NINETEEN

LIBERTY AND A’SHAI DISCREETLY RUSHED INTO THEIR hotel room, and A’shai tossed the duffel bag full of money on the bed. “Look in there,” he stated.

Liberty unzipped the bag, and her mouth fell open as she looked at all of the street money that it contained. “How much is this?” she asked.

“I don’t know . . . start counting,” he said with a smile.

Liberty dumped the money out on the bed and then tossed two handfuls into the air. It floated down around her and she laughed giddily in disbelief. “I didn’t know you were getting it like this,” she said.

“There’s a lot about me you don’t know,” A’shai replied as he joined her on the bed. “But I’mma teach you. I’mma share everything with you . . . always. Before you get too excited, that’s not ours.”

Liberty stopped flipping through the bills and looked up at A’shai in confusion.

“I’ve got to give some paper to my father’s lawyer. I’ll put the rest of the money in the streets. I need to re-up and flip this so that we can be straight. Baron will never know. In the end he’ll be paid back, and we’ll have enough money to be straight for awhile.”

A’shai dropped the money off to Baron’s lawyer and picked up on the details of his father’s case. Things weren’t looking well for Baron, but Clarkston assured him that money could buy any judge in the state if the price was right.

A’shai left Clarkston with a quarter million dollars, more than enough to handle Baron’s case, and he kept the rest so that he could hit the streets with it.

“Please let Baron know that the rest of his money will be waiting for him in an off-shore account. I would like to visit him . . . let him know to be expecting me sometime in the near future,” A’shai stated before leaving the office.

A’shai hit the streets as a one man army going hard to ensure that he could provide for Liberty. They had to keep low to avoid Samad so Liberty was confined to a different hotel room night after night. She was trapped there because it was unsafe to leave, but being trapped with A’shai was like heaven to her. Although he kept long hours in the street, the few hours they were together they used to become reacquainted. They fell in love all over again, and although they were in hiding, for the first time Liberty felt content. Cramped inside old hotel rooms, she had never been so free.

A’shai quickly found a new connect out of Miami and purchased so many kilos that he had to hire two drivers to bring them up to Detroit in separate U-haul trucks. He wasn’t fucking around. Nothing about his situation was a game. He was hustling for the love of a woman . . . the love of his life. He refused to lose Liberty, and he was determined to provide a better life for her, the life that she deserved, the life that GOD had designed her to lead. MURDERVILLE had never been her destiny. A’shai had personally misguided her down that ruthless path, and it was the one regret that he had in life. She didn’t deserve the suffering that she had been through, and he would turn cold in his grave before he allowed her to return to Samad. A’shai spent a lot of time in the streets, hustling from the bottom up in order to move the bricks that he had purchased. He barely slept because he was working so hard. He had invested Baron’s money without his knowledge, and he wanted to put every dime back before Baron ever realized it was missing.

Some people know how to cook, some people are good at math, and others are experts at science or English . . . A’shai was good at hustling. He hit the pavement hard and took no prisoners as he continued to reign over Baron’s empire, making sure to put up interest for his father so that there would be no ill feelings. He was grinding so hard that it felt as if he had a nine-to-five, but in his mind it was all worth it because when he went to lay his body down each night it was always beside Liberty. What he was doing couldn’t be explained using reason. A usually logical A’shai was acting strictly off emotion, and it felt right.

A’shai entered the hotel room that had become their hideout and temporary home. He had Chinese food in his hands and expected his girl to greet him with open arms as she did every night, but she was nowhere in sight.

“Lib, I’m back baby girl. Where you at?” he asked. “I got your favorite from the Chinese spot.”

He sat the food down on the small round table and began to remove the dishes from the bag.

“Hey Liberty!” he called as he went to knock on the bathroom door. He knocked lightly. “Yo, ma!” he said. He frowned at her silence and entered the room. When he saw her lying on her side in the middle of the floor, A’shai’s heart sank. Samad, he thought as he rushed to her. “No, baby girl no . . . not now. I’m almost done. I’m doing this for you, ma . . .” he mumbled as he checked her body, trying to find the bullet hole that had ended her life. He pulled her into his arms and put his fingers to her neck. The racing pulse that he felt startled him slightly and his hands shook as he realized that she was alive.

“Liberty! Lib . . . wake up,” he said as he patted her face urgently and lifted her up from the floor. He burst out of the bathroom door into the room, knocking over the nightstand as he frantically carried her over to the bed. “Wake up . . . Liberty,” he whispered in her ear as he rubbed her hair. It was as if she was waking up from a deep sleep, and her eyes began to flutter wildly as she came to.

