Thin Ice 3 - Armageddon (28 page)

“
We’re over there,” Tae told them seeing the number on the outside of the house. Pulling into a parking space they turned off the truck, got out and stretched.

“
The water is beautiful,” Kaitlyn remarked.

She hoped the water would help calm her body down. Her head had been pounding all morning, into this afternoon. Even the extra strength migraine tablets she’d taken weren’t helping.

“
Let’s go inside and look around then we’ll grab our stuff,” Tae told them as the other two women nodded and followed her up the winding sidewalk to the house.

Kaitlyn was smiling slightly observing several small boats on the water. One was sailing slowly taking its time as two speed boats passed it causing huge water waves around it. She also took in the landscaping surrounding each of the buildings, admiring the green of the thick luscious grass that grew. There were several varieties of flowers planted at the front entrance to each home that gave off a fragrant aroma as well as adding the esthetic attraction they were planted to provide.

Opening the door, the ladies were again impressed with the posh facility. The lobby was expansive, with a huge chandelier hanging in the center of the massive room, directly above the front desk. The carpeting was plush, a deep warm burgundy coloring.

“
Nice,” Tae remarked, impressed with Kareem’s taste.

Stepping to the desk, the ladies gave their names as the front desk clerk smiled and handed each of them a room key.

“
Your suites are down the hall, each has a number on the door,” he said still smiling politely.

Thanking him, the women made their way to their respective suites talking amongst themselves.

“
Why do we need a front desk clerk if it’s a house,” Tae questioned as Jaleesa and Kaitlyn told her they still had room service, cleaning service and the like.

Satisfied with the answer Tae didn’t say anything else as they approached the rooms. “I’m in 1,” Tae announced as Jaleesa and Kaitlyn checked their keys. They were in rooms 2 and 3 respectively.

“
Cool, lets go get our stuff,” Kaitlyn returned, turning and almost bumping into the bellman.

“
I’m here to help you ladies with your luggage,” he informed them as Kaitlyn smiled and told him to follow her.

Tae and Jaleesa let her go with the bellman as they each opened the door to their suites and ventured inside.

*****

Shells parked the car at the other end of the parking lot. He still had a good view of the truck and saw Kaitlyn coming out of the building answering his question which expansive house they were boarded in. He watched as the bellman grabbed the luggage stacking it on the cart to be taken back inside. Shells grabbed his cell and dialed Tariq. The man answered on the second ring.

“
Dey here,” Shells told him, going on to give him the exact address.

“
Keep a close eye on them, Shells,” Tariq told him. “I don’t put anything past Ice, that damned snake,” he added angrily as Shells assured him no one was coming or going without his seeing them.

Disconnecting, Shells got out of the car and walked casually toward the building he’d just seen Kaitlyn return to. Stepping inside he began to walk around unobserved for the most part. He carefully avoided the front desk and thereby avoided questions. He sauntered by when the clerk was preoccupied with a staff member making his way down the hallway and coming to the first door.

Putting his ear to it, he heard a voice and listened intently.

“
Yeah we just got here, and we’re in the process of unpacking,” Tae said as Shells finally recognized the voice.

He continued eavesdropping picking up as much of the conversation as the wooden door would allow. So he knew that much at least. That Tae was in room number one and that Kareem was on his way over. Continuing down the hallway and almost to the second room, the door opened surprising him. Shells quickly turned his back, pretending to be examining the baseboards along the floor. Jaleesa walked by him without regard, never slowing her stride as she headed to the ice machine, the bucket swinging loosely from her hand. Shells smiled slightly again. Now he knew where each of them was. He still had to figure out how to keep an eye on all three of them however, and the way the rooms were situated, that was going to be a difficult task. Waiting until Jaleesa came back and again passed him without regard, Shells straightened up and walked into the nearby stairwell, checking the two .380’s in his pocket, the .10mm strapped to his leg, and the desert eagle in the shoulder holster inside his shirt.

*****

Kareem was still smiling as he informed Mecca and Ice that the ladies had arrived.

“
That’s excellent news,” Ian replied calmly.

Inside he was definitely the contrary. Knowing that Kaitlyn was here, that she was within reach, filled him with a sense of imminent urgency. He needed to get to her and he needed to get there now.

“
Lets head on over then,” Mecca threw out.

He wanted to see Jaleesa. Find out what was up and hopefully have some serious without strings sex. Laughing, Kareem told him to shut everything down and head out. They decided to each take separate cars. No one wanted to be hindered by the other in the event they needed to leave unexpectedly. Ian’s mind was still racing as he drove. He loved the area that Kareem had selected.
I wonder if she’s found the gift yet,
he continued to wonder as their turn approached. Ian smoothly whipped the Benz into the parking lot and saw the Georgia plate on the Lexus truck directly in front of them. He smiled again as they all parked and got out meeting up once more before they entered the hotel.

“What’s the deal with security,” Ian asked.

He didn’t want any interruptions in his time with Kaitlyn and they were known to be pretty volatile at times.

“
Private firm,” Kareem told him. “They’ve already been paid though, so no worries,” he added as Ian again smiled and told him he liked his style.

“
I like my privacy too, Ice,” he replied as Mecca smiled and told them it was about to be a very good day.

“
You wanna handle business first,” Mecca asked as Kareem told him the meet with the buyer wasn’t until later this evening.

“
We have plenty of time for that,” he replied as Ian nodded.

“
This is the buyer you were telling me about,” he asked as Kareem confirmed it was. “I’m ready if you gentlemen are,” Ian told them more than ready to enter the house and reconnect with his woman.

“
Yep, let’s go handle ours,” Kareem replied as Mecca readily agreed and the three men went inside the hotel.

