Murderville (21 page)

“I’m so mad at you right now, I can’t even look at you,” she said aloud, knowing that her husband was standing behind her. He wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist and buried his face in the nape of her neck. Her long fine hair was kept in dreadlocks that smelled of vanilla, and he inhaled her angelic scent.

“Shai is hard headed. That girl he’s with is no good for him. He is just like me. My blood doesn’t run through his veins but my mentality is cemented in his heart. You don’t start a war over pussy . . .”

Willow scoffed and looked at him incredulously. “Oh? How quickly we forget,” she commented sarcastically.

Baron chuckled and shook his head as his hand traveled to the jewel between her legs. “This pussy was worth it,” he whispered seductively as his deep baritone caused her panties to become soaked in anticipation. She squirmed out of his reach and turned to face him.

“Besides your pussy wasn’t for sale,” Baron stated, his tone heavy with judgment.

“You don’t know the first thing about this girl, Baron. She may be a good girl. If she came from where Shai came from she may not have had a choice in the matter. There is a difference between being a whore and being a victim,” Willow reasoned.

“Either way, she’s not good enough for him. You can’t turn a girl like that into a housewife,” Baron said. “And he’s going to have to learn that the hard way.”

“But Samad is dangerous Baron,” Willow stated.

“So is A’shai,” Baron replied confidently as he thought of the killer instincts that his son possessed. Coming from Sierra Leone, A’shai was ruthless simply because of his environment. Baron was more than positive that A’shai could hold his own. Samad would be in for a surprise if he thought that touching A’shai would be easy. He was young in years but nothing about A’shai was naïve. He was skilled with his hands and deadly with the gunplay. Not to mention he was superior by far when it came to rational reasoning. He was a thinker . . . a sharp young man who could think himself out of the stickiest of situations. “He’s your son so you don’t see the ruthlessness in him. He’s put in enough work to know how to handle himself just fine. A’shai is stubborn. I have to love him tough. It’s the only thing he can comprehend. He wants to be a man and do his own thing so I’m going to let him. Everything will be fine.”

Willow sighed and whispered, “I hope so because if something happens to my baby, you and I are going to have some very serious issues.”

She gave him a stern look, her mouth set in disapproval, and her eyebrows arched in displeasure. He knew that her threat was real. Baron had been the man who held the key to Willow’s heart until they brought A’shai into their world. Now he was second place in her life, but Baron completely understood. A’shai was her son, and their bond was unbreakable. Baron loved how she mothered him. The last thing he intended was to tear their family apart, but there was no room for Liberty. She was a liability, one that he couldn’t afford to take on.

* * *

Willow just couldn’t sit still. She tossed and turned all night, her gut clenching painfully from the fear of the unknown. Her stomach was in knots and tears came to her eyes each time she thought of A’shai being outnumbered, overpowered, and outgunned. And despite what Baron told her, she could see in his eyes that the situation was bothering him more than he let on. He played tough, but she knew that he was broken up about his blow out with A’shai. She couldn’t numb her heart the way that Baron could. She constantly called A’shai’s phone, praying that he would answer but each time she got his voicemail. Fed up and in need of answers, she called Nico.

“What’s up, Auntie Will?” He answered on the first ring.

“Where is my son?” she asked, cutting to the chase.

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him in a couple days,” Nico replied.

Willow detected the lie as soon as it slipped off his tongue. “Boy, I’ve known you since you were running around pissing in diapers. You come out of your mouth with another lie and I’m going to knock your teeth down your throat the next time I see you. Now where is he?” she repeated.

Nico had never heard Willow so angry, but he knew that she was not one to fuck with. She may have seemed gentle in nature, but he knew better and was well aware of her ruthlessness. She was a black widow who was capable of eating someone alive if she had to. She only played the back because she had a good man who was capable of handling the front.

“He’s up north at the house in Boyne,” Nico stated reluctantly. “But you shouldn’t drive up there for a few days. There’s a snowstorm coming in, and the roads will be rough going up. If you wait I’ll take you myself as soon as the weather clears. He’s hiding out, playing house with that bitch. . . .”

