Game On (The Game Series) (7 page)

Chapter
16

S
itting across from Luccio, Sandy could feel her skin crawl. He was looking her up and down like she was a piece of steak he wanted to devour at any moment.

“So
, what makes you think I want to do anything to help Kyle?”

Sandy knew she had to be very careful.
If she said the wrong thing, he would just clam up and then Kyle would be on his own.

“I don’t think for a minute you’d want to do anything to help him.
But I do think you’d want to help yourself.” Sandy could see the calculation going on in his eyes. He was nothing if not a selfish man and she knew that if it meant helping himself he would sell his own grandmother.

“What do you mean exactly?
What are you offering?”

S
andy hid her smile.
Gotcha!
“Well you’re going to prison. There’s no doubt about that but where you serve your time is not set in stone. Help me and I’ll put a word in, say you helped us. I’m sure you’d much rather serve your time in one of the nicer prisons?” Sandy watched as he licked his lips, his tongue making him appear even more like a snake. Suppressing a shudder she forced herself to keep a smile on her face.

“Can you guarantee it?”
he asked, leaning forward.

“No, you know I can’t do that.”

He shook his head and lean
ed back in his chair. “Then no deal.”

Sandy was getting pissed off with this dance now and
, not even pretending to smile anymore, she leaned forward. “No, I can’t guarantee it. But, what I
can
guarantee is that if you don’t help me I will make it my personal mission to make sure that you go to the worst prison possible where you will be welcomed with open arms once I let it be known how much you helped us.”

For the first time Luccio looked a bit nervous and she could see that she had him. “Okay, okay, but I want it noted that I cooperated ok?”

Sandy nodded.

“Okay
. I know where Deshaun hangs out. Well, where he used to hang out anyway, I don’t know if he still does.”

“Okay, so spill.”

He sighed heavily.
“Okay, there’s this club on Acacia Street. A total shit hole. From what I hear, he’s there most nights dealing.”

Without another word Sandy stood up and, with a screech, pushed the chair back from the table.
As the door closed behind her she heard him shout out, “Don’t forget our deal!”

A
lmost at a run she left the jail and jumped into her car. She knew the club he was talking about. She considered calling for backup for about a second but knew that if she did it would invite all sorts of questions about how Kyle came to know who to go after in the first place. No, this was her mess. It was down to her to sort it out. Squealing out of the parking lot, she put her foot down. She just hoped she wasn’t too late.

Kyle opened his eyes and for a brief second had no idea where he was.
He tried to sit up and immediately a sharp pain in his shoulder reminded him of where he was and what had happened. Remembering Deshaun, he looked around the alley and saw him lying about ten feet away, sprawled facedown and not moving. He was pleased, as he’d had no idea if his shot had hit its target.

Pulling himself over to the alley wall he used it as leverage and managed to get himself into a sitting position.
He immediately became dizzy and had to close his eyes for a few seconds until the world stopped spinning. He’d lost a lot of blood.

Pushing his shirt out of the way he inspected the wound.
He’d been hit in the shoulder thankfully, the bullet missing any major organs. He couldn’t move that arm, though. Reaching over his shoulder and running his hand along his back, it looked like the bullet had gone straight through.

Now what?
He was going to be in a whole world of trouble unless he figured a way out of this mess. He had no idea what he had thought would happen when he confronted Deshaun but he had to admit, this wasn’t it.

As she pulled up outside the club
, Sandy saw Kyle’s car parked across the street. She could see that no one was in it. She was not looking forward to checking the club. This was one of the roughest neighbourhoods in L.A. and she was a woman on her own. She was taking a hell of a risk.

She was just walking up to the entrance, past an alley, when she heard a short cry
, like a person in pain. It had come from the alley. Tentatively, with her hand on her holster, she walked into the gloom.

“Hello?
Is anybody there?”

A voice made her jump. “Sandy?
Is that you?”

She’d found him!
Rushing into the depths of the alley now, what she saw made her stop in her tracks. Kyle was propped against the wall, bleeding heavily, and there was a body on the ground.

“Oh
, my god! Kyle, what have you done? Is he dead?”

Kyle gasped in pain.
“I don’t know.”

