Page 78 of Crown: Phase 4

“You got those photos I needed?”

“Of course.”

Anna brushed off her feelings, sat back down, and reached into her Chanel bag. With an aching heart, she pulled out the folder containing the photos she’d been collecting and handed it to him.

“I’ve been calling you.” She said, trying to make small talk. “You don’t pick up, though.”

Crown didn’t respond. He opened the folder and took his time looking through each photo. He didn’t give a fuck about answering her question because he knew that she already knew why he hadn’t been picking up. The whole Hills knew he was a married man now.

Realizing she was being ignored, Anna decided to shut up. She simply stared at his handsome face, silently admiring his features. She’d known this man for a while, and to this day, he still left her flabbergasted every time he walked into a room. Everything about Crown drove her crazy. She continued watching him until she noticed him pause on one of the images, his brows furrowing.

“Yeah, the last two are crazy. I’m not sure what the hell is going on, but I noticed it and thought you should be aware.”

Crown’s heart sped up as he studied the two images. One showed Kerri exiting the VIP section of Preach’s restaurant. The other captured eight men on bikes parked in the lot with black bandanas tied around their mouths. From the design on them, Crown was certain it was Prophet along with some of his guards.

“When the fuck was this?”

“About a week ago, when you first sent Domo to tell me to go there. I tried reaching out then also. But like I said, you haven’t been picking up your phone for me.”

The wheels in Crown’s head began to turn as he tried to figure out why the fuck his mama and Prophet were at Preach’s restaurant. He sat there for a while in deep thought, but nothing made sense.

“So…” Anna reached over, placing a hand on his arm.

Crown didn’t let her say another word. He smoothly came off his waist and pressed the barrel of his pistol against her dome. The move was so quick that he knocked her hand away in the process. The shit with Kerri and Prophet wasn’t going to distract him from the other reason he’d come. He tucked that to the side for now and would deal with it later.

“Crown, wh…what the hell?”

“Why the fuck are you buying from my wife? You must be outta yo’ fuckin’ mind if you thought I wouldn’t find out.”

Ever since Crown had helped Nivéa ship that custom order to Julie, he’d been on one. Burning up inside. He’d read the full name on those labels and wanted to come drop this bitch on sight for playing with him. But he knew he needed the photos first.

Julianna, A.K.A. Julie…Anna... had been one of the Knights’ hittas for years, and Crown used to fuck around with her before he met Nivéa. He’d met her back in the day and learned her ways pretty quickly. She was a hood chick with a gorgeous face and decent pussy, but the thing about her was, her soul wasn’t right. It was just as dark as that beautiful complexion of hers.

Julianna came from nothing and had made her way out of the slums by running all kinds of schemes. Insurance fraud, credit card fraud, robbing, theft, check-cashing schemes, you name it, she was on it. She was so pretty and classy that a muthafucka would never see her coming or think she was capable of being that devious. But a street nigga like Crown had clocked her. He’d fucked her quite a few times before eventually offering her a way to leave the petty crimes alone and get into some real, stable money. He brought her into the Knights.

Julianna was good at what she did. A scammer and killer at heart, Crown put her over the women who cooked up at the trap house and would often use her when he needed somebody to blend in, get close to an enemy, or gather information without raising suspicion. Julianna was perfect for that. She looked innocent, but she was far from it. She was the one who had delivered heads to Preach’s club for the Knights, among plenty of other shit she’d handled over the years.

“I j…just.”

“You just what, hm?” Crown dug the barrel deep in her head, ready to pull the trigger now that he finally got what he needed out of her.

“I…I just wanted to see who she was…what she looked like.” Julianna’s lips trembled as regret consumed her. She should’ve known better than to play with this nigga here.

“Yo, bro…” Danger walked in, but his voice trailed off when he noticed Crown in action.

“Why the fuck you wanna know what my wife look like?” Crown continued his interrogation, ignoring Danger as he moved the gun underneath her chin.

Julianna raised her hands. “I…I’ve been calling you. Missing you. Then I heard you got married. I just…needed to see why.” Her voice cracked. “Why you chose her.”

“Well, that why gon’ cost you, ’cause when you start going behind my back doing shit, you become a snake. And we both know how I handle snakes.”

“Crown, please. I wasn’t lying. I really do have a conference I put together. I’m trying to change my life around.” Julianna began hyperventilating. One look into his eyes, and she knew she needed to say what she’d been trying to tell him before she lost the chance. “I’m pregnant!”

“Fuck that gotta do with me?” Crown asked, though his heart caved in his chest.

“Let’s not do that. You know exactly what that has to do with you.” A lone tear streamed down Julianna’s face. “I’ve been calling you, trying to tell you. Please.”

To be continued…