Murderville (23 page)

“We have a flower delivery for Baron Montgomery,” a young white boy said, while holding a black vase with white lilies spilling out of it. Baron stepped to the side and held out his arm to welcome the boy inside. “I have twenty more arrangements in the van.”

Baron couldn’t believe the amount of love that Willow was receiving. The church had been full of flowers and now his home was being invaded with them as well. It showed how much people really would miss his wife. She was a good woman, and the entire hood loved her. They were really showing out for her, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Baron. The people loved him and were sorry for his loss. Once all of the arrangements were inside, Baron tipped the delivery boy and then closed the door.

The ringing of the phone in his hand made Baron pause mid-step as he hurried back to his office to find some solace.

“Is it taken care of?” he asked without saying hello.

“If you’re asking if your little hit squad murdered me, the answer is no.”

Baron clenched his jaw when he heard Samad’s voice.

“Now you’ve got three more funerals to pay for,” Samad said. “I hope you enjoy the flowers. It’s just a little token from me to send my most genuine condolences,” he stated. “Say hello to my friends when they get there.”

Before Baron could respond the line went dead and the sound of yelling alarmed him, causing his attention to shift to the sounds coming from his living room.

“Detroit Police Department! Everyone on the ground now!”

Baron immediately speed dialed his attorney and said, “Meet me downtown as soon as possible.” He hung up just as the task force came into his office with their guns drawn.

“What the fuck is this? You disrespectful mu’fuckas come into my home on the day I bury my wife?” he asked the lead detective. Baron wondered why he hadn’t been tipped off about this little intrusion. As many cops as he had on his payroll, there was no way he should have been taken by surprise. “I’m going to have your job for this,” he said calmly.

“Oh yeah, Mr. Mafioso?” the white detective shot back sarcastically. “You are gonna get me fired? You’re connected, huh?”

“Like the interstate,” Baron spat.

“Well, we have a warrant to search the premises.” The detective shoved the papers directly in Baron’s face, but Baron was not intimidated. He had nothing to hide. He never kept any work inside his home. That was the number one rule. Never shit where you eat. A smug smile crossed his exhausted face as he stood toe-to-toe with the detective.

“Be my guest,” Baron said. He was so confident that the police wouldn’t find anything that it wasn’t even a worry in the back of his mind. His home was clean, and he felt slighted as he thought of how Detroit’s finest were intruding and disrespecting Willow’s memory.

Baron followed the police into his family room and watched as they went straight for the flower arrangements that had just been delivered. They cracked the black vases and Baron’s heart collapsed when he saw them begin to pull kilos of cocaine from the inside. There were twenty vases in all and each one contained a separate key, wrapped in clear plastic. Samad had set him up and as Baron held up his hands in surrender, the detective forced him to his knees.

In disbelief Baron shook his head as the entire thing seemed to play out before him in slow motion. His guests looked at him with sympathy and shock as they watched him be handcuffed and read his rights.
Fuck. How did I let him catch me like this?
Baron asked himself. He knew that his head hadn’t been in the right place. Willow’s murder had him distracted and after all of his years of flawless hustling, this is what it had come to. Because he was caught red-handed with twenty bricks inside his home, he was done. They were about to cook him and Baron couldn’t do anything but chuckle slightly to himself at the irony of it all. Samad had set him up good, and Baron knew that with the raw uncut cocaine Samad had access to that he was in for the fight of his life. Years of flying under the radar had just gone straight out the window. Baron felt the cut of the handcuffs as they dug into his wrists and he realized that he could be going away for a very long time. As he took the walk of shame to the police car, he held his head high. He looked at each one of his workers in the eye as he was led out. He had never bowed down to anyone and had enjoyed the fruits of his street labor. He had lived high off the fast life and had risked it all for the sake of the American dream. Now because of Samad he had taken the plunge from grace, but he would take his fall like a man. Just as he had ridden the wave to the top, he would ride it to the bottom because it was all a part of the game. He had hoped to be one of the lucky ones and come out unscathed, but the loss of a loved one had been the tragic event that started the downward cycle. Now he was facing the loss of his freedom, an inevitable opponent that every kingpin must contend with.

