Thin Ice Read online

  “You disrespected my brother on a deep level, fool,” Ryan told Hasaan breaking his thought and bringing him back to now.

  “Ice already kicked my ass for that,” Hasaan tried again pitifully.

  He didn’t want to die. He’d finally gotten help for his habit and was actually looking forward to living his life again.

  “Well too bad for you, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree,” Ryan replied cryptically as Hasaan frowned deeply in confusion. “You ever met KiKi,” Ryan asked curiously as Hasaan shook his head no.

  “I only heard the name a couple times,” he replied still lost about the connection.

  “Hmph,” Ryan returned, taking another deep breath and blowing it out. “She’s Ice’s woman,” he added as Hasaan continued to give him the confused look. “Seems little brother got a serious case of heat for her,” Ryan patiently explained as understanding finally dawned in Hasaan’s mind. Please don’t let Tariq have messed with Ice’s chick, he thought.

  “He don’t seem to hear well either,” Ryan began again still holding Hasaan’s attention. “So I guess I’ll hafta speak louder,” he finished, taking the safety off the gun as Hasaan’s breathing grew more excited. “So what’s it gonna be,” Ryan asked once more. “Nice and high, drift off to sleep,” he continued. “Or hot, painful, and agonizing,” he finished and waited on Hasaan to speak.

  Quickly weighing his options, Hasaan knew he couldn’t get out of the chair without getting shot, but maybe he could maneuver his body so that the shot wasn’t fatal, cry out and pray one of the staff heard him.

  “10 seconds,” Ryan threw out again impatiently, as Hasaan took a deep breath and made his move, pushing the table hard into Ryan and jumping from the chair.

  Ryan gathered himself quickly from the surprise move, aiming, arm still under the now upright table and fired four shots in rapid succession, hitting Hassan with each one. The man screamed in pain, arms flailing, asking for help as several of the staff ran toward him. As the crowd gathered and the hospital staff tried to assess the situation, Ryan slipped quickly and quietly to an inconspicuous corner and watched the drama unfold. An ambulance was quickly dispatched arriving moments later as the EMT’s bounded out and began to work on Hasaan. Ryan continued to watch undetected from his hidden corner as the men worked frantically for the next 20 minutes before finally conceding defeat and covering the body with a sheet.

  Knowing that the police would arrive within minutes, Ryan took the opportunity to leisurely walk out of the side gate he stood next to and cross the street. He took his time walking the two blocks to the church parking lot where he’d secured his car as the police cruiser sped by him sirens wailing, headed for the drug rehab facility he’d just left. Reaching his vehicle, Ryan unlocked his doors and entered the car. Driving close to the dumpster in the back of the church, Ryan wiped down, casually bagged, and tossed the .380 he’d used to kill Hasaan, and headed back out the way he came. No more loose ends, Ryan thought, jumping onto the interstate heading toward the penthouse to pick up Jaleesa.

  17

  Ian watched KiKi knowing her nerves were on edge. It’d been a week since Mrs. Mitchell called asking her if she’d heard from Tweety. KiKi hadn’t mentioned the call and was trying to act as normal as possible still when she was around him. Ian sighed lightly thinking of the tears he’d heard her shedding when she thought she was alone a couple of nights ago. It’s for the best, he thought as he finally spoke.

  “We’re going to Mississippi tonight,” Ian told her as KiKi finally looked up from the magazine she was perusing and regarded him.

  “OK,” she said plainly her eyes never leaving his. “What time,” she added as her mind whirled.

  Kaitlyn was planning to head over to Livingston Brothers, the mortuary where they were holding Hasaan’s funeral. Thinking about it deepened the sense of dread that Kaitlyn already carried concerning Tweety’s disappearance. Just ask him, her mind threw at her. She couldn’t though. Right now Kaitlyn didn’t think she could bear knowing for certain that Ice had kept his word and killed her best friend. She did know that he had something to do with Hasaan’s death though. He might not have pulled the trigger personally, but with every fiber of her existence, Kaitlyn knew Ice had been an integral part. The only part she couldn’t figure out was the why.

