Page 111 of Cannon

“Mama, please… I’m sorry!” Her voice cracked, real fear replacing the defensive anger.

“You got thirty minutes.” I turned to leave, then stopped at the doorway. “And leave those shoes. I paid for them, after all.”

In the hallway, I nearly collided with Cannon, who’d clearly heard everything. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes held something that looked too much like concern for my comfort.

“Don’t,” I warned, brushing past him.

Back in the living room, I poured another cognac with trembling hands, listening to the sounds of ZaZa crying and drawers slamming. Part of me wanted to go back in there, take it all back, hold my baby and tell her we’d figure it out. But another part, the part that had been used and discarded too many times, stood firm. She could go live with her intrusive-ass father for all I cared.

Twenty minutes later, ZaZa emerged with a duffel bag and backpack, her eyes swollen, makeup streaked down her face. She’d changed into jeans and a hoodie, the Louboutins replaced with sneakers.

“Where am I supposed to go?” she asked, her voice small.

“Call Marcus “I said, not looking at her. “Isn’t that what you were planning anyway?”

She stood there for a long moment, as if waiting for me to change my mind. When I didn’t, she walked to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob.

“I really am sorry, Mama.”

Then she was gone, the door clicking shut behind her with a finality that made my knees weak. I collapsed onto the couch, the cognac glass slipping from my fingers, shattering on the hardwood floor.

“Fuck,” I whispered, dropping my head into my hands.

I felt the couch dip as Cannon sat beside me, his warm presence both intrusive and comforting.

“Are you sure about that?” Cannon asked.

“Of course not, but I just… I can’t with her right now. All I asked of her was to get a job and stay consistent on her meds. Stealing from me crossed the line. ZaZa has to learn to be accountable for her actions.”

“I feel you. Just know, I ain’t leavin’ ya side,” Cannon replied.

“Thank you. I need to call Nori first thing in the morning.”

“Yeah, fix that shit with your home girl,” he said, planting a kiss on my cheek.

The world was falling apart, but it felt right with Cannon by my side.

Chapter 42

Queen

“Bitch, you’ve got some nerve,” Nori sassed, sitting across from me at Bridges, an upscale soul food brunch spot in Harlem.

“I know. I know, I was wrong for accusing you of stealing from me. I should’ve known that you would never do something like that to me. We’ve been friends for so long…

“Too damn long for you to think of me that way, Queen. I been down with you for years. I was so fuckin’ hurt when you accused me of stealing that money. All you had to do was ask me to look into it and I would’ve found out that it was ZaZa.”

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her words. “I know, and I’m so fucking sorry. I was wrong, dead wrong. My anxiety got the best of me, and I jumped to conclusions instead of trusting you.”

Nori swirled her mimosa while looking at me with judgment beaming from her eyes. “You have been going through a lot,” her expression softened.

“Yeah, but it was no excuse.”

“No, it wasn’t. And if you order me the crab cakes with lobster grits, as well as a dozen oysters and the red velvet pancakes, I just may forgive you,” she laughed.

“Anything you want, sis.”

“So what else has been going on? I heard that Sylk Road is closed right now,” Nori pried.