SEVENTEEN

AS SOON AS A’SHAI WALKED INTO THE
hotel room, Liberty could read the defeat all over his face.

“Are you okay?” Liberty asked as she sat up in the bed and got on her knees. A’shai sighed, not in the mood to talk about what happened. Seeing her waiting anxiously for him was like a band-aid to his ego. He was bleeding on the inside, and Liberty was what he needed to forget about the day’s events. Her long hair cascaded over one shoulder as the white plush hotel robe hung off the other shoulder. Her golden skin glistened.

A’shai had entertained his share of women, but none of them could hold a candle to Liberty. He remembered how he had been enthralled by her when his father had kidnapped her from her village. At first sight Liberty had effortlessly stolen his heart.

“Come here,” she summoned as she beckoned him with her finger. Since reuniting, A’shai hadn’t touched Liberty . . . not in the way that he wanted to. There was no doubt in his mind that he was attracted to her. Liberty’s body curved like a coke bottle . . . hips wide . . . waist narrow . . . and face as pretty as an evening sunset; she had to be the 8th wonder of the world. He went to her, sitting on the edge of the bed as he bent over solemnly. She crawled over to him and kissed the back of his neck, awakening his loins as her lips tickled his skin. His dick jumped and began to grow in his pants, but he removed her hands as he fought off the temptation. A’shai had two reasons for not wanting to sleep with Liberty. He didn’t want to take advantage of her the way that every other man in her life had done. He wished that his other reason was as noble, but it was purely selfish. He was uncomfortable with her promiscuous past. Just thinking of another nigga inside of her had him heated. He wasn’t mad at Liberty directly, but the situation in general was just fucked up. Too many men knew what she felt like . . . what she smelled like . . . what she tasted like and although A’shai was not superficial he couldn’t deny the fact that it bothered him.

“Why don’t you want me?” she whispered as she leaned back. A’shai turned towards her and saw the sting of rejection in her eyes.

“I want you, ma. I want you more than I’ve wanted anything in this life . . . but I can’t help but think . . .”

“That I was a whore? That I slept with men for money? I can’t change who I am,” she stated sharply as she stood up and crossed her arms.

“I’m not asking you to,” A’shai replied as he looked up at her. He pulled her over to him, and she stood between his legs. “I’m a man . . . a jealous man when it comes to you.”

“You don’t have anything to be jealous of Shai. I’ve had sex with men . . . men who hurt me . . . who forced me . . . who hit me. I have never wanted to have sex with anyone in my life. I did what I had to do to stay alive. You can’t fault me for that. I hated every minute of it but I learned to become a great actress,” Liberty admitted as her voice cracked from emotion. “Even with you. The only reason I even threw myself at you was because I feel guilty . . . like I owe you something! I’m the reason that your mom is dead! I owe you everything for taking me away from that life but I have nothing. Shai, I have nothing to offer you! Sex is all I know. It’s all I have.”

Hearing Liberty’s words broke A’shai in pieces. She was lost and it was up to him to help her find herself. He pulled her down on the bed as he wrapped his arms around her. All of a sudden the men she had been with didn’t matter. He held her as she cried on his shoulder.

“Get it out, ma. Let it all out. Because after tonight we are both leaving everything behind us,” he whispered. “It’s you and me, Liberty. Fuck the world.”

Liberty’s body tingled and a moan escaped her lips as she spread her legs open. She thought that she was dreaming and that the sensation pulsing through her body was coming from her own fingertips until she glanced down between her thighs. All she saw was A’shai’s eyes as he looked up at her while licking her clit slowly.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she tried to sit up.

“Shhh,” he whispered as he put his hand in the middle of her chest and gently laid her back, all without ever stopping the rhythm of his tongue. Liberty closed her eyes as he worked her over and although she was tense at first, the more he satisfied her, the more relaxed her legs became. It wasn’t long before she was grinding into his tongue. She could hardly contain herself. The act of sex had always felt dirty to her, but with A’shai it felt right.

