Thin Ice 5 - Checkmate

  Thin Ice 5: Checkmate

  By KR Bankston

  All rights reserved. No part of this series of books may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including, photocopying, recording, taping or by an information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author or publisher except in the event of quotes embodied in articles and reviews.

  The work is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2009 KR Bankston. All rights reserved.

  The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

  Dedicated to ALL my wonderful Fans and Readers

  You all touch my heart!

  The characters Cyiarra and Layla come from the short story “Truth or Dare”, found in KR Bankston’s Unraveled: A Short Story Collective. Available via Amazon and BN.

  The characters Mighty and Craze, appear courtesy of “In His Absence” by Author Elizabeth LaShaun available via Amazon and BN. (used with permission)

  Ian turned the package over in his hands. What’s this now, he wondered seeing the return address. Ray sent him things from time to time, but never usually without a preface of what it was and when he could expect it.

  “Maybe it’s about the move,” Ian murmured opening it.

  He and Jalen were heading to Overton Park. The past seven months since he and Ray had connected had absolutely surpassed his expectations. He was making money hand over fist. He had several other lucrative markets in place and Ray was going to show him the ropes with the counterfeiting regime they enjoyed. He’d met Brent and Santana, thinking they were both two fine young men. Ray had taught his son well. The young man was almost as business savvy as his father. Santana he liked because of the young man’s ruthlessness. He was mean as hell. Reminds me of myself at that age, Ian chuckled. Even Jalen had grown and matured over the months. He wasn’t the same scared to death intruder he’d first been when they met. Ian smiled slightly thinking of the assignment he’d given him as his final trial by fire. He hated the woman who had given birth to them all and he felt the ultimate irony would be her death at the hands of the one she’d kept closest to her heart.

  Ian had fully expected Jalen to cave and beg him to be released from the business. He was instead pleasantly surprised when Creeper brought him the DVD showing the woman’s murder. Jalen had finally gotten his first kill. Granted he’d strangled her to death instead of shooting her, Ian was still pleased with the final results. There’s something on his mind too, Ian thought of his brother. He would catch him gazing off into space in deep thought, but he would never elaborate when Ian inquired what it was. I suppose he’ll share when he’s ready, Ian continued to muse. He was leaving Creeper and Pirate in the Bayou. The two men were phenomenal and needed absolutely no looking after at all. They are going to have one helluva empire, Ian thought smiling once more. By instinct his mind again went to Tariq and his desire to see the man dead. He also thought of Kaitlyn and her ultimate betrayal of their love, leaving him to be with his enemy. That will be rectified soon enough, Ian continued to plot. He had plans to fully rid himself of Tariq and his entire crew once he got settled in Overton Park. Remembering the information he held in his hands, Ian finally turned the documents over and began reading what was enclosed. ‘Thought you would find this quite interesting,’ Ray had written. ‘I certainly did,’ he went on. ‘Let me know what you want to do about it.’ Ian frowned slightly, flipping the letter over so he could see the papers under it.

  Ian’s smile began to widen as he read, reaching full expansion when he arrived at the final piece contained in the packet.

  “Absolutely beautiful,” he said softly, eyes never leaving the page.

  Ian felt numerous emotions as he continued to hold the document. There was love, joy, happiness; but there was also hate and anger. Finally there was nothing. Ian picked up the phone and called Ray.

  “Good evening Ice,” Ray greeted him amiably knowing he’d received the package. “So, what would you like to do,” he asked as Ian smiled again.

  “I think you already know the answer to that,” he replied simply as Ray chuckled, assuring him he did and disconnected.

  Ian smiled again as he thought of his impending move and the new territories he would establish. Ian planned to use Brent and Santana as front men to set up the takeovers, but there would be no negotiations. If they didn’t fall in line or go peacefully, Ian fully intended to make the streets run red with their blood. His patience was no longer tempered and he didn’t care who did or didn’t get hurt. Ian “Ice” Bailey was once again about to change the rules and dominate the game.

  1

  Caramel sighed gently as she watched him work out. He was doing much better, though he still had a long way to go. He looked up seeing her watching and smiled at her. Caramel smiled back, telling him what a great job he was doing. He smiled again thanking her as he went back to the workout. She sighed deeply wondering how long she would be able to hold onto him once he was fully recovered and able to function on his own. Not long once he finds out you’ve lied to him, her mind tortured. Caramel sighed deeply again. She didn’t want him to ever find out the truth. She had come so close before and it was a place she never wanted to visit again. As he continued to work, her mind wandered and took her back to a very dark time and place in her life short years earlier. “Where are you taking me,” Caramel asked the man as they drove. “Where I was told to take you, so shut up and leave me alone,” he barked as she jumped slightly and said nothing more. They arrived at their destination some forty minutes later and her heart sank. “Get out,” he ordered once again as she immediately complied. Pushing her slightly, Caramel went in the direction the man was herding her coming quickly to a darkened hallway. “Keep going,” he told her, taking some of the venom out of his voice.

