Thin Ice 5 - Checkmate (15 page)

“
I’ll deal with where the fuck you’ve been and what the fuck you’ve been doing when we get back,” he told his brother.

“
Who is we,” Jalen asked at a loss.

He had no idea his older brother was still alive. He’d been too busy staking out Tae and Shells.

“
Never mind, we’ll discuss it when I get back in a few days,” Ian told him once again.

“
Yeah okay,” Jalen replied nonchalantly further serving to piss Ian off.

Disconnecting before he lost his temper, Ian made a mental note to put his brother on lockdown for a while so he would know and monitor every move he made. His gut told him Jalen was plotting and that whatever it was; he was in way over his head with it.

Going back into the sitting room of the suite, Ian was glad to see Ryan had finally passed out. Gingerly taking the almost empty cognac bottle from his grasp, Ian left him alone and let him sleep, returning to the suites bedroom. Sitting on the bed he began going through photos on his phone of Tajdra.

“
If anything ever happened to her,” Ian whispered aloud, just the thought bringing searing pain to his heart.

Pushing the thoughts away he closed the phone and thought of the DVD he’d sent Tariq.
Wonder if he enjoyed the show,
Ian chuckled knowing the man would have been past furious to view him and Kaitlyn making love. Even his plans for getting her back into his life were moving along without a hitch. Kaitlyn wasn’t hostile now when she brought the baby, actually accepting his invitation for lunch on a few occasions.
That shit will change come trial time,
his mind corrected. That’s when everything would become real and Kaitlyn would once again see him as the enemy. Ian wasn’t trying to hurt her, he honestly wasn’t, but the thought of Tariq raising his daughter, or her calling him daddy, filled him with glacier rage.

Once he got custody, he would give Kaitlyn generous visitation, evening allowing her to bring the other baby with her. He would of course invite her to stay in his guest bedroom so the girls could be close.
And after a few glasses of wine and me reminding her of how good we were together, we’ll make love,
Ian mused and smiled slightly. He didn’t kid himself however. He knew that was going to take a while to get around too. Kaitlyn was going to be absolutely furious with him for taking their daughter. He didn’t put it past her to try and kill him, causing Ian to make a mental note to beef up his personal security. His phone vibrated and Ian read the return text from Kaitlyn telling him that was fine and her wishes that everything was fine with him.

“
Patience,” Ian told himself aloud.

The trial began next week and he was more than sure, the monsoon of a storm that was coming with it.
Need to call Ray and see how we made out on the judge selection,
Ian thought once more removing his phone from his pocket and pressing the speed dial.

13

Lila was frowning deeply as she walked to the front door of her condo, the loud pounding irritating her nerves.

“
What the hell is your --,” she got out before looking into Pirates fury filled eyes.

“
Craig, what are you doing here,” Lila managed, finally gathering herself as he pushed his way inside, Creeper and Gyp immediately following.

“
You can’t just barge into my house, Craig,” she began to yell.

“
Shut up,” Pirate barked and Lila wisely obeyed. “Where is my son,” he asked again, giving her yet another look.

“
He’s in his room,” Lila returned somewhat subdued.

“
He’s going back with me,” Pirate told her, daring her to refute him.

“
Please Craig, don’t do this,” Lila began to plead, tears coming.

Pirate was unmoved. He kept seeing the memory of her with Mighty, them kissing, and the man touching his son.

“
You got more than enough going on to keep you happy and fulfilled,” he told her sarcastically.

She knew then he’d seen her with Mighty.

“
This muthafucka must be throwing better game than the pros for you to move to Chicago chasing his dick and shit,” Pirate berated.

Truthfully, Mighty was a terrible lay in her mind. He was selfish, never caring if she was satisfied or not. He seemed to take great pleasure in degrading her and constantly reminding her how he controlled her entire existence. Lila didn’t want to admit what a mess she’d made of her life since leaving Pirate. She was broke. If it hadn’t been for Mighty paying for her and CJ to move here, she would have been on the street. She couldn’t bring herself to call Pirate and tell him. He would have taken CJ from her for sure then. He was a good father, she couldn’t lie about that. It was her. She was the one who squandered the support money he sent on parties, clothes, and extravagant trips she couldn’t afford. Lila let her rent go unpaid almost a full year before the landlord finally stop buying her excuses and filed eviction proceedings.

“
You can come see him when you want,” Pirate began again, breaking her thought. “But he ain’t stayin’ here,” he told her with finality.

The men heard the key slide into the lock and turned toward the door.

Creeper and Gyp both took their guns out, holding them in plain sight as Mighty and his right hand, Craze, walked inside. Craze saw the men and immediately went for his gun. Mighty put his hand on his arm and told him no.

“
Hello everyone,” he greeted the men calmly.

Pirate didn’t speak, simply choosing to give the man a distasteful look. Creeper and Gyp simply nodded.

“
It would seem I’m the one in the dark here,” Mighty said pleasantly as his eyes bored into Lila’s the danger smoldering beneath the calm exterior.

She knew without a doubt Mighty was going to beat her tonight when they were alone.

“
I’m here to get my son,” Pirate said simply.

“
I see,” Mighty said tightly.

He was irritated that this deadbeat had the nerve to show up and demand a child he hadn’t supported in years.

“
Did you bring the money to pay me back for taking care of your seed all these months,” Mighty asked, full of attitude.

“
What game you runnin’ fool,” Pirate returned quickly, furious with the insinuation. “I send Lila money every month for mine, partner.”

Mighty gave Lila a look and she averted her gaze. Pirate picked up the exchange and spoke on it.

“
So you lyin’ to this fool tellin him I’m not taking care of mine,” he charged as Lila swallowed hard and said nothing.

