Hide & Seek (20 page)

Chuckling Role told him to handle his business, but to give him a call again soon.

“
Yeah dawg, no problem,” he returned disconnecting.

Looking up, Role opened his mouth and began to talk. The smile on Ice’s face as Role talked scared the hell out of him and right now he wouldn’t trade places with Top or Deuce for all the money in world.

*****

Freight was regarding Kim still as they waited for Top to arrive.

“
How long have you been with Top,” he asked casually already knowing the answer.

“
Long enough,” Kim replied flatly.

Freight smiled slightly. She definitely was no joke he thought. He knew she would be a valuable part of his enterprise if he could just gain her affection.
You’re gonna hafta deal with Halle’s stupid ass,
his mind threw at him as Freight immediately pushed the thoughts aside.

“
Are you always this mean, or do you just dislike me,” Freight asked looking directly into her eyes.

Sighing slightly, Kim softened her tone a bit.

“
I’m about handling my business, and I’m sorry if you think that’s being mean.”

“
I understand, and I’m sure that’s why Top has you on his team,” he told her amiably as Kim smiled slightly.

She is so damned sexy,
Freight continued to think behind the neutral mask. He wanted to kiss her right now, taste the inside of her beautiful lips, feel her own tongue as it slid inside his mouth. Finding his body begin to react, Freight immediately changed his thought process.

“
You said you and Spider went way back,” Kim fished.

“
Yeah, since kids,” Freight volunteered.

“
Hmph.”

“
He wasn’t sellin’ Top out,” he told her effectively reading her mind. “I asked him to find out some stuff for me ‘cause I wanted to connect, that’s all,” Freight added as Kim again nodded without comment.

“
Can I ask you a personal question,” Freight tried as Kim shrugged slightly.

Smiling slightly once more he opened his mouth to speak as her cell went off.

“
Yeah,” Kim spoke into the instrument as Freight continued to regard her silently.

“
We’re here,” she went on. “Yeah,” Kim spoke once more and disconnected, giving him her attention yet again.

“
Tell me what it would take to steal your heart away from your man,” Freight asked point blank.

Kim didn’t reply immediately, leading him to believe she wouldn’t.

“
Look,” she began. “I dunno what kinda women you’re used to being with,” Kim went on her tone serious. “But I don’t play musical dicks,” she said bluntly. “Takes a lot for me to commit and when I do, that’s that,” she finished as Freight smiled again.

“
Then I guess it’ll be worth the fight to take you away from him and prove to you I’m the right man for you,” he told her boldly.

Kim frowned deeply opening her mouth to give him the riot act when she saw them all arrive simultaneously. Deciding she would handle that small bit of business later, Kim instead introduced the three men present to Freight as the meeting began.

*****

Ian was on the phone with Ryan as they compared notes. Tyreece sang like a canary once they took him to the abandoned mortuary.

“
So that’s where all the bullshit has come from,” Ryan threw out angrily.

“
Yeah, seems this muthafucka is planning’ a takeover,” Ian returned.

“
So what’s the next move,” Ryan asked his brother.

“
I’m taking’ this asshole out to show me where the house is,” Ian told him. “Then I gotta make sure KiKi’s there, do a little scouting to set shit up right,” he added as Ryan told him he understood.

“
You killed Tyreece’s bitch ass yet,” Ian asked irritably.

“
Nah, got him on lock for a minute,” Ryan returned as Ian told him that was good.

“
We’re gonna beat these amateurs at their own game,” Ian told him.

“
Set the trap and wait on them to walk into it,” Ryan asked as Ian chuckled and told him yes.

“
From what this fool got out of the other fool, Tweety is with one of em that has a thing for her,” Ian told him as Ryan frowned deeply.

“
That buys his ass a bullet or two,” he returned plainly as Ian agreed.

“
What’s going on with Caramel,” he asked changing the subject for a moment.

“
She’s straight, pregnant,” Ryan returned.

Ian frowned slightly asking his brother to repeat himself.

“
Yours,” he asked as Ryan confirmed it was.

“
Accident,” Ian asked again.

Ryan once more answered in the affirmative.

“
So why not abort,” he asked trying to figure out what was going on with his brother and their worker.

“
She wants it, Tweety don’t want kids,” Ryan told him. “I do,” he finished simply as Ian finally understood.

“
You got a place for her,” Ian asked making himself a glass of tea and sipping it.

“
Yeah, house in the country,” Ryan returned going on to give his brother details.

“
You gonna tell Tweety,” Ian asked as his steak arrived and the server set up his lunch for him.

Ryan sighed deeply and told him he wasn’t sure just yet.

“
I understand,” his brother returned as he began enjoying his meal.

“
You feel something for her or this just about the seed,” Ian asked of Ryan’s emotions toward Caramel.

“
I care about her,” he answered as Ian exhaled silently, hearing what wasn’t being said.

“
Well, that’s straight, handle your business man, I understand,” Ian told him as Ryan thanked him.

Talking a bit more about bringing down their enemies the two disconnected and went about their daily tasks.

17

Ryan returned to the small room where they were holding Tyreece, finding the man still scared and sweating bullets.

“
You need to start talkin’,” Ryan told him flatly laying the .9mm on the table in front of him.

“
W-w-what about?”

Ryan sighed lightly reaching into his pocket and retrieving a cigar. Biting the tip off he put the body in his mouth and lit it. Inhaling deeply he continued to regard his captive with a sense of amusement and irritation. Amused that Tyreece would allow himself to believe that he could possibly beat him and Ice at the game; irritated that they now had all this drama too endure. He thought about Tweety and the things Ice enlightened him about.
These fools are definitely bold, I’ll give their ass that,
Ryan thought finally speaking again.

