Thin Ice 4 - Resurrections (37 page)

“
Hello,” Ray answered amiably.

Identifying himself, Ian waited on the man to speak again.

“
I was wondering when you would finally call me,” Ray told him, sipping his drink. “So, are you ready to begin,” he asked calmly.

“
More than,” Ian replied, his eyes still glued to the DVD and Kaitlyn’s image.

“
Good, Nero will be waiting for you at the airport tonight when you arrive,” Ray told him effectively ending the conversation and beginning the partnership.

Ian smiled as he placed the phone back in his pocket and spoke aloud, “Je ne suis jamais défait,” smoothly in the French he’d learned since being in Louisiana.
I am never defeated.

A sneak preview of
Thin Ice 5: Checkmate
follows this page. Also, check out these other offerings from the Author KR Bankston available at all fine online retailers: Amazon.com, BN.com, Smashwords.com and more.

T
hank you for reading this novel. We hope you’ve enjoyed and will continue to follow the ongoing saga of Ice, KiKi, Ryan, Tweety and the rest of the crew as they allow us to tag along inside their worlds.

“
HAVE YOU”
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The Gianni Legacy:

A Deadly Encounter (eBook/paperback)

Sins of the Father (eBook/paperback)

Smoke & Mirrors (eBook/paperback)

Other Books:

King of the Game (eBook)

Unraveled: A Short Story Collective (eBook)

About the Author:

KR has been writing for years creating several poems, short stories and inspirational plays, before finally venturing into a full-length novel. Some of her greatest literary influences came early in the form of V.C. Andrews, and Stephen King. Later she discovered E. Lynn Harris, Robin Cook, Alex Haley, and Victoria Holt to name a few more of the influential authors who have help shape her writing style.

When she’s not writing, K.R. Bankston is an avid Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons football fan, and Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, basketball fan. She is currently in the process of writing a new novel.

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Thin Ice 5: Checkmate

Ian turned the package over in his hands.
What’s this now,
he wondered seeing the return address. Ray sent him things from time to time, but never usually without a preface of what it was and when he could expect it.

“
Maybe it’s about the move,” Ian murmured opening it.

He and Jalen were heading to Overton Park. The past seven months since he and Ray had connected had absolutely surpassed his expectations. He was making money hand over fist. He had several other lucrative markets in place and Ray was going to show him the ropes with the counterfeiting regime they enjoyed. He’d met Brent and Santana, thinking they were both two fine young men. Ray had taught his son well. The young man was almost as business savvy as his father. Santana he liked because of the young man’s ruthlessness. He was mean as hell.
Reminds me of myself at that age,
Ian chuckled. Even Jalen had grown and matured over the months. He wasn’t the same scared to death intruder he’d first been when they met. Ian smiled slightly thinking of the assignment he’d given him as his final trial by fire. He hated the woman who had given birth to them all and he felt the ultimate irony would be her death at the hands of the one she’d kept close to her heart.

Ian had fully expected Jalen to cave and beg him to release him from the business. He was instead pleasantly surprised when Creeper brought him the DVD showing the woman’s murder. Jalen had finally gotten his first kill. Granted he’d strangled her to death instead of shooting her, Ian was still pleased with the final results.
There’s something on his mind too,
Ian thought of his brother. He would catch him gazing off into space in deep thought, but he would never elaborate when Ian inquired what it was.
I suppose he’ll share when he’s ready,
Ian continued to muse. He was leaving Creeper and Pirate in the Bayou. The two men were phenomenal and needed absolutely no looking after at all.
They are going to have one helluva empire,
Ian thought smiling once more. By instinct his mind again went to Tariq and his desire to see the man dead. He also thought of Kaitlyn and her ultimate betrayal of their love, leaving him to be with his enemy.
That will be rectified soon enough,
Ian continued to plot. He had plans to fully rid himself of Tariq and his entire crew once he got settled in Overton Park. Remembering the information he held in his hands, Ian finally turned the documents over and began reading what was enclosed. ‘Thought you would find this quite interesting,’ Ray had written. ‘I certainly did,’ he went on. ‘Let me know what you want to do about it.” Ian frowned slightly, flipping the letter over so he could see the papers under it.

Ian’s smile began to widen as he read, reaching full expansion when he arrived at the final piece contained in the packet.

