Murderville (24 page)

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He reached in his slacks and retrieved it. He recognized the name instantly. If Baron had taught him anything, it was to always have your attorney on speed-dial and as the call came up he answered it.

“Don Clarkston,” A’shai stated.

“A’shai, good morning. I’m sorry to call you so early, but it is very important. It’s Baron,” Clarkston said. “He was arrested last night. He was arraigned this morning. He asked me to call you. I need a $50,000 retainer to render services to him, and he says that you are the only one who knows where his money is.”

“Arrested?” A’shai exclaimed, stirring Liberty from her sleep. He knew that it was uncharacteristic for Baron to be caught slipping. “How did this happen?”

“Apparently, Baron was caught with large quantities of cocaine in his home,” Clarkston replied.

A’shai shook his head in disbelief. He knew his father would never bring his business home. “What’s his bail?” A’shai asked, instantly reverting back to his loyal duties as Baron’s son and next in command.

“Your father is considered a flight risk. Bail was denied,” Clarkston said. “Time is of the essence, A’shai. The sooner you can get me that retainer the better.”

A’shai hung up the phone and turned around to find Liberty staring at him.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Get dressed, ma, we have to go,” he stated.

A’shai pulled up to his parents’ home and parked his car in the circular driveway, directly in front of the door.

“Stay here. I’ll be in and out,” he instructed as he kissed her cheek and rushed into the house. He went to the basement and into the cellar where Baron kept his money secure in a safe. He located the large wine rack that hid the industrial wall safe. He pulled down one bottle and pressed the button that was hidden behind it. The entire rack slid to the side, revealing Baron’s hidden treasure. A’shai quickly put the combination in and rubbed his hands together as he prepared to unload the riches. He froze in disbelief when the door popped open and he witnessed the inside of the bare safe. It had been wiped out. The only thing that remained was a single handgun . . . his father’s signature .38. Every dollar that had once filled the space was gone.
This can’t be right . . . fuck is all the money?

Liberty sat in the car antsy as she waited for her man to return.
Where is he? What is taking him so long?
she thought as she looked around nervously, feeling like a sitting duck. She noticed a black Acura pull up to the house, sitting curbside. Liberty tried to peer inside the windows at the driver, but the dark tint hindered her vision.

A bad vibe filled her as she whispered, “Come on, Shai, . . . hurry up.” Her worried eyes were locked on the open door of Baron’s home.

The sound of squealing tires caused her to focus her attention on the car, but before she could even process what was going on the black Acura rammed into the side of the Benz.

“Ahh!” Liberty screamed, terrified as she ducked down as the driver-side window burst from the impact. The car backed up and rammed into the side of A’shai’s ride again. Everything was happening so fast that Liberty didn’t know what to do. She climbed into the driver’s seat and attempted to throw the car in drive, but before she could even put her foot on the pedal, the Acura drove into her once again. Liberty felt the metal crunch into her side as she screamed out in pure fear. She mashed the car horn, trying to get A’shai’s attention without letting up.

BEEEPPP!!!

As she watched the Acura back up once more, panic filled her. Wide-eyed, she stared at the car as its engine revved. She struggled to put the car in drive but the way that A’shai was parked she had nowhere to go. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact as the car burned rubber before her.

A’shai heard the horn sound off and he grabbed the gun out of the safe before he shot up the stairs. He raced outside, knowing that the way Liberty was laying on the horn could only mean one thing . . . she was in trouble. When he saw the Acura ram into the side of his car he chambered the first round of the .38, knowing that Baron kept it loaded, and then removed his own gun off his waist. He clicked it off safety in one swift motion and started spraying. The semi-automatic spit specks of gold fire as he aimed at the car while walking towards it. Fed up, he didn’t hesitate. He had a marksman’s aim and was trying to eliminate whoever was behind the wheel. He knew that Samad was gunning for him, and A’shai felt no remorse as he tried to send someone’s child back to them in a box. Bullets riddled the car until finally the driver reversed all the way to the street. A’shai didn’t stop shooting until the car pulled away. He ran and snatched open the driver-side door. He wrapped his arms around a shaken Liberty.

“You’re okay . . . I’m here. I’ve got you,” he assured as he kissed her repeatedly. “Are you hurt?”

