Thin Ice 7 - Echoes of Reckoning (46 page)

“
I’ll be there at 4:00PM,” he told her. “That’s what time their teacher said they needed to arrive,” Ian added as Kaitlyn grunted slightly.

“
Fine, I’ll meet you there,” she returned about to disconnect.

“
Are you all right, KiKi,” Ian asked, hearing the tone in her voice.

Sighing deeply she told him yes.

“
Just tired,” she explained as Ian told her okay, not fully believing her, but not pushing either.

Letting her go his mind continued to whirl. Kaitlyn still hadn’t seen the baby. Every time she would come over to bring the girls, the baby was asleep. She had knowledge of him by way of the girls sharing the news, but Ian wanted her to see Trey, spend time with him. He felt the little boy was the key to him getting closer to Kaitlyn and back inside her heart. Draining the quick shot of Cognac, Ian turned and headed upstairs. Tomorrow was a new day and he was looking very forward to it.

*****

“
What do you want from me, Sa’Cari,” Ashlyn questioned tiredly.

They’d been going around in circles for the last two hours about being together again. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about all the things she’d learned in the last year about herself, her family, and the man she still unfortunately loved with her whole heart.

“
I want you to come home, for us to be together and live our lives Ash, come on,” he told her patiently for what seemed the hundredth time.

“
I’m the same man you fell in love with Ash, the same man who wants nothing more than to make you my wife and be with you forever,” Sa’Cari pleaded.

He couldn’t understand why she was still so adamant about living away from him and keeping him at arms distance. She’d tried to date some fool or other a couple of months ago, but Sa’Cari made sure he quickly put an end to that nonsense. Ashlyn sighed deeply and sat on the bed. He wouldn’t let her leave the bedroom once he’d managed to talk her into coming over to the apartment so they could talk privately. Sa’Cari came and sat beside her, taking her hand and holding it as he continued to talk to her.

“
Are you afraid of me Ash,” he asked softly.

She shook her head no, the tears caught in her throat.

“
Then what baby,” Sa’Cari tried, knowing he was breaking down her defenses.

“
I’m scared of me,” she whispered. It was his turn to sigh this time.

“
Why,” Sa’Cari returned calmly.

Ashlyn told him her entire life felt like a lie since the night she found out about her adoption.

“
I feel like I don’t know who I am, Sa’Cari,” she began to talk once more. “My dad was a lunatic, my mom never knew I survived, my uncle, half-brother, sister, even you, are all in a life I totally don’t understand and am scared to death of,” Ashlyn spoke, the tear rolling down her cheek.

Sa’Cari hugged her tightly, kissing her cheek.

“
Baby, you’re Ashlyn, the only thing that has changed is the biological connection,” he said evenly.

“
As for the life, baby, that doesn’t hafta be scary, I got you Ash,” Sa’Cari iterated once again. “Baby, let all that drama go, just concentrate on being with me and how much I love you,” he tried another time.

“
I have to tell you something,” Ashlyn began again, quietly.

“
OK,” Sa’Cari returned seeing the expression on her face.

“
I was pregnant,” she again spoke.

Sa’Cari was stunned, but he was also apprehensive, hearing the word was.

“
What do you mean, was pregnant,” he asked, trying to keep his temper in check.

If Ashlyn had killed their child he wasn’t sure how he would react.

“
I lost it, I guess all the stress, and then I wasn’t really eating,” she explained telling him about the spotting one evening after classes.

She’d gone to the emergency room but there was nothing they could do at that point.

“
Why didn’t you tell me Ash,” Sa’Cari asked, the hurt in his voice as he held her even tighter, kissing her cheek.

“
I don’t know Sa’Cari, oh god there was so much going on, I just figured it was for the best at the time,” she explained as Sa’Cari kissed her cheek again.

Ashlyn looked up, seeking his eyes. He smiled slightly assuring her everything was fine, and he understood, as he leaned down and kissed her. As much as she wanted to pretend to be hard and not care, that single kiss caused an avalanche of desire to be unleashed as the kiss grew intense and passionate.

“
Ashlyn,” Sa’Cari whispered sensuously undressing her without protest.

Ashlyn was on fire as his lips found her breasts, sucking the nipples gently.

“
Mmm,” she groaned as his other hand found her clit and began massaging it, her flow on full stream.

“
Baby, I’ve missed you so much,” Sa’Cari told her earnestly, kissing her stomach gently before placing his head between her legs and taking her to another world.

“
Aah, Sa’Cari, damn,” Ashlyn moaned as she quickly reached the first orgasm.

Sa’Cari never slowed his rhythm, continuing to taste and tease her with his tongue. She was gone. Whatever he wanted to do to her, Ashlyn was his willing participant. Sa’Cari brought her to another orgasm, gently licking her stomach and breasts again, as he slipped between her thighs and buried his hardness deeply inside her.

“
Yes,” Ashlyn breathed as they moved together creating nirvana.

Sa’Cari consumed her fully, making up for their time apart.

“
Don’t stop, Sa’Cari, don’t stop,” Ashlyn breathed.

Sa’Cari kissed her in response as he grew closer. Her hands slid smoothly down his back, gripping his firm cheeks and pulling him even deeper. The tight constriction of her walls pushed him over the edge and Sa’Cari came hard, collapsing atop her.

“
Please come home Ash,” Sa’Cari managed after he caught his breath, still inside her.

“
OK,” she returned softly as he kissed her deeply and they began making love another time.

*****

Shango rolled over irritated by the ringing phones interruption. He and Dee had just finished a few vigorous rounds of lovemaking and he wanted to sleep now. She shifted slightly, but drifted right back off.

“
Yeah,” he answered still not fully coherent.

