Checkmate

by Lindsey Powell

  Before Raymond can respond a voice calls out.

  “It’s me.”

  I look up and see Paige round the door as she waltzes into my office. She has a determined look on her face, and is looking far from her usual glam, boss bitch self. She stands there in jogging bottoms, a black, fitted T-shirt and trainers. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, her face is free from any make-up, and she has never looked more beautiful.

  Raymond raises one eyebrow at me and I dismiss him with a wave of my hand. As he heads to the door, he looks at me inquisitively, and I know that he will want to know why Paige is walking in here and just saying the words, “It’s me.”

  It’s not how I conduct business. It’s too familiar, and it throws up questions.

  The door clicks shut, and I lean back in my chair, drinking in every bit of Paige that I can. Since waltzing back into my life, she has always been in business mode. Never allowing a glimpse of another side of her. Yet now, in this moment, she is showing me another side. She is showing me that whatever she has come here for is of more importance than her portrayal of being the leading boss bitch, and she looks slightly vulnerable.

  “What can I do for you, Paige?” I ask, wanting to know the reason for her abrupt visit.

  She grinds her teeth together, and I know that she really doesn’t want to ask me for anything. I smirk. It’s quite a turnaround from her behaviour earlier.

  “I need to ask for your help,” she says so quietly that the thumping music in the background almost masks her words. Almost.

  “My help?” I question, knowing that her saying those words must be killing her. “Take a seat.” I gesture to the chair opposite me, on the other side of my desk. She walks forward and sits, her back straight, one leg crossed over the other and her hands linked around her knee.

  “I need some information,” she starts. “One of my boys was stabbed earlier on today, and another has had his wife taken from him. His pregnant wife. I need to find her.”

  Well, I hadn’t expected that to come out of her mouth.

  “What information are you hoping to find answers to?” I ask.

  “I need to know where the Morgan brothers take their victims when they want to keep them hidden away,” she says, more forthcoming than I thought that she would be this early on in the conversation. I thought that I would have to coax answers out of her, but she’s giving them up freely, and that indicates that she has exhausted all of her usual avenues of finding out intel.

  “And how exactly are the Morgan brothers involved?” I ask, needing to know exactly what I may be getting myself into, because let’s face it, I’m going to fucking help Paige no matter what, I just need to be prepared for a fallout on my end.

  “Because they’re assholes who have a grudge against my boy that got stabbed.”

  “And why do they have a grudge?”

  “Because he fucked their sister.” She stares at me, her mouth set in a straight line.

  “And they found out?”

  “Yes. I met with them, redrew the battle lines and they fucking ignored me. I’ve had a deal with them for years, and they just broke the fragile bond that we shared.”

  Paige is beyond pissed, and rightly so. I would be baying for their blood if I were in her shoes.

  “So why not just go and finish them?” I ask.

  “Because I need my boy’s wife back first. I can’t allow them to hurt her, or keep her,” she says, showing me a little of the compassion that I always loved about her.

  Loved? Get your head out of your ass, Valentine. Love destroys people, so keep your head out of the fucking clouds.

  “Your boy that was stabbed, is he alive?”

  “He’s hanging in there,” she informs me.

  “And the wife is how pregnant?”

  “Seven months.”

  Fucking hell. The Morgan brothers have really gone and signed their own death certificate. Fucking with Paige is one thing, but with a pregnant woman who is involved in her clan? She’s going to rip them apart with her bare hands, I can see the want to do so on her beautiful face. Makes my dick want to come to life if I’m honest. Her fierce nature is like a fucking aphrodisiac.

  “I presume she is still alive?” I have to ask the question.

  “As far as we are aware. The Morgan brothers are waiting to see if I come for them in the wake of the attack on my boy before they give her back.” Her eyes blaze with pent up anger, and I know that I am going to enjoy seeing her in action.

  “Anything else I need to know?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “And what do I get for giving you this information?” I ask, because the whole point of helping someone out is to get a return yourself, but at this point I’m just curious to see what Paige has to say. I don’t expect anything from her but her respect. That would be enough for me.

  “Whatever you want,” she says, shocking the shit out of me.

  Silence stretches between us and I know that this woman that the Morgan brothers have taken is more important than just being one of her boys’ wives. She likes this woman and has forged some sort of bond with her. Paige wouldn’t just give away anything unless you were part of what she deems her family.

  “I want your respect,” I say honestly.

  “You already have it,” she replies, her tone never wavering. Well, I wasn’t expecting that answer. She sure seems intent on surprising the hell out of me tonight.

  “You’ve got a funny way of showing it, Paige.”

  “Well I’m telling you that I do respect you, but I’m not about to get down on my knees and kiss your fucking shoes to prove it,” she says, and I can’t help the laughter that leaves my mouth.

  “And everything that has happened up to now clearly shows your respect for me, and for what I do,” I respond sarcastically.

  “Oh please, Joey, everything up to now has been banter. Don’t participate if you can’t handle the comebacks.”

  Oh, she is full of fucking sass, and I’m going to enjoy every last minute of what is to come next.

