Page 99 of Cannon
“Sir, please put your hands where we can see them.”
“I don’t have a domestic anything,” I insisted, even as I slowly raised my hands. “Who’s claiming I hit them?”
One of the officers moved behind me, the cold metal of handcuffs clicking around my wrists. “Reese Price-Jackson filed a report stating you assaulted her earlier today.”
Reese. My blood turned to ice. “That’s a fucking lie! She’s my sister!”
“You can tell that to the judge,” the officer said, patting me down and removing my phone and wallet. “Cannon Price, you’re under arrest for domestic assault and battery. You have the right to remain silent…”
I barely heard the Miranda rights being recited. My mind was spinning, rage building like a storm. Reese had set me up. Again. First she manipulated me into killing Gage, now this. Because I rejected her twisted ass.
I spotted Javi leaning against one of the squad cars, watching with a smirk as they led me toward the waiting vehicle. Our eyes locked, and his smile widened.
“You did this?” I snarled at him.
He pushed off the car, walking over with that cocky swagger. “Just doing my civic duty. When Ms. Jackson came to the precinct with those bruises, saying her brother beat her up, I made sure her case got priority attention.”
“You know that’s bullshit,” I growled, straining against the cuffs. “You fucking know it.”
“What I know,” Javi said, leaning in close enough that only I could hear, “is that Queen’s going to need someone to comfort her when she finds out her boyfriend’s an abuser. I’ll make sure I’m there for her.”
Red clouded my vision. I lunged forward, nearly breaking free from the officer’s grip before another grabbed me from behind.
“Add resisting arrest,” Javi called out, stepping back with a satisfied look.
They shoved me into the back of the squad car, my head hitting the frame as they forced me down.
“You need to calm down,” one of the officers warned as he slammed the door.
But calm was the last thing I felt as the car pulled away from the curb. All I could think about was Reese’s face, the sick obsession in her eyes when she’d kissed me, and the lengths she was willing to go to punish me for rejecting her. And Javi, using this to get to Queen.
I needed to get out of this. I needed to warn Queen. But as the precinct came into view, all I could do was watch through barred windows as my newfound future slipped away before it even began.
Chapter 37
Queen
The pounding on my door yanked me from a dreamless sleep, my body jerking upright like I’d been shocked. My heart hammered against my ribs, that familiar spike of anxiety shooting through me before I even knew what was happening.
“Shit,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and trying to orient myself. My apartment was bathed in afternoon light, the shadows long across my hardwood floors. I’d only meant to close my eyes for twenty minutes, but the weight of everything: Jupiter’s death, the club being shut down, my fight with Cannon. It had all dragged me under like an anchor.
The knocking came again, more insistent this time. I swung my legs off the couch, my neck stiff from the awkward position I’d fallen asleep in. My phone had slipped between the couch cushions. I fished it out, squinting at the screen.
Three missed calls from Cannon. Two text messages.
We need to talk. I was wrong.
Pick up your damn phone, Queen. This is important.
My heart did a stupid little flip in my chest. After our fight, I hadn’t expected to hear from him so soon. Pride told me to ignore him.
I glanced at the messages again. My finger hovered over the reply button when I heard the front door open, followed by ZaZa’s voice, bright and cheerful.
“Daddy! I didn’t know you were coming by today.”
Javi? What the hell was he doing here?
I scrambled off the couch, running my fingers through my tangled hair. I must have looked a mess. I was still in yesterday’s clothes, makeup smeared across my face like war paint. The last person I wanted to see me like this was Javi. And after Cannon beat his ass the other day, I was very confused as to why he was at my house.
