by L. J. Taylor
His cell phone rang. He checked the Caller ID readout on the phone. It was his attorney again. He kept calling trying to convince Zeke to turn himself in. He’d turn himself in after that bitch was dead and not a moment sooner. The phone kept ringing. Zeke cursed and hit the “Talk” button. “I told you I wasn’t ready to turn myself in yet. Stop calling me.”
“One of your employees has been arrested for killing two police officers and trying to kill Ms. Ivy Brooks. Another one of your employees was shot and killed in the attempt. I cannot impress upon you enough the importance of turning yourself in.”
Zeke cursed. “What? One of them was arrested and one of them is dead? Did they get that bitch at least?”
“No, Ms. Brooks remains in protective custody,” the attorney said.
“Damn it!” He took the phone away from his ear, took some deep breaths and tried to calm himself. He couldn’t believe that bitch was still alive and able to testify. He thought for a moment then put the phone back to his ear. “Who got arrested?”
“Mr. Barry Williams,” the attorney replied.
“Good,” Zeke said. “He’s loyal. I can trust him to keep his mouth shut.”
“Are you sure?” the attorney asked. “With two police officers dead, he’s looking at the death penalty. Not many criminal defendants would refuse a deal for life without parole under those circumstances.”
“He knows he’ll never die of old age in prison anyway if he were to testify against me,” Zeke said. “I want you to represent him. I’ll pay for his defense.”
“Okay, Mr. Brown, and what about yourself?”
“There is one more thing I have to do before I turn myself in.” Zeke disconnected the call. His father always said if you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself. Once again, his father’s words of wisdom were dead on. Of course, his father had died in the line of duty. He’d chosen another path. He picked up one of his guns from the coffee table, checked it, and then holstered it at his waist. He picked up the second weapon, placed it into his ankle holster, and headed out.
***
Charles heard a sound at the garage door. He stepped through the kitchen and quickly opened it. The man standing outside froze – a surprised look on his face. Charles seized the opportunity to grab him by his gun hand. He turned sideways and yanked the man forward with his left hand, then took him out with an elbow jab to the face. The man’s head snapped backward. Blood flowed profusely from his nose. Charles followed up with a punch that knocked him out cold.
Charles turned to look at the front door. So far, the police locks were holding. He tiptoed toward the back door. It suddenly imploded, glass flying everywhere. Charles jumped to the side and waited. One of the men came through the door. He must have spotted Charles out of the corner of his eye because he started to turn. Charles hit him with a roundhouse kick that sent him crashing back through the doorway. Charles followed him out the back door. The guy, who had landed flat on his back, leapt from the ground to his feet and landed in a martial arts stance. He wasn’t holding a weapon. He must have lost it when he fell.
Charles holstered his weapon then crouched into a martial arts stance and gave the assailant a come hither motion with his hand. The guy threw a kick. Charles blocked it with his arm, spun around and nailed the guy with a back kick that knocked him back several feet. He turned around and followed up with a roundhouse that took the guy down. He walked over and stood over the guy. When he looked up and tried to rise, Charles knocked him out with a downward kick to the face. He landed face down on the grass and didn’t move.
Charles turned to look back at the house just in time to see the third thug coming out the back door, his gun aimed straight at Charles’ chest. Adrenaline pumping, Charles dropped to the ground and rolled to the side. He heard the spit of a silencer and felt the air by his ear displaced as bullets whizzed by. He grabbed his gun out of his holster on the way up, aimed it at the assailant and took a shot. The last thug hit the ground on the back porch.
Charles stood up and walked toward the house. He checked the man on the ground. He was still out cold. He walked to the back porch and kicked the gun out of the hand of the guy he had shot. The man didn’t move. Charles reached down to take his pulse. It was faint, but it was there. He’d call the police and an ambulance from the car. He checked on the guy by the side door, then grabbed the luggage and headed out the back door to meet up with Kathy.
