Thin Ice (21 page)

“Everything works with one remote,” he told her still looking deeply into her eyes and seeing the anger.

He hugged her softly and left her alone with her thoughts. Kaitlyn heard him drive off down the driveway and began to curse aloud. She needed to figure a way out of here, or she would end up Ice’s prisoner for the rest of her life.

*****

Ryan and Jaleesa were relaxing as he watched the game.

“You think that silly cow has learned anything,” Jaleesa asked of LaDonna.

Ryan took a deep breath and turned to her.

“Probably not,” he replied tiredly. “She’s one of those that don’t get it till they stop breathing,” he said plainly as Jaleesa grunted her understanding.

“You up for that,” Ryan asked giving her another look.

“If it has to be done, then it has to be done,” Jaleesa answered honestly.

“That’s my Tweety,” Ryan told her sweetly, pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

“You want another beer,” Jaleesa asked, needing a moment to pull herself together.

She was starting to actually feel for Ryan and that wasn’t a part of her plan.

“Sure, thanks,” Ryan replied as Jaleesa smiled and rose headed for the kitchen.

As she stood at the fridge, Jaleesa thought about her plans to get out of here and find her best friend.
I’m pretty sure they’re still in Atlanta,
she thought removing the bottle and closing the door. The problem was she wasn’t sure where. Jaleesa was more than positive Ice had moved KiKi in with him. He was extremely possessive and she knew he would want her friend readily accessible.
If there was only some way I could contact her,
Jaleesa thought again. She still had KiKi’s cell number but she didn’t dare call. What if Ice is standing there when the phone rings and he sees the area code? What if he has her phone? No, the obstacles were too many for Jaleesa to consider calling. There had to be a way though. She continued to brood about it until she reached her bedroom door. Jaleesa took a deep breath and entered the room as Ryan smiled at her and took the beer from her hand.

“You wanna go out for a while,” he asked kissing her neck softly as they lay in bed once again.

“Sounds good,” Jaleesa replied non-committal.

She was thrilled to get out. Now maybe she could get the lay of the land and make some plans to actually get away from this house and the hell she was enduring.
Not without setting your girl free too,
she thought of KiKi.

“Good,” Ryan replied. “There are a couple restaurants and clubs I wanna show you,” he added as he found her lips and kissed her deeply, his hands fondling her gently as he undressed her.

Jaleesa couldn’t help the moans of pleasure that escaped her as Ryan made love to her. There was no denying that the man was good. He had the equipment and made damn good use of it.

“Mm, Ryan,” she mumbled as the orgasm hit her.

Ryan kissed her neck gently in response as he slowed his pace and allowed her come down, before taking her on the ride all over again. Holding her afterwards, Ryan spoke softly in her ear.

“I hafta be able to trust you, before I let you carry,” he told her, then looked into her eyes.

“I know,” Jaleesa replied calmly, thrilled he was even considering giving her a gun.

“I’m trying,” she told him as he smiled slightly.

“You’re doing good baby,” he replied and kissed her again before rising and telling her they needed to get ready to leave.

24

Carlos was waiting for Ice when he entered the club. Greeting each other both men headed for Ice’s private office.

“So what’d you find,” Ian asked sipping his drink and shuffling papers on his desk.

“Good stuff,” Carlos returned handing him the envelope.

Ian eyed his bodyguard for a moment before opening the envelope and examining the contents. Ian was actually smiling by the time he finished examining what it contained.

“You’re right,” he told Carlos still smiling. “This is good ,” he finished as they both laughed.

“So what you wanna do,” Carlos asked giving Ice a look.

“For the moment, nothing,” he replied as Carlos grunted slightly. “Oh, Ryan said to give you this,” Carlos told Ice handing him a DVD.

“Cool,” Ian replied as Carlos left him alone in his office going back into the club to make sure everything was flowing smoothly.