  Caramel gingerly made her way forward finally arriving at the end of the hallway where one lone room remained, illuminated by a small lamp. “Go inside,” he told her pushing her slightly once more. “Oh my god,” she breathed looking at the man inside. “This is a onetime gift,” LaRon told her looking directly into her eyes. “I should have killed him, but even I ain’t dog enough to take a father from his son,” he went on. “If he survives then good, if not, I tried,” he finished and walked out of the room leaving her looking at the man she loved in the hospital bed connected to life support. Caramel had run after LaRon begging him to tell her what happened. He explained that he intended to shoot Ryan in the heart but moved his aim slightly to the left, collapsing a lung and doing a lot of internal damage instead. “I called a personal paramedic friend,” he told her referring to Keifer. Caramel nodded her understanding, thanked him, and turned back toward Ryan’s room. She supposed in his mind the slight show of mercy made up for shooting him at all.

  His voice broke her thought and Caramel returned her attention to Ryan as he finished his workout with the therapist. He’d been in a coma and they thought he would never reawaken. Caramel had struggled working two and three jobs to continue to pay for his medical care as well as support herself and their son, RJ. He had finally awakened almost two years ago. He’d been undergoing rehabilitative therapy since then for the atrophied muscles. He was learning everything all over again. Basic cognitive motions were becoming easier and he was able to feed and dress himself with ease. His mind however was fully intact and after asking about their son and her wellbeing, he immediately wanted to know about Ian. Caramel told him that his brother was dead.
At the time she’d believed that, having heard all the rampant rumors in the street. She didn’t find out until much later, when she saw the man for herself, that Ian was very much alive and well.

  He’d come to RJ’s school to see the child. Ian never intruded and as far as Caramel knew, RJ had never actually met him. She was grateful for one thing however, and that was the money Ian had obviously set in place for them. She remembered getting the call from the attorney about a hidden trust that Ryan had set in place and how relieved she was. They were almost completely destitute at that point.

  “You listening to me girl,” Ryan asked as Caramel again found herself in deep thought.

  “I’m sorry baby,” she replied contritely. “What did you say?”

  Ryan chuckled and told her he could go home.

  “Really, real home,” Caramel breathed excitedly.

  “Yes,” he told her softly as they kissed and she hugged him tightly.

  She was still terrified of him finding out Ian was still alive, but for now Caramel pushed the thoughts aside, happy to have the one man she loved with her whole heart, coming home.

  *****

  Brent and Santana were talking amongst themselves about their new partner and how much they liked his style.

  “I told you that he was ruthless,” Brent told Santana who chuckled and told him he saw that.

  They’d gone on a hit last night. One of the top bosses, Crypt, who owned a saloon Ian wanted, refused to sell or fall in line with the organization. The three men decided they would pay him a visit and see if he could be convinced to change his mind.

  “He was obviously stupid,” Santana threw out speaking of Crypt.

  The man had been adamant about his refusal even after Ian diplomatically explained he wouldn’t be losing anything, simply making a new alliance.

  “With that shit flowing out of his mouth, hell he had to be,” Brent concurred.

  Crypt made the mistake of insulting Ian telling him he didn’t do deals with backwoods country bumpkins, especially short, backwoods country bumpkins.

  “Bet that ass is eating them words now,” Santana replied as they recalled Ian killing the man.

  Before anyone could react Ian’s hand whipped across Crypt’s throat, the blood gushing from the clean cut made by the razor blade hidden discreetly between his fingers. Ian had then proceeded to bludgeon the man to death with a pool cue, breaking it three times as he continued to beat the man. When Ian’s rage finally subsided, Crypt’s face was unrecognizable.

  “I was thrilled to hear about his plans for that crew in Indiana,” Brent told Santana.

  “Yeah, we still got a score to settle with them two fools, Ramell and Jacoury,” he added coldly.

  Brent nodded and agreed.

  “He tried to contact Necie again,” Santana asked giving Brent a look.

  “Not for a few years now,” he replied evenly.

  Brent was still angry that Jacoury had been in contact with Necie even after they were married. He’d written her a few times pleading for forgiveness, asking for a chance at friendship, even going so far once as to ask her to send him pictures of Diamond. Brent definitely wanted to close the man’s eyes forever. Now he had the perfect partner to accomplish it. Granted Ian’s beef was with this guy Top, Jacoury ran with him, so that made him a target as well.

  “When is Ice gonna make a move on Utopia,” Santana asked, changing Brent’s thoughts once again.

  Utopia was one of the more upscale clubs found in the city. Everyone who was anyone was always there.

  “Should be soon, Shaft’s trifling ass won’t be hard to remove,” Brent replied of the owner.

  Phillip ‘Shaft’ Roundtree was the owner of the club. He got his nickname from supposedly favoring the actor who played Shaft and sharing the same last name. Everyone knew he was more flash than substance and both Brent and Santana knew with just the right pressure he would cave.

  “Well I’m definitely well past ready to finish this takeover so we can get to the good stuff,” Santana threw out referring to Ramell and Jacoury.

