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took more than the act of birthing a child to be a true mother. Her heart ached for her son as she thought of the wall that his back had been pushed against. She had never questioned her husband before and normally stuck by his side, always wanting them to appear as a united front, even when she didn’t agree with his ways, but this time Baron had taken things too far. He had excommunicated their son, and for that Willow would never forgive him. She was sick with worry because she knew the game. Although she rarely spoke, Willow often listened and she was well aware of the danger that A’shai had placed himself in. The fact that Baron was feeding him to the wolves further aggravated her anxious heart. Willow stared out of the second story bay window and watched as the snow fell outside. She closed her tired eyes as she felt another presence enter the room.

“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