Page 78

Crown Gravehart

T he 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 watched everything .

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 just never 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 kill him .

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.

"That's not why you're here," I said calmly. "If this nigga wanna shoot me, let him. I'm tired of this fucked-up place, anyway."

"Aye, Crown, tell me what the fuck is going on," Lynx insisted, his eyes still darting to the grave like the devil himself was gonna crawl out of it.

"Nigga, you tell me. You're working with our enemies now? Sincere... Rakim... you down with them niggas?"

"Man, let me explain. It's not what you think. I'ma put the gun down so you don't think I'm trying to get over on you. Just... hear me out."

Lynx tossed his gun far out of reach, hands up.

"Aight." I grimaced. "Speak, nigga."

"I was playing them. Luci?—"

The bullets caught him mid-sentence. His body jerked like a puppet on strings before collapsing into the grave.

"Damn, you didn't wanna hear what that nigga had to say?" Rize asked, wide-eyed.

I stared down at the grave, voice low.

"I'm tired of hearing muthafuckas talk."

I walked to the duffel I had brought and pulled out the machete, then jumped into the grave. Grabbing Lynx by his hoodie, I swung until his head separated from his body. His blood soaked the earth and my clothes.

"Aye, nigga, watch where you're throwing that shit!" Rize fussed as I tossed the head in his direction.

I climbed out, dumped Sincere's bones back into the grave from the duffel Rize brought, then tossed Rize a shovel.

"Help me cover these niggas."

"What you doing with the head?" he asked.

"Sending a message. Rakim's been moving throughout my city too easily. I gotta go away soon, and before I do, I gotta tie up these loose ends."

"Where you going?"

I let his question sit in the air while we started shoveling dirt into the grave.

On the way here, I called Navy before I sent texts out to both Rize and Lynx telling them to meet me.

I didn't say shit to Navy about what happened at the hospital but told her I needed info on some treatment options.

She said she'd look into a few options for me, and that was all I needed to hear to make up my mind.

"To get the help I should've gotten when it was first offered to me."