  “Banter, huh?” Two of the most powerful people in the underworld, and she’s putting our previous conversations down to banter.

  “I didn’t come here for you to gloat, but I get that this must be satisfying for you. Me asking for help, you having the power,” she says, and she isn’t fucking wrong. I am thrilled that she has come to me, but not for the reasons that she is thinking. It’s more about the fact that she came to me at all, even with everything that went down between us years ago.

  “You’ve got me all wrong, Paige.”

  “Oh yeah? How?” she asks, cocking her head to the side.

  I lean forward, bracing my elbows on my desk. “This has never been about a power struggle for me. I get that you want to take me down. I get that you want your name to reign supreme in this fucked up world we live in, but I don’t give a damn about being the top dog. I give a damn about making things right, with this world, with the way shit goes down, and with us.”

  I don’t miss the intake of her breath at my words. She puts on a good front, I’ll give her that, but she isn’t fooling me.

  “There is no ‘us,’ Joey.”

  “Oh, baby, you know damn well that there is.” I call her bluff, expect her to keep her defences up, but she shocks me once again.

  “You hurt me, Joey. You threw me away like a piece of trash. You made me feel worthless, and I promised myself that no one would ever make me feel like that again.” Her honesty echoes around the walls.

  “Is that why you came into this world? To prove something to me?” I ask.

  “No. I came into this world to prove to myself that I was worth more.” She holds her head high, and fuck if her words don’t do things to me. The tension simmers between us. The air becoming hotter. I’m not a mushy guy. I don’t do romance, don’t do feelings, or at least I haven’t since Paige. And with her here, opening up a little bit more to me, I want nothing more than to take her in my arms a
nd show her how fucking sorry I am, but I know that she doesn’t need that right now. She needs my help, and she’s got it.

  “Do you have a plan in place for when you find out where the Morgan brothers have hidden her?” I ask, changing the subject before shit gets awkward between us.

  “Oh yeah, I have a plan,” she says, her eyes lighting up.

  “You better tell me what the plan is before we go in there and get your girl back.”

  “We?” she asks, eyebrows raised.

  “Yes, Paige. We.”

  “I only came here for information, not for you to do anything else,” she says adamantly.

  “And I won’t get involved without being there beside you.”

  Now it’s her turn to look shell-shocked.

  “I have no intention of trying to take over. Anything that happens to those brothers is your call. I’m just there to reiterate the message of staying the fuck away,” I tell her.

  “The message won’t need reiterating because they won’t live to see another day once I’m finished with them,” she informs me, and damn if her words don’t set my insides alight.

  “I’m all ears,” I say holding my hands out either side of me.

  Paige grins wickedly, and I know that what she is about to tell me is going to be one of the most savage revenge plans ever made. A woman burned, never underestimate them.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Paige

  I left Joey’s club to return to my house. Once there, I filled Donovan and the rest of the boys in on what was going to happen now. Donovan was the only one that knew that I was going to see Joey, so the rest of them were pretty shocked, but they soon got over it when I told them what was in store for the Morgan brothers. I have never done a collaboration with anyone before, so this is new territory for me.

  After speaking with my boys, I went and changed my clothes, opting for my usual business attire so that I was dressed ready to kill, literally. From my black trouser suit to the cream coloured blouse beneath the fitted jacket, from the killer stilettos to the sleek ponytail, from the red lipstick to the smoky eye effect, I know that I look every inch the boss that I am. I also know that beneath all of this there is a monster inside waiting to be unleashed on the bastards that invaded my world.

  My boys have their instructions, and I’m sat in a car with Joey. His car. Just the two of us.

  Four of my boys are following, as are six of Joey’s. Both of our private homes are guarded, ready for an attack that may come off of the back of what we are about to do.

  Joey remains adamant that all he wants is my respect. I’m dubious. This is Joey fucking Valentine we’re talking about. He doesn’t do something for nothing, but right now, he’s about to go and bust some balls with me, so I can’t really complain about him having the upper hand. My actions tonight have cemented him firmly at the top of the chain. My mission to take him down is on hold, maybe permanently.

  He's dressed in dark denim jeans that fit him like a glove, a tight, black tank top and a black shirt that he has left open. What I wouldn’t give to tear that shirt off and lift the tank top, exposing the abs that I know are there. Joey is a man who takes care of himself, prides himself on his appearance and the way that he handles his business. A man after my own heart.

  Fuck. I need to stop thinking about him like that. I don’t need any distractions. I can’t afford to lower my guard, ever, and I want revenge on the Morgan brothers more than I want revenge on Joey.

  “You okay?” Joey asks, dragging me from my own thoughts.

  I turn to look at him and his ice blue eyes that still get my panties in a twist. Fuck.

  “I’m good,” I reply before turning back to looking out of the car window.

  “We’re five minutes away,” he informs me. I just nod my head, not sure if he is looking at me or not.

  My mind seems intent on reminding me of the Joey that I used to know. As we move along the road, the image of Joey and I being close, being in love and being ultimate fucking couple goals enters my head.