  “We’ll probably pull out around 6:00PM or so,” Ice replied once again breaking Kaitlyn’s train of thought.

  “Yeah, okay, that’s cool Ice,” Kaitlyn replied. “I’ll be ready,” she added as he nodded and headed into the bedroom to change clothes.

  Left alone again, Kaitlyn’s mind began to once again race. How would Tariq react seeing her there, she sighed softly as Ice returned, dressed and ready to leave.

  “I’ll be back in a while,” he told her calmly, leaning over to kiss her lips softly.

  “OK,” Kaitlyn replied smiling slightly.

  Ian regarded her quietly a few moments more after the kiss, before sighing slightly and grabbing his keys headed out to his business.

  Kaitlyn rose and headed into the bedroom to begin her own autonomy, readying herself to come face to face with her not so distant past once more. As she dressed, Kaitlyn recalled her last conversation with Tariq and how cold she’d been to him. I had too, she told herself trying to allay some of the deep hurt she felt just thinking about him. Kaitlyn still cared so deeply for Tariq and not being able to be with him, was torture for her. Still, being with Ice was the path she’d chosen and it was the path she was going to have to see through to the end. Checking her reflection in the mirror, Kaitlyn added a simple strand of pearls to the classic, tailor fit, navy blue dress. It was form fitting, but not tight. Adding pearl post earrings and a spritz of fragrance, Kaitlyn headed out the door and to the chapel.

  *****

  Jaleesa was paying rapt attention as Destiny explained the operation and how the monies were collected and distributed. She was the current Madame of the house. Jaleesa thought she would be hostile, but Destiny had been pleasant as could be since their arrival. She was beautiful woman, tall at 5’10”, but sculpted in every respect. She had big beautiful brown eyes and a full engaging smile. Jaleesa prayed she could do the job and do it well, knowing her existence hung in the balance; reining her thoughts in Jaleesa once gain gave Destiny her complete attention.

  Ryan was quiet as he watched the two women his mind continuing to race. He’d been enjoying Tweety on a daily basis since arriving with her a week ago. Don’t get caught up, his mind told him as he continued to brood thinking how very sexy the woman was. Tweety wasn’t stupid either, and he liked that. Ryan knew that Ice was irritated with the woman because of her personality. He learned in the short time of knowing her, Tweety had a tendency to go off half cocked, not thinking the action or the consequence completely through. Ryan smiled slightly thinking of the deal she and KiKi bartered with the league, taking the business right from under Ice’s nose.

  He would of course never call him on it, but Ryan suspected that was the true root of his brother’s hatred of the woman. One thing Ice didn’t like was to be made a fool of.

  “We have cameras in every room,” Destiny was continuing to explain as Jaleesa nodded her understanding.

  “I’ll be back in a couple hours,” Ryan threw out as he rose, disturbing the conversation.

  “Yeah, that’s straight,” Destiny replied, not missing a beat.

  Ryan turned his attention to Jaleesa, looking directly into her eyes waiting for her acknowledgement as well.

  “OK,” she replied softly wondering what Ryan was really thinking behind the calm façade.

  *****

  Ryan finally departed leaving the two women alone as Jaleesa decided to try and see just how much information she could get on him and the business from Destiny.

  “How long have you been here,” Jaleesa asked amiably, trying to make conversation.

  “About 2 or 3 years I guess,” Destiny returned matter-of-fact.

  “You�
�ve been the Madame,” Jaleesa ventured once more.

  “Didn’t start out that way,” Destiny replied as she rose and grabbed them both a coke. “Started out in the rooms just like the other girls,” she added looking into Jaleesa’s eyes now.

  “Who do you owe,” she asked point blank as Jaleesa sighed lightly.

  “Ice,” she replied calmly as Destiny grunted.

  “Yeah, he’s a mean ass,” she replied frowning deeply.

  Intrigued, Jaleesa asked her to elaborate.

  Destiny went on to tell Jaleesa the story of her journey to the house here in Louisiana.

  “So he forced you to prostitute for $2000.00?” Jaleesa asked incredulously.

  Destiny chuckled bitterly before answering her.

