by Ashley
A’shai waited almost an hour before he made an effort to separate from Samad. “Yo, can I use your bathroom?” A’shai asked.
Samad nodded his head and motioned towards the stairs. “At the top of the stairs take the east hall. It’s the third door on your right.”
A’shai stood and walked up the stairs and then followed Samad’s instructions. He located the bathroom but bypassed it as he peered over his shoulder cautiously. He peeked his head inside room after room in search of Liberty until finally he saw her. She was no longer covered from head to toe but, dressed in a black silk slip and black lace bra. She sat in the middle of a plush king-sized bed crying her eyes out, her face buried in her hands.
In awe of her appearance, he paused momentarily to take her in. With no make-up and no fancy clothes she was beautiful. Natural. But A’shai could hear the pain emanating from her soul as she sat unaware of her audience.
“Liberty,” he said as he stepped into the room.
She looked up stunned and then looked behind him for Samad.
“He’s downstairs… drunk,” A’shai said.
She exhaled a sigh of sadness and relief as she leapt off the bed and ran to him. A’shai embraced her tightly, wrapping his arms around her securely as she heaved tormented wails into his shoulder.
“It’s okay ma… it’s okay Liberty. I’m here now,” he whispered. She gripped him desperately as her body trembled fearfully.
“He’s going to kill me, Shai. I saw the urns… the other girls… he killed them,” she rambled.
A’shai looked over his shoulder and then turned to her, holding her face in the palms of his hands. “Shhh… shhh. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I’m here now. I won’t let it,” he assured.
“Take me with you, Shai. Please… get me out of here,” she sobbed, clasping her hands together as if he could walk on water.
She was too frantic, and A’shai knew that they didn’t have time for a lengthy conversation.
“Calm down, ma. He’ll hear you. You have to give me a few days to get things in order. I have to leave but…”
Liberty cringed, her knees buckling slightly as she bounced up and down desperately begging him. “Shai, please noooo,” she cried. “Don’t leave me here. Take me with you… noooo. Please, Shai, please.”
A’shai could see the fear in her and instantly grew hot. “Does he hit you? Has he hurt you?” he asked, slightly raising his voice as he reached for his pistol.
“No… but he will do a lot worse if you don’t save me,” she said solemnly. “If you leave here without me, you won’t come back.”
“I’mma always come back for you Liberty. That’s my word, ma,” he said. He kissed the top of her head and looked into her face as the seconds ticked by. Knowing that he couldn’t remain with her for much longer without arousing suspicion he said, “I’m coming for you. I promise. When does he leave the house?” he asked urgently as he gripped her shoulders.
“He doesn’t… he never leaves. He watches me like a hawk,” she explained. She was so emotional that she could barely speak without yelling.
“Shhh… calm down, ma. Think. Is there ever a moment when he doesn’t have you under a scope?” A’shai asked.
“He runs… every morning he goes for a jog,” Liberty said.
“How long?” A’shai shot back.
“Half hour… an hour at the most,” she said.
“I’mma come back for you. Just be patient. I won’t leave L.A. without you,” he said. He kissed her cheek and then walked out of the room.
Liberty’s lips trembled so badly it appeared as though she had the shivers. When he disappeared from her sight she broke down. Her knees hit the floor, and she bent over in grief. She needed A’shai to come back for her this time… she needed to be rescued more than she needed the air in her lungs. He was her only way out.
A’shai sat down the block from Samad’s estate and watched as Samad exited his gates in full running gear. He waited until Samad was out of sight and then instructed the driver to pull the limo onto Samad’s grounds. He hopped out of the car and rang the doorbell. He was greeted by one of Samad’s many service workers. The maid stood before him.
“Samad is expecting me. I’m A’shai… his business partner from Detroit,” he announced.
“Mr. Sadat isn’t here, but if you are expected you can wait for him inside,” the woman replied.
A’shai followed her to the sitting room, and she motioned for him to have a seat. “He will be back shortly,” she stated. “I have many chores to do, but, please, if you need anything just call me. My name is Sarah.”
A’shai nodded and watched her leave the room. As soon as she was gone he slowly snuck up the stairs and headed for the bedroom that Liberty shared with Samad. He opened the door and found Liberty staring blankly out of the window. She was uncovered and in normal street clothes.
“Liberty,” he said, making her aware of his presence.
As if her ears were playing tricks on her she snapped her head to the right as she looked at him in disbelief.
“You came back,” she whispered as she rushed to him. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him sensually as he hugged her, lifting her slightly from the floor.
“Get your things. Let’s go,” A’shai instructed.
Liberty rushed to the closet and grabbed the few pieces of clothes that she had that weren’t of Muslim heritage. She threw them into a small suitcase and A’shai grabbed it from her hands. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her out of the house. They smoothly re-entered the car. “Drive,” A’shai called out to the driver. Liberty’s eyes widened in surprise when she noticed that the vehicle was loaded with weapons. It looked like an artillery closet with all of the different assault rifles and hand pistols.
