Page 16

I shook my head but let Rize have it because his lesson with love wasn't mine to teach. I backed out of Four's text thread and hit call on her contact. The phone rang a few times before her soft ass voice crooned through my car's speakers, sounding better than a fuckin' symphony.

"What can I do for you, Crown?"

Smirking, my tongue glided across my bottom lip, wishing it were hers.

"Shit, I got a few things in mind, but I got Rize with me."

"Hey Rize," she sang, sounding happier to speak to this nigga than she did me.

"Say hey to that nigga like that again, and I'm on your ass, Four," I threatened, meaning every word.

"Bye, Crown, 'cause no one is stuntin’ you."

"Yeah, okay, play with me, Four, and watch your ass be reduced to two. Add some fuckin' gruff to yo' voice and stop sounding all sexy and shit. You gon' have this nigga thinking he got a shot with what's mine."

"He just might," Four flirted.

"Say word River, and I'm?—"

"Nigga, I'll kill you and keep driving with yo' cranium smeared on the window."

"Cortez!" Four shrieked.

"Nah, it's cool, River. This nigga knows they didn't stop making crazy niggas when they made his ass," Rize shot back.

I chuckled. "Yeah, ight. Nigga, close your ears like I said."

"Fuck you! I already said I'm not on what you and Four are on."

"Oh, and what are we on?" she smacked.

"Love," Rize answered shortly.

I kept quiet, waiting to see how Four planned to play it. The car was quiet, but my heart pounding against my ribs echoed in my ears. It was crazy how Four's opinion on something as simple as the notion of love caused my chest to tighten.

"What's wrong with love?" she quizzed.

"Nothing if that's what you're looking for. I'm twenty-three. I don't see much outside of millions in my future, and I'm not talking about measly seven figures either."

"That's understandable, but what's the point in making all that money, putting your life on the line for it, and having no one to share it with?

The joys you experience as a single man become more profound when you find your missing piece.

Laughter feels richer, moments are more meaningful, and your purpose shifts because finally filling in that missing piece awakens something new and exciting in yourself.

Love doesn't add to your happiness. It multiplies it, turning an ordinary day into something special. "

Hearing Four speak so eloquently about love and how having someone special can shift your world off its axis left me wondering. Was I the missing piece she spoke of? If I were, why was it so hard for her to love me?

"I hear you, Four, and all that sounds good.

I'm just not there yet. I see how Wolfe is about Chosyn and how Honor is about Navy, but I'm not ready for none of that shit, and their relationships are subtle compared to how Crown is with you.

All y'all are some crash-outs. Being a crash dummy isn't appealing to me.

Aside from that, there's no point in me dragging a perfectly good girl through the mud.

That's foul, and I don't play with hearts like that. "

"Oh." Her voice fell flat as if what Rize said resonated with her more than she was expecting it to.

"Ight, stop talkin' to my girl, nigga," I joked to lighten the mood.

Rize sucked his teeth and continued smoking as I disconnected my phone from the dash and brought it to my ear.

"Aye, you good?" I asked. Four was quiet, but her silence echoed loudly.

"Uh yeah... um, I'm fine."

"You ready for your race?"

"I mean, yeah, but I'm thinking about not going." She sighed, still missing the light in her voice.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I found out some things about the twins that are throwing me off. Plus, I have this feeling I can't shake."

"Nah, you not about to give in to some bitch ass feeling. You're muthafuckin' Four. Ms. Flow with the speed of the streets."

"Crown, please." She giggled softly. Her voice was playful, and without seeing her face, I knew a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Nah, don't downplay your greatness. Why do they call you River?" I asked, needing to remind her that she was everything she thought she was.

"Crown, I am not?—"

"Why do they call you River?" I growled, letting her know this wasn't the time for her to be defiant.

"They call me River 'cause just like water, I'm fucking unstoppable. I drive as smoothly as the curve of a stream, and my reflexes are sharp like the rapids."

"Right." I smirked. "In the chaos of the streets, you have one rule. Stay ahead, keep the flow, and never let the current catch up. Stop fuckin' playing like you're not her. You're the greatest woman to grace this earth, Four. Never let that truth escape your heart."

"Thank you, Cortez," she simpered.

"No thanks needed. This is what I'm here for. I'm your strength when you're weak, and your engines roar when it stalls. More than anything, I'm your shelter when the world feels too heavy. Whatever you need, Four, I got you, and I mean that."

On her end of the line, silence struck yet again, but this time it felt heavier. She took a shallow breath, then let her voice waver before her words cut through.

"Crown I... I... I?—"

"Stop," I stated, my voice soft but firm. My heart knew exactly what she wanted to say, and as badly as I wanted to hear it, I couldn't listen to her struggle. She wasn't ready to carry the weight that loving me came with.

"We're good, Four. When you're ready, you'll say it. For now, the love I have for you is enough to see us through."

"Ugh, I don't deserve you," she huffed.

"Nah, you do. Your heart just gotta catch up to your soul."

Pulling up to the gate of the Teixeira estate, I switched from drive to park.

"I'm at my destination. I'll see you at your race, ight?" I told her.

"You promise?"

"Come on, Four, this is me you're talking to. I haven't missed a race yet, and I'm about to start now.”

"Good, because I need my good luck charm sitting next to me, and I have your surprise." Her somber tone changed to the sweet one I couldn't see myself living without.

"Word? Fuck you get me that took almost two weeks to come in?"

"You'll see tonight. Be safe."

"I will. Love you, Four."

Hanging up with her, I rolled the window down and hit the button on the intercom.

"Last name," a familiar voice spoke.

"Gravehart."

"Come in."

The gates creaked open, and I drove forward, parking in front of the mansion the Teixeiras called home.

In my opinion, its monolithic form felt less like a home and more like an impenetrable fortress.

The blackened exterior gleamed under the sun, its copper accents catching the light and transforming the edges of the massive double doors, the window frames, and the intricate carvings along the eaves into delicate veins of molten gold.

"Damn! Niggas out here in meek ass Ember Hills getting money like this?" Rize quizzed, exiting the car.

I chuckled, knowing exactly what he meant. Ember Hills wasn't a borough many spoke about or ventured to and was just as forgotten as Gravehart Grove.

"Niggas get to the money no matter where they live."

Out here, black excellence was woven into all the things that made Ember Hills what it was. The old money, the quiet power, the generational wealth. Outsiders believed Ember Hills was just another forgotten borough, but to those who knew better, Ember Hills was a fucking dynasty in disguise.