Chapter 5
Honor Gravehart
This fucking nigga.
Taking a deep breath, I took the phone off speaker and brought it to my ear.
"Navy! Navy! Are you okay?"
Hearing this nigga scream like a bitch caused the vein in my neck to bulge from irritation.
"What the fuck did you say to her?" My voice came out, slow and steady, so this nigga heard me loud and clear.
"Honor?"
"Who the fuck else? Now what the fuck did you say to her?"
"I didn't say—"
"Bullshit!" I roared, lifting Navy's head as my chest swelled.
"Honor," she whimpered. As I looked down, her tired eyes met mine, and a weary smile graced her lips. "I'm fine."
"No, the fuck you're not. You were having a fucking panic attack when I…" I pinched the bridge of my nose to bite back my anger.
"Talon, tell me what you did, or I'm sending three to your fucking dome!"
"Honor!" Navy's eyes now filled with panic.
"Tell my wife I said keep her side nigga in line."
"Nigga, who the fuck—" The phone went silent, cutting me short.
"This nigga," I huffed.
"Honor, you would really kill my brother?" Navy questioned.
"Don't worry about it. Are you good to get up?"
Nodding her head, I gently moved Navy forward, giving myself room to stand up, then reached down for her hands. She placed her shaky ones in mine, and my chest tightened.
"Tell me what happened?" I whispered, pulling her close. Her head fell against my chest, and I rested my chin on the top of her head, squeezing her tight just how she liked.
"I don't wanna talk about it. Not here, not right now."
"Navy." I sighed. "You know I can't let shit be when it comes to you. Tell me what happened."
"When we get home. Everyone is inside and—" Navy must've caught the way my body tensed because she moved her head from my chest, then leaned back to look me in my eyes. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. What you said just caught me off—"
The front door opened, and these two niggas stepped onto the porch.
"Wassup, Honor." Wolfe dapped me up.
Before our hands separated, I pulled him into a hug, needing to feel his energy for a minute. Wolfe wasn't on bitch shit how Crown was, but I knew him well enough to know he wasn't getting in the middle of our shit.
"You good out here? The girls sent us to come check on you," Crown asked, his eyes immediately falling on Navy.
I scoffed. "You see me here, right?"
"Honor, please." Navy sighed, palming my chest.
"It's cool, Navy. Let this nigga get his big bad wolf act off." He chuckled, then looked at me. "Yeah, nigga I see you."
"Then know she's good whenever I'm around," I gritted, narrowing my stare.
"What's going on out here? Navy, you better bring your ass back to the basement before River eats your spare rib tips," Chosyn said, stepping onto the porch with Phoenix in her arms and River trailing behind her.
"What happened to you not saying anything?" River fussed.
She pushed past Chosyn and went to stand in front of Crown.
He slipped his arm around her waist. His palm rested on her stomach instinctively.
River leaned into him, her hand covering his.
The sun caught her diamond, making it dance all in a nigga's face.
It was different from the original one she started wearing after Christmas.
My mouth went dry, but I couldn't take my eyes off the newly engaged couple and soon-to-be parents.
They didn't fucking tell me. A silent reminder of how I'd somehow become the black sheep of the family.
"Hey, Honor," Chosyn sang, coming over to hug me. Navy shifted aside, letting me hug my sister-in-law.
I grabbed Phoenix from Chosyn and tickled her belly just how she liked. Her giggles eased some of the tension on the porch, but even her melodic laughter couldn't settle the feud brewing between my brother and me.
"Wassup, River? I hear congratulations are in order." My words were for River, but the harsh tone was aimed at Crown.
"You a funny nigga, you know that," Crown interjected before River could respond. "You did all that screaming 'bout you making a nigga, but you can't even see you're the reason shit ain't right between us," he tossed back and leaned against the porch railing.
"Nigga this ain't on me." I kept my voice calm since I was holding Phoenix, but in the event Crown wanted to take it there, Chosyn was gonna have to take her drooling ass baby.
"Okay, whatever this is," Chosyn interrupted, waving her hand between Crown and me, "won't happen in front of my daughter," she finished, reaching for Phoenix. Instantly, she started crying and reaching for me.
My heart broke seeing her upset because, out of everyone on this porch, aside from Navy, Phoenix was my favorite.
"River and Navy, y'all go inside and finish eating," Wolfe instructed.
River turned around and whispered something in Crown's ear before planting a kiss on his cheek and heading into the house. Before she was fully inside, she turned toward me and mouthed, "I'm sorry."
I nodded, letting her know it wasn't on her.
"Navy, go inside," I urged when I noticed she hadn't moved from my side.
"No, I want to stay."
"Navy, nothing is gon' happen."
"Promise?" she asked, knowing if I said I did, I would be on my best behavior.
"Promise." I dropped a kiss on her lips, then gently pushed her toward the door.
"Ight, y'all niggas gotta work this out. We're too deep in for y'all to beef," Wolfe said after Navy closed the door behind her.
"As I said, this ain't on me. This nigga's the one who can't get past not knowing my every fucking move," I defended, cuffing my hands in front of me.
"Yo, I'm not tryin’ be your bitch, and that's no disrespect to Navy, but I'm not clocking shit you got going on.
I told you I was willing to let shit at the slaughter mill be water under the bridge if you kept it a stack with me from here on out.