Liberty was so afraid that she thought she would pee her pants. Being caught was not an option. The penalty would be too great if Samad knew of her insubordination.
“Relax,” A’shai said, sensing her apprehension.
A’shai gripped her knee and leaned in to kiss her cheek but was interrupted by the barrage of bullets that rained down on his car.
“Shai!” Liberty screamed as she covered her ears.
“Get down!” he shouted as he pushed her to the floor of the vehicle and grabbed one of the assault rifles. The windows in the limo shattered as Samad’s goons drove beside them, firing relentlessly. A’shai came up blazing as he pulled the trigger of his AK. “Drive this mu’fucka! Go!” he shouted in the midst of the all out gun battle. A’shai noticed that the car was zig zagging back and forth, making it hard for him to let off a clean shot and when he glanced at the driver he discovered why. His head was blown half way off and the car was going at full speed with no one to control it. “Hold on!” he said as he crouched over Liberty and waited for the impact as the car rammed through the showcase of a store front. Customers screamed and ran in every direction as A’shai and Liberty gathered their bearings. Slightly dazed by the impact the couple sat up as A’shai peered out of the back of the car. The goons were pulling to a stop in front of the store. “Let’s go!” A’shai said as he pulled Liberty from the car. He handed her the.9mm in his waistline and they made a run for the back door figuring if they got lost in the frenzy it was hard for them to be spotted. A’shai knew that one of Samad’s men would be waiting for them at the back exit so he came out shooting first. He had no time for questions and when he hit one of the goons dead in the forehead he felt no remorse. They ran back out to the busy city street and luck was on their side as A’shai raised his hand and stopped a cab.
Scratches covered them from the impact of the crash and A’shai could see the cabbie peering at them suspiciously. “There’s a big tip in it for you if you mind your business, fam,” A’shai stated. He looked out of the back window making sure that no one was following them before turning to check on Liberty. “You okay?” he asked.
She nodded her head as her shaky hand gripped A’shai’
s gun. “Let me see that, ma,” he stated as he gently eased it out of her fingertips.
A’shai gave the cab driver directions to the private airstrip and when they saw the plane, both of them let out a sigh of relief. They were home free and once they were back in the city of Detroit, Liberty would be safe behind the protection of Baron’s organization.
A’shai held Liberty’s hand as they ran up the stairs of the jet. He went to greet his pilots and stopped when he saw the two white men slumped over the control panel with two bullet holes in the backs of their heads.
“Oh GOD, Shai…” she gasped as she covered her mouth. “He’s going to kill me. I shouldn’t have left!” She was beginning to panic, and A’shai grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
“I’m going to get you out of here. Trust me, ma!” he stated aggressively, adrenaline pumping through his body.
She nodded her head and he disembarked the jet with her right behind him. When they got to the bottom of the steps they saw Samad’s Audi A8 pull up. Liberty froze like a deer in headlights as time-for her-stood still. A’shai pointed his gun at the car as Samad emerged from the vehicle.
“A’shai, my good friend. It seems we have the same tastes in women,” he commented as he got out and lit a cigar.
A’shai wasn’t looking for conversation. He was fully prepared to go out blazing on Liberty’s behalf and as he gave Samad the screw face he pointed his gun unwaveringly. A’shai didn’t hesitate. He fired, spraying bullets everywhere and killing the bodyguards that had stepped out of the car with Samad. What Samad didn’t know was that A’shai had a marksman’s aim and was a killer at heart. Samad reached for his waistline, but A’shai fired a shot so close to his head that it halted Samad instantly.
Samad’s hands shot into the air. “Calm down, A’shai. This… we can work this out.”
“Put your keys on the ground,” A’shai stated.
Samad did as he was told and then said, “You are going to ruin your father over one bitch?” he asked.
“Get on the ground,” A’shai said.
Samad smirked and then put both knees in the dirt. “It doesn’t matter where you take her. I’m going to find her… I’m going to find you both and when I do, you’ll wish that you never saw her pretty face,” Samad threatened. As A’shai walked up on Samad he wanted to put a bullet through his brain, but he thought of the backlash that he would get from Baron.
“You’re going to die for some pussy, A’shai,” Samad stated.
A’shai hit him forcefully with the gun, knocking him out cold and then grabbed the keys to the Audi. He opened the door for Liberty and instructed her to buckle up, then ran to his side of the car and drove away, leaving one of the West Coast’s biggest drug bosses bleeding in the dirt.
A’shai and Liberty drove to the nearest bus station and caught a long ride back to Detroit. As the bus pulled away from the station Liberty began to bawl silently, putting her face in her hands to muffle her cries. A’shai reached over and wiped away her tears as he leaned into her ear.
“I love you, Liberty. Nobody is ever going to harm you again. I promise you on my life. I will die before that happens,” A’shai stated.
