Maze (The Ballerina Series #2) (9 page)

I
turned to look at the man that truly had been like an uncle to me. “Thank you,
Uncle Tsang. But after you’re done here. I have questions.”

I
glanced at Ivy who had been softly crying beside me, her arm plastered around
my waist. I encircled her in my embrace and placed my lips at her temple.

“Come
on,” I said to her.

Mark
waited for us on the other side of the door and he took us out of the hospital.
I saw the familiar black limo with Will behind the wheel. We got in and Will
drove off. It hit me then as I watched him drive us in a world that had
suddenly become so dark.

Terry
was gone, too. The numbness that had begun to invade my limbs since I got the
phone call enveloped me completely. I wondered if I’d ever feel again.

Twenty
minutes later, I sat on the long comfortable couch at Tsang’s place with Ivy
spread out beside me. His entire condo was homey done in a combo Marta Steward
meets the Ming Dynasty style with its peacock blue, green and dark brown
accents.

I
was glad we were there. Ivy’s legs rested on the couch and her head in my lap.
She slept while I played with her hair, touching it lightly, her face, her arm.
But I couldn’t sleep. My mind raced with thoughts I shouldn’t have while I held
Ivy in my arms. Our connection was the only thing barely grounding me, because
the deadness inside still hadn’t gone away.

A
soft knock preceded the door opening, and Uncle Tsang entered the condo. I put
my finger up to my lips so he wouldn’t say anything to wake up Ivy.

Gently,
I eased myself up and placed a cushion under her head. I bent down and kissed
her brow and then motioned to Uncle Tsang to follow me to his den. As soon as
we entered the room, I closed the door. He headed for the liquor cabinet and
took out two glasses. He poured dark-colored elixirs into both. But no amount
of the stuff in my veins could fix this. He offered one glass to me before
sitting in the chair in front of the desk. I took a good swallow. I didn’t sit
down.

He
reached into his inside jacket pocket. “Here,” he said, handing me an envelope.

I
frowned. “What’s this?” But as I glanced down at it, it had my name scrawled
across the front and I recognized the handwriting. “Joe?” I looked at Tsang and
he nodded.

“Open
it.”

My
hands shook as I tore open the envelope.

Dear Maze,

I gave this to Uncle Tsang to give to you
just in case I couldn’t be there to tell you myself. The doctors are optimistic
about my health. So far so good, but in this world nothing is guaranteed, and I
needed you to know about the past from me. Tsang told me what that Triad
messenger said to you and I thought you deserved the whole truth. It’s time.

You know only part of my history with the
Triad. You know I was a member because of my controlling interest in the Tong.
What you do not know is that I once headed the Triad. I was the Dragon Master
and Tsang my enforcer. It was the reason I was able to step down and how I created
the legitimate Tong.

But I did not do any of that until after I
lost your mother. You see I thought I could have it all. I could be the man she
needed, a father to you, and we could be a family. I loved your mother and I
love you so much. But the Triad, the way of life, was all I knew, and I did not
want it to touch either of you. I kept the violence away from you both as much
as possible. Your mother knew I was involved in the Triad, but not at what level,
and certainly not that I headed the organization that covered quite a bit of
the East Coast and part of the West. I am not proud of some of the things I
have done and I have in my own way tried to atone.

 
What you do not know is your mother died because of me. Some
would say it was the debt I had to pay for all the wrong I had done. But you
and your mother should not have had to pay that price. It was not a random
shooting. But because of the changes I was trying to make within the Triad. When
I attempted to steer us away from parts of the business, I was seen as weak by
others. Liu’s father placed a hit on me in a bid to take over everything. They
came after me. Your mother was with me and would not leave my side. She refused
to leave the store when they entered. She wanted me to go with her. To just
walk away. I could not, so I fought. And I lost. She died that day and I almost
did, too. Tsang stopped Liu’s father and saved me.

After your mother’s death I stepped down
and that was when the Tong was fully born, made up of a small group of
legitimate business associations. I refused to touch any of the illegal
ventures. I turned everything I had been doing into legitimate concerns or
turned it completely over to the Triad. Others joined me. The remaining Triad
leads agreed to let me develop the Tong. As long as I remained a part of the five
and paid for the privilege of keeping the Tong. With my acceptance that Liu
would take his father’s place. We five would then rule without a dragon’s head.
I was tired of the killing and only wanted peace so I agreed. For almost twenty
years, I continued to develop and solidify legal businesses. But when the
others saw what you were capable of, your skills, they wanted to make you part
of the Triad, to ensure I would never leave. That they’d continue to benefit
from the profits of the Tong. I refused.