“
Hey man, sorry to wake you up,” Blue returned as Shango cleared his throat and shook the cobwebs.

“
Yeah, it’s straight man, what’s up,” Shango returned.

Blue told him he needed his help once again.

“
OK, so what do you need,” he asked.

“
I need you to find someone, someone from a long time ago,” Blue returned almost immediately.

Shango’s curiosity was peaked.

“
Who,” he returned, waiting for the response.

Blue gave him the information as the man frowned deeply.

“
You’re serious,” he returned as Blue assured him he was.

“
It’s important Shango, real talk,” Blue said as Shango again frowned deeply.

“
I’ll see what I can do,” he returned as Blue thanked him profusely.

Shango was still in deep thought after ending the call. What in the world was Blue up too? He honestly hoped he would find something, just so he could find out the full realm of the reasoning it was requested in the first place.

Shango rose gingerly from bed, leaving Dee sleeping peacefully as he went into his living room, sitting on the couch, still naked. He smiled seeing her pumps on the floor recalling her arrival hours earlier. He’d been trying to persuade her to come to Detroit for a visit since he left Atlanta. They’d gotten together a few more times in the year since, but he always flew or drove down to see her. She complained about the cold and snow so Shango didn’t push. It was pleasant now, so he’d asked her to come and to his surprise she’d agreed. Lighting the blunt his mind went again to Blue. The man was still pursuing Kaitlyn but the woman wasn’t reciprocating at all from his observations. Shango had even gone as far as to tell Blue he thought he should cut his losses and move forward. The man stubbornly and adamantly refused, saying he loved the woman. Shango was surprised she still allowed him to be around, though he’d moved from the main house and was keeping an apartment of his own these days.
He better hope Ice doesn’t flip on his ass too,
Shango thought, remarking inwardly how patiently the man had tolerated Blue’s presence in the woman’s life.

“
Oh so it’s like that,” Dee teased coming into the room disturbing his thoughts.

Shango turned to her confused as she chuckled.

“
Smoking all the herbal pleasure while I sleep,” she clarified as Shango offered her the blunt, pulling her onto the couch with him.

They finished the relaxing treat, beginning to kiss and touch each other once more as the christening of the couch began.

2

Waking up in a strange place, tied to a chair, definitely wasn’t a good thing. Blinking to try and focus and regain some semblance of balance, they continued to take in their surroundings.
Where the hell am I, what the hell is going on,
the thoughts run rampant as the fear began to take root. Rummaging the mind’s resources they tried to recall if they’d done anything lately to warrant the current situation.
You’ve got plenty of dirt to choose from, don’t act pious now,
the evil conscience was quick to point out. The room gave away nothing. Its walls were a sick yellow beige color, with no discernible artwork or decoration. The floor was a conglomerate of the same sickly yellow beige combination, set off with the occasional random black tile thrown in. It unsettlingly reminded them of a hospital; which quickly brought back the deeply entrenched fear of sickness, weakness, and death. Continuing to steady their breathing, they tried listening for any sounds that might betray location or captor identity. There was nothing. It was as if even the very forces of nature stood still on command. They couldn’t hear a fly buzzing, a bird chirping, the sound of traffic or human. It was utterly still. Even the air stood motionless inside the increasingly suffocating boundaries of the room itself.

Finally a sound broke the oppressive barriers as the door creaked open, the laborious groan alerting them it was heavy and would be a worthy hurdle to surpass in any attempt at escape. The footsteps on the tiled floor made the hair on the nape of their neck stand on end. They weren’t facing the door and the not knowing terrified them, unable to see if the captor was armed, or if the end of life was only seconds away. The steps ceased and they began to breathe harder.
Who is this, what are they doing back there,
they continued to think, forcing themselves to calm down. The loud scraping of the chair being dragged across the floor made their ears scream and memory envision someone’s nails being pulled across a chalkboard. Closing their eyes tightly they endured and prayed the chair would find its mark quickly and cease movement. The chair was directly in front of them now, and they were staring at the sleekly designed Prada shoes the captor wore.
He has good taste,
they thought fleetingly, being quite the connoisseur of designer fashions. They still couldn’t bring themselves to look up, instead continuing to study the pattern on the shoes as the sound and scent of a match being lit permeated the still room. The cigar smoke wafted to their nose moments later, and slowly, they forced their eyes upward.

“
Welcome back,” Ryan said simply looking into the eyes regarding his own questioningly.

Swallowing hard and continuing to remain mute, they waited for him to speak again.

“
I suppose you’re wondering why you’re here, hmm,” he questioned, taking another drag from the cigar and slowly blowing the smoke out. “Well you’re here because I have a job for you, a job that might possibly take your name off my death list,” he spoke evenly, not hint of humor in his voice.

Frowning deeply, they still didn’t speak.

“
I can see by your expression you’re curious,” he returned, smiling slightly now.

“
You really should start talking, one sided conversations tend to make me want to kill,” Ryan told them opening his suit jacket and revealing the .10mm resting in the shoulder holster.

“
What kind of job,” Layla finally answered her mortality at risk.

“
There now, that’s better,” Ryan returned, relaxing again and sitting back regarding her.

“
I need eyes and ears inside Tariq’s camp for a second time,” he told her plainly as Layla sighed deeply.

“
You know I can’t get anywhere near those people,” she told him, wondering why she even had to say it.

He was there when the entire King Diesel fiasco went down.

“
CiCi needs a friend,” Ryan told her. “She and Tariq are still apart and she has no one really, since both Kim and Tae are still keeping her at arms distance,” he continued patiently.

“
Yes, it won’t be easy, but you’re a resourceful girl, you’ll find a way to make her accept your apology and let you back inside, even if it’s a secret,” Ryan finished his tone letting her know failure was not an option.