What is going on in that mind of hers,
Ian thought as he sipped his drink. She’d been at the house with him for almost two weeks now. Ian sighed deeply as he handled the envelope again.
The fantasy ends tonight,
he thought of KiKi holding on to Tariq and memories of the past. Though he would never admit it, Ian felt totally inadequate with KiKi still loving someone else.
What the fuck does she see in this fool,
he thought angrily. KiKi had endless untapped potential in the business and with her mind right and focused Ian knew they could amass millions upon millions of dollars.
I’m being good to her,
Ian thought again draining his glass and sighing deeply. He loved KiKi with his whole heart, but he’d never of course let her know just how much.
No woman can have that kinda damned power,
Ian thought calmly finally rising and heading into the club.

As soon as he walked into the main room, he saw a familiar face. Waving the man over, Ian greeted him as they ordered a drink and sat down.

“Look man, so far you been lucky,” Giovanni told Ian.

Giovanni English was a ranking officer with the Sherriff’s Department. He’d intercepted yet another message left on the tip line and came to warn Ian.

“They don’t leave a name?” Ian asked irritably.

Someone was trying to cause trouble and bring heat on him. He wanted to know who.

“No man,” Giovanni returned. “You know that line is completely anonymous,” he continued. “But whoever it is has a bad taste in their mouth about you,” he finished and sipped his beer.

Ian grunted slightly as his mind continued to race. Thankfully of the four messages that were left Giovanni had been the officer to respond on three of them. The one he’d missed, they’d sent a rookie and Ian had easily bluffed his way through without search or even citation.

“Shit Giovanni,” Ian replied. “It could be anyone, hell I got a lot of haters,” he finished as the officer nodded his understanding.

“Well I brought a copy of the last recording,” Giovanni offered pulling out the mini cassette recorder.

“Maybe you might recognize the voice,” he told Ian before warning him that the caller was trying to disguise their voice.

Pushing play Ian listened intently to the message and frowned slightly. There was definitely something familiar about the voice, he just couldn’t put his finger on it yet.

“Hmm, can I keep this?” Ian asked as the officer nodded.

“It’s just a copy I made,” he told Ian as he finished his beer and rose to leave.

“Be careful Ice,” Giovanni warned once more. “Things ain’t like it used to be, new people, new agendas,” he added as Ian again nodded thoughtfully and thanked him once more.

After the officer was gone Ian turned the recorder on again. He listened carefully once more, still thinking the voice was familiar but the owner yet continuing to escape him.
I’m gonna figure out who this is dammit,
Ian thought angrily as he formulated how he would kill them once he did.

*****

Kaitlyn was at her end. Ice’s latest stunt was taking her cell. Now she had absolutely no way to communicate with the outside world.
I should just put this chef’s knife thru his damned chest,
she thought fleetingly. Her captivity was a variable Kaitlyn hadn’t counted on, but she had to find a way to overcome it.
Tell him what he wants to hear,
her mind told her as she sucked her teeth stubbornly. Kaitlyn hated to be told what to do, or how to act, though if she wanted to get out of this trap she’d better get over that real quick. Sighing deeply she made up her mind to give Ice the performance of a lifetime when he came home. Kaitlyn had to sell him on her love and fidelity and make him believe she wasn’t going to leave him ever.

Sighing deeply she headed upstairs and found her sexiest nightie. Rolling her eyes and sucking her teeth again softly, she turned and headed back down the stairs to the kitchen. She would make them a romantic dinner, shower and put on the nightie before Ice got home, and make them martinis.
I’ma screw this joker so damned good, he gonna swear my pussy is platinum,
she thought and chuckled aloud. Kaitlyn thought how much she still enjoyed sleeping with Ice, but why wouldn’t she? In her mind he was simply a living vibrator. Ian had good sex and she loved getting a nut, so it worked out perfectly, she mused, seasoning the steaks and preparing them for cooking.
I’ma get outta this bitch, and then I’ma finish what the fuck I started,
she thought again wrapping the potatoes and putting them in the oven. Kaitlyn made the Caesar salad and put it in the fridge. She took down the dinner rolls and laid them out on the baking pan to stick in the oven later. For desert she made walnut brownies, she planned to top with the vanilla bean ice cream in the freezer. Satisfied things would go the way she wanted, Kaitlyn headed upstairs to the shower.

*****

Ian arrived home to find the house alive with aromatic fragrance from the steaks and potatoes. “Hey,” Kaitlyn greeted him clad in the sheer black nightie.