  “Girl please,” she replied. “That was after he kicked my ass, and had his boys run a train on me,” she replied as the tear escaped before she could wipe it away.

  Ice is a fucking monster, Jaleesa thought, trembling involuntarily, thinking of KiKi.

  “So after they were done with me, he doped me up, and dropped me off,” Destiny wrapped up as Jaleesa continued to sit stunned by the revelation.

  “You actually lucked up,” she began again as Jaleesa reeled her thoughts in.

  “Why do you say that,” she asked, slightly perplexed.

  “Cause Ryan is hard, yeah,” Destiny began. “But he has a heart, and he’ll at least give you a chance,” she went on. “Now if you mess up after the chance, well that’s just your own fault,” she finished as Jaleesa nodded her understanding.

  “Besides, he seems to like you quite a bit,” Destiny teased.

  Jaleesa smiled slightly before addressing the woman. “I think he just likes screwing me,” she told her calmly.

  Destiny shrugged slightly. “Does he hurt you when he screws you,” she asked never taking her eyes off Jaleesa.

  “No,” she replied honestly. “He’s really normal when we have sex,” she added as Destiny nodded her understanding.

  “Hmph, well let me show you something,” she told Jaleesa, popping a DVD into the machine and pushing play.

  Jaleesa turned her attention to the 37-inch screen watching as the DVD began. After the first few moments, her mouth dropped in horror as her mind tried to grasp what her eyes were seeing.

  Ryan was with one of the girls from the house. Destiny told her the girl’s first customer had complained about her performance and unwillingness to do the things he’d paid for. Jaleesa was still trying wrap her mind around the violence she was seeing as Ryan beat the girl mercilessly, and then proceed to screw her, sodomize her, before making her submit to oral sex and almost choking her to death from his roughness.

  “Damn,” Jaleesa said softly under her breath.

  Destiny looked at her for a few moments before turning the DVD off.

  “Like I said,” she told Jaleesa evenly. “He seems to like you,” she continued, never taking her eyes off the woman.

  “If I were you, I’d keep it that way,” Destiny finished, rising and disposing of her coke can. “Come on, let me introduce you to the girls, and give you the run down on each of them,” Destiny said once again as Jaleesa gathered her thoughts and made a mental note to make sure she stayed on Ryan’s good side.

  *****

  The service had been really nice Kaitlyn thought as she stood close to the huge oak tree in the cemetery. The minister was saying some final words of internment before crushing a single carnation and scattering it on the closed, steel gray, coffin. The crowd began to slowly disperse as they began lowering it into the ground. Kaitlyn took in Tariq once more. The sadness and pain etched on his face was almost more than she could bear. She’d been careful to stay far out of his line of sight during the service and now she was battling whether or not to make her presence known at all.

  Several people were shaking Tariq’s hand and hugging him, telling him to call if he needed anything. Thanking them, he turned back to the grave where his brother’s body now rested. Why, he thought as the tears threatened once again. He’d been racking his mind since he got the call a week ago that his brother had been murdered. Tariq could only think of one person who would want his brother dead. But I haven’t contacted her, he thought again miserably. Why would Ice kill Hasaan anyway? Tariq continued to think as the pain only intensified. Tariq didn’t know what to do now. He and Hasaan had such great plans for his release. They were going on a vacation. A real one, to the coast and enjoy the beach. Hasaan had promised to enroll in school and finish his GED, even talking about going to one of the many trade and vocational schools the area offered, to further his training and education. Now there was nothing. His brother was dead, and Tariq was empty, angry, and hurt.

  “I’m sorry about Hasaan,” Kaitlyn said softly, standing to his immediate left. Tariq turned quickly to the sound of her voice, stunned that she was standing in the flesh.

  “Thanks,” he managed to get out, finally finding his voice.

  “I just wanted to say hi,” Kaitlyn told him, finding the meeting very awkward, instantly regretting her decision to reveal her presence.

  “Why did he do it KiKi,” Tariq asked, never taking his eyes off her.

  “What are you talking about Tariq,” she threw out, knowing all to well exactly what the man meant.