“No . . . no, I’m okay,” she answered, her voice shaking as she slid back into the passenger seat.

A’shai knew that Samad had his killers after them. A man of Samad’s power didn’t take insolence without retaliation. A’shai had given Samad the ultimate sign of disrespect . . . he had snatched his bitch, and A’shai knew that the conflict was only just beginning. Samad was a man with limitless means. Whoever he wanted touched would be touched, and A’shai knew that the threat was real. Things would have been so much easier had he had his father backing him, but A’shai knew that this was not Baron’s fight. He had his own troubles at the moment, and A’shai was too proud to admit that he needed help.

“We have to switch cars. Come on,” he said. Liberty was shaking like a leaf in the wind as she climbed out and followed him back into the house. A’shai went straight to the attached garage, revealing three luxury cars. He grabbed the spare key to Baron’s Lexus coupe and then pulled off.

“We have to get out of here, Shai. I know Samad. He’s not going to stop, and the longer we stick around here the greater chance we have to get caught,” Liberty said, her voice still trembling. He could tell that she was shaken up.

“I know, ma . . . I know. I just have to handle a few things first,” he said, not wanting to tell her that he was broke. He had been depending on Baron’s stash. He knew that there had been close to $1 million in that safe and after paying Baron’s bail he was going to take a portion to get them safely out of town . . . but his plans had been spoiled.

“Handle what, Shai? Let’s just go . . . please,” she pleaded.

“We won’t get very far with no money,” he said.

Liberty paused and looked at him in disbelief. “What you mean no money? I thought . . .”

“Every dollar I had was in a duffel bag in the back of my whip when it blew up, and my pop’s safe was empty,” A’shai said in frustration.

“Who else had the combination?” Liberty asked.

A’shai paused as a light bulb went off in his head. “Nobody! The only people who can access that safe is me and my Pop’s . . .” A’shai suddenly remembered that he had given Nico the combo. “Fuck!” he shouted. “Nico took that paper.”

A’shai knew what he needed to do. He wanted to go to the county jail to visit Baron and inform him of what was going on but he couldn’t. Samad wasn’t an amateur, and A’shai knew that if he showed up to visit his father that Samad’s shooter would be there waiting for him. He wasn’t about to walk into a trap. A’shai had to find Nico and get that money. His life depended on it.

EIGHTEEN

PUSSY WAS THE ONE THING THAT COULD
make the sharpest hustler dull and as Nico sat in the strip club making it rain on his favorite dancers, he was the epitome of stupidity. He was lax because he knew that Baron was powerless from where he was sitting, and A’shai was on the run. The way he saw it, there would be no consequences for his actions. Contributing to Willow’s death had been a mistake, but hitting Baron’s safe had been a lovely caper. He had no intention of sticking his uncle until the police arrested Baron. The opportunity had presented itself and Nico was too greedy to let his loyalty override the temptation to come up. He was in the clear, and because he was family he knew that Baron would never suspect him. Being an intricate part of Baron’s operation, Nico wasn’t new to money, but he was a virgin when it came to prestige and power. He wanted respect in the streets and as the dollar bills danced in the air around him he felt it for the first time. What he didn’t realize was that the half-naked chicks in the club didn’t respect him. In their eyes he was a trick. They could tell he was an easy mark because he was too flamboyant. He was eager to flaunt his cash and in many ways the ladies around him were on top of their hustles more than he would ever be. He sat back as he watched the girl on stage as she shook her derrière while he reveled in his newfound status. He had been asking for more responsibility for a long time, but Baron had dismissed him.
I’m his fucking blood nephew, and he made me second behind Shai. That’s the only person he saw. Shai wasn’t running the trap by himself, but he took all the credit. Well now I’m taking what’s due to me,
Nico thought as he hit the shot of Patron and relaxed in the plush booth. He felt his manhood brick as he watched one the dancers put her thing down on stage. She pulled her thong to the side revealing the prettiest pussy lips he had ever seen, and she bent over, grabbing her ankles as she made her ass cheeks give a round of applause. There was nothing like a bad bitch on a pole to stroke his ego. He knew that he should be lying low and keeping his newfound wealth a secret but splurging in the club made him feel good. As Nico popped bottles of Rose in the club, he and his new crew of young gunners lived it up. He had assembled a few shooters and some new block lieutenants, forming his own squad. What Nico craved was an empire, but he was merely copying what he had seen while working underneath his uncle. The men who had worked for Baron had pledged their allegiance out of loyalty and love. The only larcenous snake that had been around Baron was Nico, everyone else was family. Nico’s organization was newborn. They were wild, reckless, and out for self. They were only ‘yes’ men because Nico was the new money man. They respected the money . . . not the man and the thought of being loyal to anyone other than themselves was a joke. But as Nico balled out, he was blind to it all. He felt like the new king and couldn’t wait to take the game by storm.