“
You need to start at the beginning and tell me everything about these fools you’ve aligned yourself with,” Ryan told him as Tyreece gave him a blank look.

“
Don’t try to play me,” he added as Tyreece began to shift uncomfortably in the chair he was bound too.

“
Who set up the robberies,” Ryan barked as Tyreece jumped.

As scared as he was of the man in front of him, Tyreece was still hoping that Deuce and his crew could pull off their plan and kill both Ryan and Ice. He also knew the only way he would get what was promised was to keep his mouth closed. He’d already told way too much when they first brought him here and worked him over. Tyreece wasn’t ashamed to admit he was scared senseless when they took him into the embalming room and put him on the table. He actually thought they were going to kill him when Tate grabbed one of the long suction syringes and attached it to the embalming machine, turning the contraption on. The machine made a horrendous grinding sound as it labored to start. Finally catching a rhythm the machine began to hum gently giving its victim a false sense of calm. Tyreece shuddered slightly recalling the memory as Ryan got right up in his face and he saw Tate enter the room from his peripheral vision.

“
Don’t be stupid Tyreece,” Ryan told him. “You’re gonna die either fuckin’ way, make the shit easier on yourself,” he told him as Tyreece again refused to capitulate.

“
Hmph,” Ryan told him moving from his face and sitting down.

“
You get the package,” he asked Tate.

“
Yeah, its in the room,” he told him as Ryan smiled again and Tyreece got a sick feeling.

“
Get him,” Ryan told Tate as he rose and left the room.

The big burly ex-bodyguard came and snatched Tyreece from the chair and marched him out of the room, headed once again toward the embalming chamber.
What kinda twisted shit they got planned this time,
he thought as they walked. Tyreece once again took in the abandoned dilapidated building, thinking how nice it had been once upon a time. He’d been here on a few occasions visiting families whose loved ones had passed away. A couple had been his own distant relatives.

“
Hold up,” Tate barked, breaking Tyreece’s thought and bringing him back to the present.

He wondered what they were waiting for as they stood silently in the hallway outside of the room. Finally Tyreece heard Ryan call out as Tate pushed him forward into the darkened room.

“
Have a seat,” Ryan told him amiably.

Tyreece had to strain to see him in the virtual darkness of the room. There was someone else with him, but he couldn’t make them out.

“
Seems you need a little incentive to tell me what the fuck I wanna know,” Ryan told him as the single light flooded the room and Tyreece caught his breath.

“
Man, no, please,” Tyreece began to beg seeing his wife bound to the embalming table.

Ryan smiled slightly flipping open the switchblade he carried and tracing her face with the sharp blade.

“
OK, I’ll tell you what you wanna know,” Tyreece pleaded once more.

Ryan grunted slightly before cutting the woman right at the cheekbone. She cried out from the pain as Tyreece again begged Ryan to stop.

“
I shouldn’t have had to do this,” Ryan told him irritably, the knife gliding toward the woman’s breast.

Ryan cut each button as Tyreece saw them fly from the blade and click as they hit the floor. Finishing his task, Ryan opened her shirt exposing her bra.

“
What you wanna know Ryan,” Tyreece was begging as he pulled against the restraints and the chair he was once again bound too.

“
The guy’s name is Top, his right hand man is Deuce,” Tyreece threw out hoping that would help.

“
Which one got a woman,” Ryan asked, knife poised under the woman’s bra as she cried quietly.

“
Deuce,” Tyreece blurted. “Said he got her back about a month ago,” he added, trying to sweeten the deal.

“
Hmph,” Ryan replied, slicing the bra in half and fully exposing the woman’s breasts now.

“
Nice,” he murmured, as did Tate.

Tyreece was beside himself at this point not wanting them to hurt his wife or god forbid, kill her.

“
What else Ryan,” Tyreece yelled. “What else?”

Ryan turned and regarded him looking him directly in the eye before speaking.

“
I wanna know how you contact them, and how the fuck to find them,” he growled angrily the knife blade sliding down her bare stomach, stopping at the top of her skirt.

“
I got his number in my phone,” Tyreece replied almost immediately. “I don’t know how to find ‘em though,” he added truthfully. “I only met him the once when we set everything up,” Tyreece bared his soul.

“
I still owe you for making me go through all this damned drama,” Ryan told him coldly.

Tyreece swallowed hard praying his mistake wouldn’t cost his wife her life. Without warning, Ryan violently cut the remaining clothing from the woman leaving her naked and vulnerable.

Tyreece felt the tears come as Ryan squeezed the woman’s breasts and murmured how soft they were.

“
Tate, come here, feel these,” he told his friend as Tate immediately stepped up and began fondling the woman who was sobbing openly now.

Tate’s hand smoothly slid down her stomach, disappearing between her legs.

“
Please man, no,” Tyreece cried unashamed of his tears.

Tate chuckled as Ryan shrugged slightly.

“
You wanna fuck her,” he asked Tate plainly.

“
If I had a rubber,” he replied as Ryan almost instantly produced one.

Smiling Tate took the prophylactic and undid his pants. Tyreece was screeching his plea now as his wife continued to cry, eyes closed, resigned to her awaiting fate. Walking behind him, Ryan whispered in his ear.

“
Look,” he said simply as Tyreece shook his head no and kept his eyes closed.

“
Look, or she dies,” Ryan again repeated.

This time Tyreece complied his eyes glued to the image of Tate, between his wife’s legs, thrusting deeply again and again as she cried quietly her eyes tightly shut, biting her lip to stay her screams.

“
Damn Tyreece,” Tate told him continuing his assault. “No wonder you been stayin’ home,” he chuckled spreading her even wider as he went deeper and she did scream aloud this time. “This pussy is good as hell,” he told him his rhythm increasing and his wife’s screams growing louder.