“What did you do?!” Baron barked as he stood before A’shai. He had never raised his voice at his son before, and Willow looked on in shock but didn’t interrupt. “Do you know what this has done? What you have done? All over a girl.”
“She’s not just some girl,” A’shai responded calmly as he stood before his father.
“Do you know the danger you have put yourself in? She has to go back! You will not be affiliated with her,” Baron demanded. He was so furious with A’shai that he couldn’t control the tone of his voice. This was by far the stupidest thing that A’shai had ever done.
Willow tried to peer out of the windows of her home to view the young girl that had made her son act so uncharacteristically. She couldn’t make out the figure in A’shai’s car. It was too dark outside, and the night time concealed her identity.
“She cannot stay here!” Baron hollered. “You went into that man’s home, murdered his workers, stole his woman! Did you not expect him to retaliate?! This is interfering with business, A’shai. She goes back.”
“She’s not going back,” A’shai said maintaining his position. “I thought you would help her the way you helped me.”
“No, you didn’t think at all! I will not go to war over a whore,” Baron charged. “She is not welcome here.”
“Then I guess neither am I,” A’shai stated. “She’s not going back to him. She’s with me now.” His arrogance enraged Baron, and as A’shai walked away Willow tried to intervene.
“Baby, think about what you’re doing,” she reasoned.
A’shai stopped and kissed his mother on the cheek. “I have thought about it, ma. She was all I thought of since the day you brought me here. I love you,” he said.
His statement floored Willow and revealed the depth of his attachment to Liberty.
A’shai turned his back on his mother and walked out as Willow called after him.
“Let him go!” Baron bellowed. “But if you walk out of those doors with that girl… you’re cut off! You hear me, Shai?! He’s the connect and your actions were disrespectful! He could have killed you!”
A’shai turned and rubbed the scar on the side of his face. “He should have… because now I’m gonna murk him.”
FIFTEEN
A’SHAI REACHED OVER AND GRABBED LIBERTY’S HAND. His tires screeched against the stone driveway as he pulled off Baron’s property. He was torn and his disloyalty plagued him as he thought of how he was turning his back on the only family he knew. But as Liberty intertwined her fingers with his, he remembered that he was the only family she knew and he could never leave her out in the cold.
“I’m going to take you somewhere safe… we need to lay low for a few days until I can come up with a plan. I need some time to think,” A’shai said.
Liberty looked out of the window feeling truly free for the first time. She had not seen A’shai since they were kids, but being with him felt right. It was the only thing that had ever felt right in her entire life.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely as she turned towards him. “You don’t even know how you saved my life.”
A’shai pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it gently.
“I’m sorry for pulling you into this mess with me,” Liberty whispered. “It seems like your life turned out okay… like maybe MURDERVILLE benefited one of us. I can tell you getting on that ship was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. But you… you were lucky. Things got better for you.”
A’shai could hear the sadness in her voice as she spoke, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for the way things had ended up. He hadn’t seen the type of struggle that she had and he silently wondered about the things that she had been through over the years. Liberty had gotten the short end of the stick and despite the fact that they were both kids when they were taken, A’shai felt as if everything that had happened to her was his fault.
“Don’t apologize for anything. I owe you this. I didn’t protect you. All of those years ago, I should have just admitted that I didn’t have a plan. I was running scared just like you. Instead I led you right into hell. That’s what that ship was Liberty… it was hell and I took you there,” A’shai admitted.
“It wasn’t hell until they took me away from you,” Liberty replied under her breath. She didn’t think that A’shai had heard her, but his ears intercepted every word. He tightened his hold on her hand as he eased his Range Rover onto the interstate.
“Get some rest, Liberty. We will be driving for a while,” he said.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“Up north. My family owns a winter home near Boyne Mountain. It’s secluded. You’ll be safe there,” he responded.
Liberty closed her eyes and the peace that settled over her was so foreign that she imm
ediately popped them back open. She had never gone to sleep with a serene mind and heart. There was always a threat lingering in her life. She was used to being preyed upon by others who wanted to hurt her. With A’shai it was different. It was as if time had stood still for them because she still felt the same love for him that she had so many years ago. In his presence she felt safe. He noticed her hesitation and put his hand on her shoulder as he rubbed the tension out of her neck. “Relax. I got you,” he said. She closed her eyes and went to sleep without reservations.
The five-hour drive north gave A’shai time to clear his mind. He knew the risk that he was taking but felt that he didn’t have a choice. It was his obligation to protect Liberty… he had promised her and he had broken that promise once before… he couldn’t do it again. Baron had been calling his phone for hours, but he refused to answer. His father couldn’t understand the connection that A’shai and Liberty shared. He didn’t know their back story. All Baron saw was a girl who had been for sale. He was blinded by Liberty’s lifestyle, but he had no clue what had brought her to that point. A’shai gave his father the ‘fuck you’ button, sending him to voicemail as he finally arrived at his destination.