Journey
Seeing Joseph, Rome, and the big stranger walking into my room right behind The Preacher filled my heart with happiness. His parting words were troubling. He said the next time I saw him the world will be on fire. But somehow, looking at my brother, my man, and whoever this powerful stranger was that had eyes like Joseph, I knew we were going to be okay.
Rob, my mother, and Albert woke up as the men walked in the room, Ayana still slept in my little brother’s arms.
“Hey, hey, hey…Y’all made it back in one piece. Good job, boys!” Albert gushed, the relief at seeing Joseph safe clear in his eyes. My mother jumped up to hug Rome.
“I’m so glad y’all made it back. I was praying for y’all the whole time!”
My eyes never looked away from Joseph as he approached me, gently taking me into his arms. Everybody else in the room just seemed to fade to black. In this moment, it was just he and I.
“Baby, how do you feel?” He asked softly as he sat on the bed next to me.
“I feel like I was touched by an angel. Did you see him, Joseph? Did you see the angel?”
He smiled nodding his head. “She’s right in front of me. How does your shoulder feel?”
I reached up and moved my gown back a bit. “I can still feel that I have an injury, but it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
His eyes fell to my stomach and a sad look came on his face. “And the baby?”
I took his hands and put them against my stomach. “He’s fine. He’s going to be a strong warrior just like his daddy.”
The smile that came on his face made me fall in love with him all over again. “He?”
I nodded. “He.”
“Got to go, little bro.”
A deep scratchy voice came from the back of us causing the room and everybody in it to come back into focus. I peeked around Joseph to the big man that stood behind him. This had to be one of his siblings that The Preacher told me about. Although he wasn’t dark like Joseph, he did favor him.
Only where Joseph’s beard, mustache, and hair cut were always trimmed and lined to perfection, this stranger’s not so much.
Don’t get me wrong, he was handsome. Very, but in a violent kind of way. No, scratch that…Savage.
He felt like a savage. His beard and mustache covered his face, making him look like a wild man. When his cold gaze fell on me, I shivered. Without being told, I knew that he was broken. He felt like Joseph had felt the night he’d killed all those men in the Jamaican restaurant. I squeezed Jo’s hand.
“Baby, this my—”
“Brother.” I said cutting him off. He turned to look at me surprised.
“How did you know? I’d only just found out.”
I smiled. “I told you I talked to an angel.”
His brother gave him and Rome a signal as if to tell them we were out of time.
Joseph turned back to me. “Journey, do you trust me?”
Without hesitation I nodded. “With my life.”
He smiled. “Life as we know it is going to change. But that’s alright. Because I’ll always be here for you. And I’ll always keep you safe. That’s my word.”
I frowned as another chill came over me. These were the Preacher’s exact words. “Is everything alright?”
“It will be, just as soon as we all die.”
After saying those very frightening words, he scooped me up into his arms, and then he made sure Robert had Ayana and began to head toward the door. He stopped at Albert’s bed.
“Let’s roll, old man.”
Albert nodded. “Right behind you, kid.”
I looked back at what was the beginning of our family before my gaze fell on Joseph’s face.
“Did you say we all had to die?”
His eyes came to mine as he carried me through the open doors. “You said you trust me, right?”
In his gaze I saw a new beginning. In this moment, he and I were leaving behind everything we’ve known before today and walking boldly into the unknown.
Gently I ran my fingers through his beard. “Have I told you yet that I love you?”
He shook his head. “The three words my soul longs to hear.”
I leaned in and gently kissed his lips. “I love you. I love you with my whole heart and soul. And I’m not afraid to walk into the future with you.”
“Together, we can handle anything.” He whispered.
“You promise?”
He nodded. “I promise.”
The Epilogue
Journey
“We can put you a greenhouse right here in this spot overlooking the river.”
I stood with Jo taking in our new home. He’d taken a job working for his brother’s security firm called, Security in Law. And apparently the new position came with some amenities, including a beautiful new home on his brother’s five-hundred acres of land in the Canadian Mountains.
Not only did Jo get a new home, but so did Rome and Albert, who too had taken a position with Security in Law. My mother and Rob had moved in with Rome, but I didn’t expect that arrangement to last. A little birdie may have let it slip that Albert was getting ready to propose to my mom.
I turned to look back at our home that was nestled deep in the tall Blue Spruce trees. The place was spectacular. It was ten times as beautiful as the cottage. Plus, when I looked out my kitchen window I had the perfect view of the mountains and the rushing river that ran alongside it. Our home was big enough for Ayana to have her own room as well as the new baby.
“What do you think? Are you happy?” Jo asked turning away from the amazing view to look at me.
Poor baby, he was so worried about me, about the way I was handling my new lot in life. I laid my head on his chest wrapping my arms around