  “You know what I love the most about you, Paige?” Joey says as he places kisses along my jaw line, stopping when he reaches my mouth, hovering above my lips to deliciously torture me.

  “My peachy ass?” I reply with a cheeky smile.

  Joey moves his hand and places it on said ass before he squeezes it gently, sinking his fingers into my flesh slowly.

  “Nothing better than this ass,” he says, and I giggle. I love how he makes me feel. Empowered, sexy, loved. I’ve never met anyone like him. “But no, that’s not it.”

  “Hmmm, how about my wicked sense of humour?” I say, wiggling my eyebrows.

  “Wrong again.”

  “My eyes?”

  “They are beautiful, but that’s still not the correct answer,” he says, smiling.

  “You gonna keep making me guess, Joey? Or are you just going to tell me and then show me again how I’m all yours?” I say, my voice ending on a whisper. Joey claiming me, making me his has been the best thing to ever happen to me.

  His hand moves from my ass, his fingers trailing up my side until they reach my face. He brushes a strand of hair off of my cheek, tenderly, softly, lovingly.

  The smile disappears from his face and his eyes look into my intensely.

  “The thing I love most about you, Paige, is your heart.”

  “My heart?”

  “Yeah, baby, your heart. I’ve never met anyone like you, Paige. You are beautiful inside and out, but that heart of yours is bigger than anything else. It let me in. You let me in, and you let me love you. You accept me for who I am. You don’t try to change me or mould me into someone else.”

  His words have the heart that he is talking about pumping a little bit faster.

  “Not only did you let me in, but you gave me your love back. My world meant nothing before you, Paige. I don’t ever want to let go of what we have.”

  “You won’t have to,” I whisper, tears pooling in my eyes from his honesty.

  “I worry that one day I might have to.”

  “Why?”

  “I can’t explain why, it’s just a fear that I have,” he says and my heart melts on the fucking spot. Joey Valentine, scared of losing me? Never going to happen.

  “Joey, I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him, meaning every fucking word.

  “You can’t say that, Paige.”

  “Yes, I can, and I’m telling you that we are so much stronger together than we are apart. We fit, Joey. Me and you, us against the world, big guy.”

  “Paige.”

  “Hmmm?”

  “We’re here,” Joey says as he stops the car. I shake the memories from my head and take a good look at our surroundings.

  We’re parked down a side road, Cotswold stone walls that are four foot high on the right, and a large field on the left with what looks like a derelict barn in the middle of it.

  “The Morgan brothers will have Grace in that barn over there,” Joey tells me as he nods to the left.

  “What’s behind the wall?” I ask.

  “The house that they all run to when they act like the little bitches that they are,” Joey tells me.

  “How long have they had this place?”

  “Just over five years.”

  “And no one else knows about it?”

  “No.”

  “So how did you find it?” I ask, and I know that the question is a fucking stupid one the moment that it has left my mouth.

  “Paige, I make it my business to know everything,” Joey says.

  “You didn’t know about me,” I reply with a smirk.

  “You’re the exception.”

  “Bet you hated not knowing who Miss Roderick was,” I reply, my smile widening.

  Joey laughs, and I know that he doesn’t have a comeback for that. He would have been pissed that he couldn’t get close enough to unmask me before I revealed myself to the underworld.

  A car pulls up behind us and I know that it is
Joey’s men. My guys are set up on the other side of the Morgan’s property, and more of Joey’s will be scouring the field for a possible threat. All we’re waiting for is a signal from his right hand man, Raymond, to let us know that we can forge ahead with our part of the plan.

  Joey already knows that the Morgan brothers have no surveillance here. Fucking stupid move on their part, but I guess they think that they are safe, seeing as they have been here undetected for five years. Until now.

  Joey’s phone rings and he pulls it out of his pocket, answers it and puts it to his ear.

  “We good, Ray?” he says, and I stay silent as Raymond relays the relevant information to him.

  “Good… No, stay put… We’re going in.” He ends the call and turns to me. “You ready?”

  I feel a wicked smile tug at my lips.

  “More than ready.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Joey

  Paige gets out of the car, shutting the door quietly and I do the same. She rounds the car and stands beside me, where she always should have been.

  “I’ll follow,” I tell her. She nods and starts to move towards the wall that surrounds the house. I have my gun in my hand already, always prepared, never letting anyone get the upper hand. Except for maybe Paige, but I can’t think about that right now. I have work to do, and this is going to be the first time that I see Paige in action. Is it weird that it does something to me to know that she can handle the gun that is in her hand? Is it weird that I can’t wait to see her kick some ass all over the place? Weird or not, it’s a fucking turn on to see her strutting her stuff in those come-fuck-me heels.

  Damn.

  I follow her as she makes her way to the gate at the front of the property. She scours the area, her eyes sweeping the grounds to make sure that we haven’t alerted the bastards that sit inside the country house that has seen better days.

  I’m more than shocked that the Morgans have left themselves wide open with nothing here to act as a deterrent to unwanted company. Fucking morons. They are the worst kind of wannabe gangsters. Hot tempered, quick to jump in with their fists and fuck all common sense to know that their time in this game is coming to an end.