***
Kathy walked as quickly as she could with Omari in tow. She wished she could just scoop him up and run, but that wasn’t going to happen in her condition. She was already breathing heavy and it was hot. They cleared the backyard and hit the street behind it. She mopped at her brow and looked around frantically for Charles’ car. She pulled his car key from her purse and pressed the button, relieved when she heard the answering beep and spotted the car.
“Come on, baby.” She grabbed Omari’s hand and had just turned to walk toward Charles’ car when she heard a deep voice behind her.
“And where do you think you bitches are going?”
She glanced in the direction of the voice and nearly had a heart attack. A stocky dark-skinned man, dressed in all black and wearing way too much jewelry, stepped out from behind a hedge and pointed his weapon at Mariah’s head. Mariah released the handle of the suitcase and froze. Then, before Kathy could say a word, in what looked like a single motion, Mariah reached up, slapped the assailant on the inside of his wrist with one hand while she twisted and removed the gun from his hand with the other. She then conked him over the head with the butt of his own weapon. He went down like a stone. Kathy’s jaw fell open.
Calm as you please, Mariah reached into her purse, extracted a pair of handcuffs, and put her knee into the thug’s back while she dragged his arms back and cuffed him.
Kathy closed her mouth, shook her head and grinned. “Damn, girl. Remind me not to mess with you. You’ve got to show me that move someday.”
Mariah chuckled. “Get in the car, girl. There could be more of these fools.”
Just then, Charles walked out of the backyard. He surveyed the scene and raised his eyebrows. “No, that was the last one. I took care of the other three. Everybody okay?” He dropped the luggage, walked over to Kathy and pulled her close. She smiled and nodded at him. He then crouched to check Omari who was unusually quiet.
“You okay, little man?”
Omari nodded and regarded him with wide eyes. “Yes, Aunty Mariah hit the bad man.”
“Yes, she did.” Charles chuckled and turned to Mariah. “Nice job, Sis.”
She smiled back at him. “Thank you. Now go. Get them out of here. I’ll deal with the police.”
“Okay,” Charles said.
Kathy could hear the faint sound of sirens in the background. They had made it through okay, but she worried about Ivy. Please God, let her be okay too.
Chapter XIX
Ivy and Luke were back in her apartment. She made them some dinner and they ate like hungry wolves. “I guess there’s nothing like being shot at and having great sex to spark up your appetite.” She smiled as she watched Luke bite into his fourth piece of fried chicken.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about girl, this chicken is good.” He licked his fingers.
“Yes it is if I do say so myself.” Ivy reached for her third piece. “We should bring some of this outside for the police officers. It can’t be easy having to sit outside like that.”
“I gave them the key to my place so they could take breaks, make coffee and food for themselves and go to the bathroom,” Luke said.
“That’s good thinking. Are you sure you weren’t a cop in a former life?”
“Yes. I was a crook in my former life – not a cop.”
Ivy laughed. “Oh. I forgot. Well, we have something in common then.”
“I’d say we have a couple of things in common. We’re both former crooks, we both like fried chicken, we’ve both been shot at by your ex-boyfr
iend’s henchmen and we both like my sister Karen.”
“Karen! Oh my goodness. With all that’s happened I completely forgot about her. Have you spoken to her since we got back from the attorney’s office? I haven’t. She must be worried sick.”
“I called her while you were cooking to let her know we were all right. Given what happened to us earlier today, I told her it was safer for her to stay in her place. If she’s not around us, she’s less likely to get shot at,” he said.
“That’s true. But she must be bored out of her mind. And I’m sure she’d want some of this chicken. Why don’t we bring some up to her?”
“That sounds okay. Go ahead and wrap some of that up. We’ll check in on her.”
Ivy smiled. “Good. I feel a little guilty forgetting all about her even with everything that’s happened today. It’ll be good to bring her some food and hang out for a little while.” She put together a package for Karen and grabbed her keys off the kitchen table. “Ready?”