“What happened? Who did this to you?” he asked as he hugged her tightly, bringing her to his chest as relief flooded over him.

“Shai?” she whispered, confused as her brow creased and she reached out to touch his chest.

“Don’t do that to me, ma. I thought I lost you,” he whispered. He held her as if he would never see her again. His worst fear felt as if it were so close to coming true. “Who hurt you? What happened?”

“I was dizzy . . . I’ve been exhausted all day. I was lying in bed and I couldn’t get up . . . my body . . . it was just so tired. I couldn’t even force myself out of bed to order room service. The last thing I remember is stumbling to the bathroom. I must have fainted or something,” she explained.

A’shai exhaled and kissed her lips. “I’m sorry, ma. I had you here all day by yourself. I’ve got to take better care of you,” he said guiltily.

“You do take care of me, Shai. I know that you’re in the streets for me. You’re doing all of this so we can be together. I’m a big girl. I can handle it. I guess I was just hungry and tired,” she dismissed.

“Then let’s get you something to eat,” he said as he retrieved the food and brought it to her.

As Liberty dug into the food, A’shai walked over to the hotel closet and counted the remaining bricks he still had to move. He was running through product quickly and as he took the duffel bag of money he had recouped that night he added it to his stash. It had only been a month and already he had earned Baron’s money back. The remaining bricks he was sitting on were his to flip as he pleased. All of that profit was coming straight to him. Once his paper was proper he already had plans to move to one of Detroit’s low-key, affluent, suburbs and establish a quiet, comfortable life for the two of them. He was leaving the streets alone for good.

As A’shai bumped his hustle up a couple notches Liberty seemed to withdraw into her own world. She lay around all day and slept all night. A’shai thought that she was falling into a deep depression but no matter what he said she couldn’t shake the sudden lethargy that was taking over her. He did not have time to babysit, however. Moving as quickly as he was doing was reckless and he had to concentrate on not getting caught. It took two months for him to move the entire product and afterwards he was $2,000,000 richer. With Baron paid back and his future in the form of rubber banded $5K stacks, A’shai felt like a new man. He wasn’t equipped to go to war with Samad, but with his newfound and hard-earned wealth he was more than capable of escaping him. He was about to put on a magic act and disappear. He had already reached out to a realtor who had found him a beautiful and massive estate in a quiet neighborhood outside of the city. If he moved smart, Samad would never catch up to them.

A’shai drove his car down the freeway, being sure to do the speed limit as he made his way to Liberty. He couldn’t wait to tell her that he was out and to share his world with her. As he neared the hotel he reached in the backseat and gathered the five bouquets of roses he had purchased. He grabbed his duffel bag and the flowers and exited the car before rushing inside. He hoped that the news would pull Liberty out of the funk that she had fallen into. Living out of different hotels for weeks at a time had not been easy, but he knew that it was especially hard for her. She was never allowed to leave, unless she was accompanied by A’shai. Since he was in the streets so frequently, she was forced to stay inside. He fully understood how her happiness had been jeopardized. But now that was all over, A’shai was ready to spoil her.

He rushed into the hotel room and picked her up off the bed. Her eyes were low and exhaustion plagued her as she rested her head on his strong chest.

“Stop Shai . . . you’re making me dizzier than I already am,” she whispered.

“I’m out, ma . . . I’m done. We have enough money to blow this bitch and to go somewhere safe,” he whispered in her ear as he nibbled on it gently, causing electric sparks to awaken her clit.

“I love you Shai. Thank you for doing all of this . . . for saving me,” she whispered as she put her soft hand against his cheek while staring him in the eyes. “What would I do without you?”

“You won’t ever have to be without me,” he replied. He scooped her off her feet and carried her in his arms towards the bed. Their lips danced sensually as they enjoyed a deep kiss. “I love you ma. I want you forever. Marry me.”

Liberty’s eyes widened and she pulled away from him so that she could stare him in the face. “What?” She was sure that she had heard him wrong. Although she knew that they loved each other, she never thought that he would ever make her his wife. The notion never even crossed her mind. While their love was deep, fate was always tearing them apart.

A’shai placed her on the bed. “I’m so tired,” she gasped as she looked up at him. A’shai chuckled as he hovered over her. “That’s all you got to say Lib? You gonna make me work for it huh?” A’shai climbed out of bed and Liberty followed him.

“Wait, Shai, I . . .”

Before she could finish her sentence A’shai reached into his duffle bag and removed a small ring box. “Let me do this right,” he said. “I love you, ma. Marry me. Be my wife,” he said as he got down on one knee.