Shells of course saw them from his spot right inside the front window. They were so engrossed in conversation they never noticed him as they walked in and passed right in front of him. Giving them a head start, Shells again began slowly making his way toward the rooms, as did the three men in front of him.

*****

Tariq was loading the .380, holding another in his lap to load behind that one. Mook was in the backseat loading both Desert Eagles and the .9mm he’d brought. He was going to load LaRon’s .44 magnum and both his .9mms after he finished his own. They were about thirty minutes away form the location Shells had provided. There hadn’t been much conversation the entire ride. They both knew Tariq was still deeply angry about the revelations revealed before they left. His hatred for Ice and the vengeance he wanted to enact only intensified with each mile.

“
How you wanna do it when we get there,” LaRon asked as they turned on the road that would bring them to the hotel.

“
We’re gonna connect with Shells when we get there, see who’s where and make sure none of the girls are in the line of fire,” Tariq replied. “Then we’re gonna bring a bloodbath,” he finished calmly as both LaRon and Mook nodded in agreement.

Tariq was still seeing the words of the journal in his mind. He kept seeing the image of Kaitlyn at 12 years old being violated by the one man in the world who was supposed to keep her safe from the predators who wanted to hurt her. He could imagine her mother’s anguish, watching this man hurt her child and not being able to do anything about it. There was still the matter of Hangman Cisneros still breathing too. Tariq was none to happy about that. Once he finished with Ice, he was going to make inquiries into how to stop him, permanently. He may have been in a maximum security hardcore federal prison, but even those weren’t impenetrable.
How are you going to get her to admit the truth,
his mind began to question. Obviously Kaitlyn had spent years honing her persona. Tariq couldn’t even bring himself to call her Lauren. He only knew Kaitlyn; the other was a complete mystery to him. Sighing deeply he pushed all those thoughts out of his head as LaRon made a left and the hotel complex came into view. “Time for the showstopper,” Tariq said aloud as both men agreed and all the weapons had been loaded.

*****

Kaitlyn had just finished her shower, throwing on a tank and her panties she sat and began flipping channels on the television. Looking over at the small mini bar she noticed the bottle with the ribbon attached. Curious she rose and walked over to it. “Nice,” Kaitlyn murmured removing the ribbon and reading the card. “Kareem’s tryna get brownie points huh,” she chuckled opening the seal on the Crown Reserve.

This was the top line that they’d just introduced. Throwing a few ice cubes in the class she poured the liquor on it. She picked the glass up and rubbed it gently on her forehead hoping it would soothe the throbbing still going on.
Why won’t my damned head stop hurting,
she grimaced frowning deeply. She quickly downed the shot loving the smooth flavor of the liquor as it cascaded down her throat. Kaitlyn didn’t know why, but she loved brown liquor, far more than she cared for white. Licking her lips, Kaitlyn poured herself another shot and drank it as well. “This shit is good,” Kaitlyn mumbled forcing herself not to have another.

Going back to the plush king sized bed, she laid back on it, closing her eyes as the pounding in her head reach a crescendo. She began to breathe deeply bringing some measure of relief from the pain. Kaitlyn began to feel the effects of the liquor as she started feeling herself floating gradually deeper away from the pain.
Finally,
she thought as she continued lie still with her eyes closed. Kaitlyn heard the soft sounds of the water as it filtered through the portable sound system she always carried. She had to have the soothing sounds to sleep by. She smiled slightly thinking of Tariq and his complaint that it kept him awake instead of putting him to sleep. Kaitlyn busted him one night months later when she found him home alone with the sound on. Her headache continued to ease up and Kaitlyn soon found herself asleep. As her body’s defenses let themselves down, her subconscious pushed hard and soon flooded her dreams as the past reared its head and sleep kept her locked in its grasp. Kaitlyn never heard the card key as Ian slipped it into the lock. She never heard him walk into the room or make himself a drink, using another glass. Her eyes closed she never saw him standing at the foot of her bed, watching her sleep as the smile played on his lips.

24

Hope was back in Chicago, the hospital to be exact. Her doctor had immediately admitted her when she went to his office to check in after her trip to Atlanta. Her condition had worsened and the pain had intensified. Hope was content though. She’d accomplished what she set out to do almost 13 years ago when Lauren ran away and left her life. She recalled the things Kim had shared about Lauren and her new life.
Her husband sounds like a good man,
Hope thought, praying the man would help her niece find her way out of the mental prison she was so deeply encased in. Her doctor told her the cancer was spreading at an even faster rate now. Hope knew her time on this earth wasn’t long; still she would love to look into Lauren’s face one last time and tell her how much she loved her and how very sorry she was that she wasn’t there when she needed her. She sighed deeply a slight coughing fit overtaking her.
I know I’m being greedy God,
Hope prayed silently,
her thoughts still on Lauren and her desire to see the young woman one last time.

Hope’s Priest came through the door greeting her as he smiled and took a seat next to her bed.

“
How are you feeling,” he asked genuinely concerned.

Hope told him she was doing well except for the occasional pain and even that was being managed.

“
Did you accomplish your goal,” the priest asked.

Hope smiled and told him she had.

“
That’s good,” he replied smiling with her. “This came for you, to the church,” he said again as Hope regarded the object in his hand.

It was a letter from Carlo. He would write to her on occasion since his incarceration. At first he wrote regularly, weekly almost and Hope never answered his letters. After a while he relegated himself to once a year and now maybe once every 2 or 3 years.
Why had he sent it to the church,
Hope wondered as the priest continued to regard her silently.

“
Thank you Father,” Hope replied amiably. “Please, just place it on the nightstand, I’ll read it later,” she added as he nodded and complied.