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.
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.”
TWENTY-TWO
LIBERTY SMILED AS SHE LISTENED TO A’SHAI tell her the end of their journey. It was supposed to be a happy ending. Neither of them expected her health to fade before their very eyes. They had heard the doctor’s diagnosis but in the short time of two years she had lost a little bit of energy every day. Now she had none left and there was nothing left to do. Her time was coming to an end. The passionate few years she had spent with A’shai felt like a lifetime, and she was grateful to feel that type of love before dying. She remembered the day she found out that she had a failing heart. All of the signs had been there long before any doctor had confirmed the condition. She had lived a harsh life, and it took a toll on her heart. The doctors said that it was a genetic glitch, but A’shai somehow believed that if he would have protected her better she wouldn’t have had a shortened life. She had experienced so much heartbreak in her time, and it had weakened her. Since the day they met, their time together had been on a constant countdown. A’shai saw that she didn’t have much longer. It was evident in her eyes. They were not the same and he could tell that Liberty wouldn’t make it through the night. A’shai leaned down to kiss his love and ran his fingers through her hair gently while grief flowed down his face. He had spent the last seven hours telling her their life’s story. He had nursed his drink and let his words flow, all the while knowing what the ultimate unchanging end would be. His heart ached because he knew that it would be his last time telling her that story.
“I’m cold, babe,” Liberty whispered as she closed her eyes. A’shai couldn’t help himself and even though he tried to fight his emotions, not wanting to appear weak… tears slowly fell and dripped off his trembling lip. He knew that his love was fading away into GOD’s glorious light.
“I’m cold too, baby,” A’shai said as he downed the last of his drink and lay next to Liberty while holding her tightly. He knew that the Black Tea that he had sipped while he told Liberty their story was slowly killing him. He wanted to die with her. Nothing had separated them since their escape, and he vowed that nothing ever would. They would be together forever on the other side. “I love you,” he whispered as he felt himself becoming drowsy as a weak sensation took over him.
“I love you more,” she whispered as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She was on the edge and was about to slip off. He felt his heartbeat slowing down, and he managed to release a small smile along with a final tear of joy.
They were about to die together. It was a beautiful death. They would both finally be free as birds with none of the ills that the world had to offer. None of their past burdens weighed them down… not MURDERVILLE, not Sierra Leone or the Rebellion, not even the harsh hand that the streets had dealt them. They transcended all of the pain as their bodies failed them. They lay in each other’s arms, and they both closed their eyes as they embraced, wanting to hold onto one another forever.
EPILOGUE
