Page 86 of River & Crown
"Are you calling my woman a liar?" Killian finally spoke, low and gravelly.
"Nigga, what?" Crown frowned.
"Kysre. Are you calling her a liar? Killian repeated, coming out of the shadows of his corner. Each step he took felt like a threat he planned to make good on.
"Y'all doing a lot of fucking talking but still ain't saying shit. River's mental state doesn't matter," Honor asserted, gaining control of the room. "We need a name." He glanced toward Killian, then at me. I chuckled because this nigga couldn't be serious.
"Oh, is it my turn to talk?"
"I can bury you ass six feet deep if you prefer that instead," Wolfe offered.
"We both know killing me will have your wife in shambles. She might hate me, but beneath that is love. Anyway, the guy who wants your spot in Ember Hills' name is?—"
"Breeze," Killian declared before I had the chance.
"Y'all both fucking knew and didn't say shit?" Crown spat.
"I found out his name today from Kage when I was on my way over. An associate of Breeze reached out about wanting to buy," I clarified. "Had Honor been nicer to me, I would have said something sooner."
"An associate reached out to Syn as well. I took it upon myself to set up a met for next weekend," Killian followed up.
"Set up both meets for the same day, same place," Honor ordered.
"Fuck, next weekend is Four's birthday," Crown groaned.
"What's more important getting the nigga who wants her dead or celebrating what might be her last birthday?" I asked without thinking.
Every man in the room pulled their gun out and aimed at me. Except for Killian, he used his dogs instead. They viciously growled in my direction, waiting for their owner to give the command.
"Speak death on my muthafuckin' wife again and I promise you gon' see me," Crown threatened.
"Whatever! Can I go now?" I looked toward Honor, who tossed his head in the direction of the door. "This was nice. We should do it again." I smiled, then hurried out the room.
Moving around the house, I searched for the staircase that led to the basement. When Lucian built his compound, he designed the homes to be similar in layout. Honor's house was similar to mine, which made finding the movie room that much easier. I was surprised that the meeting was being held here since Honor rarely came here. I walked inside the theater, doing my best to stay quiet, and snapped a quick picture of Cherish holding my niece.
"Mommy, look." My daughter smiled proudly.
"Great job, sweetheart, but it's time to go."
"Do I have to?" she whined.
"Yes. Now come on."
Gigi took the baby from my daughter, then mumbled something that caused Cherish to smile. Cherish ran over, grabbed my hand, and started rambling. Whatever she was saying was lost on me as I watched Gigi rock Chosyn's daughter. Gigi caught me watching and snickered.
"What?" I grimaced.
"You've spent so long sharpening your words that you forgot to remind your face that it's not void of emotion."
"What? You don't know anything about me."
"I don't, but I know Chosyn very well."
"I'm not her."
"You're not, but your eyes are. Like her, you want to be loved, to be chosen, but the armor you wear is a lot tighter than hers. Chosyn allowed Wolfe to reach her heart without being cut, but with you, a man wouldn't even know where to begin. Forget a man, your family... your sister wouldn't know where to begin."
"I have no sister, and if you let Chosyn and herfamilytell it, I'm not welcome into their family. They deal with me because I made to where they have to. If the choice was theirs..." I shook my head, not wanting to speak death on my life, even though at every turn I found myself staring at guns.
