Chapter 21
—AZANI
Eventually, I fell asleep with Devyn. When she woke up, she wasn’t crying anymore; she was just numb.
I sat at the island with her, making her eat something.
If I left, I knew she wouldn’t. The whole time she ate, I got madder.
Asad had to know I was coming. He couldn’t think I would just let him keep doing shit, especially when it came to Devyn.
“Just one more bite, baby. Please?” I held the fork up to her mouth. She glanced at me, then took what was on the fork.
While she chewed the rest of her food, I filled her water bottle, then set it in front of her. She picked it up and chugged it down. When her eyes met mine again, they glossed over, lip quivering. She was tired.
“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?” she asked quietly, giving me a knowing look.
“Yeah, but I’ll be back before the sun comes up.”
“Azani,” she said softly. “You have to promise me you’ll be back. Promise me that I won’t have to bury you, too. I can’t… I won’t be able to handle it. Promise me right now.”
I dragged her into my lap, holding her tight against me. Her body was almost limp, but she wrapped her arms around me, face pressed into my neck, falling into me.
“I promise. I’m coming home, baby. Whatever it takes.”
Her body tensed, but she didn’t move. We sat there for another few minutes.
My phone buzzed on the counter, and I glanced down.
It was the pilot telling me the jet was ready.
I raised Devyn’s head from my shoulder, and tears were already falling.
She didn’t try to wipe them as she stared back at me.
I kissed where they fell, then her lips, hoping she knew I was coming back.
“I gotta go, baby,” I said quietly.
“I know,” she choked. “I love you.”
I leaned in to kiss her, but this time, she grabbed my face and kissed me deeper. She held me tighter like she was using her last bit of strength. Then, she pulled back, wiping her eyes.
“I love you more.”
She slid off my lap and stood in front of me. I kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes. If I didn’t pull away from her now, I wouldn’t leave, but this shit couldn’t wait another day.
I walked away from her slowly, grabbed my duffel bag from the door, and stopped in front of Vic.
I dapped him, and he pulled me in. “Make it back in one piece,” he said, holding on.
“I don’t have a choice.”
We gave each other one more look, and I was out. When I started my truck, I sat there for a second longer, thinking about everything I wanted to do to Asad. G’s words echoed in my head.
Sometimes, the son must do what he must do to survive a father who knows no peace.
If this was the way I had to get some peace, so be it. Asad had caused me enough years of pain and suffering. It was time for me to pay him back.
I landed in Georgia at around 7:30 p.m. All I was waiting for was for the sun to set completely, and I could move from where I was in this tree.
It was now 9:45. The guards moved around the property.
I paid attention to the rounds they took, and I knew my mom was already in her bedroom for the night.
Great. I don’t need her to see what I’m about to do.
As soon as my feet hit the ground, I pulled my gun, and I was on the move.
I only needed three. His security was slow, and they lacked situational awareness.
I’d already disabled his security systems and looped the camera feed, and they still didn’t notice.
I popped the gate open, and before the first guard could react, I popped him right between the eyes.
Moving to the west side of the estate, I hit two more. I grabbed their comms and kept moving. They needed to come to me. I didn’t have time to keep running around, looking for these niggas.
“Intruder on the west side of the property,” I spoke into the earpiece.
I felt the ground shaking as they got closer, and I waited.
One after another, I laid them the fuck down.
I had tunnel vision. Asad had played with me for the last mothafuckin’ time.
Once I was sure it was clear, I pulled my mask up over my head and walked right through the front door.
The servants saw me, gun by my side, but didn’t say shit.
I’d start killing them too if they moved wrong.
Once I made it to the hallway where Asad’s office was, I slowed down. I could smell the cigar smoke and hear the jazz music playing like he was having the best night of his life. As a courtesy, I tapped the door with the barrel of my gun.
“Come in,” his voice boomed from the other side.
Instead of opening the door, I kicked that bitch off the hinges. Wood splinters scattered, and on the other side, Asad sat there. Cigar in his mouth, hand in his lap like he was gon’ pull his shit. But he knew better. Before he had a chance to pull it, I could shoot him in his head three times.
“Azani, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” The arrogant ass smirk on his face had me gripping the handle of my gun tighter.
“So, you did it? You killed Syncere?” My heart pounded in my chest at the thought of how Devyn broke down today.
“She was promised to you. He was in the way; now he’s not. You have what was rightfully yours.” He chuckled like this shit was a game.
“Rightfully mine? Nigga, what the fuck is wrong with you?” I moved closer, slower than I usually would. “Do you know what you took from her? She lost her child and her child’s father within months. You don’t see how fucked up that is?”
He puffed his cigar, smoke curling around his face. Then, he reached for his drink and took a sip. “I did what everyone else was too scared to do. They cared about morals when we had a duty to fulfill. It was for your own good.”
I moved so fast, he didn’t have time to react. I jumped across his desk, right on top of him. We crashed into the floor, and he tried to reach for his gun. I pulled my knife and stabbed him in the hand, spearing it to the floor so he couldn’t move.
He howled in pain, and I took that opportunity to pound his fuckin’ face in.
I didn’t see Asad. I saw the look on Devyn’s face when she found out the truth.
I saw Mariah’s lifeless body with my daughter inside her womb, still moving around.
All the times he tried to beat out and train any love I had inside me.
I snatched the knife from his hand, dragged him around his desk, and kept beating him. My hand wrapped around his shirt, holding him up as I continued to pound on him. Blood poured from his nose and mouth, but he didn’t make a sound. The nigga thought he was so tough but couldn’t even fight back.
I dropped his body to the floor and slammed my foot into his chest while he choked on air, chuckling.
“There it is. That’s my son. The beast I created…” He was wheezing and smiling with a bloody face.
I pulled my gun and pointed it right at his head. He threw his hands above his head, smirking. “Go ahead, son. Do it! Prove me right. You are exactly who I taught you to be.”
I cocked it, and just before I pulled the trigger, I heard my mom.
“Please, Azani. Please don’t do it,” she begged, voice shaking.
I looked down at Asad, and he was looking at my mom instead of me. He knew I wouldn’t pull the trigger in front of her. He knew she was his saving grace. I tucked my gun back in my holster and crouched beside him.
“If you come near Devyn, send anyone near her, speak her name, or breathe in her direction; next time, I’ll make sure Mama is nowhere around to stop me. Nod if you understand, Asad.”
He nodded slowly, looking from me to my mom.
I stood over him for a second longer. He was fuckin’ pathetic.
Sorry excuse for a father, a husband, and a man.
I glanced at my mom with her back pressed against the wall, clutching her chest. Tears fell down her face, and she flinched every time I moved.
She’d never seen me act this way, but it wouldn’t be her last if her husband didn’t stay the fuck away from me.
I kissed her forehead, then walked out of the office, straight out the front door.
Blood dripped from my hands, but I kept moving, right off the property.
I told Devyn I’d be home before sunrise, and I meant it.
My mom saved him tonight, but she wouldn’t save him the next time we crossed paths. I put that on Zariah.