Page 105 of Cannon
“Take your time,” Creed said, gathering the signed documents. “We’ll hold the board seat for a week. Think it over.”
“This isn’t charity,” Riot added, his eyes meeting mine with unexpected intensity. “This is business. Smart business. Don’t let whatever grudge you’re holding cloud your judgment.”
I stood up, ready to be done with this conversation. Twenty million was already more than I’d ever dreamed of having. A seat at the table of one of the biggest Black-owned corporations in America? That was too much to process right now.
“I hear you,” I said, buttoning my suit jacket. “I’ll think about it.”
Creed handed me a black credit card with my name already embossed on it. “In the meantime, enjoy your newfound freedom. Car’s waiting downstairs to take you wherever you want to go.”
I slipped the card into my pocket, the weight of it nothing compared to the weight of everything else I was carrying. “Thanks. For all of it.”
As I turned to leave, Riot called after me. “Hey, where you headed first? Shopping spree? Luxury condo hunting?”
I paused at the door, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “Uptown. Got someone I need to see.”
The ride uptown was a blur of streets and buildings, my mind racing faster than the luxury sedan cutting through midday traffic. The driver had tried to make small talk, but my one-word responses eventually got the message across that I wasn’t in a chatting mood.
When we pulled up to Queen’s building, I sat for a moment, gathering myself. I hadn’t spoken to her since our fight, hadn’t told her about my arrest. For all I knew, Javi had already poisoned her mind against me.
I took the elevator up to her floor, each floor bringing me closer to whatever was waiting on the other side of her door. When I finally knocked, the seconds stretched into what felt like hours.
Then the door swung open, and there she was. Queen’s eyes went wide, her lips parting in surprise. For a heartbeat, we just stared at each other, neither of us moving.
“Cannon,” she whispered, and before I could say a word, she threw herself into my arms, her body colliding with mine as she hugged me tight enough to steal my breath.
I wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her neck, inhaling the scent that had become more familiar to me than my own. Her body trembled against mine, and I realized she was crying.
“I thought… Javi said…” she struggled to get the words out between shaky breaths.
“I know,” I murmured against her hair. “It’s all bullshit. I’m here now.”
She pulled back just enough to look at my face, her hands coming up to frame my jaw like she needed to make sure I wasreal. “You didn’t call, didn’t text. I was going crazy trying to find you a lawyer.”
“It’s handled,” I assured her, wiping a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “All of it.”
Queen’s eyes searched mine, looking for answers to questions she hadn’t asked yet. But those could wait. Right now, all that mattered was that I’d found my way back to her, and somehow, against all odds, she was still here, waiting for me with open arms.
I stepped inside, closing the door behind me on the world that had tried to keep us apart.
Chapter 40
Queen
His arms were around me again, and everything in the universe felt right. I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, those dangerous blue-green eyes that saw right through me. I’d spent hours thinking he was locked up, that I might never feel this again, and now here he was, standing in my living room like a miracle.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my fingers tracing the hard line of his jaw. “For what I said before. About your choices being stupid. I had no right to judge you like that.”
Cannon’s mouth curved into that slow smile that always made my heart skip. “You were right though. It was stupid. Holding onto that grudge was just hurting me, not them.”
“I still shouldn’t have?—”
He cut me off with a kiss, his lips claiming mine with a hunger that stole my breath. I melted against him, my body remembering exactly what it felt like to surrender to this man. His tongue swept into my mouth, tasting me, owning me, making promises his body would keep.
“I took the money,” he murmured against my lips.
I pulled back, eyes wide. “You did?”
“You talked some sense into me.” His hands slid down my back, gripping my ass and pulling me against the hard ridge of his erection. “Now I need to teach you a lesson about how you talk to me.”