I have left you all of my controlling interest
in the Tong. Uncle Tsang will take you to the lawyers who have all the
documents and handle the accounts as soon as possible. It’s all yours, Maze.
All I ask is that you help the Tong. Help the organization and all the
businesses it represents of good people who want to do things the right way. People
who I help, who help each other, to make sure the Triad does not take their
hard work away from them, does not drag them into the violence that exists
there. Please forgive me.

Love, Joe.

P.S. I have always been so very proud of
you. You are the son of my heart. Be happy with Ivy. She loves you. Do not make
my mistakes.

Uncle
Tsang’s voice broke through my heavy breathing. Silent tears trailed a path
down my cheeks as I read Joe’s last words to me.

“He
left you everything, Maze,” Tsang said. “And it’s a lot. More than you realize.
He never lived within his means. Not even Liu really knows how vast Joe’s
holding are, which are now yours. You are one extremely wealthy young man.”

“I
don’t give a fuck about the money.” I was breathing hard. I rubbed my hand over
my face to wipe away the tears I couldn’t seem to stop shedding. My body felt
drained like I’d just had the fight of my life and I lost. I was no longer
numb. Rage now burned through my veins.

“You
now have a choice. You can cash out, take the money, put it elsewhere, and have
nothing to do with the Tong. No connection to the Triad. Just walk away. Or you
can continue to do what Joe fought all these years to do. Help others protect
their small businesses. Joe loaned a lot of people money, legitimately, as a
result he has ownership in most of the businesses around here. He also made
several investments. He was worth billions, Maze. He built up connections in
Asia while I have worked on political connections in the U.S. The Tong has
financing and political backing in place now. That last fight did a lot of
financial, as well as influential, damage to the others. Joe knew now was the
time to break completely away from the Triad.”

“What?”
I knew money was never an issue because it just never was. How much of it we
had I never thought about. We didn’t live like kings on Wall Street but we
always seemed to be able to afford whatever we needed. A few million I wouldn’t
have been surprised to find out about but… “Fuck. It’s why they tried to kill
him.”

“That
shot was meant for me,” Tsang insisted.

I
raised my head. “We both know it was for you both. Don’t try to protect me
anymore, Uncle Tsang, from the truth.”

He
drained the rest of the alcohol in his glass and so did I. “The Triad might not
have known the extent of his and my holdings but they know enough, and yes,
they came after us both.” After he grabbed the bottle and poured more into his
glass, he reached toward me to refill my glass. I let him. This time, I drank
it all in one gulp.

“I
will do whatever you want me to do, Maze. If you decide to walk away I will buy
up as much of the Tong interest as I can but I have nowhere near the funds to
buy it all. I don’t have Joe’s kind of power, his gifts. But…” He paused and
stared hard at me. “I think you do. It’s what Joe saw in you and what the
others sensed. I think you can be a Dragon Master.”

“What?”

“Take
over the Tong, let me work with you as I did with Joe. And I will deal with the
Triad.”

I
shook my head, then turned toward the closed door but only seeing what rested
beyond it. My heart beat on that couch out there. Ivy. “Right now, Uncle Tsang,
there is only one thing I want to know. Who?”

“Maze,
I will handle this.”

I
shook my head. “Who did it?”

“Jai.
But he was just following orders. You know who wanted Joe dead.”

The
hate and anger filling my heart momentarily sucked the air out of my lungs so
all I could do was nod. It took me a minute to control myself before I spoke.
“Bullshit. Jai’s errant boy had warned me. He did what he did and enjoyed it.”
I sighed. “I understand now how naïve I really was. When I won that fight, shit
seems like a million years ago now. I thought I walked away from the Triad and
all of its shit. As far as the Tong, I don’t know, Uncle Tsang. I will have to
think about that.”

“I
can help you. It was Joe’s legacy to you.”

“I
know.”

“Maze…I’m
sorry.”

I
nodded. But Joe wasn’t the only one Jai had threatened. I wondered if the pain
I felt every time I inhaled would ease anytime soon knowing what I had to do.
And what it could cost me.

Chapter Nine

Ivy

We
sat at our little table in our place having breakfast. Just cold cereal.
Neither one of us felt like cooking or takeout. Maze had been withdrawn, quiet
for the last few days. I couldn’t blame him. We’d laid the man to rest who had
been both mother and father to him for most of his life just four days ago. I
hated to leave Maze.

“Are
you sure?” I insisted. “I can wait until the day of the surgery and fly in then
with you. You need me now.”

We’d
been talking about this for a couple of days now. Maze had been even more
adamant that I not change my plans and still leave in the morning. Bev was
having her surgery in two days, and we still had furniture being delivered, he
needed to setup. But I knew Maze continued to grieve, and would for a long
time.

Maze
leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I’ll be fine for a couple of days. Your
mom and Bev need you there, and you need to be there. I’ll fly down the day of
the surgery. I won’t be good company right now and I’d just be in the way
before the surgery anyway. I know you want to spend some time with your family
and friends.”

