TWENTY-ONE
A’SHAI RUSHED OUT OF THE COURTROOM AND held the phone to his ear tightly as Baron spoke to him on the other end. Liberty hurriedly trailed behind him as she exited the courtroom. She wore oversized shades and a conservative black dress as she eavesdropped trying to figure out what was wrong. She knew it was an important call because of A’shai’s instant change in behavior before he rushed to leave.
“I need you to come and get me quick. I’m at the old trap spot off Woodward Ave. I just escaped, and I need your help,” Baron said.
“Don’t move. I’m on my way,” A’shai answered as he flipped the phone down. He was waiting at the courthouse for Baron’s trial to start and got a call from him while in the pews. Baron had informed him about the breakout and failed to mention that Samad was behind the escape. A’shai quickly flipped down the phone and whispered back to Liberty, “We have to go now. I don’t have time to drop you off so you are going to have to go with me,” he said as they headed out. Liberty tried to keep up with him as they made their way to their car. She didn’t want to ask any questions, so she followed A’shai, trusting that he would take care of her.
A’shai sped down the freeway trying to get to his father on Woodward Avenue. He pushed his car 100 miles per hour down the highway trying to cut his travel time in half. Word was already on the street that the infamous Baron Montgomery had escaped from custody. Baron had the streets on fire, and every cop in the city was now looking for the drug pin escapee.
The radio blasted through A’shai’s speakers and the news alert came over the airwaves. A’shai and Liberty listened as the reporter called Baron armed and dangerous and a threat. The authorities encouraged civilians to not approach him and call authorities if seen. The entire city was up in arms and they were painting the picture of a villain on Baron’s name.
“F*ck that,” A’shai mumbled as he pushed the button on his radio, turning the newscast off. He was focused on getting his father out of the city and eventually out of the country. He sped off the exit towards the trap spot where Baron was hiding out.
A’shai pulled up to the house and threw the car in park.
“Come on,” he said to Liberty as he hopped out. He wanted to keep her by his side while he figured out the plan. A’shai went to the back door and saw that it was kicked in, obviously by Baron. He walked in and saw his father sitting on the couch. “Pops, are you okay?” A’shai asked as he motioned towards him. A’shai never saw it coming. Goons were waiting for him and before he knew it, he heard Liberty scream. Before he could even react he felt a blow to the head, and then everything went black.
Baron sat in a beach house in Costa Maya, Mexico. He had taken Willow to the expensive paradise many times before. He had made love to her on that very beach, and it pained him that he would never share that experience with her again. He would never be able to kiss her forehead or slow dance with her to a smooth jazz tune. Baron looked out of the window of the small beach house and watched as the sun began to rise. He retrieved funds out of his offshore accounts and then fled to the beach house that was under an assumed name. He was glad that his wife had convinced him to buy the home before her passing. Now it had become his greatest asset. He would reside there in peace under an assumed name.
It had been a week since he had given A’shai up and the guilt was eating away at him. He sipped cognac and contemplated suicide daily. He was at rock bottom. It was as if he was losing his mind. He looked at a picture of Willow, A’shai, and himself that was taken a year after they had taken him in and they all were as happy as could be. They had taken it while vacationing on that same island. There was a time when Baron could have made different choices which would have changed the outcome of what had happened, but he chose to grind harder instead. Getting deeper and deeper and eventually leading A’shai into the same lifestyle. Baron wished he could rewind the time. He would have quit the drug game a long time ago. He would have put his family first and thought about how his profession could and eventually would put them in harm’s way. He understood that A’shai could have been molded to be anything other than what he was. A’shai, under the right direction, should have been a Wall Street banker. Baron had created a monster, and it eventually came back to haunt him.
Why didn’t I show him another way? I failed my family, Baron thought as he downed the ninth glass of liquor. The thought of betraying A’shai ate at his soul and he knew that he had made the wrong choice. Baron walked over to his untraceable cell phone and quickly dialed up an old friend. He had to try to right his wrongs because the guilt was going to eventually kill him. He knew that he had to call in some professionals to do the job, he called the most efficient and ruthless crew he knew . . . he called the Murder Mamas.
A’shai groggily began to wake up. He had a pounding headache, blood dripped from his mouth and his body was full of purple and black bruises. His entire body ached as he had been beaten within inches of death. His hands were tied above him, and his body slowly twisted in the air. He saw that Liberty was tied to a chair and turned facing him. Samad circled him with a crowbar in hand. A’shai had been beaten by Samad for days, and Liberty watched as they both were tied up. A’shai was the closest to death than he had ever been.
“You are finally up. I have been waiting on you,” Samad said as he began to roll up his sleeves so that Liberty could watch him beat A’shai once again. Over the past few days A’shai had been tied up and beaten badly out of pure revenge. He never thought that Baron would be the one to set him up. He walked right into a trap and he never saw it coming. Samad wanted to give A’shai a slow death while Liberty watched. He also planned on murdering Liberty after he killed A’shai. Samad just wanted the lovers to hurt a bit longer before he ended their lives. Samad began to walk around the beaten warrior, and he called him every nasty name in the book as he spit on A’shai and totally disrespected him.
Just as he was about to strike A’shai again, he heard the sound of the glass shattering and two girls burst through the door with their guns drawn. Before Samad could even react bullets were sent through his chest, dropping him instantly. Liberty squirmed as the bullets whizzed by her and she saw two slender figures get into gunplay with Samad and his goons. By the end of the gunfight, when the flying bullets finally stopped, the two masked shooters stood alive. One of the masked men walked over to A’shai and pointed the gun near the top of his heart. They shot and the bullets pierced the rope holding A’shai and he fell to the floor. The gunmen then pulled off their masks, exposing silky long hair and two very different but equally beautiful faces. A’shai realized they were a part of the Murder Mamas, a special hit team that Baron occasionally told stories about. A’shai had always dismissed the tales as myths, but as they stood before him he realized that these women were legends in the street game. That’s when A’shai knew that Baron had sent the Murder Mamas to his and Liberty’s rescue. She handed A’shai the gun and looked over at Samad. “Me saved de honors for you,” one of the women said in a heavy island accent. A’shai struggled to get to his feet and hobbled. However, he managed to stand straight up and grab the gun from the lady. He then put a bullet through Samad’s left eye, rocking him to sleep. He dropped the gun and collapsed after he asserted all of his energy to hold himself up. He breathed heavily as he grimaced from his wounds. He hobbled over to Liberty and unleashed her from the tight ropes. She collapsed into his arms. The war with Samad was finally over. A’shai and Liberty could now finally have each other without any hurdles or complaints. Their lives had come full circle, and their fate brought them back together. Despite all of the odds that had worked against them, their love had seen them through.
As A’shai and Liberty were escorted to an awaiting vehicle they clung to one another. “You know that house I told you about,” he whispered as he held her body up, even though he felt as if he would collapse at any moment.
She nodded weakly.
“It’s time . . . we’re going to live there for the rest of our lives . . . happy. Only now we don’t have to hide. I love you, Liberty, and wherever you go, I’ll follow. Nothing will keep me from you ever again. I’m sorry for everything,” he whispered.
“Don’t be sorry, A’shai Montgomery. You saved my life.”