  Brent laughed and told him to be patient. “From the things I’ve seen so far with Ice, it’s going to definitely be worth the wait,” he replied as they made themselves another drink and started the grill waiting for their wives to arrive with the steaks.

  *****

  “Man, I’m exhausted,” Tariq told Kaitlyn flopping onto the couch beside her.

  The twins were finally asleep and the two of them could relax for a couple of hours.

  “I totally feel you,” Kaitlyn replied sighing deeply herself.

  She loved her daughters dearly but they were definitely a handful. The girls had just turned eight months old and were completely active. She wouldn’t have traded it for anything though. As exhausted and sleep deprived as she sometimes was, Kaitlyn absolutely loved the two bundles of joy they had. The girls loved each other’s company as well, already having forged a deep bond with each other.

  “That Tejdra is a mess,” Tariq remarked laughing at the baby’s antics.

  They were both crawling and Tejdra’s favorite destination was the kitchen cabinet, emptying the pots she could reach.

  “Yeah and her partner in crime is no better,” Kaitlyn replied of Tajdra.

  While her sister distracted their parents to the kitchen, she would crawl into the bathroom pulling the toilet paper from the roll. Tariq chuckled and agreed with her sentiments.

  “God help us when they start walking,” he threw out as they both laughed.

  “You really should go ahead and hire a part time nanny,” Tariq told Kaitlyn.

  She sighed slightly not really ready to do that just yet. She couldn’t describe it; Kaitlyn just felt like she was admitting failure as a parent having to hire a nanny.

  “I know what you’re thinking baby,” Tariq told her, seeing the expression on her face. “You have two babies, not one, KiKi,” he went on patiently. “You need the help or you’re going to run yourself ragged.”

  Tariq told her he would help as much as he could, but he still had business to take care of and she would be left with most of the chores alone.

  “I know,” Kaitlyn sighed softly.

  “It’s only part time baby,” Tariq tried again as she nodded thoughtfully.

  The doorbell disturbed their talk as they both gave each other quizzical glances.

  “Are you expecting someone,” Tariq asked, rising and heading to the front door.

  Kaitlyn told him no as he grumbled, grabbing the .9mm from the foyer table and approaching the door. Asking who it was, he opened the front door, gun behind his back as he took in the man standing on the stoop.

  “I have a certified letter for Kaitlyn Taylor,” the man said smoothly.

  Tariq told him yes, discreetly putting the gun in his pocket and signing for the letter. “Thank you and have a good day,” the man said once again in parting, turning and walking away.

  Tariq returned to the living room, putting the gun up on the mantle out of the girl’s reach and handed Kaitlyn the letter.

  “What is this,” she mumbled seeing only a return address but no name.

  She ran her finger under the tab beginning to open the envelope when they heard the small whimper.

  “I’ll go check,” Tariq told Kaitlyn rising and heading into the nursery to check on the twins.

  She continued with the envelope finally opening it and removing the thick packet contained. Kaitlyn unfolded the documents and began to read, her breathing becoming erratic as her mind digested what her eyes were seeing.

  “No,” she screamed jumping from the couch. “Hell fucking no,” she yelled again as Tariq immediately returned to the den.

  The fury was etched on her face as she continued to read, dropping each page to the floor as she finished. Tariq picked up the pages and began to read for himself, becoming more and more incredulous with each line.

  “What the fuck is this, KiKi,” he asked angrily, his eyes blazing as
they bore into her own. “Is this bullshit true,” he yelled as Kaitlyn returned the stare and he saw the anger mingled with hurt and remorse in her eyes.

  “Yes,” she said simply and Tariq stopped breathing.

  “I’m going to call our attorney,” Tariq snapped as Kaitlyn remained mute. “I’m going to let him handle this shit, but you and I are going to sit down and have one helluva long talk,” he told her his tone tense and tight.

  Kaitlyn nodded shortly and Tariq turned without another word leaving the room.

  Kaitlyn continued to brood over the content of the letter she’d received. Some way, somehow, Ian had found out about Tajdra and now he was suing her for full custody of the child. How the fuck did he find out about her, she was worrying, the anger rising as she thought of the drama Ian was once again raining on her life. She also thought about Tariq and the lies and secrets of the past year. Now everything had been ripped open and she would have to tell him the truth. Tell him about her personality issues, about Ian taking advantage of her when she was not herself. Most of all Kaitlyn had to pray he believed her and that this didn’t destroy their family. She also thought about Ian and the very real possibility that some judge would be stupid enough to give him her daughter. I won’t ever let that shit happen, Kaitlyn thought, not above killing Ian to assure that she kept her word.

  “We’re going to see him in a couple hours,” Tariq told her concerning the attorney, returning to the room. “I called Tae, she’s going to watch the girls,” he informed her.

  Kaitlyn heard the anger in his voice still as he continued to regard her.

  “I need to know just what the fuck is going on KiKi,” Tariq told her. “So you need to start at the beginning, and this time, don’t leave shit out.”

  Sighing deeply and swallowing hard, Kaitlyn opened her mouth and began to speak.