Page 53 of Crown: Phase 4

“I don’t understand why you asking all these questions that I don’t even have the answers to right now.”

Tanya closed her eyes, taking a deep breath while still twisting her wedding ring around her finger. “Because I’m trying to figure out if that new life you’re building in your head still includes me.”

Smoky’s expression softened as he looked over at her. He reached over and took her hand, rubbing his thumb across her fingers the same way he had the night he saved her and brought her home with him. Back then, she had been just as shaken and just as lost. He hated seeing her that way.

“I don’t know exactly what my future looks like, ma. I don’t. But what I do know is you will always be in my life. I’ll always love you, take care of you, no matter which path we choose. I’ll always keep in contact with you because of our history…because of what you mean to me…because of what you’ve been to me.”

“Contact?” Tanya’s voice broke as her eyes watered at his words. Out of everything he said, that was the only part she heard. “Keep in contact? You think I just want to keep in contact?”

“It ain’t that much different from what we doing now. Granted, we love one another, and we’re there for one another. But our shit ain’t normal, T.” Smoky studied her, genuinely trying to understand. “You wanna live like this forever?”

“Since when didn’t you? Last I checked, we needed one another, and we wasn’t just gon’ let that go.” Tanya shot back. “We promised each other forever. Hell yeah, I want this forever. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I made that promise when a nigga was young and stupid.”

“Young…and stupid?”

“Yes. This dysfunction, T. We ain’t little kids no more, running around dreaming while I gotta hide who I am. We grown as fuck. A nigga will be forty in a few more years. My way of thinking has changed.”

Tanya grew quiet, hurt settling over her. Part of her knew he was right. She understood the reality of what he was saying. But the other part of her loved him enough to accept the dysfunction. Loved him enough to convince herself that the way they had always lived could continue forever. He was all she knew.

As Smoky pulled onto their street, he bit down on his bottom lip, trying to gather his thoughts. Once they pulled into the driveway, he felt he had a better way to convey himself.

“T, I think you just scared. Since I came at you in that hallway, we been locked in. I don’t know if your fear stems from the fact we ain’t ever been without each other or if it’s more of a dependency thing. But truth is, there’s somebody out there better for you…that can give you so much more than I ever can. He could love you better. You want kids and shit. You tell me that all the time. You can’t get that with me, so why not try to bloom and be completely happy?”

Tanya didn’t even have a response. She just nodded and got out of the car, crying. From the windshield, Smoky watched her, cursing himself. Part of him wanted to go after her with comfort, but the other side didn’t want to confuse her and give her false hope. That side craved to get to Maino. He sat there for almost an hour, contemplating. Then finally he jumped out and went to check on her. At the end of the day, Tanya was his wife. His best friend. He couldn’t leave her like that.

Chapter Sixteen.

The next morning, Danger woke up around 6:45. He sat up and stretched, feeling the stiffness in his neck from sleeping on the sectional, but he barely paid it any mind. He got up and headed down the hall to his bedroom to take a piss. When he walked in, he noticed Caresha wasn’t in bed. He didn’t think much of it. After their argument, he figured she might’ve slept downstairs or in the guest room, anywhere to prove a point.

Danger headed into the bathroom and took care of his business, still half-asleep. It wasn’t until he glanced toward the bathroom counter that something felt off. All of Caresha’s things were gone…her box of period panties, hair products, skincare, toothbrush, and everything else she’d brought during her stay had vanished from beside his things.

Danger’s eyes narrowed as he walked out of the bathroom, scanning the bedroom. He checked the other side of the bed and noticed her gym bag was missing. “What the fuck?” He mumbled as he headed into the hallway and jogged down the stairs.

“Ree!”

Danger got nothing back, just the sound of his own voice echoing off the walls. He pulled out his phone and checked it, making sure he didn’t have any missed calls from Crown. If Caresha had called Nivéa to pick her up, he knew he wouldn’t hear the last of that shit. But there was nothing from anyone important, just missed calls and texts from his old hoes. Scrolling to Caresha’s name, he called her.

When she didn’t answer, Danger tried again and again. Every call went to voicemail, filling him with worry. He couldn’t tell if she wasn’t picking up because she was pissed at him or if she’d called an Uber or Lyft and something had happened. He didn’t trust any of that transportation service bullshit. His anxiety shot through the roof. The liquor and weed that had dulled his emotions the night before had faded, leaving him feeling regretful.

Dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, Danger slipped his feet into his Jordans by the door and rushed to the usual spot for his keys, but they weren’t there. He checked the entry table, the kitchen counter, and the hooks on the wall. He searched through his vest and pants pockets, retracing his steps, convinced he’d just misplaced them. Still nothing. Then a feeling in his gut urged him to check the garage. Danger rushed through the door and stopped cold. One of his cars was missing, and in that moment, he realized how Caresha had gotten away. She’d taken his Hellcat.

“This lil muthafucka done stole my whip. Fuck.”

Now, Danger was really worried. He grabbed his spare keys and gun, locked up the house, and jumped on his Hayabusa. He pushed through the city, headed straight toward Caresha’s side of town. He called her twice while stopped at a traffic light, but still got no answer. His mind raced as he pulled off on green, replaying their argument last night, and regret consumed him all over again.

As he got closer to the freeway, he noticed traffic on the feeder was backed up. Danger initially figured it was just regular morning congestion and began cutting through the cars to get around it. Then he saw the flashing lights: police, an ambulance, and several cars pulled onto the shoulder.

Danger slowed, his eyes scanning the scene ahead. Then he realized it was his car that was flipped over in the ditch near the next exit. And if that wasn’t enough to make his heart cave, he noticed the black paint was scarred where rounds had slammed into the body. His heart shattered.

“Ree…”

∞∞∞

Crown sat in his office, dressed in a tailored Armani button-up and matching slacks. He was focused on a video call with his client in Las Vegas. A set of construction plans covered one side of his desk while his laptop displayed Claus and two members of his project team.

“As of right now, we’re still on schedule. The crew will arrive Monday at ten a.m. They’ll start mobilizing that morning, and the first phase of construction will begin the following day.” He said, scrolling through the updated timeline.