Liberty nodded her head, speechless. She was so full of emotion that it poured out of her as her eyes misted.

“Yeah?” A’shai asked.

“Yeah,” Liberty confirmed. A’shai took her hand and placed the ring on her finger, then kissed it. He planted kisses on all five fingers, on the back of her wrists, on her stomach . . . moving south until he discovered her womanhood. Liberty gasped when she felt his warm tongue lap over her stiffened clitoris. He parted her lips and sucked gently while she moaned softly, her legs giving out slightly. He was making her weaker with every lick.

“Ooh, daddy,” she whispered. “I need it.”

“Me too, ma,” he replied as stood to his feet and devoured her. A’shai pinned her against the wall and unzipped his True Religion jeans. His dick was hard, and he unloosened the belt on her robe as he rubbed the head against her thigh. He kissed her, sucking her lips into his mouth and entering her simultaneously as he stroked her gently. He ravished her, taking her to heights so drastic that she felt like she was flying. A’shai’s sex was incredible, and he catered to every part of her body, expressing his love through his lust as he worked her over slowly . . . gently.

She threw her pussy back at him feverishly as she felt her orgasm building. She grinded and moaned as the head of his dick tapped on her spot.

“Ooohh, I’m cumming,” Liberty moaned. “Ooh, Shai . . . I’m . . . I’m . . .”

Suddenly Liberty couldn’t catch her breath as she gasped desperately for air and hit A’shai on the shoulder to alert him that something was wrong. Caught up in the rapture A’shai thought that she was into the moment until he felt her go limp in his arms. He pulled out of her, and his world crashed to his feet.

“Liberty!” he shouted as he put her down on the bed and put his ear by her face to check if she was breathing. He felt her heart beat and noticed that it was beating extremely slow, as if it would stop at any moment. She needs help. Something’s wrong, he thought as he stood and frantically stepped into his jeans. He tied the robe tightly around her naked body and then in a panic rushed her to the hospital, praying to a power greater than himself that everything would be okay.

A’shai held Liberty’s hand as she sat with oxygen tubes pumping fresh air into her nose.

“You feel better?” he asked her.

She nodded as a doctor stepped into the room.

“I’m Dr. Simmons,” the man introduced.

“I’m A’shai. Liberty is my fiancé,” A’shai spoke up. “What can you tell us? Is she going to be okay?”

“Liberty, you have a bad heart. She has a heart disease called cardiomyopathy. The fatigue and dizzy spells . . . even the fainting is all attributed to this,” Dr. Simmons replied.

“What?” Liberty asked as tears filled her eyes. “Am I going to die?”

“That I cannot say. You have an unhealthy heart. It needs to be replaced,” Dr. Simmons said.

A’shai didn’t even hear the rest of the doctor’s response as he blanked out. Rage filled him as he thought of everything that he had been through to be with Liberty . . . now she was sick. As hard as they had fought to be together . . . fate was tearing them apart. The grim reaper had been their ultimate enemy, and there was no running from this problem.

A’shai stormed out of the room as the unfairness sent him over the edge. He pounded on the hallway walls and slumped to the floor as he cried tears of sadness. He was resentful and his hurt outmeasured any misfortune that he had ever experienced.

Liberty gave A’shai a half smile when he finally returned to her side. She held out her hand and gripped his tightly as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“How do you feel?” she replied as she rubbed his knuckle with her finger.

“My heart is gone, ma. Hearing that doctor tell you that hurt my soul,” he answered as he buried his head in her neck while she stroked his head lovingly. Liberty shed tears of pain, knowing what the end result would inevitably be.

“No one can have perfection, Shai. You and me . . . we’re too good together. This is our flaw. My sickness . . . is the issue for our relationship. This is our imperfect love, but it’s the greatest love I’ve ever felt. If this is what I have to go through in order to be your girl then I accept that. Just love me, Shai . . . that’s all I can ask for,” she said.

“I’mma do that forever,” he replied. “I bought you a house.”

“A house, huh? My very own house?” she asked with a smile. She hadn’t had a place to call home since her childhood.

“All yours baby girl,” he replied. “It’ll be safe, and we can be together without having to look over our shoulders every second of the day. It’s just waiting for us. I’m sending you there as soon as you get released from here.”

Liberty’s smile faded as she sat up in the bed. “Sending me? You’re not coming?” she asked.

“Yeah I’m coming . . . of course I’m coming ma. I just have to do one more thing . . . I have to be here for Baron through his trial. After they render his judgment, I’ll join you,” he replied.

“I want to be wherever you are, A’shai. So I’m staying, and when you’re ready we will run away together.”