Taking out her gun now Sandy approached the body carefully.
When she was close enough she nudged it with her foot. Nothing. With her gun aiming at his head, she slowly reached down and checked for a pulse. Nothing.

“He’s dead.”
Putting her gun away she rushed over to Kyle. Checking his wound, she was relieved to see that it wasn’t life threatening. “Get out of here, Sandy. You don’t need to be involved in this. I’m not bringing you down with me.”

“You were my partner.
Makes no difference to me that you’re not anymore. To me, you still are so there’s no way in hell I’m just leaving you here.” She looked around and spotted Kyle’s gun.

Pointing at it she asked
, “That registered to you?” Kyle shook his head. “It’s a throwaway I took with me when I left.”

“Perfect.”
She picked it up and, with the corners of her shirt, wiped it clean and put it back where it lay. “This is Compton. Robberies gone bad happen all the time here. I doubt this one will get much attention.”

Reaching down she helped Kyle to stand up.
“Lean on me and try and look like you’re drunk. We don’t want to attract any attention.” It started to rain as they left the alley and Sandy said a silent prayer of thanks. That would take care of the blood. At her car, she helped Kyle into the passenger seat and jumped behind the wheel. “I’ll take you back to your apartment and then get a cab back to pick up your car.” She was just about to start the engine when Kyle placed his hand on her arm. She paused and looked at him.

“Thank you.”

She nodded and started the engine.

Chapter 17

He’d hardly seen Anna or her friend all day
, which suited him just fine. He’d heard the thump thump of the music coming from her room, interspersed with bouts of giggles. The only time they’d come out of the bedroom had been at lunchtime, when they’d briefly emerged to grab some food from the kitchen before disappearing upstairs again.

When they had,
Sergei had caught a glimpse of Steph and found himself watching her as she walked up the stairs. A couple of years ahead of Anna at school meant she was 16, at the edge of what he liked. He had to admit, though, she was hot. Her short denim skirt gave him a glimpse of her panties as she walked up the stairs.

He spent the next several hours doing paperwork
and it wasn’t until he looked out the window that he realized it was getting dark. Leaving his desk, he wandered through to the kitchen to find out what was for dinner.

“Has Anna’s friend left yet?”
Monika shook her head. “Okay. Go upstairs and tell her that she has to leave now. I’ve already told Anna that I don’t want her still here at dinner time.”

Monika was just opening the door to leave the kitchen when Anna walked in.

“Dad, can Steph stay over? She’s just had a fight with her mom on the phone. Please?”

Sergei frowned. He didn’t like having to repeat himself. “I’ve already told you that I want us to eat together tonight.”

“Please
, Dad. It’s Sunday tomorrow so we don’t have to go to school. Please!”

With a sigh
, he gave in. He usually did where Anna was concerned. “Okay. But you have to promise me that next time I visit we’ll spend a day together. Deal?”

Smiling widely
, she agreed. “Deal!” He watched her as she ran off to tell her friend the good news.

***

It had taken quite a while for the house to fall quiet. Sergei lay in bed reading his book, waiting until he was sure that everyone had gone to sleep. Once he was sure, he got out of bed and slipped on his robe. Quietly opening his bedroom door, he paused for a moment, listening. When he heard nothing, he crept out and, treading carefully, made his way to Monika’s room.

Turning the handle gently
, he pushed it open. There was enough light from the moon for him to see that she was sleeping soundly. She was lying on her back, with her arms flung above her head. The covers were gathered around her waist and he could see that she was wearing a short, tight, strappy top to sleep in. As he watched, her chest rose and fell, pushing her breasts against the tight fabric.

Closing the door gently behind him, he approached the bed.
Reaching down, he placed his hand over her mouth. She woke with a start and immediately let out a cry, his hand muffling the sound. As soon as she saw it was him, she relaxed.

Removing his hand
, he placed it instead on her breast, squeezing it gently. She let out a little cry. Holding his finger up to his lips, he reminded her to stay quiet. Reaching further down, he threw the covers aside.

She was wearing pyjama shorts with the top and he took hold of the waistband and pulled them down, tossing them aside.
Moving to the foot of the bed, he pushed her legs open with his hands, exposing her pussy to him.