“
That’s exactly what she’s been telling me while I pay her rent, relocate her here, and put food on her table,” Mighty replied angrily.

“
Well you’re the one who got played on that end,” Pirate replied nonchalantly. “I don’t give two shits about that, I’m getting my son and leaving,” he went on. “You two do whatever the hell you want.”

Mighty’s jaw clenched as the words left Pirate’s mouth. He wanted revenge. Nobody made a fool of Mighty and lived to tell it.

“
Nah, until I get my money, nobody is going anywhere,” Mighty spat angrily as Craze pulled his gun.

Creeper shot at him, barely missing his head.

“
Don’t be stupid,” he said evenly the silencer muting the gunshot, as Craze dropped the weapon to the floor.

“
Look man,” Pirate began again. “I ain’t got no beef with you, but if you wanna make it so, we can do that too,” he told him angrily.

CJ walked into the room as Creeper and Gyp discreetly moved their guns behind their back, Gyp kicking Craze’s under the couch.

“
Daddy,” he yelled happily running to his father.

Pirate picked his son up and hugged him tightly.

“
What you doing here daddy,” CJ asked innocently.

“
Came to pick you up,” he replied simply.

“
Cool, I’m going with you,” CJ replied excitedly.

Pirate told him yes and he scampered away to pack his bag.

“
Like I said you can see him whenever you want,” he told Lila, ignoring Mighty as he fumed still. “But you might want to see the whole picture before you decide Chi town is the new stomping ground,” Pirate told her cryptically.

Frowning slightly Lila asked him what he meant.

“
I mean when your boy here dropped you off, he headed downtown and picked up his other piece of ass for the day,” Pirate told her frankly.

Lila was stunned. “Is that true,” she finally asked Mighty, finding her voice.

“
Yeah, so,” he returned arrogantly.

Pirate shook his head as Creeper gave the man a disgusting look. Gyp kept his eye on Craze, making some observations of his own.

“
I pay the rent here, and I take care of you, so I do what the fuck I want, when I want,” Mighty told her again as Lila felt lower and lower.

“
Who was she,” Lila asked, not that it mattered, she just felt like she wanted to know.

“
My wife, shit, who the fuck did you think it was,” Mighty again arrogantly replied.

Lila was yet another time stunned. He never told her he was married.

CJ came into the room again, bag in hand, asking Pirate if they could go now.

“
Yeah son, we can head on out,” Pirate replied taking the child’s hand and walking toward the front door.

Stopping for a second he wrangled free and ran back to his mother, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.

“
Bye mama, see you in three weeks,” CJ told her.

Lila smiled slightly having no idea where he’d come up with that timeframe, but not correcting him. Pirate opened the door and walked outside as CJ chattered non-stop. Creeper and Gyp both left, still facing Mighty and Craze, guns close. As soon as the door closed, Mighty strode across the room and slapped her hard, knocking her to the floor. Craze smiled broadly as Mighty took off his suit jacket and began beating Lila mercilessly.

*****

Ray was gathering all the paperwork they would need for the case beginning next week. Picking up his phone he buzzed Nikki and asked her to come into his office. Thinking about her, he felt a slight twinge of anger and jealousy knowing she was sleeping with Ryan.
Your fault, so suck it up,
his mind quickly told him. Sighing softly he did just that, pushing the thoughts away so they could concentrate on business.

“
Hi Mr. Lockhart, you needed me,” Nikki greeted, walking in the door.

“
Nikki, how long have you worked for me,” Ray asked, giving her a look.

Chuckling, she corrected herself and called him Ray as he’d asked numerous times in the past.

“
That’s better,” Ray told her still smiling. “Have they given us a judge yet,” he asked, getting back to business.

“
Mhmm,” Nikki replied, smiling now herself.

Ray saw the smile and knew the news was good.

“
Who,” he asked simply.

“
Volena Baiswell,” Nikki replied as Ray’s smile joined her own.

“
Excellent news,” he told her as she nodded her agreement.

Judge Volena Baiswell was a known father’s rights advocate and as liberal as they came when it came to her rulings. Ray also knew her personally through his years in the legal circles.

“
Ice is going to be very pleased to hear this news,” he told Nikki as she agreed with his summation.

“
I still want everything on point though, Nikki,” Ray admonished, growing serious again. “We can’t take the chance that this be the one case, Volena decides to change her stripes,” he added.

Nikki told him he had nothing to worry about. Her research was impeccable and all the paperwork was in order.

“
There is one thing though,” Nikki began, frowning slightly.

Ray asked her to elaborate. He was in deep thought after she finished, plotting how they should move.

“
How long would it take,” he asked as Nikki told him the estimates she’d gotten.

“
Hmph,” Ray replied still brooding. “Do you think it’s feasible,” Ray asked.

Nikki was wholly flattered that he valued her opinion that much.

“
I think we should explore each and every avenue available to us to ensure that Mr. Bailey’s case is handled thoroughly,” she replied as Ray told her he agreed.

“
Get the ball rolling,” Ray added as Nikki assured him she was on it first thing.

“
Nikki,” Ray called out just as she was about to walk out of the door.

“
Yes, Ray,” she replied waiting for him to speak.

“
Would you be a dear and meet Caldwell for lunch,” he asked of the legal assistant from their competitors firm.

Ray got insider information from the man often, but lately he’d been asking for Nikki in his stead.

She knew he had a crush on her, but she wasn’t feeling him that way. “Sure, no problem,” Nikki returned and left the office.

Ray chuckled knowing Nikki knew the why’s of her going, but appreciating her professionalism for still getting the information he wanted.