He holstered his gun and nodded. “Let’s go.”
***
Zeke parked his car two blocks away from Ivy’s apartment building. He turned off the ignition and sat there for a moment taking in his surroundings. The neighborhood was quiet. No one was hanging out in the street. He got out of the car, locked the door and began walking toward Ivy’s block. When he got to the building behind hers, he walked up to the front door and pushed all of the intercom buttons. He ignored the voices that came over the intercom demanding to know his identity. As he expected, one of the patrons didn’t bother to ask and simply buzzed him in.
He found a staircase and climbed it all the way to the top. He saw a door labeled “roof access” and went through it. Once he was out on the roof, he walked over to the edge that was closest to Ivy’s building and looked over. He smiled. It was close enough to reach the roof of Ivy’s building and there didn’t appear to be any sentries up there. He backed up twenty or so feet then ran forward and leaped over the edge of the roof. He landed on the roof of Ivy’s building, dropped and rolled a few times, then came to his feet. He pulled his gun and stood there listening for a moment. When no-one approached him, he walked over to the door that led into the building. It was locked. He holstered his weapon, pulled a small set of burglar’s tools from his jacket pocket and picked the lock. He let himself into the building and walked down the stairs to the tenth floor.
He crept down the hall to apartment number 1006. According to the reports he had received from his crew, this was Karen’s apartment. He listened at the door for the sound of police radios or chatter. He heard nothing. He examined the locks on the door. They were good locks that would take him a little time to deal with. He took out his tools and got to work. Five minutes later, he smiled as he felt the tumbler on the last lock give way. He listened for a moment to make sure no-one had heard him working on the locks, then he slowly opened the door and let himself in. She hadn’t engaged the chain on the door, so he didn’t have to deal with that. Not that it would have stopped him. He closed the door quietly behind him and looked around. She didn’t appear to be in the kitchen or the living room. He listened and could hear the sound of the television in the bedroom. He drew his gun, tiptoed over to the bedroom and peeked in the doorway. She wasn’t in the bedroom either. He heard the sound of water running in the bathroom next to the bedroom and pulled back into the shadows, a smile spreading across his face. She was taking a shower. He planned to have a nice surprise ready for her when she got out.
He heard the water stop and the shower curtain being pulled back. She took her time drying off and doing those things women do after showering. Finally, he saw the knob on the bathroom door turn. He eased himself toward the door and waited. Then he heard a knock at the front door.
***
Ivy and Luke stood outside Karen’s apartment. Luke knocked on the door a second time.
“I’m worried, Luke. Karen didn’t answer her phone and now she isn’t answering her door. Do you have keys to her place?”
“Yes,” Luke pulled out his keys and began unlocking the door. That’s when he realized that the door was already unlocked. He drew his gun and signaled for Ivy to go down the hall. She shook her head vehemently, refusing to leave. He glared at her and thrust the two way radio at her. “If you won’t leave, then stay out here and call for help.” That’s when they heard Karen scream.
Luke pushed the door open and went in low. Zeke had Karen by the neck from behind. He had the muzzle of his weapon pressed against her temple. She was naked and obviously terrified.
Luke aimed his gun at Zeke’s head. “Let her go man.”
“Stay right there. If you come any closer, I’ll blow your sister’s head off! It wouldn’t be the first time someone took out people you love, right?”
“I said let her go. If you don’t, there’s no way you’ll get out of here alive.”
“Oh yeah? Well if you shoot me, you run the risk of hitting your sister,” Zeke said. “Your best bet is to put that gun down.”
Luke could hear Ivy frantically trying to reach the police officers over the radio. “Help us. Please. He’s here. Zeke’s here. He’s in Karen’s apartment - number 1006. He’s got her. Come quick. Oh God. Somebody’s going to get killed.”
“We’re on our way. What apartment is that?” one of the officers asked.
“1006,” Ivy said.