Slipping his robe off his shoulders, he spat in his hand rubbed it along his cock.
Kneeling between her legs, he lowered himself down and, with one hand, guided his cock into her. Pushing gently at first until he was fully inside.

Putting all his weight on her now, he took one of her tits in his hand and started squeezing the nipple until she cried out.
Her cry made his cock harden even more and his breathing started getting heavier. Covering her mouth with his, he slid his tongue into her mouth as his thrusts got faster and faster. He was slamming his cock into her now, the only sound his balls slapping against her. Pushing his cock into her as far as he could he felt himself come inside her, pleasure rippling through him.

Still lying on top of her, he tried to catch his breath
.  She really was too old for him, but while he was visiting his daughter he didn’t have much choice.  It was an arrangement they’d had for years and she understood that it came with the job.

Without another word he eased himself off her and picked up his robe from where it had fallen on the floor.
Slipping it on he left the room without a backward glance.

He had a busy day tomorrow
. He needed to get some sleep.

Chapter 18

Tara packed her things quickly.
Her flight was not until after midnight but she could wait at the airport. She didn’t want to be here when Kyle got home. He would try to stop her, she knew, and she had to go. Her heart couldn’t bear to be away from her daughter any longer.

She felt as if her heart was filled with lead.
She’d been so sure, had never doubted for a moment that Kyle loved her as much as she did him, but it wasn’t true. It wasn’t that he’d kept what he was doing from her. To a degree, she understood. What had told her everything she needed to know was that he had decided to carry on down this path, pushing her away and dismissing her feelings. Any remaining doubt about what she had to do had disappeared then.

When her bags were all packed and she was ready to leave she found a sheet of paper and sat down to write him a note.
He deserved an explanation. Tears streamed down her face by the time she had finished. She’d called a cab and it was waiting for her as she made her way downstairs. Rain had started to fall now and with a last glance over her shoulder at their apartment building, she resolutely faced forward and told the driver to take her to LAX.

***

They both knew that Kyle couldn’t be taken to the hospital. By law every gunshot wound had to be reported and if that happened it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out the connection once they found Deshaun’s body. No, the only choice was to take him back to the apartment.

“How did you find me?”
he asked as they drove.

“Tara came to me.
She knew you were going to do something stupid so she asked for my help.”

“That doesn’t explain how you knew where to look.”

“You can thank Luccio for that.”

Kyle hung his head. “I’m so sorry to have dragged you into all this, Sandy.”

“Don’t apologi
ze to me, I’ll be fine. But you do need to apologise to Tara.”

“I know.”

Silence fell between them then and Kyle rested his head back against his seat, the adrenaline leaving his body.
It was over. Finally. Maybe now he could put this obsession behind him.

Nothing was said for the rest of the drive and, when they arrived outside the apartment, Sandy helped him out of the car and up the stairs.
It was late and Tara would be in bed so he opened the door quietly and switched on the lights.

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Sandy whispered.

“In the kitchen, in the cu
pboard above the stove.” Kyle settled himself on the couch while Sandy went to look. The pain was really kicking in now that the adrenaline had gone. “Did you find it?” he asked as Sandy came into the living room but she didn’t answer.

Looking up he saw that she was holding an envelope.
“What’s that?”

She shook her head.
“I don’t know. I found it on the counter. It’s addressed to you.”

Taking the envelope from her
, he held it in his hand. He didn’t know why but he was suddenly scared. He didn’t want to open it.

“Aren’t you going to read it?”

With a nod, he tore it open and took out the sheet of paper inside.

“What does it say?”
Sandy asked softly.

But Kyle didn’t hear her.
He wasn’t listening anymore. She had gone. Back to that monster.
Oh god, what had he done?

***

The tears were drying on her cheeks as the plane climbed through the clouds after take-off. They had barely stopped since leaving the apartment, but now she needed to be strong. Needed to put it behind her as best she could. She loved Kyle, she always would, but that was over now. She was flying into the biggest fight of her life and she couldn’t afford to be weak. She was going to fight for her daughter. And she was going to win.

*****

Tara and Kyle conclude their adventure in
End Game,
due for release in early November. If you would like to be notified when it is released, or have any comments, please contact me via my Facebook page. Thank you!

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This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.