Page 5 of Crown: Phase 4

“Fuck,” Crown spat as he ended the call.

Thinking the worst, he shoved the clubhouse door open and headed straight for his office with an aching chest. The unknown was like a dagger to his heart. Danger was already back from his mission and inside, waiting for him. He was leaning against the desk, smoking a blunt. One look at his face told Crown he had information…that something more was wrong. He slammed the door behind him and walked over to his chair.

“Who the fuck was it?”

“The registered owner is Emanuel Calloway. According to Pete, A.K.A. Maino. But the nigga who brought it in and paid for the body work was…Solomon Hayes.”

Crown damn near snapped his neck turning toward him. His eyes narrowed at the sound of his best friend’s name.

“Fuck you just say?” he said, snatching the paper to check for himself.

Chapter Three

Smoky sat on the edge of the couch, dragging a hand down his mahogany-colored face. Fatigue clung to him like a second skin. He’d spent the entire day trying to convince Maino to leave town, but his stubborn ass wasn’t budging. Instead, Maino lounged beside him with his feet resting on the coffee table and a blunt dangling between his fingers. He sat completely unfazed, as if the world around him wasn’t spiraling into chaos. Two pistols lay within reach, while two ARs leaned against the couch. Maino was prepared to stand his ground. And if he did go out, he was convinced he’d take a couple niggas with him.

“So, you just gon’ stay here and force my hand?” Smoky asked, shattering the silence.

Maino shrugged, eyes focused on the smoke swirling from his blunt.

“I ain’t leavin’ my home. Let ’em come. I wasn’t ready the first time, but I know they comin’ now. I’ll be ready.”

“And what you think I’m gon’ do? Stand by and watch you go to war with my brothers?”

“I don’t give a fuck what you do. That no longer concerns me. You showed me exactly what it was between us when you stormed into my shit with them niggas and put a gun in my face. No matter what you say or how you dress it up, that ain’t love.”

Those words struck Smoky hard, pushing him to the brink. In a fit of rage, he swept his hand across the coffee table, sending ashtrays, bottles, and magazines crashing to the floor. Not only did he feel like Maino was being ungrateful for everything he was risking by being there, but he also felt like Maino was being stupid, allowing his anger to cloud his better judgment.

“You think this shit a game?”

“You think I’m scared, nigga?”

“I think you got too much pride to see you livin’ on borrowed time.”

“Nah, I know niggas bleed just like I bleed, Smoke.”

Silence filled the room as Smoky shook his head in frustration. At times, it infuriated him that they were cut from the same cloth, especially now. He was trying to save Maino, but the gangsta in the nigga refused to relent.

“I’m laid back, not a bitch. Not some lil shorty you can just put up. I’m a grown-ass man. I don’t need protection, and I don’t run from nobody.”

Maino’s life experience had made fear a foreign concept. Like Smoky, he’d grown up in the streets, surviving more shootouts than he could count. He had put his hands on more niggas than he could remember and had been slinging dope since he was fifteen. Coke. Crack. Heroin. Fentanyl. If it made money, it made sense. And chances were he’d touched it.

Violence wasn’t new to Maino. It was the life he knew. So, he wasn’t being an asshole or trying to prove a point. He simply refused to let another man dictate how he lived. To Maino, this wasn’t bravado. It was principle; he lived by respect and would die defending it.

“You said earlier that I know you. Knights over everything. Well, you know me, too. There’s only a few things I love with everything in me. That was my moms, Titan, Roxy, and you. I don’t bother nobody. I get my paper and stay out the way. Yo’ people came fuckin’ with me first.”

“Because of Boe. That’s what you keep walking over.”

“Fuck Boe! He killed my fuckin’ dogs. That’s what you keep walking over.”

Smoky sighed heavily. He got it, but he didn’t. All he wanted was to get Maino somewhere safe. Everything else was irrelevant to him at this point.

“I know you hurt about the dogs, but this ain’t the way, baby.” Smoky tried reasoning with him again, catching a flicker of pain in Maino’s eyes. But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, replaced by anger.

Frustration consumed Smoky all over again when he realized he wouldn’t ever get through to him. He glanced down at the iPhone resting in his lap. Do Not Disturb was on, and his location was still turned off. The feature was a double-edged sword. His phone hadn’t made a sound all day, giving him temporary relief. However, the missed calls and iMessage notifications silently stacked up across the screen, reminding him he had to get back to his other world every time he unlocked his phone and checked.

Tanya.

Crown.