Chapter 14
—ASAD STONE
Life has taught me many lessons. Most of them, I learned the hard way. The battle was hard and bloody, but I won. I disconnected from that part of me that was easily wounded, understanding that if you’re in control of your mind, your heart will follow.
The last time I let my heart lead, I lost. As I stood at Portia’s gravesite, I remembered the boy I used to be. Young and na?ve, believing in the possibility that love would conquer all. That if I begged enough, someone would let me have the life I wanted.
I was wrong. The day I buried her was the day I understood that no one was coming to save me; I had to save myself.
The cold, hard rain pattered against the umbrella as I looked down at Portia’s headstone. I blamed myself for what happened to her. If I had lived with the cards life dealt me, she wouldn’t have died. Not so young and not the way she did.
My father wiped out her entire family for hiding Portia and me. They sent us to El Salvador, hoping we’d stay hidden. But one day, Portia wanted to go to a local market. I should have told her no because I knew my father and what he was capable of.
As soon as we got back to the house, he was waiting for us.
Shoved us on a plane and took us back to Georgia.
He separated Portia and me, then went back to her family's estate.
Killed them all and burned the house down with them inside.
He set Portia up in a house and gave her some money, as if that would make up for what he had taken from her.
He killed her mother, father, both of her brothers, and her grandfather. Her grandmother died two months after her husband was killed, and Portia took her own life exactly three months after she attended her family’s funeral. When Portia’s body was found, it was already decaying.
She was only found because a neighbor walked by and smelled her body rotting. When the police came, they found her in bed, blankets pulled up, like she passed in her sleep. And you know what Alonzo did? He let me see her body in that state. He made that my last memory of her.
Even now, I’d never forget. Her body was so swollen, skin dark and rotting. The only way I was able to identify her was from the nail polish she wore and the ring I got her before we ran off to El Salvador.
“Portia, you know I wouldn’t miss your birthday. I would have brought flowers, but the rain would ruin them,” I said quietly, watching the rain hit her headstone.
“Vivian’s back around, too. She and Alonzo go years without seeing each other.
Now, everyone’s coming together to make sure Azani and Devyn make it down the aisle without my interference.
” My jaw clenched, and I laughed bitterly.
“Nine months is all they have. If they don’t make it, I’ll do what must be done.
“My son thinks I’m just evil, but he doesn’t understand the cost of love. He clings to Alonzo like he’s his savior. I only did what my father did for me. He made sure I fulfilled my obligation and duty. He took you from me, took your family, and expected us to live with it.”
I closed my eyes, trying to remember Portia’s laugh and how her honey-colored skin glowed in the sun. Anything to quiet the storm in my head every time I came here. But nothing worked. This was a loss I’d never completely heal from. Same with my mother and my brother, AJ.
“I’ll stand here with you a little while longer,” I said as I walked closer, touching her headstone. “I want to make it back to DC before Azani and Devyn come back from Aspen.”
I heard tires against gravel in the distance. When I looked up, three black trucks were coming my way. I pulled my gun and waited, heart pounding because it could be anyone. The trucks finally stopped, and the driver from the middle truck stepped out and walked to the backseat to open the door.
When I saw who stepped out, I chuckled, shaking my head. Vivian Heathrow came walking across the grass with one of her guards tucked close to her, holding her umbrella. One thing I couldn’t deny was her power and grace. With her head held high, and shoulders back, she looked regal.
She came and stood beside me, poised and unbothered.
“Jax, leave me here. I only need a few minutes,” she said to her security.
He passed her the umbrella and walked off to stand by the truck.
“You know,” she said, staring straight ahead, “Portia didn’t die because she loved you.
She died because a man made a decision. Your father called it the protection of legacy and duty.
But his father made decisions, as did mine.
Now you have the chance to decide… as a father.
I wonder which one you’ll choose, Asad.”
My hand gripped the barrel of my gun, jaw clenched tight as I ground my teeth. She had some nerve.
“There are consequences for everyone’s actions, Vivian.
My son is my responsibility. He needs to learn that love means nothing in our world.
It brings unnecessary suffering if the rules aren’t followed.
You know this more than anyone. How’s my sister?
Is she still doing well?” I chuckled, looking straight ahead.
“You keep punishing Azani for surviving what you couldn’t.
You make him suffer because he loves his grandfather.
Alonzo has made mistakes; we all have, including you.
I’m dealing with my mistakes now. As for your sister, she is loved and living a great life.
Your father and I made sure of it.” She walked over to Portia’s headstone, reached inside her purse, and placed a single white rose on top of it.
She walked back toward me, then stood beside me.
“You are at a crossroads, Asad. It is up to you how you use your power.” Then, she turned to me.
“But I can promise you, if you continue to interfere with my granddaughter's and your son’s lives, I will make a move. One that you won’t see coming and one that you won’t like. This is your last warning.”
