Page 58 of Crown: Phase 4

After she finished breastfeeding, Crown took over. He gently lifted Nyla from her arms, changed her diaper, and then spent some time playing with her and talking to her until she was ready for her afternoon nap. Once he laid her down in the nursery, he headed downstairs, fixed Nivéa a plate of the food his mother had cooked and brought upstairs, then fed her himself. When she finished, he tucked her into bed before taking the plate downstairs.

Upon returning to the bedroom, Crown undressed and climbed into bed beside her. He pulled Nivéa into his arms, kissing the tears from her cheeks. She was a wreck, and rightfully so. Life was hard. His world was even harder. He understood that.

“What you need from me?” He asked.

“I wanna go back and see Reesh this evening. They say she may be released tomorrow since she can move just fine and is only sore.”

“I got you. No problem.”

“Did D tell you why they were arguing?”

“Nah, baby. He didn’t.”

“That’s weird. Reesh didn’t tell me either. Maybe because her mama was in the room. Do you think he’s talking to someone else?”

“Nah, I don’t think that. I mean, I don’t know for sure. But what I do know is this is the first time I’ve ever seen bro care about a woman, take his time with one. So, I believe that would make him smart enough to avoid doing some stupid shit like that.”

Crown could go to war with Danger, telling him about himself in private, but to the world, he would never speak ill of his brother.

“Well, I can’t think of anything else.”

“Maybe you need to stop thinking. Take a nap. Turn your brain off for a minute. I know you worried about Reesh, but you're also pregnant. Take it easy, knowing she’s alive and okay. Then you wake up, and I’ll take you to see her again.”

“Okay.”

Crown pulled her closer, holding her against his chest as she finally let her eyes close. For the first time since the hospital, Nivéa allowed herself to stop thinking about what could’ve happened and held onto what she knew.

Caresha was alive, and her husband was alive after his firm had been attacked. For now, that was enough…

Chapter Nineteen.

Two days later.

Slowly, Kerri pulled up outside Prophet’s cabin and sat in her truck for several minutes, lost in thought. Ever since she’d overheard Crown mention Preach at the hospital to Danger, guilt had settled heavily in her stomach. Now that she knew who the Knights were at war with, she couldn’t ignore what was happening. She had waited until Crown left for the day before making her way here.

After glancing at the clock, Kerri finally climbed out of her car. She was mindful of the time and wanted to hurry in case Nivéa came by the guest home to check on her and called Crown when she realized she was missing. Carefully, Kerri navigated toward Prophet’s door, sidestepping the booby traps. Just as she was about to knock, he opened it, dressed in his usual all-black attire, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Well, look at you. It’s been a long time since you came out here, baby girl.”

With a faint smile, Kerri stepped inside, forcing herself to remain composed as she hugged him.

“Hey, you. I need you to do something for me.”

Prophet closed the door and studied her. Something about Kerri wasn’t right, no matter how hard she tried to appear okay. Her shoulders were tense, dried tear stains covered her face, and there was a slight tremble in her fingers she clearly couldn’t control.

“Anything. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Kerri swallowed hard. “I need you to go with me to see Preach soon.”

Prophet went completely still. When he told her she could ask him for anything, he hadn’t expected that. The request damn near knocked the wind out of him. For a moment, he genuinely thought he’d misheard her. But when Kerri followed it with a quiet “please,” he knew he’d heard her correctly.

“Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?” He asked, unable to hold back.

Normally, Prophet wouldn’t dare speak to a woman that way, especially not a woman of the Knights. But her request was making it damn near impossible for him to remain respectful.

Kerri shook her head, her lips trembling. “No.”

“You must have if you ever thought I would support you walking into the enemy’s den.”