Page 15 of Black Sheep
He gives her a smug smile. “I’m gonna find her. You can’t babysit her all the time. She’s an adult, and she makes her own decisions.”
Tanya’s fingers curl into claws. “You come near her again, and I’ll fucking kill you myself.”
The man charges at her, moving faster than I would have thought possible. In a second, he has Tanya pressed up against the wall, his hands on her shoulders, ready to shake her.
“Big words for a bitch with no backup—”
The interior door flies open.
“Back the fuck away from her before I rip your hands off and give them to the hookers down the street so they can jerk off their johns.” Cannon’s quiet and deadly voice issues the threat from just behind me.
The man, who clearly values his hands more than getting information out of Tanya, releases her and backs away. “You think you’re hot shit, Freeman? I don’t give a fuck who your father is. My boss will have my back if you touch me. You want to start a war? Bring it.”
“You’re the one about to fuck up months of negotiations, and there’s no way anyone is going to blame me for taking you out. I’m only going to say this one more time, Donny. Get the fuck out of this club and never come back, including with your boss.” Cannon stalks toward him, stopping only when the tips of his Italian shoes are inches from Donny’s. “Because the next time you set foot on my property, you leave in a body bag. Do you understand me?”
Donny’s face turns ashen and beads of sweat glisten on his temples as he backs up toward the door. As soon as his fingers wrap around the door handle, his lip curls. “You’re going to regret this.”
“No. I won’t. Just like I won’t regret sending you six feet under. Now give me the keycard you stole to get up here and move your ass. I don’t want to breathe the same air as you.”
Donny yanks a plastic card from his pocket before flinging it at Cannon with bared teeth. Then he slips out the door, and a heavy shroud of silence settles over all three of us. No one speaks for a few beats, at least, not until Tanya rushes to Cannon and throws herself into his arms.
“Thank you. Thank you so much. I know that wasn’t how things are supposed to go. I didn’t think he’d have the balls to try to get in here without ...” Tanya trails off as Cannon’s arms wrap around her, and I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I just witnessed.
Which rival mob family does that guy work for? Could this somehow help my case?
Tanya shudders against Cannon, and my mind splits off down another avenue, even as I’m thinking about my investigation.
They look pretty damn cozy together.
He tucks her hair behind her ears and drops his voice to a low murmur. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll deal with this. I promised you that once, and I meant it.”
Sweetheart.He called her sweetheart. That’s enough to prove the suspicion I had about them being together, which should be gratifying. Instead, a green-eyed, clawing monster rears her ugly head from the pettiest part of my soul.
Under normal circumstances, I’d laugh it off as no big deal, but I’m frozen in the entryway, hating him and hating myself at the same time.
I can’t be jealous. If I’m jealous ... that means I ...I don’t even want to put it into words, but my brain can’t be stopped.
I want him.
A chill sweeps over me, unleashing goose bumps that spread across every inch of my exposed skin.I can’t want him. I—
“I hate him.” Tanya’s rough whisper is barely loud enough for me to hear, but I take a wobbly step back because she steals the words right out of my brain.
I’m supposed to hate Cannon Freeman.
“Shh. I know. We all hate that bastard.”
Tanya snuffles and looks up at Cannon from beneath her lashes in a move I’ve seen Randi use. A move deliberately intended to entice. “Thank you. I appreciate you coming to my rescue.”
Part of me wants to shrink away because now I’m intruding on a too-intimate scene, but I can’t slip out of the foyer without attracting their attention.
Thankfully, the entrance door swings open again. Cannon quickly releases Tanya and steps away from her, leaving the woman staring at him with longing.
“What’d I miss?” Grice’s gaze scans the room, and his free hand goes for his gun while he balances a box on his other.
“Donny Linetti,” Cannon says, infusing the man’s name with disgust.
“Fuck.” Grice looks to me. “I’m sorry, Ms. Carson. Didn’t think he’d have the balls to try something like that.”