“That bitch badder than a mu’fucka,” he commented as he watched the dancer work the pole as if it were a fine art. She had to have a degree in seduction because she was making Nico feel like he was the only man in the room.

Nico’s eyes were low from the effects of the champagne. He was feeling good and a night cap with the beauty in front of him would set the night off. As one of the waitresses passed his booth he put a $50 bill in the air and waved it arrogantly to gain her attention.

“Can I get you something?” she asked.

“Yeah . . . her,” Nico replied as his eyes never left the stage and he nodded towards the dancer shaking her assets to the new Drake beat, grinding slowly. She was mesmerizing Nico with her slim waist and round ass. Her curves were killing him, and his dick was so hard that he had to adjust his hard-on in his jeans to conceal it. “Tell her I pay nice. I want a private dance.”

“New girls don’t do dances, but I can hook you up,” the girl stated flirtatiously as she tried to steal the other dancer’s one-on-one.

“Maybe next time, ma. I want her,” Nico commented.

The girl rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth as she took the $50 tip from his hand before leaving to go deliver the message. He had a couple stacks in his pocket and had a goldmine in the trunk of his car. So if the girl was for sale then he could afford to buy her, and he was ready for a fun night of mind-blowing sex.

A’shai sat in the shadows of the strip club as he watched Nico out of the corner of his eye. He admired the stripper on the pole, wanting to appear to be just another patron. The black Armani Exchange hoodie and NY fitted cap he wore concealed his identity. He nursed a drink as he scoffed at his idiot cousin while rubbing the scar on the side of his face.
This nigga is making this shit too easy,
A’shai thought. Nico had not been hard to find. A’shai knew that Nico lived in the strip clubs and wouldn’t be able to resist flashing his new paper for the hood to see. As he watched carefully he noticed the bulge on Nico’s hip. He then noted the four flunkies that Nico was surrounded by. He was sure that they were all strapped.
They must’a paid the bouncer to get in here with the strap,
A’shai said to himself as he felt his own steel in the front of his hoodie. As Nico flirted with the girl, A’shai watched intensely, peering at the couple and slowly rubbing his scarred face as Nico’s hands slid up the dancer’s thighs.
I can’t wait to clap this clown ass nigga,
he thought. Nico and the girl stood to go to a private room. There was only one way in and one way out so Nico would have nowhere to run. Once A’shai had sat back to analyze the situation, he realized that Nico had always been a snake in the grass. What Baron had been willing to dismiss as incompetence, A’shai saw as sedition. Nico had sparked a chain of events that Shai could never pardon.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. Nico was the only person who knew I was up north . . . that’s how Samad was able to find me. That bomb would’ve never been underneath my car,
A’shai thought angrily. Because of Nico a woman that A’shai loved had been murdered. Outwardly, A’shai appeared calm but inside he was fuming. Many people had taken A’shai’s controlled demeanor as his weakness, but it was simply the calm before the storm. He didn’t talk bad or make scenes . . . he put in work. There wasn’t a need to talk about his actions. Talking too much was a quick way to get caught up on the wrong side of the law. As he saw Nico’s back disappear into the backroom he slid his hand inside the front pocket of his hoodie and clicked his gun off safety. He stood to locate Big Ray, the club’s owner. Big Ray was a close affiliate of Baron’s . . . in fact Baron had put up some paper a few years ago to help Big Ray keep his establishment open after running into some financial issue with the IRS. Big Ray owed Baron a favor and helping A’shai set this trap was a part of the deal. Unbeknownst to Nico, he was flossing Baron’s cash in an establishment that Baron in fact owned a percentage of.