All three of our heads jolt in surprise when Calla gracefully strolls into the kitchen. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees Manny leaning against the counter.
She’s wearing a plain black tank top that stretches across her breasts, white shorts, and a pair of black flip-flops. Her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her makeup is flawless. I can smell her natural scent from where I’m standing and my testosterone level rises. All I want to do is kick these two out of here so I can cover her entire body with mine.
She smiles at Manny but doesn’t even look my way. If I didn’t know the two of them were cousins, I would beat his damn ass for her having eyes for only him right now. He stands tall, although he’s not the one to move first; she is. She greets him enthusiastically.
“Hey!”
“Hey...” Manny replies cautiously.
“You look great, Calla,” Bronzer acknowledges before turning to me. “I’m out.”
I push myself off of the counter.
“Hold up, man. I’ll walk out with you. I’ve got some shit to do up in the office. Give you two some time to talk, yeah?” I throw a meaningful look at Manny. “Bring her up to me when you’re done.”
“You got it.”
Calla never says a word. She nods her head, never taking her eyes off of the man she’s considered her friend since he first moved here at the age of sixteen; not by choice, that’s for damn sure. His parents wanted him to get an education. Manny, on the other hand, wanted to dig into the family business, feeling he was old enough to start blowing people’s fucking brains out.
But that’s his story to tell her if he wants to, not mine. I’ve got other things to tend to, like trying to find out who my mole is and getting Calla and I out of here safely.
“You look beautiful,” I whisper in her ear as I pass her by.
I grab my bottle and Bronzer and I casually walk outside. I look down for a moment to grab my phone out of my pocket and run smack dab into none other than Salvatore Diamond himself.
“Hello, Cain,” Salvatore greets me smugly in that way only he can.
I love this man, yet his presence here today is going to drive Calla nuts.
He gives me his usual ‘long-time-no-see’ hug, a medium squeeze with a pat on the back. I return the gesture along with a handshake to Beamer, who stands tall with one hell of a strange smile on his face.
“You know I mean no disrespect, but what the hell are you doing here? You’re going to tip her right over the damn edge, and you know it.”
He looks pleased with my sincerity concerning Calla’s well-being. He knows me, knows better than most people how much I love her and that I won’t ever back down when it comes to her.
“Cain, your protectiveness of my niece gives me great pleasure, but I’m a little disappointed in you not telling me she was here. I had to hear it from Cecily, who you didn’t call, either,” he says reproachfully.
“I had no idea she was coming. The last damn thing on my mind was calling you when I first saw her. Besides, she’s safe here and you know it.”
“I have not seen my niece since she was two years old. You know as well as I do that pictures are not the same as the real thing. Her being here is not the kind of shit you keep from family. She needs no protection from us.”
He waves his hand dismissively, and if I didn’t respect his ass, I would pull the ‘I beg to differ’ card on him like Calla did me. They would never hurt her, but this lifestyle sure as hell could.