“Watch your mouth,” Willow said quickly before she hung up the phone.

She grabbed the keys to her E-550 and headed out of the door. The horrible intuition that she was experiencing was torturing her and would not allow her to wait until the storm passed. She felt that her son needed her, and her motherly instincts were seldom wrong.

Hours had passed and A’shai hadn’t returned, which gave Liberty time to become familiar with her new surroundings. She made herself at home and as she nosily went from room to room, she found herself becoming slightly jealous of how easy A’shai’s life had been during the years they were separated.
He has no idea how lucky he is,
she thought as she pulled out a photo album and made herself comfortable at the kitchen table. Just as she was about to flip it open she heard the front door open. Happy that A’shai had finally come back, she rushed into the living room.

“Hey, it took you long enough. Where did you . . . ?” Liberty stopped mid-sentence when she realized that it wasn’t A’shai.

“You must be the girl that has stolen my son’s heart away from me,” Willow said as she looked Liberty up and down.

Liberty’s mouth fell open to respond but she was at a loss for words.

Willow smiled slightly because she could see that Liberty was slightly intimidated to be in her presence. “You can start with your name sweetheart,” she said.

“Liberty,” she finally spoke. “My name is Liberty.”

Willow paused for a moment as she realized that she had heard the name before. “A’shai used to talk about you all the time when he first came to live with us. You’re the famous Liberty. He used to call you his wife,” Willow said with a chuckle. “He’s right: you are a very pretty girl.”

Liberty blushed slightly. “Thank you,” she replied.

“I’m Willow,” his mother said.

Willow noticed the photo album in Liberty’s hand, and Liberty handed it over, feeling intrusive. “I was just looking at your family.”

Willow stared at Liberty, slightly taken aback by her features. “You’re from Sierra Leone as well?” she asked.

Liberty nodded.

“You’re a long way from home,” Willow stated.

“I don’t even remember where home is. It feels like I never had one,” Liberty whispered to herself.

Willow’s heart immediately went out to Liberty. “I cannot imagine the things that your eyes have seen.”

Liberty teared up a bit, and she quickly began to wipe the tears away as she turned around in shame. “I’m sorry.”

Willow smiled sympathetically as she reached out and grabbed Liberty’s hand. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Come on. Let me catch you up on my son.”

The two ladies sat down at the kitchen table and flipped through the large photo album as Willow told Liberty the story of A’shai’s upbringing. She explained each photograph, allowing Liberty to share in A’shai’s rejuvenated past.

“You gave him such a good life,” Liberty commented.

“We tried to. He was and will always be our world,” Willow replied.

“Mine too,” Liberty answered as she looked Willow in the eye.

Willow was usually a jealous woman who liked to have the love of her son and husband to herself, but Liberty’s devotion to her son was admirable. They had spent more time apart than they had together, but fate had still brought them back to one another. Willow could tell from the starry gaze in Liberty’s eyes that she was genuine.
She loves him,
Willow thought. As much as she didn’t want to like Liberty she couldn’t help but see what A’shai had raved about when he was younger. Her spirit was so gentle, and although she was rough around the edges from years of being misused and abused, Willow could see through the stained glass to the beautiful soul that lay within Liberty.

“I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand,” Liberty said. “I wasn’t trying to come into Shai’s life and ruin everything that he’s worked so hard for. He was lucky. He got out of the system. He broke free. But me? I’m trapped. I sold my soul to the devil a long time ago. I barely remember where I came from. The only time I remember love is when I think of Shai. I think that’s why he means so much to me. He’s always taken my pain away.”

Willow fell hard for Liberty and liked her in that very moment. The only thing that a mother could want for her son is for him to find a woman who sincerely loves him. A’shai had found that woman and although their circumstance was unconventional, Willow was a firm believer in happy endings. She was rooting for them, and she now fully understood why A’shai had chosen to remain loyal to Liberty despite Baron’s wishes.

“You know the two of you being together has started a war? Samad . . .”

Liberty cringed at the mere mention of his name.

