Page 60 of Crown: Phase 4

“This doesn’t make sense. What you two shared was brief and many years ago. You can’t convince me Preach would still be worried about that enough to start a war over it now.”

“It’s more to it,” Kerri confessed, taking a deep breath as her heart raced.

“More like what?” Prophet stopped pacing, his eyes narrowing into slits.

“Preach was stalking me after I stopped dealing with him. He found out I was pregnant and believed Danger was his.”

“What?”

Kerri nodded. “He was upset, constantly calling my phone, wanting me to get a blood test. He wanted us to be with him if Danger was his. But I refused to entertain it. I chose Ahmad, and that was that. Preach wanted to say something then that could’ve possibly started a war because we both know that wouldn’t have gone well with Ahmad. But like I said, he told his father, and he wouldn’t allow it.”

Prophet whistled, processing the weight of her words. “Is he his?” He had to know.

Kerri stared off into space.

“I…I don’t know.” She admitted.

“When I found out I was pregnant, I told Ahmad I saw someone else while we were separated, but not who. I knew the chaos it would bring. Ahmad didn’t care because we weren’t together and he knew his actions were the cause of that. He brushed it off and never wanted a blood test, insisting Danger was his. And that boy looks like Ahmad, so I can’t see him being Preach’s. But…”

Prophet stared at her, shaking his head. He didn’t want to say what he was thinking out of respect, but the truth was, Kerri’s timeline was fucked up when it came to when she had been with both men. She also had a type.

While Loki looked more like their father, Preach looked like their mother. The only thing he seemed to have inherited from his father was his height and dark complexion. His handsome face belonged to his beautiful mother, though. And his features reminded Prophet a lot of Ahmad Sr., especially with both men wearing locs.

Even Kerri could admit that was true; she had always loved a tall, chocolate man with locs and a certain type of handsomeness. Her usual type blurred the lines. Did Danger really resemble Ahmad Sr., or, because these niggas looked similar, was it easy to pass him off as Ahmad Sr.’s son?

Prophet wasn’t sure.

And judging by the look on Kerri’s face, neither was she.

“And this the kind of nigga you wanna go see?” Prophet’s voice hardened.

“The kind who would shoot up a car that belonged to who he believes is his son? Listen to yourself. This ain’t back in the day, Kerri. You have no idea who Preach is today.”

Kerri’s tears fell harder. “I... I just need to talk to him and see. If I can help by righting my wrong, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“You not hearing me. There is no talking to Preach. Too much has gone down on both ends. If you walk into there, you’re literally giving him a win over the Knights. And worse, you’ll be putting yourself in his hands and crippling your sons at the same time. He’ll either kill you or use you to get to Crown.”

“I can see how you feel that way. I don’t believe that, though. But if you’re right, that’s why I have you watching over me.”

Prophet stared at her, disbelief slowly turning into frustration.

“I’m telling you right now, Prophet.” Kerri wiped beneath one eye. “I’m going to see him with or without you, though.”

Prophet lowered his phone and sighed heavily. He knew her well enough to understand she wasn’t bluffing. And that was what scared him most.

∞∞∞

Later that night.

Same shit, different day. Tragedy didn’t stop Crown from putting in work. It never had, and it never would unless it involved his wife and children. He was back deep in the streets. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Preach had it coming, but first, Crown had to take care of another issue.

Dressed in all black with gloves covering his hands, Crown had been sitting in his Honda Civic for nearly three hours. It was a car he kept for moments when he needed to blend in with everyday traffic without drawing attention to himself. He was parked across the street from the office building where Lawson had left his personal vehicle that morning. Spencer had come through with the vehicle information just like he promised, and Crown had made damn sure he put it to use.

Lawson finally stepped out of the building a little after nine, unlocked his car, climbed behind the wheel, and pulled away from the curb. Crown waited a few seconds before starting his own vehicle and falling in behind him. He kept enough distance between them so that Lawson would have no reason to suspect he was being followed.

The detective drove through several familiar parts of the city, stopping at a few stores before eventually pulling up outside what Crown assumed was his home. Lawson stayed inside for a few hours, long enough for Crown to start thinking the nigga was settling in for the night. Just as he was about to leave, the garage door suddenly opened. Lawson stepped out wearing a jogging suit with a black cap pulled low over his head, got into another vehicle, and backed out of the driveway. Crown waited a moment before quietly falling in behind him again.

Lawson drove across town and eventually stopped at a local park, where he got out and ran a few miles. Crown remained patient, waiting and watching without rushing the process. Once Lawson left the park, he continued driving until he turned onto a narrow road Crown knew all too well.