“
Absolutely beautiful,” he said softly, eyes never leaving the page.

Ian felt numerous emotions as he continued to hold the document. There was love, joy, happiness; but there was also hate and anger. Finally there was nothing. Ian picked up the phone and called Ray.

“
Good evening Ice,” Ray greeted him amiably knowing he’d received the package. “So, what would you like to do,” he asked as Ian smiled again.

“
I think you already know the answer to that,” he replied simply as Ray chuckled, assuring him he did and disconnected.

Ian smiled again as he thought of his impending move and the new territories he would establish. Ian planned to use Brent and Santana as front men to set up the takeovers, but there would be no negotiations. If they didn’t fall in line or go peacefully, Ian fully intended to make the streets run red with their blood. His patience was no longer tempered and he didn’t care who did or didn’t get hurt. Ian “Ice” Bailey was once again about to change the rules and dominate the game.

1

Caramel sighed gently as she watched him work out. He was doing much better, though he still had a long way to go. He looked up seeing her watching and smiled at her. Caramel smiled back and told him what a great job he was doing. He smiled again thanking her as he went back to the workout. She sighed deeply wondering how long she would be able to hold onto him once he was fully recovered and able to function on his own.
Not long once he finds out you’ve lied to him
, her mind tortured. Caramel sighed deeply again. She didn’t want him to ever find out the truth. She had come so close before and it was a place she never wanted to visit again. As he continued to work, her mind wandered and took her back to a very dark time and place in her life years earlier.
“Where are you taking me,” Caramel asked the man as they drove. “Where I was told to take you, so shut up and leave me alone,” he barked as she jumped slightly and said nothing more. They arrived at their destination some forty minutes later and her heart sank. “Get out,” he ordered once again as she immediately complied. Pushing her slightly, Caramel went in the direction the man was herding her coming quickly to a darkened hallway. “Keep going,” he told her, taking some of the venom out of his voice.

Caramel gingerly made her way forward finally arriving at the end of the hallway where one lone room remained, illuminated by a small lamp. “Go inside,” he told her pushing her slightly once more. “Oh my god,” she breathed looking at the man inside. “This is a one time gift,” LaRon told her looking directly into her eyes. “I should have killed him, but even I ain’t dog enough to take a father from his son,” he went on. “If he survives then good, if not, I tried,” he finished and walked out of the room leaving her looking at the man she loved in the hospital bed connected to life support. Caramel had run after LaRon begging him to tell her what happened. He explained that he intended to shoot Ryan in the heart but moved his aim slightly to the left, collapsing a lung and doing a lot of internal damage instead. “I called a personal paramedic friend,” he told her referring to Keifer. Caramel nodded her understanding, thanked him, and turned back toward Ryan’s room. She supposed in his mind the slight show of mercy made up for shooting him at all.

His voice broke her thought and Caramel returned her attention to Ryan as he finished his workout with the therapist. He’d been in a coma and they thought he would never reawaken. Caramel had struggled for the first few years working two and three jobs to continue to pay for his medical care as well as support herself and their son, RJ. He had finally awakened almost two years ago. He’d been undergoing rehabilitative therapy since then for the atrophied muscles. He was learning everything all over again. Basic cognitive motions were becoming easier and he was able to feed and dress himself with ease. His mind however was fully intact and after asking about their son and her wellbeing, he immediately wanted to know about Ian. Caramel told him that his brother was dead. At the time she’d believed that, having heard all the rampant rumors in the street. She didn’t find out much later when she saw the man for herself that Ian was very much alive and well.

He’d come to RJ’s school to see the child. Ian never intruded and as far as Caramel knew, RJ had never actually met him. She was grateful for one thing however, and that was the money Ian had obviously set in place for them. She remembered getting the call from the attorney about a hidden trust that Ryan had set in place and how relieved she was. They were almost completely destitute at that point.

“
You listening to me girl,” Ryan asked as Caramel again found herself in deep thought.

“
I’m sorry baby,” she replied contritely. “What did you say?”

Ryan chuckled and told her he could go home.

“
Really, real home,” Caramel breathed excitedly.

“
Yes,” he told her softly as they kissed and she hugged him tightly.

She was still terrified of him finding out Ian was still alive, but for now Caramel pushed the thoughts aside, happy to have the one man she loved with her whole heart, coming home.