Murderville Page 0,88

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