Page 203 of River & Crown
Crown shoved me back hard. My legs hit the bed. Before I could regain balance, he tackled me, and we went crashing to the floor.
Fists flew.
His rage against my guilt.
His grief against my silence.
Every blow he landed felt earned. We were locked in, fighting to rip the other's head off.
Brother against brother.
Pain against pain.
I caught him clean across the jaw, sending him stumbling back. I rose to my feet, breathing hard, fists raised, but then it hit me. Hot, deep, and blinding. My side flared up, white lightning lancing through my abdomen. I staggered, the room spinning. My knees buckled.
Crown didn't stop. His fist crashed into my face, and I hit the ground like a dead weight. Somewhere in the chaos, I heard voices. Yelling and nurses rushing in. The sound of monitors beeping wildly. Hands pulled Crown away, but it was fading fast. Darkness crept in around the edges of my vision. Then... nothing. Just silence.
Chapter 51
Crown Gravehart
The blunt burned between my fingers, the tip glowing like a slow fuse. I took a deep pull and let the smoke sit in my chest 'til that shit ached. Coughing slightly, I let that shit go, watching it twist in the air above the grave that once belonged to Sincere. Like the smoke, murder lingered in the air. The earth beneath my feet was hungry, ready to swallow whomever I chose to give it.
I knew.
One sentence. That's all it took to flip my world on its side. That muthafucka knew River fucked with Sincere, which meant more than likely, he knew Four was the one driving the whip the day I got shot.
I hit the blunt again, jaw tight, smoke slipping from my lips like a slow confession. This shit wasn't even about Sincere or that nigga Rakim anymore. It was about muthafuckin' trust and the people I loved abusing that shit.
Living in Gravehart Homes, Honor never said much but watchedeverything. There wasn't too much that nigga didn't know back then. As we got older, I didn't think twice about his secrecy because it was always to our benefit. He was the weapon we pulled when niggas thought they had us cornered. I justnever thought I'd be the one standing in front of him, bleeding out from the same silence he used to protect us with. The fucked-up part 'bout this whole shit was, even standing over this grave, betrayal burning in my chest, I still loved that nigga. I'd still kill for that nigga, even while my thoughts questioned if I'd have to killhim.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned, as Rize and Lynx walked up.
"Nigga, it's late as fuck and you got us pulling up to a damn cemetery," Rize commented, dapping me up.
"Whose grave is this?" Lynx asked, side-eyeing the mound of dirt.
"River's ex," Rize stated, chuckling. "He brought that nigga as a guest to dinner."
"What?" Lynx snorted. "The fuck made you do that?"
"Stress." I shrugged.
I took one last pull from the blunt, then passed it to Rize, who stepped up beside me and dropped the duffle bag I asked him to bring from Honor's crib.
"Nah, I feel that," Lynx said. "But what are we doing here?"
His eyes kept shifting toward the grave like it was about to grab his ass.
"This is my muthafuckin' thirteenth reason." I smirked.
"Fuck is a thirteenth reason?" Lynx frowned.
"Some shit Four had me watching, but I'll give you the SparkNotes. Today's been a muthafuckin' day. Nah, fuck that, it's been a muthafuckin' few months. Niggas hit my spot. Somebody's trying to take over Ember Hills like it ain't already spoken for. Four damn near died in a race. Honor got hit up. Gigi's spot got shot up. Some nigga from Four's past popped up talking revenge. Honor lied to me 'bout some shit..." I paused, jaw tightening. "And to top all that off, I find out my partner in this shit is a muthafuckin' snake."
I pulled my gun from my waistband and aimed it at Lynx.
"The fuck is happening?" Lynx gritted, pulling his own piece. Rize reached for his, but I stopped him with a hand.