“Ooh stop,” she moaned as she felt her clit become tender as blood caused her labia to swell. “Shai . . . Shai,” she called out. Shai smiled as he felt her ankles interlock behind his head, and her body began to shudder. He maneuvered himself over her, his swollen flesh pressed against her stomach.

“Me and you,” he whispered in her ear as he entered her.

“Fuck the world,” she answered, repeating the motto he had taught her earlier.

“You want me to stop?” he asked as he pulled back so that he could see her face. “I want this to be your choice. I don’t want you pretending with me. I would never hurt you.”

Liberty hesitated as she waited for the empty feeling that always preceded sex to fill her in this moment. If any doubt did exist, she couldn’t recognize it. She was blinded by the intense devotion and attraction she felt for A’shai. “I want to,” she whispered, and as he entered her she gasped in fulfillment. Nothing had ever felt so good. A’shai worked her middle passionately, digging her back out as he grooved to an inaudible beat. The only sound that could be heard was their erratic breathing, and the familiar sound of skin slapping skin. There was no need for theatrics. They were both too into it to sing each other’s praises. Liberty matched A’shai’s intensity as she thrust her hips at him, literally throwing the pussy at him. A’shai received it gently, stroking slowly . . . deeply, as he kissed her lips and rocked in and out of her womb. Her tight walls almost inhaled his manhood, sucking him into her warm insides and tickling his loins. She fit him like a tight glove as she flexed her muscles to contract around him. She felt so good that A’shai could barely stop himself from busting too early. Liberty soaked the sheets beneath her as her eyes rolled in the back of her head. She came up on her elbows and whispered, “Lay down, Shai. Let me please you.” In all her years of being a professional no man had ever worked her over this good. She just wanted to reciprocate and show A’shai how much she loved him. This moment had been years in the making. Frustration, attraction, deprivation, and adulation all contributed to this explosive moment. Even when they didn’t realize they needed one another, subconsciously they had always yearned to be together.

As she mounted A’shai, he palmed her breasts, making circular motions on her perky mounds while rubbing her hard nipples. Just the sight of her naked body atop of his made his dick brick. The tip of his penis swelled as pre-cum oozed out of it. He grabbed himself and stroked gently as she lowered her head between his legs. Without any reservations she took him into her mouth and replaced his hands with her own. She moved them up and down around his shaft while making his shaft disappear and reappear. It was a lovely sight to A’shai and his toes began to curl as she adjusted the tightness of her mouth while running her tongue up and down the veins in his pole. He inhaled and reached down to pull her up. In one smooth motion he placed her on top of him. Without losing their rhythm, she rode him. Neither of them wanted the moment to end, but as Liberty began to moan A’shai could feel himself losing his cool.

“Shai,” she called out in a complete euphoric state. The sound of his name falling off her lips took him over the top, and he released his seed inside of her. Liberty collapsed on top of him, her ruffled hair falling in her face. He swept it to the side so that he could see her face clearly and he noticed that her eyes looked different . . . less worried, as though he had lifted a burden off her soul.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” she replied. She stood to her feet while smiling mischievously.

“Where you going?” he asked.

“To take a shower,” she said. “But I’m not doing it alone. I don’t want to do anything without you ever again.” She reached down and grabbed his hand to pull him to his feet.

A’shai followed her into the bathroom where they resumed their sex session well into the night, making up for lost time.

As daylight crept through the hotel blinds A’shai realized that he had not been to sleep. His mind was racing and he felt extreme stress, despite the beautiful night that he and Liberty had shared the night before. As he listened to her steady breathing he felt the same responsibility for her that he had felt when they had run away from home as kids. It was up to him to lead her to a better life and this time he was determined not to drop the ball. She had no clue, but his pockets were dwindling. All of his money had gone up in smoke in the car explosion and all he had left was the paper in his pocket. He eased out of the bed, moving Liberty off his chest before climbing out of bed. He went into the pocket of his suit jacket to retrieve the small knot of bills. He flipped through it quickly, but when he discovered the total he knew that he may as well have been broke: $3,000 wouldn’t get them very far . . . not when they were running from a man whose resources were limitless. A’shai couldn’t even purchase any decent fire power for that amount.
Fuck am I going to do?
he thought.
I’ve got to come up on some paper.