Ian looked her over appreciatively before returning her greeting.

“Wassup baby,” he replied sweetly, kissing her lips softly.

What’s up with this,
he thought behind the neutral mask on his face.

“I made us Martini’s,” Kaitlyn told him, handing him a chilled glass.

“This is good,” Ian replied honestly after tasting the apple flavored elixir. “What’s the special occasion,” Ian asked watching her closely.

Kaitlyn sighed deeply. “Ice,” she began, looking directly into his eyes. “I won’t lie, I was mad as hell about you lockin’ me up at this house,” Kaitlyn told him as Ian continued to watch her wordlessly. “But I finally stopped being stubborn and realized how very much you must really care about me to go to all this trouble,” she told him, growing silent for a few moments. “So, I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” Kaitlyn began again. “And to show you how much I really do want to be with you,” she finished as Ian smiled slightly and kissed her again, passionately.

“I’m glad to hear that, KiKi,” Ian told her calmly as they sat on the couch together. “I have something to show you,” he told her once again as Kaitlyn shrugged slightly and told him okay.

Ian handed her the same envelope Carlos had given him earlier. Sipping his martini, Ian never took his eyes off her as Kaitlyn opened the envelope and began inspecting the contents. Kaitlyn was furious as she looked at the pictures Ice had given her. It was taking everything in her not to react, knowing Ice was watching her.
This lying sonofabitch,
she thought behind the mask as she looked at the pictures of Tariq and the woman he was with. There were pictures of them holding hands, hugging, kissing, even one of them making love.
I bet he paid a pretty penny to get this shot,
she thought of the love making photograph. Kaitlyn was past furious. She saw nothing but red, Tariq’s blood, as she held the pictures knowing he was with this woman.
He never loved me,
she continued to think taking a deep breath and throwing the photos on the table, willing herself to finally look Ice in the eye again.

“Was there a point to showing me these,” she asked calmly as Ian finished his drink and put the glass down.

“Thought you’d like to know, that’s all,” Ian returned equally as calm.

“Hmph,” Kaitlyn replied. “Well okay thanks,” she continued. “But I could care less about that ,” she told him never taking her eyes from his own. “Are you ready to eat and enjoy our evening now,” she threw out as Ian smiled.

“Yeah, let’s have our dinner,” he replied, satisfied that any feeling Kaitlyn may have had for Tariq died when she saw the photos.

Kaitlyn was still fuming as she made their plates.
I’ma kill his ass for lying and playin’ me,
she thought of Tariq. Truth was it hurt like hell that this other woman was getting the love that should have been hers.
Your fault,
her conscience threw at her.
What the fuck was I supposed to do,
she threw back. Ice hadn’t really given her much choice, and she stayed with him to keep Tariq safe.
And what did that bastard do,
Kaitlyn continued to think as she put salad into the bowls.
He called me a bitch, told me to fuck off, and replaced me,
she finished and pulled herself together putting the meal on the table, smiling her best smile at Ice and sat down to eat.

*****

“Hey Landon, how’s it going man?” Ben boomed in his ear.

Landon smiled widely. He’d never been so happy to hear from someone as he was right now.

“Hey man!” he returned excitedly “They told me you weren’t due back till later in the week,” he told him, happy they were wrong.

“Well, I supposed to stay gone, but you know me” he laughed and Landon joined him.

“I need your help Ben,” Landon told him growing serious.

Ben asked him to elaborate.

He’d been working on confirming the information Landon had given earlier and securing the necessary warrants, agents, transports and the like.
What in the world has him so rattled,
he wondered reeling his thoughts in, listening closely as the man began to speak.

“So you don’t know where she is now?” he asked Landon after his explanation of Kaitlyn’s surprise visit and her state of mind.

Ben had to admit he was feeling slightly uneasy himself knowing Ice’s history.

“I know she’s still here in Georgia, but I don’t have the resources to research the things I asked you about,” Landon told him.

Ben took a deep breath and thought about what his friend was asking. It was just dangerous and Kaitlyn could end up getting hurt. He’d warned Landon it could be risky.