“You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do. You or my father, for that matter. Do what you must, but if the oath is not fulfilled, I will do what is necessary. You know I have no problem handing out the consequences of everyone’s actions.”
“Okay,” she said with a sly smile. “I’ll be seeing you, Asad. Good day.”
She didn’t wait for me to say another word.
She just walked off, got inside the truck, and disappeared as quickly as she came.
They were watching me: she and my father.
Just waiting for me to slip up or make a move.
But they couldn’t be everywhere at once.
My father trained me for this life, and now he resented me for using my skills.
Isn’t it ironic? The same things he taught me, he wants to control how I use them.
My hands shook slightly as I walked over, giving Portia’s headstone one more touch, hoping that one day we’d see each other again.
“Next time, I’ll come when the weather is better. See you soon,” I whispered.
As I walked toward my car, my chest felt unusually tight.
Everything I did now would be put under a microscope.
Anywhere I went, I’d be tracked. I just had to move smarter.
Pulling out of the cemetery, my mind spiraled to a night when I did what everyone else was too cowardly to do.
And if things didn’t go the way they should this time, I’d do it again.
It was a cold November night. So cold that the windows on the abandoned house I was in were frozen over. The basement was even colder as I stared down at the dead body below me. He put up a good fight, but ultimately, it was his time. He was in the way, and he paid for it.
Such a shame. A young, smart, black man with a bright future. Gone way too soon.
“Sorry, kid,” I said, patting his chest.
I dug in his pockets and laid everything on his chest. Car keys with a custom keychain that read S&D, a few hundred dollars, his cell phone that kept ringing with the name “Pooh” flashing on the screen, and a ring box.
I cracked it open. The kid did good for a college student. Had to give it to him.
“Damn… too bad she was promised to someone else, huh?” I said quietly.
I tied his arms and legs flat to his body and stuck all his belongings into his coat pocket. He’d finally stopped bleeding out, but his face was covered in blood. I made sure to cover his face before I started wrapping his body.
After I finished wrapping him, I sat down for a second and looked around the room. My eyes landed on the container with four strawberry cupcakes. Two were smashed against the side, but the other two were untouched.
I popped open the container and bit into one.
“I see why she sent you out to get these,” I said, biting into it again. “Good and moist.”
His phone rang again, but I ignored it. He wouldn’t be calling Pooh back or anyone else who decided to call. I could have called a clean-up crew to get the body, but I wanted the kid to have a proper burial. Azani was in town on Sector II business, and I knew he wasn’t busy, so I decided to call.
Sometimes, he’d answer, and other times he’d ignore me.
He was still battling with what I’d done to Mariah, but I was still his father.
Azani still loved, even after what I’d taken from him.
He still loved his mother and his grandfather.
His aunts and cousins on my mother’s side.
I thought taking Mariah and his daughter would make him move like a man in our world should. But it didn’t.
I put the phone to my ear, and it rang three times before he answered.
“Yeah,” he answered. “Wassup?”
“I need you. I’m sending you an address.”
“For what?” he said, almost robotic.
“I need to move something. It’s too heavy to get it back upstairs.”
“Just send the address.”
Right then, he hung up.
Thirty minutes later, I heard Azani’s footsteps above me. The basement door swung open, and he walked down slowly. Locs tucked inside his hoodie, black boots laced up tight, always prepared for combat.
Once he made it down the stairs, his eyes traveled to the body wrapped on the floor, then back to me. He was still deep in grief and angry with me, but he still came.
“Who is this? And wassup with the cupcakes?” he said quietly.
“Someone who was in the way… And now they’re not. The cupcakes are a little treat our friend picked up.”
He shook his head, staring at me. “Don’t matter. Let’s move him so I can get on the road. I got somewhere to be.”
The phone rang again, and Azani looked over at me, lip curled. “Why would you keep his phone on his body after you wrapped him? That’s some amateur shit.”
I chuckled, grabbing the legs as Azani grabbed the head. “When he’s found, I want his family to have everything he left behind. Can you believe this one was about to propose to his pregnant girlfriend?”
Azani went still, breathing unevenly, eyes dark as he stared at me. “You foul. Let’s hurry the fuck up so I can get to where I need to be. Don’t call me for no shit like this again.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
He helped me get the body in my trunk, then hopped in his truck, peeling off. What he didn’t know was that I was helping him, making it easier for him to fulfill his duty. He should’ve been thanking me, but, of course, he wouldn’t see it that way later. At least he wouldn’t have to do it himself.
When the time came, he’d remember this night and those cupcakes. That, I knew for sure. The years were winding down. Soon, he’d understand that I did these things for his own good.
When I pulled up to my house, I sat in the car, replaying everything Vivian said.
She and my father didn’t want my interference, but I was able to eliminate a problem that they couldn’t stomach.
They would have sent a random person to get rid of Syncere.
If Devyn did not move forward with the marriage, I’d be the one to step up and send her to be with Syncere.
Her only choice was Azani. I hoped Vivian made that clear to her granddaughter.