“No,
you won’t. And you’d be fine.” But he was right. He was dealing with his own
issues right now coming to terms with Joe’s death, but I wanted him there so I
decided to tell him so. “Come for me then.”

His
lips curled up slightly, but no pleasure lit up his eyes. This was not the grin
I’d become used to seeing from my Maze, and it killed me to find him like this.
Like something inside him had died when Joe and Terry were laid to rest. Truth
be told, I was scared shitless for Maze after what happened. He didn’t have to
tell me the shooting was Triad related. This was no random drive by but an
outright assassination. I wanted him away from all of this mess and any danger.

“I
will be there for you when you need me,” he insisted. “Go be with your parents
for a couple of days like you wanted. I’m going to use the time to finish
packing the house in Brooklyn.”

“Okay.
Just promise me you’ll be safe.”

He
pushed the hair that had fallen in front of my face behind my ear. “No
worries.”

We’d
been moving Joe and Maze’s things to our new place. While Maze traveled light,
Joe didn’t. Maze was putting most of his stepfather’s stuff in storage. Today
we were going over to Dante’s condo to move the rest of my stuff. Dante hadn’t
been happy when I told him last week I was moving out, but in the same breath I
also told him Maze’s stepdad had been killed. Dante had even come to the
funeral. I loved my friend for that. For making that kind of effort for Maze
and for me, for someone he didn’t know.

Maze
pulled his phone out and sent a text. He looked up at me and asked, “You
ready?”

“Yeah.”
That’s another thing. We never took cabs anywhere. With my foot still in a cast
I wasn’t complaining about door-to-door limo service, though. I didn’t really
want to question why Will, our bodyguard and Terry’s replacement remained with
us, and sometimes Mark. I missed Terry and I knew he’d died protecting Joe. I
hadn’t questioned Maze for the reasons behind the shooting. But I was scared
for Maze and part of me really didn’t want to know the details. This was
probably very cowardly of me. Yet, another part of me needed to know if Maze
was in danger.

“Do
we still need a bodyguard?” I asked.

Maze
stood and grabbed our cereal bowls. “It’s just a precaution until Joe’s
murderer is caught.” He turned around at the sink and rinsed out the bowls
before placing them in the dishwasher.

“Do
the police have any leads?” I got up and lifted my bag from the corner. We’d
both given statements to the police that day at the hospital and a detective
had shown up at the funeral. Maze and Mr. Tsang spoke to him while I waited in
the limo with Will. There were at least three hundred people at the funeral for
his stepdad. Including the Mayor of New York, and a member of Congress. Even
the newspaper ran a brief story on the prominent Chinese businessman who was
respected in the U.S. and Asia. The only thing is the article stated it was a
drive-by shooting between rival Chinese gangs and his stepdad and driver had
gotten caught in the crossfire. Given what little Maze told me, I knew it for a
lie. Joe was the target.

“Nothing
so far.” He came over to me and stopped to take my hand in his. “Let’s get the
rest of your stuff so you’re good and truly moved in here.”

I
looked into his beautiful stormy eyes. “Are you safe, Maze? Is it safe for
you?”

He
pulled me into a brief hug. “Hey, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I
promise.”

“All
right. Let’s go.” I had no choice but to trust him. And pray to God he was in
no danger from whoever had killed Joe.

****

I
still had my key to the condo and used it to open the door. I’d already texted
Dante to warn him Maze and I were on the way over. I didn’t want to risk
walking in on him again butt naked on the couch with anyone. Although I was
curious as to who it could be since he told me he and Christy weren’t sleeping
together any more. As soon as we stepped into the place, I saw my ex-roommate
sitting at the kitchen counter. I was surprised to find him there. I glanced
around and he seemed to be alone.

“Hey,”
I said. “I thought you’d be at class.”

He
looked at the clock on the microwave. “Don’t have to leave for another couple
of hours. It was rescheduled for later today.”

“’Sup,”
Maze said, nodding at him.

“Hey,
man. Thought I’d stick around in case you needed some help since Ivy here isn’t
real mobile.”

“Thanks,
man,” Maze replied.

I
chuckled. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“
And
I also stuck around because I wanted
to tell you in person about an opportunity to chorography some work for RBA.” Dante
grinned.

“What!”
I squealed.

“What’s
that?” Maze asked looking at me.

“The
Regional Ballet Association. It’s made up of fifty of the top dance schools in
the country. Sometimes foreign schools are a part of it. Once a year they get
together for a weeklong festival. Some world famous dancers and choreographers
teach classes to the best of these students. The last two nights there are
about ten performances in front of a crowd of roughly a thousand. The schools
all compete to have their dancers and original choreography chosen to be
showcased those last two nights. Out of the fifty schools only maybe ten are
chosen to give special performances that can bring more students into the
school, provide scholarships, and offers of professional contracts.”

