Crew Series 3: Always Crew
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Tijan
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For the longest time, I was Bren Monroe.
I lived in Roussou, California.
I had no parents, no brother, but I had a crew.
Then things started to change.
I never planned for any of it.
I didnāt think Iād fall in love.
I didnāt think Iād have a relationship with my brother again.
I didnāt think that heād come back.
Now Iām in Cain.
My crew is in college.
Theyāre growing, going through their own things.
And here I am, figuring out my life.
Thereās always hurdles and obstacles to overcome.
That was never my hardship.
That was my regular.
But living? Being content? Being happy?
Those were my challenges now.
Everything was going wellā¦
Until it wasnāt. Again.
Prologue
Bren
āDad?ā
This couldnātāno.
How?
I glanced at Channing. His jaw was clenching. His eyes fierce, and he was glaring a hole in our dadās head.
āWhat?ā I moved forward a step. āHow?ā
āHoney.ā His voice was choked up. āBren.ā
It was night, but the full moon was out. A few streetlights shone over us so I could see him good enough. He seemed taller. Was he? More thin. But he was more refined. Or maybe I wasnāt remembering him right? He looked good. I mean, good for coming from prison.
Wait.
Prison.
My head was spinning. I turned to my brother. āChan?ā
He reached out, closing his eyes as he placed a hand on my shoulder. He visibly shook himself, so when he turned to me, heād gone through a complete transformation. The tension wasnāt reflected anymore and his hand trembled from the effort it took to contain his reaction.
But his eyes were gentle on me. āThe dirty cop from Fallen Crest. You remember?ā
I nodded. Itād been a big deal.
āHe had a part in Dadās case.ā
Our dad stepped forward, his voice coming out rushed, āI want to be the one to tell her.ā
Channing ignored him, his hand tightening just a little on me. āWell, some of Dadāsāā
āNo! Thatās for me to explain, Channing.ā
Channing stopped, skewering him with a look before he turned back to me. A vein stuck out from his neck and there was a tic there. He kept on as if Derrick hadnāt spoken a word. āānew associates have some good lawyers. They got it overturned.ā
He didnāt say anything after that.
Neither did I. I was confused.
āSo? What? What does that mean?ā
āBrenāā
Channing spoke over our father, āThey threw the case out.ā A beat. āThey threw it out. They donāt want to deal with the scandal if it got retried, or spend the money to fight against Dadās new lawyers, so itās done. Heās out.ā
Retrial.
Case was thrown out.
New lawyers.
Dirty cop.
All those phrases were bouncing around in my head.
I heard my brother speaking. I knew he was explaining it, but nothing was making sense. I couldnāt connect all of the dots together, and because of that, I just stared. I stared at Channing. I stared at my dad.
āBren?ā
I looked behind me in the direction of a new voice.
I stared at Cross, whoād come down the sidewalk behind us.
āCrossāā Channing started, his hand leaving my shoulder and holding it toward Cross. His voice was a reproach. He was going to tell Cross to leave us alone.
Cross heard it before it was said and cursed. āLike hell, Channing. Iām here.ā He came forward, stepping to the side, and as he saw my dad, his hand slipped into mine.
His body tensed.
He had the same look on his face that Channing did. And I noticed that almost belatedly, as if it were an afterthought, but I donāt know what it was an afterthought for? What thought I had before it, I didnāt know.
āBren.ā
That was him.
My father.
The guy who took the knife that I used to stab the guy who assaulted me. The same guy who then stepped forward, knelt down, and sliced his throat. That guy was standing in front of me, saying my name, and nothing was making sense.
I heard Channing murmur from a distance, āSheās in shock.ā
Cross cursed again, moving his arm to wrap around me. He pulled me into his side.
My dad was supposed to get out when he was sixty, but that didnāt happen. He got out after three years, and he was standing right in front of me.
And I had no idea how I felt about that. Not one bit.
