“Bro, come on.” He pleaded with him from behind. “I can’t go home.”
Crown kept walking.
“Bro,”
“Broooo, come on. Please. Come on, nigga. I gotta do this. If Council intervenes, I won’t ever get the chance again.”
Crown then paused, deeply exhaling as he turned back around. And the look on Danger’s face weakened him. He stood there for a moment, weighing it before he finally broke, too.
“Three hours,” he said, walking over to him.
“I’m pushing the time back, so you can burn that shit out of your system. I’ll call the doc to get you something to speed up the process, but honestly, the shit is still risky. You need to sit your ass down, drink some water, eat something, and close your eyes. When I come back, I need you to be good. Then, and only then, do you ride.”
Danger didn’t argue this time; he nodded. The ass-whooping was gradually killing his high and bringing him back to reality anyway.
Crown stepped into his space, lowering his voice so the others wouldn’t hear. “If I come back here and you still trippin’,I’mma put something on yo’ ass that’ll have you not moving at all. Fuck wit’ me.” The message was quiet, the threat wasn’t.
Crown stepped away from the chaos and moved deeper into the warehouse, toward his office. Before shutting the door, he instructed a prospect to grab some food from one of Danger’s favorite burger spots. Inside, he sank into his chair and poured himself a drink. The liquor burned his throat as he leaned back, exhaustion creeping in, but he didn’t allow himself the luxury of rest. Instead, he grabbed his phone and dialed their doctor, followed by Nivéa.
“Sup, ma? Y’all good?” he asked when she answered.
“Yeah, we’re fine. What about you? You okay out there?” Nivéa replied.
Crown wanted to say hell no, admit that his head was spinning, and that everything felt heavier than usual. But he did what kings do best. He stayed composed.
“Yeah, I’m straight. Just wanted to check on y’all. It’s gon’ be late when I make it back, so—”
“It’s okay. You warned me. I’ll try to wait up for you.”
“Aight, hit me if you need anything.Anything.”
“I will.”
Neither of them rushed to hang up. Crown stayed on the line, listening to her breathe until he finally heard the call end. Just as it did, the door creaked open.
Smoky leaned against the frame, eyes flicking to the glass in Crown’s hand, and he chuckled. “Damn, lil bro might’ve been on to somethin’.”
Crown didn’t look up as he set his phone down. “Shut the fuck up, nigga.”
Smoky laughed again as he closed the door behind him. “Y’all niggas wild,” he said, shaking his head before his expression turned serious.
“But on some real shit, do you think we need to get him some help? Or is this just him trying to cope with Mo? I mean, he wasn’t high earlier when we pulled up on him at the market or when I checked on him at ya mama’s crib yesterday. So, I don’t think he’s using like that again. The pain is probably just hitting different tonight.”
Crown took a slow breath as he poured Smoky a drink. “Honestly, I don’t know, bro. I need to talk to him when he sobers up, when his head's in a better place. Then I’ll figure it out. Either way, he can’t be doing that shit at all.”
Crown was more worried about his brother than anyone else. But just like before, he didn’t have the time or capacity to babysit Danger, not with a business to run and the Knights depending on him. It was fucked up, but it was reality.
The last time this happened, it had fallen on Lil Mo because Crown had been too busy shadowing their father, learning the ropes to prepare for his own turn at the throne. He hadn’t seen it coming then. Or maybe he had, but he told himself Danger would be fine.
But he wasn’t. Danger had been young and reckless, caught up with the wrong crowd during his senior year, partying, getting high, feeling untouchable off the Knights’ name and reputation. That legacy had gone straight to his head. Everywhere he went, doors opened just because of who his family was. He took living life in the fast lane too far, experimenting with things he had no business touching, thinking it was cool.
It took Lil Mo to step in and pull him back before he ruined his life completely. She dragged him to rehab, sat through the ugly days…the withdrawals, the anger, the tears. She stayed when it wasn’t pretty. And he had been solid ever since. Clean. Focused. Until she was gone.
That scared Crown the most. The one person who knew how to pull Danger back from the edge wasn’t there anymore. Yeah, they were brothers and tight, but Mo had been Danger’s rib. His balance, his soulmate in friend form.
“Damn, Mo,” Crown mumbled under his breath, recalling how vital she was to their circle… their family. He reached for the bottle and poured a little liquor onto the concrete floor, his heart aching in his chest. “Miss the shit outta you.”
“In our hearts forever, baby girl.” Smoky added before they clinked their glasses and took a sip. He wiped his mouth. “You gon’ warn Preach about what we heard today?”
