Array Ashley: The Last Chapter

Carter began to recite the prayer along with his brother as he pointed the gun to the back of Mecca’s head.

Mecca had always known that Carter would eventually seek revenge for Miamor’s death. He had loved her way too much not to come after him. Mecca’s only dilemma had been to figure out when and where Carter would take his life. Mecca was a seasoned street veteran, and the one thing that he knew for sure was that “the eyes don’t lie” and on that day, Carter could not hide the hatred he had inside.

Carter knew that if he let Mecca live, Mecca would possibly turn on him one day, just as he did to Monroe. He also felt obligated to avenge Miamor’s death, so killing Mecca was inevitable.

Mecca also knew the game. Mecca realized that if he were in Carter’s shoes, he would have done the same, so he wasn’t mad at Carter for what he was about to do. Once the prayer was over, Mecca stood unflinchingly, with his heart pounding through his chest. There was no malice in his heart, only regret, but he knew that his oldest brother was about to deliver his retribution.

“I love you, Carter,” Mecca said as he straightened up his tie and prepared for his death.

“I love you too,” Carter replied sincerely as he wrapped his finger around the trigger. “I always will, bro.”

Boom!

A single slug went through the back of Mecca’s head and clear through his forehead, rocking him to sleep forever at the hands of his own flesh and blood. Karma is real, and The Cartel was no more.

Leena covered her ears and took deep breaths as the plane flew through the turbulent skies. She hated to fly, but she hated being apart from Mecca even more. She knew that Estes would be hurt when he read the letter she had written. A single note was all that she had left behind. She knew that he would never understand why she had chosen Mecca over him, but it was something that she had to do. It was a decision that only she would understand.

Her heart jumped out of her chest as the plane dipped violently, almost as if it would fall from the sky. She snuggled her son tightly to her chest and whispered, “Please, God, keep this thing in the air.”

The captain turned the seatbelt sign on, only scaring Leena even more. She instinctively reached out to grip the arm of the gentleman sitting next to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This flying thing has me kind of shook,” she explained in embarrassment.

“It’s okay. You’re good. The turbulence is really only potholes in the sky. They won’t do any real damage. They’re just good at causing uneasy passengers a nice scare,” he said.

Leena nodded and inhaled deeply to calm her nerves.

“Besides, if you ever want to know if something is wrong, all you got to do is look at the flight attendants. When they panic, you panic, but until then you’re good,” he said.

Leena snuck a glance at the stewardess and noticed that she was calm as ever and joking with one of her colleagues. Leena smiled and shook her head in amazement. “Thanks. That actually just gave me peace of mind,” she said to the guy beside her.

“No problem. Let me know if you need my arm again, though. I’ll be happy to lend it to you,” he replied with a smirk and the wink of an eye.

“I’m Leena,” she introduced.

“Murder,” he replied.

“Wow, that’s quite a name,” she stated.

Murder smiled, but he didn’t reply as he glanced at her sleeping son. The young boy looked like a tiny replica of the very man he wanted to kill. He was definitely a member of the Diamond lineage, a bloodline that Murder planned on destroying.

The funeral service may have been convincing to everyone else, but in the back of Murder’s mind, he had known that it was all for show. It was no coincidence that he was on the same plane as Leena. He knew that if he followed her, sooner or later she would lead him to The Cartel, and as he sat next to her his trigger finger began to itch.

“What brings you all the way to Brazil?” Leena asked.

“I have a score to settle with an old friend. Unfinished business.”

Breeze boarded the private jet with Zyir behind her. He tapped her lightly on her backside, and she giggled like a schoolgirl as she swatted his hand away.

“I don’t know what you acting shy for. I’m about to induct you into this mile high club,” he said jokingly. He was completely at ease for the first time in years. There was no business to tend to, no reason to watch his back every second, and no street code to uphold. It was just him and Breeze. Nothing had ever felt so right, and happiness surged through him as he sat next to his wife.

“You’re so silly,” Breeze said as she leaned into his shoulder and rested her forehead against his. “I can’t believe we did it. I can’t believe I’m married.”

“Do I make you happy?” he asked as he gripped her chin gently.

She nodded. “You know you do,” she replied as their tongues met. Finally they were together, and all of the horrible things that had kept them apart for so long no longer mattered. They were soul mates and had weathered the storms that life had thrown their way. Now it was time for their new lives to begin.

“I’m going to go get a few blankets from the flight attendant before we take off,” Breeze said. She stood, still dressed in her beautiful white dress, and walked past Zyir.

“Yo, B?” he called after her.

She turned around and was so radiant that his breath caught in his chest. “I love you.”

“I know you do, Zyir. You know everything there is to know about me and you still love me. That’s why I love you so much,” she said. She blew him a quick kiss before walking to the front of the plane.

Zyir closed his eyes in relaxation, but it was soon interrupted when he heard Breeze’s blood curdling scream. He jumped from his seat and ran to the front just as Breeze came staggering back down the aisle. A knife was imbedded deeply inside her chest, causing her white dress to slowly turn bloody red as the wound in her chest bled out. Her eyes were open wide in bewilderment, and her hand reached out to Zyir.

“Breeze!” he cried. “No, ma. Not now. Not like this.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but choked on her own blood as she fell into his arms.

“Help me! Somebody please!” Zyir gripped the knife and tried to pull it from Breeze’s body, but the more he tugged on it, the more blood seeped out.

“No, ma. No. You’ve got to live,” he whispered.

Breeze’s eyes spoke to him, telling him all the things that she could not physically say.

“I love you too, ma… forever, baby girl,” he said to her. “Don’t die on me, Breeze. I’ma get you some help.” He was too heartbroken to even worry about who had harmed her. He just wanted to get her help and keep the love of his life alive.

He picked her up, scooping her into his arms as she struggled to hold on, but it was no use. His wife died in his arms before he could even step off of the plane. He buried his head in her long hair as he let out a scream of agony.

It wasn’t until he heard footsteps in front of him that he looked up.

“Hello, Zyir,” Illiana stated with a devious leer as she pointed a gun directly at him.

He instantly regretted leaving his pistol behind. While reveling in his newfound love with Breeze, he had gotten too comfortable, and that mistake had cost him dearly.

As she pulled back the hammer of the pistol and wrapped her finger around the trigger, he didn’t even look at her. He focused his attention back on Breeze and hugged her dead body tightly. They had been so close to escaping it all. They had almost had their happy ending, but almost doesn’t count. Zyir closed his eyes as he waited for the inevitable shot that would end his life.