.
“So this was your house all along,” she suggested from the doorway. “Why do you stay in the city when you have this gorgeous home?”
“The condo is closer to everything important. I’m always on the move, so I don’t have time to appreciate this spot.”
She scoffed as she shook her head. “One person does not need a house this big.”
“I don’t need it, but I love it. The area is quiet. Neighbors are far and few. I appreciate how lowkey it is.”
While Kannon roamed around my room, admiring framed puzzles, I grabbed clothes for us to change into. My phone lit up on the nightstand, but I pretended not to see it. Without looking at the screen, I knew my dad was calling to go off about me dropping Levi. He wouldn’t consider he needed the senseknocked into him. He would just accuse me of not putting the family first.