  Sighing slightly, Tariq continued to regard her. “You cannot be that blind KiKi,” he threw out tightly. “You know as well as I do that Ice killed my brother,” Tariq finished, breathing hard as he glared at her.

  “Tariq, I don’t know anything at all like that,” Kaitlyn replied sensing his anger, and trying to understand his hurt. “Why would he,” she threw out oblivious to the threats Ice made. “You and I were close,” Kaitlyn continued. “Not me and Hasaan,” she finished logically.

  Tariq sucked his teeth in disgust, his mind not recognizing Kaitlyn was genuinely at a loss. “Because the muthafucka promised me that, if I didn’t leave you alone,” Tariq railed. “Hell, you called me the last time,” he went on as Kaitlyn recoiled in shock at both the revelation he’d just given and the intensity of his anger toward her now. “Now my brother is dead,” he told her almost screaming. “All because of a damned conversation with you,” Tariq said calming himself slightly and looking hatefully at Kaitlyn. “Messing with you was the worst mistake I ever made,” he hissed as Kaitlyn caught her breath and blinked back the tears that sprang immediately to her eyes.

  “Tariq, please, I --,” Kaitlyn tried before he cut her off.

  “I don’t want to hear anything KiKi,” he snapped, stepping closer to her. “You cost me everything,” he hissed once more. “Then you had the nerve to show up here at my brothers funeral like that shit was cool, and I should be happy to see you,” Tariq continued to rant as Kaitlyn quietly endured. “Go back to Ice, bitch,” he spat as Kaitlyn’s mouth dropped. “Go back to your drug dealing life of poisoning people, and making paper from it,” Tariq coldly added. “You and Ice deserve each other,” he told her as Kaitlyn again tried to figure out who the man standing in front of her was. “The drug kingpin and his drug dealin’ whore,” Tariq finished as Kaitlyn finally found her voice.

  “I know you’re hurting Tariq,” she told him tightly, her anger ready to flare. “But that noise you just said to me was foul as hell,” she added never taking her eyes from him.

  “Screw you, KiKi,” Tariq told her plainly and turned to walk away.

  “So that’s how it is now,” Kaitlyn threw out, deeply hurt that he was treating her this way. “What happened to all that, I love you baby, I wanna be with you baby, lies you were feeding me,” she threw out wanting to snap him out of the funk he was in.

  Tariq turned and eyed her again distastefully before speaking.

  “It died the day my brother’s heart stop beating,” he told her plainly and turned again, this time walking away without even a glance back in Kaitlyn’s direction.

  18

  The day was headed downhill quickly Kaitlyn thought, downing the
shot of crown and ordering another. You need to get your ass in gear, her mind threw at her. They were supposed to be leaving for Mississippi in about an hour. “Fuck it, let him come find me,” Kaitlyn mumbled irritably to herself concerning Ice. She knew she was taking a chance, given the man’s temper, but right now she didn’t care. Kaitlyn was still smarting over the meeting with Tariq today. The cold anger in his eyes, the hate filled venom of his voice, rang continually in her head and no matter how much liquor she poured in, she just could not seem to drown them. I didn’t kill his damned brother, Kaitlyn began to think once again. That was totally uncalled for today, grief or no grief, she continued to feel sorry for herself, quickly killing the shot the waitress brought and just as quickly ordering yet another.

  “Look what the cat dragged in,” Kaitlyn mumbled as Ice finally spotted her and walked over to the table where she sat, throwing back yet another shot.

  “We need to leave,” he told her plainly.

  Ian was well aware of Kaitlyn’s activities today and he was just as sure her meeting with Tariq hadn’t gone as she originally thought.

  “Yeah, I’m ready, so let’s go,” she threw back nonchalantly.

  “KiKi,” Ian began looking in her eyes as he spoke. “I need you to get over your little reunion blues and pull your head together.”

  Kaitlyn didn’t flinch. She knew Ice was still having her watched and followed, even if he’d lied and told her he called the watchdog off.

  “Is Jaleesa dead,” she asked finally.

  Today was just as good as any to deal with every bit of bad news, Kaitlyn thought, waiting on his answer. Ian didn’t miss a beat.