Chapter Twenty-Three.
Shirtless, with a torso covered in ink, Maino stood in front of him with one pistol raised and another hanging at his side.
His face was half-hidden beneath the darkness, but the threat in his presence was clear.
He had heard the motorcycle pull up outside, but he hadn’t known who was coming through that door.
It could’ve been Smoky. It could’ve been another Knight.
If Crown had finally decided he needed to die, Maino wasn’t about to make it easy for whoever came to put in that work.
A Draco leaned against the wall nearby, within reach.
He was going to fuck a nigga up, and he put that on everything he held dear to his heart.
“So, you gon’ kill me?” Smoky asked, breaking the silence.
Maino’s grip tightened around the gun. “I didn’t know who the fuck it was. You or another Knight.”
“You had the locks changed. You left me no choice but to break in this bitch.”
Maino’s eyes narrowed. “You wasn’t about to give my key to that nigga.”
“You think I would do that to you?”
The question settled between them. Maino kept the gun against Smoky’s head, but the longer he looked at him, the harder it became to keep his anger in place.
Smoky looked the same as he always had. Tall, dark, and handsome.
Also, solid and calm in a way that often used to piss Maino off.
It was as if nothing in the world could shake him.
Smoky could walk into the room, take control of the air inside that muthafucka, and leave Maino trying to remember how to breathe.
“If that’s the case, I would’ve done that the first time.” Smoky added.
Maino said nothing as he studied Smoky’s face, searching for the lie.
A part of him felt maybe Smoky had come there because Crown sent him, because it would be easier to kill him that way…
when his guard was down with the man he cared deeply about.
But he detected no fuckery. Tonight, there was something different in Smoky’s eyes.
Something tired. Something that looked too much like the same ache Maino had been carrying around since they crossed that line with one another.
“I don’t want no smoke wit’ you, baby.” Smoky admitted in that deep baritone of his.
Staring into Smoky’s eyes, memories came rushing back full force, hitting Maino like a brick.
He remembered the first time Smoky had touched him.
The way his hand had rested against the back of his neck, firm and warm as if he’d already belonged to him.
He remembered every late night Smoky had slipped into this house, the deep conversations, the tender yet firm kisses…
the way they had held on to each other when neither of them wanted to admit how deep this shit had gotten.
Maino remembered how easy it had been to love Smoky in the dark, and how painful it had become when morning came.
Slowly, he lowered the gun. “Then why you here?”
Smoky’s eyes stayed on him, his gaze softening with every second that passed.
For a moment, Maino thought he might finally say it.
That he chose him. That he missed him. That he was sorry.
Not about the bullshit that started because of Boe.
Nah, that was on Boe. But about feeding him hope every time they linked up and then walking away as if what they shared meant nothing.
He wanted to hear him say that he tried living life without him, but it was intolerable.
Maino wanted the words so badly it almost hurt to stand there waiting for them.
However, they never came. At least, not like that.
Instead, Smoky stepped closer, pulling him into his arms. Maino’s body went stiff at first, caught between wanting to push him away, in case it was false hope, and wanting to disappear inside the embrace.
Then Smoky’s hand settled against the back of his head as he lowered his mouth beside his ear, his voice barely above a whisper.
“For you.”
The words broke something open inside Maino. He gripped the back of Smoky’s vest, holding on like he might vanish if he loosened his hands. “Fuck does that mean, Smoke?”
“That I wanna be with you, and I don’t give a fuck what no one thinks about it. I talked to Crown. I talked to Tanya.”
Closing his eyes, Maino’s face pressed into Smoky’s neck, and for the first time in weeks, he let himself breathe.
Smoky held him tighter. Neither of them said anything else.
They didn’t need to. Both just wanted to live in the moment.
Maino had spent too long wondering whether Smoky would choose him, and now that he was making it clear he had, that was all that mattered.
Smoky was standing in his arms, ready to live in his truth and do life with him. Finally.
“Better late than never, baby.” Maino replied.
∞∞∞
Nearly a week had passed since Preach’s men attacked Crown’s firm, and Crown had been quiet.
Preach might’ve thought he’d cut him down at the knees, but he was sadly mistaken.
Crown wasn’t the type to react off emotion.
He was methodical. While dealing with the investigation surrounding his firm, he had been doing his homework.
Now he was ready to respond to Preach and anybody standing with him.
That included Lawson. But first, he needed proof.
With a swagger worth a million dollars, Crown strolled through the trap house on 5th Avenue.
The way he walked through the spot caught the attention of every naked woman cooking up around him.
They all spoke at once…some even tried to make conversation, but he wasn’t for it.
He hit them with a head nod and kept it moving.
They were there to cook his dope, nothing more.
With deliberate steps, Crown made his way up to the second floor, where Anna sat in her office behind a small table, counting stacks of cash.
Money that had already been counted was spread across the surface in neat piles alongside a money-counting machine and a notebook.
She looked up when Crown’s large figure came through the doorway, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree.
“Hey, Crown.”
“Sup,”
“What a beautiful surprise. I haven’t seen you come by here in months. If it ain’t Domo, it’s Danger or Smoky.” She stood, already walking toward him.
In her fitted black Chanel pantsuit, Anna looked every bit the boss-bitch she was.
The jacket was slightly open, revealing a black lace bralette underneath, while the tailored pants hugged her waist and hips.
Six-inch designer heels completed the look, along with layered gold necklaces and a matching watch.
Her sleek hair and flawless makeup only added to the polished image she carried.
She moved in for a hug, but before she could get close, Crown lifted his hand and waved her off.
“Nah,”
“Oh. Wow, okay.” She nodded and stepped back, slightly hurt and offended.
Crown was always known to be a mean-ass, but there had been a time when he treated her with respect and kindness, allowing her affection even if he never returned it.
“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…