Page 110 of Heavy Is The Crown

Rico smirked, rubbing his chin. “Nah. You are some regular ass nigga off the street now.”

Silence.

Kenyatta leaned forward slightly, voice dropping lower. “Ain’t shit regular ‘bout me, muhfucka. And you know that.”

Rico’s smug smile didn’t drop, but his eyes darkened just slightly. As much as he liked to downplay it; he knew exactly who Kenyatta was. And the fact that he pulled up alone, unbothered, and standing ten toes down was a reminder.

Rico leaned back, exhaling smoothly.

“Ain’t nobody disrespectin’ you, Yatta,” he said easily. “Just lettin’ you know; it’s been seven years. That shit ain’t disappear just ‘cause you went on a little vacation.”

Kenyatta snarled, tilting his head. “You think I don’t know that?”

Rico shrugged. “Then act like it.”

Kenyatta stared him down. “I’ma handle my shit. But I ain’t never been no nigga you gotta put pressure on.”

Rico chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, maybe not, but you needed a nudge.”

Kenyatta held Rico’s stare a second longer, his expression unreadable. His hands stayed loose at his sides, jaw tight, posture steady. Calm. Controlled. Calculating.

Then, he turned to leave. But before he could step out…

“Oh, and Yatta?”

Trell’s voice slithered through the air, oozing arrogance, laced with the kind of smugness that made a nigga wanna swing first and ask questions later.

Kenyatta stopped, head tilting slightly, waiting.

Trell leaned against the desk, posture relaxed, grinning like the devil himself.

“All that shit you used to say about your baby mama? Yeah…” He chuckled, low and slow, shaking his head. “I see what you meant now. That throat? Never lets me down.”

A slow, deafening pause.

Rico’s obnoxious grin stretched wider, watching the energy shift like a predator watching prey twitch before the kill.

Kenyatta didn’t move. Didn’t react; not at first. His face remained unreadable, inside a storm was brewing.

Trell, standing there with that shit eating grin, tilted his head. “What, nigga? You mad?”

Kenyatta exhaled slowly through his nose, rolling his tongue over his teeth. Then, finally, he glanced over his shoulder. A slow, deliberate look.

“Nah.”

The smirk he gave them was damn near chilling. Just slight enough to let them know he wasn’t rattled; he was processing. Memorizing this moment. Adding names to a list.

The air in the room was thick, suffocating, and laced with an unspoken promise.

Rico let out a slow, dark chuckle. “Good. I’d hate for you to get distracted when we still got unfinished business.”

Kenyatta nodded once. “Yeah. We do.”

Then, without another word, he walked out.

Make no mistake, that shit with Trell was personal; but Rico was a different beast, and before anything else he had to be handled.

Chapter 28

---