Page 59 of Crown: Phase 4

Kerri sighed, fighting back the emotion building in her chest. “Prophet, I’m begging you to do this for me. Knights and the Dessalinés Mob are currently at war, and I need to know if Preach’s doing all of this because of whatever the hell he and Crown got going on, or if he’s really doing this because he’s still upset about what we once shared.”

Prophet’s expression hardened. He smacked the end of his cane against the floor before pointing it at her sternly.

“I’m gonna tell you like I told you many years ago when I saw you in that club. Stay the fuck away from Preach. And you for sure need to stay the fuck out of this war before you go opening old wounds and make this shit worse.”

During Kerri’s separation from Ahmad Sr., she had met Preach while out with her homegirl, trying to clear her head and ease the ache in her heart. What she hadn’t shared with Nivéa or anyone else was that she’d also left Ahmad Sr. due to his infidelity. She never wanted to tarnish his character in the eyes of his sons, but the truth was he had cheated on her with some other bitch. She discovered this by going through his phone. Good man…gave her the world. But he had fucked around when they started having issues about his lifestyle. He felt she was nagging him anytime he came home. So, he started to look for an escape in another woman.

That night at the club, Preach had spotted her and was instantly drawn to her. He approached her in a suit on some boss shit, completely captivated by her beauty. Kerri knew he owned the club because he had mentioned it, even making sure all her drinks were on the house. They sat and talked, and he eventually got her number.

For a couple of weeks, she ignored his calls, convincing herself she still loved Ahmad Sr. and didn’t want to start anything new, especially with being a mother to Crown. Her child was her focus. But Preach was relentless, and she eventually caved, agreeing to go on a date.

What she didn’t realize was that Preach was the son of the man who supplied the Knights. At some point, he figured out exactly who she was and her connection to Ahmad Sr., but it didn’t deter him. They dated, sharing a chemistry neither expected.

One night, while out at the club, Prophet saw them together in VIP during a visit. By then, he had retired his patch and was enjoying life. He played it cool and kept the information to himself but swiftly pulled Kerri aside to warn her, making sure she understood who Preach was and what his family’s connection to the Knights entailed.

Kerri was furious and confronted Preach. He apologized, admitting he should’ve told her the truth once he realized who she was. Although she genuinely liked him, she stopped speaking to him for quite some time. Things grew even more complicated when Ahmad Sr. popped up at her apartment to reconcile and proposed to her. Kerri decided that Preach had only been a fling during her separation from Ahmad, so she chose to return to her man, the one with whom she had a shared history.

“Prophet, I don’t believe Preach will hurt me.”

“I don’t wanna hear that.” Prophet shook his head. “You don’t know what the fuck he will do now that he’s at odds with the Knights. If you’re so sure he won’t hurt you, why did you come here?”

Kerri chewed on the corner of her lip. They both knew the answer to that. She believed Preach wouldn’t hurt her, given their history, but she wasn’t completely sure.

“Exactly. And I’m offended that you came here thinking I would allow that.”

Prophet pulled his burner from his pocket, his thumb already moving across the screen. He was getting old, and his vision had started getting slightly blurry, so it took him a little longer than usual to find the name he was looking for. Still, he managed.

Kerri watched him for a moment, knowing exactly who he was about to call.

“I don’t care if you call Crown. I’m his parent, not the other way around. At the end of the day, he doesn’t control me. If you don’t take me, I’ll still go on my own.”

Prophet paused, his thumb hovering over the screen.

“Kerri, listen to me. If Preach wanted war for you, he would’ve started it a long time ago.”

“He couldn’t. His father intervened and forced him to leave the situation alone. He cared more about the money the Knights made for them than how he felt. He and Loki are dead now, though. I checked. Preach is running the business now, which means he can do what he wants with no pushback.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Loki just died. This war started before that.”

“Okay, but I do know Loki became sick. Eventually, Preach began to run things. He could’ve started a war if he wanted to.”

“Did Loki know about you and Preach?”

“Not to my knowledge. Only his father knew. Which is another reason I think that Preach would’ve waited until he ran things to do this. Loki might not have approved either.”

I don’t know about that. I just don’t know.”

“Then why else are they at war now, Prophet? According to you, these men have been doing business with the Knights since you and Hendrix started this shit. That’s a lot of years to suddenly let all of it go down the drain and cause a war. Has Crown hinted at why? Has he told you what happened?”

“No. He hasn’t. All I know is Preach tried to have him killed. Why? I don’t know. But regardless of the reason, you need to stay the fuck out of this, baby girl. You know the Knights' rules. War is no place for our ladies.”

“I can’t, because what if I’m right?” Kerri’s eyes filled with tears. “I need to talk to him, and maybe I can stop this. My sons are trying to build a life outside of all this shit, and one of their women was hurt because of this war.”

Prophet’s eyes narrowed. “Who was hurt?”

“Caresha. She was driving Danger’s car when it was shot up. He wasn’t with her. She survived, but she’s hurt.”

Prophet’s nostrils flared as he began to pace with his cane.