Maze
smiled. “So this is a big deal.”

“Damn
straight,” Dante said. “We’ve taught couples classes before and have been asked
to do it again, but this time my old dance school wants us to choreograph
something for them.”

To
be asked to chorography a piece like this was quite a coup, but not for me. “My
foot, Dante. I can’t dance.”

“You
know you don’t need to. These are advanced dance students. You only have to
explain the necessary movement and concept. I can demonstrate the pattern
without you. And you don’t have to move for us to come up with a dance piece
together.”

I
shook my head. “You’d still need to practice with a partner.”

He
shrugged. “So we can work out the basics on paper then once we get to the
school we can work out the practicality with the dancers.”

I
chewed my bottom lip. “I don’t know.”

Maze,
who’d never left my side, leaned against the counter. He placed his arm around
my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. “I do. You can do this, Ivy. I
believe in you.” His attention moved to Dante. “When do you have to do this by,
man?”

“This
week would be good to start planning but I know you have to go home, Ivy, so
after you get back, we can get to work. Then in a couple of weeks the two of us
would fly to Philly where I went to school and spend two weeks there with the
dancers. The festival is in six weeks.”

“She’ll
do it,” Maze said before I could reply.

I
twisted and glanced at him. “Hey, I haven’t agreed to this.”

“But
you will,” Dante said.

He
was right. In my heart, I was a dancer, and yes we did some chorography on the
side and some pieces for the show so it wouldn’t be too hard to choreograph
something for this competition. And if the piece was chosen to be presented
that would be huge for us. Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite so hopeless that I
might not be able to perform professionally again. I wasn’t yet twenty-two, I
still had a good five years left, if my ankle held up. But creating movement,
interpreting music was something else I loved. The opportunity was another way
for me to continue doing what I enjoyed most. Dance. But it meant being away
from Maze.

“Are
you sure?” I asked Maze.

He
shook his head. “Yep, and you guys can meet down at the gym if you need to.
There’s a room you can use.”

I
snickered and both men stared at me.

“What’s
so funny?” Maze asked frowning.

I
raised one hand and waved it in front of my face. Shaking my head at the same time
not ready to tell them yet.

Dante
looked at Maze and shrugged. I laughed again. I couldn’t help it. “I…I just
thought of Dante wearing his tights in a room full of MMA fighters.”

Maze
cracked up. It had been a week since I heard the sound of his laughter. Dante
sat up in his chair. The look of horror on his face ensured my mirth wouldn’t
stop just then.

“I
am not fucking wearing tights to the fucking gym!” Dante growled.

“I
will if you will,” I grinned.

Maze
stopped laughing. “Oh, hell no.”

I
snorted. After the week we had it felt good to laugh. I loved him for that.

Maze’s
phone pinged like he had a text. He pulled it out and looked at it. “Listen, I
gotta run a quick errand since I’m on this side of town.”

“What?
Where are you going?” I asked.

“I
won’t be long and I’ll be back before Dante has to leave. Stay here.”

Maze
pressed his lips to mine and just like that he was gone. I turned around to
find Dante staring at me.

“What’s
that about?” Dante inquired.

“I
don’t know.” I hobbled into my bedroom. Dante followed me, bringing the three
boxes in Maze had brought up with him.

Dante
dropped them on the floor by my closet door. “Well something’s going on, Ivy. I
can’t help but think that whatever happened to Maze’s stepdad has something to
do with that underground fighting ring he’s a part of.”

Even
Dante figured that much out. But what could I say to him? I didn’t want to lie
to my friend. Then again I wasn’t sure what was going on. I only had my
suspensions, but I would not betray Maze or Joe. However, I could relieve
Dante’s concerns about one thing. “Maze is no longer involved in professional
fighting. The fight you saw was his last one. He now owns that gym in Chinatown
he was talking about us training in, and the apartment we’re moving into is on
the top floor. He owns it. He’s just going to train new fighters. Provide a
place for them. That’s it.” I grabbed a bunch of jackets and passed them to
him.

Dante
frowned as he took the stack from me. He folded and placed them in the box.
“Are you sure he’s done?”

I
nodded.

“Still,
I’m worried about you. Whatever happened was no accident.”

“I’m
fine. You don’t need to worry.”

“But
I do, you know. I don’t want you caught up in any shit he’s involved in. You
know I respect him but I care about you more. And if you ever need me all you
have to do is call and I’m a cab ride away. Your room will always be
available.”

I
turned and placed my hand on his sleeve and he drew me in for a tight hug. The
embrace lasted longer than it should have. His fingers dug into me, like he
didn’t want to let go and his breathing came out a little ragged. “I’m going to
miss you,” he whispered against my hair.