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“Okay,” Lola acquiesces.
Ten minutes later, Ma Silva arrives with a small holdall and a basket full of fresh food. She hustles us all out of Lola’s bedroom with a stern look that lingers on me far longer than feels comfortable.
“I want to speak with you before you leave, Malakai,” she says as she stands at Lola’s door.
“Sure.” I grit my teeth. I know what this is about. Ma Silva isn’t stupid.
She glances at Connie and Rob. “I’d appreciate it, Robert, if you take Connie home for me.”
Connie opens her mouth to protest but Ma Silva doesn’t give her a chance to. “Off home, now.”
“Fine,” Connie mutters, trailing after Rob.
I see everyone out then put the kettle on, making myself a coffee and waiting for the lecture I know I’m going to get. I’m a thirty-six-year-old man who has seen a lot of shit in my life and dealt with a lot of mean-arse men, but the thought of Ma Silva giving me a telling off makes me feel like a kid again. She’s a good woman, with a kind heart, but she’s fierce when she needs to be.
“Connie knows who you are,” Ma Silva says as she steps into the kitchen and sits down in the chair opposite me. Her face is neutral, but I see the warning in her eyes.
“Right,” I manage to respond.Great, is all I can think. Do I want her knowing about the kind of family I come from… hell, no. It’s why I took my mother’s maiden name for fuck’s sake. I might have been part of that family once, not anymore. Never again.
“I’ve warned her off you too, though I know my granddaughter. Once she sets her mind on something she wants, she won’t back down…” Ma Silva clasps her hands together on the table in front of her.
“I understand.”
“Do you? Because I cannot lose her to the world you’re embroiled in. I won’t see her hurt, by you or by any of the Bennett men, if I can help it.”
“I’m not embroiled in that world anymore. I left that part of me behind a long time ago.”
She clucks her tongue. “You and I both know it isn’t that easy.”
“I’ve made a good job of it for some time now,” I protest, even though I know she’s right. Trouble’s brewing with my cousin, the King, and whilst I stay well out of it, that doesn’t mean to say I don’t keep my ear to the ground. If I keep tabs on the family’s business, I can stay well away from trouble. I take a sip of the bitter coffee, relishing the kick it gives me as I peer at Ma Silva over the rim of my cup.
“She’s enamoured with you. I’d go as far as saying that she believes you’re the man she’s meant to be with. I recognise the look in her eyes when she watches you. I may be old, but I’m no fool. You’re the only one who can put a stop to this.”
“Believe me, I’m trying…” I say, before I can stop myself.
“Try harder.”
“That’s going to be a little difficult now that I’ve agreed to help her at The Shack whilst Lola’s recuperating for the next few days.”
Ma Silva frowns. “Then use the time to make sure she understands that she and you can never be anything.”
“Is that an order?” I ask, biting down on the need to tell her to mind her own damn business. I’m well aware Connie and I can never be anything, ever. My cock, however, is having a hard time agreeing with that, and a small voice in the back of my head seems to be protesting too. I shut it down before it can take hold.
“I can’t make you do anything, Malakai, but I am asking you to do this for Connie. She is young, impressionable, pure of heart. She sees something wounded and wants to care for it.”
“You think she wants to fix me?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t be fixed,” I grumble.
“Then do we agree that it’s a pointless endeavour?”
Now I’m a pointless endeavour? That burns a little more than expected.
Ma Silva sighs. “I’m doing this to protect her. She’s not as strong as she thinks, and she wouldn’t survive your world, Malakai… or you. Do you understand?”
“I understand perfectly,” I respond, gritting my teeth.
“Then you’ll do what’s right?”
“Yeah, I’ll do what’s right,” I promise, pushing to my feet.
