Dreams Deferred (Brooks Sisters Dreams Series Book 2)

by L. J. Taylor

  “She’s definitely worth it. She’s a good person. I don’t want to see them hurt. I’m trying to do things the right way this time. In the past, I would probably have just taken that fool out.”

  “You did the right thing coming to me,” Marshall said. “You just let me know if and when she decides to testify against him and I’ll assign someone to protect her.”

  “Thank you, man,” Luke said. “I owe you one.”

  “And I will be sure to collect on that one day.” Marshall fired off a round of shots, then hit the button to move the target back to them.

  Luke looked at the tight groupings center mass and whistled. “Not bad.” Marshall smiled and stepped aside. Luke pushed the button to move the target as far back as possible, then took out his Glock and loaded it. He stood still for a moment then raised the pistol and shot a few rounds at the target. He pushed the button to bring the target back to them. All four of the shots were dead accurate in a tight grouping through the head of the target.

  Marshall raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure you don’t sleep with that thing under your pillow?”

  Luke laughed. “Dead sure. It’s been two years since I’ve fired this bad boy.

  Marshall shook his head and pushed the button to move the target back. “I guess it’s like getting back on a horse.”

  Chapter XI

  Ivy was at work when her attorney called her.

  “The Court set oral argument on the appeal for Monday, September 22, at 9:30a.m,” he said.

  “But that’s after the custody hearing,” Ivy said. “Is there any way to move the date of the oral argument up?”

  “Unfortunately, no. We requested an emergency hearing date, but the appellate court did not deem our situation to be an emergency.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re not out of moves yet. I’m preparing a motion to stay enforcement of any child support order pending the appeal,” he said.

  “With that judge, what’s the likelihood of that order being entered?” Ivy asked.

  “Well, as far as the law and the equities are concerned, we have very strong arguments and the Court should grant our motion. Unfortunately, if the way the Court has ruled so far is any indication of how it will rule on this motion, there is a significant chance that the Court won’t grant it. All we can do is try.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t have much hope that the Court will grant the motion. If it’s denied, then what’s the next step?”

  “You know the answer to that question, Ms. Brooks. If you are really serious about keeping the father from getting custody of your son, you’re going to have to give him up for the burglary. He won’t get custody of your son while he’s in jail.”

  “I understand,” she said. “Well, for now, go ahead and file the motion and let me know how it goes.”

  “Will do.”

  Ivy hung up. She was going to have to find a way to get proof Zeke committed the burglary. The government wouldn’t just take her word for it – especially now that she and Zeke were in the middle of a custody battle. She thought of ways to get this proof, then she picked up the telephone and called Karen.

  “Hey girl,” Karen said.

  “Hey,” Ivy said. “Come over tonight for dinner. You and I need to brainstorm on how to get proof Zeke was involved in the burglary. They’re not just going to take my word for it.”

  “So it’s come to that, huh? Well, you know I’m always down for a home cooked meal – especially one of yours. I’ll be there at 7:00p.m.”

  “See you then.”

  ***

  Karen arrived on time for once in her life. Ivy teased her. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen you arrive somewhere on time. Usually you arrive fashionably late. I wonder why that is? Hmm . . . could it possibly be the fact that dinner is being served?”

  “Oh shut up.” Karen pushed past Ivy into the apartment and headed straight for the kitchen. “You’re lucky I’m here at all, you maniac. So, what’s for dinner?”

  Ivy laughed. “I made turkey lasagna.”

  “Mmm . . . my favorite.”

  “I thought baked ziti was your favorite.”

  “What can I say? I’m fickle,” Karen said.

  “Hi Karen,” Omari said.

  Karen bent down to give him a kiss. “Hi Sweetie. Have you been a good boy for your mommy?”

  Omari nodded. “Yes. I’m always a good boy.”

  “Don’t start lying now.” Ivy laughed and headed into the kitchen. “Why don’t you and Karen go wash your hands while I serve up dinner?”

  Karen rubbed her hands together. “That sounds good to me.” She took Omari by the hand and led him away

  Ivy took the lasagna out of the oven and brought it to the table. She then took a leafy green salad from the refrigerator and warmed up a crusty whole wheat baguette. By the time Karen and Omari had returned to the table, dinner was waiting for them.

  “Dig in.” Ivy reached over to fix Omari a plate.

  “Mommy, this is good. I like it,” Omari said. He smacked his lips together in appreciation.

  Ivy turned to look at him and noted the pasta sauce smeared all over his mouth. She smiled. “I’m glad you like it, sweetie.” She picked up a napkin and wiped some of the sauce off.

  After dinner, they watched a cartoon video with Omari. When it was time to put him to bed, Karen enjoyed a glass of wine in the living room while Ivy got Omari bathed and put him to sleep. Afterward, Ivy poured herself a glass of wine, topped off Karen’s glass and joined her on the couch. “So, do you have any ideas about how I can get independent verification that Zeke committed the burglary?”

  “Yes,” Karen said, “but none of the ideas are risk free. Actually, that’s probably the understatement of the year.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Well, I was thinking maybe you could get inside Zeke’s house and take pictures of the remaining jewelry and the bearer bonds.”

