Murderville Page 0,59

wanted what A’shai had, but she was addicted to him. His power and prestige was like a magnet to her and ever since he had returned from L.A. the attraction had been less than mutual. He was Baron Montgomery’s heir and that alone brought women out of the woodwork . . . women like Jenny who were opportunists who saw A’shai as their new sponsor. He saw them as pieces of ass. He wasn’t into cuffing or upgrading no chick. He was about getting money, and Jenny was just something to do in the meantime. She was nice arm candy and good company on lonely nights. In fact he was quite fond of her, but he didn’t see her in his future. Ever since losing Liberty as a child, he never made plans to keep a chick around because none of them could ever measure up to his childhood love. The affection that he had built up towards Liberty in such a short time was so great that when he lost her his heart broke. No girl after her had been able to repair him and since he had located her, all of his feelings for Liberty had resurfaced. They may have only been kids when their paths crossed but she had left an everlasting imprint on his life. He couldn’t shake the memory of her and now that he had seen her again he was itching to check for her.

He couldn’t get Liberty out of his head and ever since The Gentleman’s Ball he had been counting the days until it was time for them to re-up. Baron usually sent his workers to cop at the re-up, but A’shai already had it in his mind that he would be making the trip this time. He blew through his portion of the first batch of bricks just to get back to L.A. more quickly. He wanted to find Liberty. Now that he had a clue about where she was he refused to lose her again. He felt Jenny’s hands rubbing his chest and what would normally make him feel like a king merely aggravated him. He removed her hands and climbed out of the bed. “I’ve got an important meeting to get to. I’ve got to go,” he said. “Where you want me to drop you?”

“I can wait here for you till you get back,” she offered.

“I’m not coming back,” he replied quickly.

He could see the disappointment on her face, but A’shai didn’t care. He only had one woman in his line of sight, and he was too preoccupied with memories of her to think of anyone else.

A’shai sat across from Baron as they drank coffee and read the Wall Street Journal. It was a ritual and both were silent and in deep contemplation as they calculated their wins and losses in their head. Willow walked into the room with two huge breakfast plates and placed them before the men in her life.

“Thank you, baby,” Baron stated without looking up.

“Thanks, ma,” A’shai said. He kissed her cheek as she leaned over to greet him.

“You look like an old man, Shai. Don’t let this one make you dull like him,” Willow said with a striking smile. A’shai loved the way her curly, wispy hair stuck out of her dreads. Her hair wasn’t even the right texture to wear the ethnic style, but somehow it fit her.

“We’ve been doing this since he was fourteen years old,” Baron defended. “I’ve made quite the businessman out of him.”

“So you have,” she answered while shaking her head at her son and husband.

Willow kissed the tops of both of their heads and then walked out of the room.

As they sat over breakfast, A’shai said, “I think it’s time I made the re-up trip to L.A.”

Ever since A’shai had begun working in the streets with his father he hadn’t been interested in little work. If he was going to do it he had wanted to do it large. Even as a young boy he hadn’t wanted to put in the footwork. He was interested in cutting deals so his sudden interest in re-upping threw Baron off slightly.

“Since when do you like doing the grunge work?” Baron asked.

“Since we had that talk about me taking over. I started at the top of the business. If you are going to pass all of this down to me I want to make sure I know the operation in and out . . . even the grunge work,” A’shai stated.

Amazed at