Preach’s jaw tightened, his gaze narrowing. “Something else like what?”
“Boe’s child’s mother is with me now. So, whatever you got going on with that nigga needs to stay with him and whoever else. But her? She’s mine. She ain’t got nothing to do with this shit.”
The energy shifted once more. Preach’s men reacted all at once. Guns came up, barrels trained dead center on Crown. But he didn’t flinch. He stood there, calm as ever, knowing exactly how dangerous that line had been but meaning every word of it.
∞∞∞
“You been quiet since we got here, bro. Wassup? What P say?” Danger asked.
They had made it back to the clubhouse in one piece, but Crown looked more burdened than usual as he sat at the bar. And that said a lot, because Danger knew the nigga was always stressed.
“He’s giving us seventy-two hours to get Boe. And he wants me to pay him.” Crown revealed.
“Say what?” Smoky snapped, disbelief etched on his mahogany-colored face.
Crown exhaled heavily. “To guarantee Nivéa’s safety, Preach wants me to cover the shipment that got seized because of Boe.”
Pissed, Smoky pushed off the wall where he was leaning with his foot. “Nah. Hell nah. That’s bullshit, bro. That muthafucka got us fucked up. Knights don’t roll over for nobody. We ain’t paying him for another nigga’s mistake.”
Crown poured himself another drink, remaining silent. His silence prompted Danger and Smoky to exchange worried glances, then turn back to him. They knew they could talk all the noise in the world, but the decision was ultimately left up to him.
“Bro, I know you ain’t thinking about paying that. I get that you feelin’ Nivéa, and I’m willing to go to war over her on the strength of you. You know that. But it’s just that…war. We ain’t paying a nigga nothing. That ain’t your debt.” Danger said carefully, limping toward him.
After all the work he’d put in over the last few days, he was feeling it, but even with the ache, he was ready to ride out on Preach for fucking with his big brother. Danger didn’t even have a clue as to how they could defeat The Dessalinés Mob. But gettin’ down on a nigga was better than lying down in his opinion.
Still, Crown didn’t respond. He lifted his glass and sipped, tuning them out. When it rained, it poured. Once he finished his drink, he slammed the glass down, stood up, and told Smoky,
“Go find that nigga.”
As Smoky nodded, Crown headed out the door, hopped onto his bike, and sped off. The entire ride home, he mulled over everything weighing on him. It was hard to believe he had gotten wrapped up in so much bullshit at once. The realization that he was ready to go to war for a woman he’d just met was astonishing. It made his head spin, forcing him to confront whether his feelings for Nivéa made him stupid.
But just as quickly as that thought entered his mind, it vanished. It didn’t matter that they had just met. What truly mattered was that he’d marked her as his, and he cared for her deeply. Because of that, he would protect her with his life.
∞∞∞
With a blunt in his hand, Maino sat on the porch, trying anything to calm his nerves. He was smoking, breathing in the fresh air, and letting his eyes drift across nature. The fact that his cousin was out every day gambling and chasing hoes instead of handling his business was eating at him.
Boe had only been staying with him for a few days, and he was already getting on Maino’s nerves. He’d discovered a small casino in town and swore it was just another way to stack quick cash. But Maino knew better. Growing up close meant he understood Boe’s habits inside and out. Gambling wasn’t a hustle of his. It was a weakness.
Maino wasn’t just irritated; he was worried. He loved Boe like a brother. That’s why he let him crash there even after being told he was skipping town on bail. The agreement was to lie low, stack money, and get his next move together. In and out before anybody noticed.
Now, Maino wasn’t so sure that was going to happen. He feared that Boe would get caught up. And the last thing he needed was for him to get caught while staying in his home. He was hoping that if cops ever did come knocking on his door looking, Boe would be long gone.
These last few days reminded Maino of why he had distanced himself from his family in the first place. None of them seemed to want to prosper; they thrived on chaos. He wasn’t perfect, pushing poison. But he was a low-key kind of nigga, preferring to make his money and stay out of the way. Boe’s presence was throwing that balance off.
Smoke curled slowly from Maino’s blunt into the humid Melrose air as he surveyed the block. The street was quiet that evening, and he liked it that way. It gave him space to think and plan for his future. Maino dreamed of getting out of the streets, moving into a nicer home in a suburban neighborhood, and opening his own barbershop.
His thoughts had drifted from Boe to potential locations for his shop when a vibration cut through the silence. Thinking it was his phone, Maino glanced over at the table beside him. The screen was dark. He reached for it anyway, but just before he touched it, the vibration stopped. He paused, tapping the screen to make sure he wasn’t tripping. But nothing.
Then the vibration happened again. Not from the phone in his hand, but from somewhere else near the chair he sat in. Maino’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked around. Once he figured out where it was coming from, he slowly leaned down to listen.
Silence.
Then—
Bzzzz.
“What the fuck…” He lifted the phone from the ground, underneath the chair.