  “That plan assumes a lot of things. It assumes he still has the jewelry and the bearer bonds and that he keeps them in his house. It also assumes I could find a way to get inside. With his security, I’d have to cozy up to him and get invited in. Wouldn’t it be suspicious for me to suddenly start being nice to him?” Ivy shook her head. “No, I don’t think that plan will work.”

  Karen sighed. “Yeah, no, it probably wouldn’t. Do you have any ideas?”

  “I got my probation officer changed by taping him during one of his meetings with me. He really showed his animosity toward me on the tape for daring to try to have the child support petition dismissed. My lawyer was able to use that to get his boss to reassign my case to another probation officer – a sister who, so far, seems to be fair. Maybe I could get Zeke to confess to the burglary on tape or something,” Ivy said.

  “That sounds dangerous,” Karen said. “Will they be able to use the tape against him in court?”

  “I don’t know. I’m going to have to ask Kathy or my attorney that. On second thought, I’d better not ask Kathy. She’d probably kill me herself for even thinking of doing something this dangerous. But I don’t have any other choice. You watch the same cop shows I do, so you know the government is going to want independent corroboration of my testimony.”

  “True,” Karen said, “they always say that on those ‘Law and Order’ episodes. Well, you know how much I love those spy gadgets and gizmos. I was in the Spy Shop the other day and I saw they had a number of spy cams. They have spy cameras on brooches, barrettes, baseball caps, pens, clocks--you name it. And they’re not that expensive either. You can get them with audio too.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Ivy laughed and held up her hands in mock surrender. “You sound like an infomercial. Why don’t I meet you at the Spy Shop tomorrow at lunchtime so we can check some of those gadgets out? ”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Karen said. “Now, how are you going to get Zeke to talk to you about the burglary? Won’t he be suspicious if yo
u suddenly approach him and start talking about it?”

  “It’s not really all that strange that I would want to talk to him now. He’s getting ready to proceed with the custody hearing. In his mind it would be totally natural for me to approach him and beg him not to take my son. It would also not be out of character for me to threaten to turn him in to the police if he proceeds with the hearing. That should get him to threaten me on tape and mention the burglary,” Ivy said.

  “That sounds too dangerous,” Karen said. “What if he just decides to take you out right then and there?”

  “I’ll just have to make sure we have this conversation in a public place. I’m also going to have to make him think I’m much too scared to ever betray him. He’ll believe that because it’s almost true and his ego is the size of Texas,” Ivy said.

  “Maybe we should have Luke back you up when you do this,” Karen said.

  “No. We can’t tell Luke about this. He and Zeke squared off at the fair. I don’t know if there was bad blood between them in the past or if he was just being macho and protective of me and Omari, but this is my fight. I don’t want him getting hurt trying to protect me. I made this mess and I need to get myself out of it. Promise me you won’t tell him.”

  “Okay,” Karen said, “I promise. But I’m really worried. You’re going to need some backup. Zeke doesn’t know me. What if you meet him at a bar or a restaurant and I go early and watch. We could travel separately and, if I see something go down, I could get help.”

  “I don’t know,” Ivy said. “It sounds like a good plan to have some sort of backup, but I don’t want you to get hurt either.”

  “Girl, you know I’ll always have your back. Just like I know you’ll always have mine. Let me do this for you,” Karen said.

  “Okay,” Ivy said, “but you stay invisible. No matter what happens, you do not reveal that you’re with me. Luke would never forgive me if I got you hurt. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

  “So that’s settled then,” Karen said. “Now, where do you plan to meet with him?”

  “I like the idea of meeting at a bar or restaurant. It would have to be somewhere we could have a little privacy though – maybe someplace that has secluded booths. That way, he won’t think we’re going to be overheard,” Ivy said.

  “I know,” Karen said, “what about that Thai restaurant right across from the University of Miami? It’s a little hole in the wall, but it has a private upstairs room. There are only a couple of tables up there. You could reserve the upstairs room or slip the owner a twenty for some privacy.”

  “That sounds good,” Ivy said. “That might just work.”

  Chapter XII

  Ivy was at work the following week when Mr. Tate called her with bad news.

  “Ms. Brooks,” he said, “the Court denied our motion to stay enforcement of the child support proceedings pending the appeal. The Court also ordered Mr. Brown to take a paternity test. It proved that he is, in fact, Omari’s father. The Court has scheduled a hearing next week to set the amount of child support. I’m very sorry that I couldn’t stop this from happening.”

  “I know,” Ivy said. “You did the best that you could.”

  “The custody hearing is scheduled to take place the week after next. There’s not much likelihood we’ll be able to postpone or otherwise put it off. I’m afraid we have limited options left. We can proceed with your plan to testify against the father or we can take our chances at the custody hearing. In my opinion, we have a 70% chance of winning the custody hearing.”

  “Would you take a 30% chance your child could end up in the hands of that bastard?” Ivy asked.

  “Probably not,” the lawyer replied.

  “Even if I win and he doesn’t get full custody, he’ll get shared custody. We don’t really have a choice,” Ivy said. “We’re going to have to turn him in. Before we call the government, though, there’s something I need to do. They’re going to need some sort of independent verification that he was the one who committed the robbery, right? My testimony alone won’t be enough to put him away. I’m going to get the government the proof it needs.”