“You’re afraid of him?” Willow noticed picking up on the way that Liberty’s body tensed up.

“He was going to kill me. He was crazy over me . . . over anything that he thought was his. He treated me like I was a possession,” Liberty said with emotion.

“No man should have that much power over you, Liberty . . . not even my son. The moment you start to feel like an object is the moment you leave out the door. You have to know your own self-worth. Coming from where you come from, I know that’s easier said than done . . . but you don’t belong to anyone anymore sweetheart. The past doesn’t define your future. Be the woman that GOD designed you to be. Trust me, with beauty like yours HE didn’t make you simply to decorate some man’s arm. You’re special . . . that’s why Samad wanted you for himself. He saw it . . . A’shai has always seen it. Now that I’ve met you, I can see it. Now all you have to do is open your eyes,” Willow schooled as she touched Liberty’s chin and gave her a smile. “You take good care of my son. He is putting himself at risk by being with you. I know him, and he wouldn’t do that for just anyone. You be good to him.”

“Always,” Liberty replied.

A’shai stood in the living room listening to their conversation. He had noticed his mother’s car as soon as he pulled up and had rushed into the house expecting to interrupt a confrontation between the two most important women in his life. He already knew how she had found him. Nico was the only person who knew where to find him. A’shai was pleasantly surprised to find his two ladies getting to know one another. He could tell from the tone of Willow’s voice that she was smitten with Liberty, and it pleased him to know that she supported him. He knew that Liberty had a checkered past and that by being with her, he was adopting her problems with Samad but it was all worth it to him. He would lay any man down in order to protect her. He had no problem rocking a nigga to sleep, and if Samad wanted to go night night A’shai would gladly oblige him. As he stood in the doorway he thought that he was looking at the two most beautiful women in the world. He cleared his throat to announce his presence and interrupted their bonding moment.

They turned around, and Willow stood to her feet to embrace him. “I’m glad you’re okay, Shai. I was worried about you. Things are going to get very bad,” Willow stated.

“I can handle any beef that comes my way. You don’t have to lose no sleep, ma,” he stated surely as he kissed her cheek. “What you doing driving all this way? It’s bad out there. I know your little Benz was sliding all over the road.”

“It was hell getting up here but a woman does what she has to do to protect her family. You didn’t answer my calls. I needed to come and see with my own eyes that you were okay. Samad isn’t to be underestimated, A’shai,” Willow warned as she took his face between her hands and kissed his forehead.

He nodded his head, choosing not to respond with words.
That bitch ass nigga got mu’fuckas thinking he don’t bleed,
he thought as he clenched his jaw.

“You’re not superman, boy. You may be a grown man, but you’ll always be my baby boy. You took his woman. That’s a grudge that doesn’t die. Just promise me you will be careful,” she said.

“I promise, ma. You don’t have to worry about Samad,” he assured. Willow hugged him, and A’shai held her tightly as he winked his eye at Liberty, who was still seated at the table. “I love you,” he mouthed.

She smiled and blew him an air kiss.

“I’m going to get out of here. I know your father is wondering where I am,” Willow stated. “I just couldn’t resist driving up here to check on you.”

“You can’t drive back home tonight. Your car won’t make it down the block in that snow,” A’shai argued. “Call pop and tell him you’ll be home tomorrow.”

Willow shook her head and replied, “No, I need to get back. You have really ruffled your father’s feathers. I need to be there for him right now. Maybe I can convince him to give the two of you a chance. I know once he meets Liberty he would approve.”

A’shai went into his pocket to retrieve his car keys. “You can take my car. It’ll get you through the snow better,” A’shai said.

“Walk an old woman out?” Willow asked.

“If there was an old woman in the room I surely would,” he replied smoothly, flattering Willow. She was in her late 40s and far from being an old head. She still had it and they both knew it, but it felt good to hear her son say it. Liberty stood to hug Willow.

“Thank you for accepting me,” Liberty whispered in her ear.

Willow hugged her tightly and Liberty could feel the sincerity radiating from the kind woman.

“I’ll see you soon. You remember what I said, beautiful girl,” Willow complimented.