Honesty is all I'm asking for. You know how easy it is to tell the truth versus being mad at your brother? Nigga, it's easy as fuck, but you—"
"I do what the fuck I do so you won't fucking have to. What don't you understand 'bout that shit, my nigga? I'm the muthafucka that goes bump in the night, so y'all two niggas don't gotta be," I gritted.
"Fuck you talkin' about right now? Wolfe puts in just as much, if not more, work than either of us. You're not the only nigga catching bodies out here."
"Crown." I chuckled, rubbing the shit out of my jaw.
It was like he was listening but not hearing what the fuck I'm saying.
"Wolfe puts in work, we all know that, but what he does and what I fucking do is not the same.
This nigga might kill one or two muthafuckas or torture 'em for information. What I do is wipe out bloodlines."
"Nigga, we do that too, or did you forget what reaper means?" Crown mentioned as if he had a point.
"Nah, I ain't forget 'cause I created that shit. I call you niggas in when I want the help. It doesn't mean I'm not collecting lives like infinity stones on my own. When you close your eyes, Wolfe, what do you see?"
"Sleep." Wolfe chuckled, and even I had to smirk at that.
"This nigga," I scoffed. "Wolfe sleeps peacefully at night.
What haunts him is the shit his egg donor put him through.
When I close mine, I see red. Blood haunts my mind, stains my muthafuckin' skin, and taints my fucking vision.
I deal with that shit, tho. I swallow and bury it deep so y'all muthafuckas can live the happy fucking life I provide for y'all. "
"That's your muthafuckin' problem. You don't provide for me, nigga. I'm muthafuckin' Crown with or without your goofy ass."
"Yeah, ight, nigga, we'll see." I shrugged and turned to walk off the porch. "Send Navy out here 'fore I break my promise and dislocate your muthafuckin' jaw."
"Wolfe, you hear this nigga? Then he wonders why I ain't fucking with him."
"You sound like a bitch."
"I'll be that but know I saw the hurt in your eyes. In the same way you know us… I fucking know you." Crown chuckled, then walked into the crib.
Leaning against my whip, I waited for Navy to bring her ass outside.
"Y'all know y'all fighting over bullshit, right?" Wolfe said, coming off the porch.
"Maybe, but that nigga doesn't get to dictate how I handle my shit. If I'm keeping y'all safe, fuck does it matter if I tell him how I'm doing it?"
"We're not kids anymore. We're grown ass men with families. How do you think he feels knowing you knew his right hand was a fucking snake?"
"I didn't fucking know until I was in the hospital. I had a hunch, tho."
Crown was mad 'bout some shit I did to protect him.
Lynx was his man. He was the nigga that helped put Crown in position to take over Ember Hills.
Shit like that wasn't taken lightly by Crown.
He fucked with anyone who looked out for him.
That's why he and Emersyn were close. That type of bond had a way of fucking up how a person saw things.
I fucked with Lynx but could still spot some shit not adding up from a mile away.
Too much was happening surrounding a spot Lynx was in control of.
Before bringing it to Crown, I wanted to be certain.
"I get that, but you still should've shared with the class, nigga." Wolfe chuckled. "What you told us after we met Lucian in the basement he locked you in, fucked our heads up. We didn't say anything, but we both tried to figure out how we missed so much shit in regard to you."
"It wasn't meant for y'all to know. I'm not a share with the class ass nigga. Never have been. I keep shit tucked, not for myself but for the safety of everyone around me."
"Doesn't that shit get exhausting, tho?"
"Sometimes, but these are the cards I was dealt. I play them accordingly and haven't taken a major loss yet." I shrugged. Losses were inevitable in this game, but I treated them like lessons and kept shit moving.
"Shit, what you call this fallout with Crown?"
Shrugging, I looked past Wolfe, hoping to see Crown in the window watching how he used to when we were younger. I taught him that shit. I told him that being observant is the second-greatest superpower 'cause it'll reveal what a person's mouth never will.
"That nigga ain't been in a window in years." Wolfe laughed, catching on. "Y'all gotta fix this forreal."
"I hope you're telling him the same shit. This ain't all on me."
"It's not. Y'all both said fucked up shit. I already talked to him 'bout him not mentioning his engagement and River's pregnancy."
"'Preciate that." I nodded.
"Right is right and wrong is wrong. Both of y'all niggas are in the wrong, so fix it, preferably, before the engagement party Chosyn is throwing for them.”
"If it's not fixed?"
"Still show up."
"Regardless of how that nigga feels about me, I'ma always show up for him."
"I know and he knows it, too. Crown's just in his head 'bout shit. His therapist got him working on trusting people at their word."
"He's still in therapy?"
"Hell yeah. That little two-month stint he did in Crimson Falls wasn't enough for that crazy ass nigga. I'm not gon' hold you, I've been thinking 'bout sitting on a couch too."
"Word?"
"Yeah, but I need a nigga as my therapist. A black man who understands the plight of growing up how we did. You might need to sit on a couch, too."
"Nah, I'm good. Do what you gotta do to handle your demons. I got mine squared away."
As if she sensed I needed an out, Navy came out of the house. Wolfe and I crossed the short distance to the porch, and I grabbed Navy's hand to help her down the steps. She gave Wolfe a quick hug, then I dapped him up, letting him know I'd hit him later.
"How did the talk go?" Navy asked a few minutes into the drive home.
"Ready to talk about what caused your panic attack?"
"I said we'll talk about it later," she huffed.
"Then we gon' talk about my shit later too."