  “Ivy, I don’t know what you’re planning to do nor do I want to know. I must, however, advise you not to engage in any illegal or risky behavior,” Mr. Tate said.

  “I won’t.” Ivy crossed her fingers. I’ll let you know when I’ve got the evidence.” She hung up.

  ***

  Ivy had just returned from dropping Omari off at nursery school and was rummaging through her closet looking for something to wear when she heard someone banging on the front door. Her heart leapt into her throat.

  ‘Please God, don’t let it be Zeke.’ She tiptoed through the living room up to the door and peered through the peephole. It was Luke. She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. Luke stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, a grim expression on his face.

  Ivy frowned. What was his problem? “Luke. Come in.”

  He stalked into her apartment without saying a word. Ivy closed the door and turned to face him. “Hi, I was just getting changed. I’ve got to get to work. What’s going on?”

  “Are you out of your mind? Karen told me about this harebrained stunt you want to pull. What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed? I can’t believe you think it’s a good idea to wire up and get Zeke to confess to committing the burglary.”

  Ivy’s jaw dropped. How dare he come in here and call her plan a harebrained stunt? Just because she wasn’t some fancy architect didn’t mean she was dumb. What the hell did he know about survival anymore anyway? Too many years off the street had made him soft. She didn’t live in some make believe world where all she had to do was clap her hands and change her life. She had a son to protect.

  “I’m doing whatever the hell I need to do to save my son. And I’ll do whatever it takes to do that. If that means wiring up or even seducing Zeke and taking his ass out myself, that’s what I’ll do. Where do you get off coming in here lecturing me about it? Didn’t you ask me the other day what I’d do to protect my son? Well, the answer is anything. I would do anything. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the office.”

  She turned and took a step toward the bedroom. Luke grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her back to face him. Surprised, she looked up into his eyes. She’d never seen him look so furious. His brows were furrowed and sparks flew out of his hazel eyes. Ivy felt a slight shiver travel up her spine.

  “Do you think I’m just going to sit by and watch you get your fool self killed and leave Omari without a mother? Well I’m not. There has got to be another way to protect Omari – a plan that doesn’t involve you risking your life. You just need to give us time to find it.”

  Ivy snatched her wrist out of his grasp. “Where do you get off coming in here grabbing me and making any type of demands? Look, you’re a great friend and all, and I’m grateful you take such good care of Omari while I’m in class. But you’re not his father and I’m not your woman. What right do you have to approve or disapprove of my plan?”

  Luke grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “I care about you damn it! I care about you both. And if anything happened to you, I’d--.” He let go of Ivy, turned away, and took some deep breaths.

  Ivy stared at him, shocked. Although she’d caught glimpses of emotion in him during the times they’d spent together, she had no idea his feelings ran so deep. He did care about them. She was suddenly close to tears and didn’t know why. He hadn’t exactly made a declaration of love, but he’d come close. No man ever said he cared about her before. She swallowed. It didn’t change anything though. It couldn’t. She didn’t have time to deal with him or his emotions right now. Her first priority was making sure Zeke didn’t get his hands on Omari.

  “Look,” she said. “I know you care about us and that you’re worried. But what other plan is there? Zeke is a paranoid freak. That’s how he’s stayed out of jail this long. He’s not going to confess to anyone but me,
and the police aren’t going to arrest him based on my testimony alone. I’m a convicted felon, remember? So I’ve got to trick him. I don’t have a choice.”

  “You do have a choice, Ivy. I have some friends that could help you and Omari relocate. Start fresh somewhere Zeke would never find you,” he said.

  “Relocate? Leave my family and friends behind and go somewhere nobody knows me and Omari?” Ivy shook her head. “No, I’m not doing that. Besides, that would make me a fugitive too. I’m on probation, remember? I can’t relocate without the Court’s permission and the judge isn’t going to grant me permission unless I agree to testify against Zeke.”

  Luke stared at Ivy, his face a study of frustration. She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. “Look, there’s no easy answer to this situation and I’ve got to get to work. Let’s talk about this some other time.”

  “Okay,” he said. “But you promise me you’re not going to do anything stupid before we do.”

  Ivy had no problem making that promise. She didn’t consider doing everything she could to save her son stupid. She looked him in the eye and smiled at him. “Okay. I promise.”

  “Good.” He pulled her to him, gave her a hard kiss on the lips and walked out the door.

  Ivy lifted the back of her hand to her mouth and stood there for a moment, looking down at the floor. She could almost taste the raw emotion he had poured into the quick kiss. It did things to her brain, but it didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter. She couldn’t afford to let their feelings get in the way of carrying out her plan. There was too much at stake.

  Chapter XIII

  Ivy and Karen went to the Spy Shop on Ivy’s lunch hour. They looked at miniature spy cameras in all shapes and sizes. Many of them were concealed in jewelry and other seemingly innocuous objects. Ivy settled on a spy camera hidden in a pretty brooch. The camera took a chunk out of her bank account at close to two hundred dollars, but it was worth every penny.