“Is that Ivy I hear out there?” Zeke asked. “Send her in here. I don’t want your sister. I want her. Send here in here now or I blow this bitch away.”
“There is no way I’m bringing Ivy in there,” Luke said. “Drop the gun or I’ll blow you away.”
“Just shoot the bastard,” Karen said. “Take him out.”
Luke looked his sister in the eye and saw that she was serious. They both had seen enough violence in their lives to know the only way out of this situation would be for someone to make a play. He was terrified to make a move and risk injuring or killing her, but when he looked at the man holding her hostage, he knew he had to. “I love you, Babygirl.” He prepared to fire.
“Wait,” Ivy said. To Luke’s astonishment and fury, she stepped into the apartment.
“Ivy, if you don’t get your ass back out into that hall, I swear I’ll shoot you myself,” Luke said.
“No. Karen has already taken too many risks for me today. You both have.” She stepped further into the apartment. “Zeke, you don’t want her, you want me. Let her go.”
“You’re right about that.” Zeke moved the muzzle of the gun from the side of Karen’s head and aimed it straight at Ivy. At that moment, Karen stomped down hard on his instep and elbowed him in the gut. He released her and she dropped to the floor. Zeke’s shot rang wide missing Ivy by inches.
“Get down, Ivy!” Luke pulled the trigger. Zeke cried out and fell to the ground holding his chest. Luke rushed over and kicked his gun out of reach. He then yanked Karen up from the floor and pushed her and Ivy out the door just as police officers came running down the hall. Two of the officers grabbed Ivy and Karen and pulled them down the hallway to safety.
Marshall and his partner entered the apartment to find Zeke on the floor and Luke standing over him. He surveyed the scene then turned to smirk at his friend. “So, once again, we’re just in time to clean up your mess.”
Luke blew out a breath. “Man, I’m so glad you’re here.” He gestured at Zeke. “He grabbed Karen and had a gun to her head. I didn’t know how I was going to keep him from killing her without risking her life. Then Ivy walked in here and stood right in front of him . . .” He swallowed. “I thought for sure he was going to kill her.”
“Take it easy, man. They’re both fine,” Marshall said. He pointed at Luke’s gun. “You know we have to take that in for evidence, right?”
“Right.” Luke put the safety back on the weapon and handed it to Marshall.
Marshall took it and handed it to one of the uniformed officers. He pat his friend on the back. “You did great work here. H
ave you ever considered joining the police force?”
Luke laughed. “With my background? Are you crazy?”
Marshall shrugged. “Well, you don’t have a record.”
Luke turned to watch the ambulance attendants take Zeke out on a stretcher. “No, thank you. I think I’ll stick with architecture. Your job is far too dangerous. Where are the girls?”
“We took them to the precinct to give their statements,” Marshall said. “You can come with me to give yours.”
“Okay.”
Chapter XX
Luke and Ivy sat next to each other in the lounge area at the Executive Airport waiting for Charles’ private plane to land.
“I can’t wait to get my arms around Omari again,” Ivy said. “I’m so glad this madness is finally over and that it’s safe for him to come back home. I miss him so much.”
“I know you do, baby,” Luke said. “I miss him too.” He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. She snuggled into him. After a while, Luke straightened up in his seat and removed his arm from around Ivy’s neck.
She looked up at him. “What?”
“There’s something I need to tell you. I was going to wait until we went out to dinner tonight, but I can’t wait any longer.” He reached into his jacket pocket and took out a small jewelry box. Ivy’s breath caught in her throat as he got up off the seat and came down onto one knee in front of her. He put his hand over hers. “When you walked into Karen’s living room and faced that animal, I thought for sure I was going to lose you. All I could think was that I’d never have the chance to tell you how much I loved you. I was so angry at you for taking that risk, but, at the same time, I couldn’t help but admire your courage and your spirit. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and little man and make us a family. I don’t want to spend another day without you. Will you marry me?”
