Checkmate

by Lindsey Powell

  “No, I don’t.”

  “That’s a cop-out and you know it,” she says, her fire once again beginning to ignite.

  “Maybe, but it was my truth back then, and I would do the same thing again, given the choice.”

  “You sure you didn’t just get bored with her? Chuck her away like some rag doll, only to replace her with a newer model?” She’s looking for more answers, and I have no qualms about giving them to her in this particular instance.

  I lean in closer. “Trust me, Paige, there is no way in hell that she could have ever bored me. She got me, knew me, made me work for her heart, and once I claimed it, I was the happiest motherfucker alive.”

  “So why throw it all away? Why kick her to the curb if not for a new plaything?” she asks as she hangs on my every word. It’s the most I’ve seen her guard drop, and at this point, I definitely know that I am the weakness in her armour. She may be a bad-ass leader, but she’s still a woman, and she still wants answers to the questions I wouldn’t give her answers to before.

  “She wasn’t ready for my world. I couldn’t risk her becoming a target.”

  “And now?” she asks, a little breathless, probably not aware of how much I can see that she needs this for clarification of what went wrong all those years ago.

  “Now?” I pause for a second, the tension around us heightening. “Now she would stand with me, beside me, be my equal.”

  “There is no way that you, Joey Valentine, would let a woman stand beside you,” she says, her guard sliding back up.

  “Don’t doubt my word, Paige. I am nothing if not a fucking king in this world, and a king always needs a queen by his side.”

  “You wouldn’t want a queen. You would want a puppet, just like these other assholes that claim they see their women as their equal. Nothing but fucking liars,” she bites back, and it gets my back up. I stand, pushing my chair away, she does the same. She’s trying to save face, make it seem like I haven’t affected her. I side step the table and am stood in front of her before she can move away. She doesn’t even flinch, lifting her chin up slightly.

  “I am no liar, Paige. You know that.”

  “I know that you’re fucking with me right now to make me weak.”

  I take a step towards her, she steps back, until her back is against the wall. Bad fucking planning on her part. Not so aware of her surroundings now.

  “I don’t want to make you weak, Paige. That fire inside of you, it makes me come alive. I’m always up for a challenge, baby, and you, you will be my greatest victory,” I say, my voice low, my eyes trained on hers. I’m inches away from touching her, smashing my mouth against hers, taking what has always been mine.

  “Oh, Joey, if you thought that you were going to claim me, then you are sadly mistaken,” she begins. “I fell for your bullshit once before, don’t think that I will make the same mistake again.”

  “Not bullshit, Paige. I told you, I don’t fucking lie.”

  “And I’m just meant to take your word for it? Give in and be the good little woman that falls at your knees?”

  “Absolutely not. I want you to fight me all the way, make me work, make me earn what I should never have given up in the first place,” I tell her, moving my head closer, stopping with my lips just in front of hers.

  “You can’t earn back something that wasn’t yours to begin with,” she whispers, but her words hold no fucking meaning. She loved me, I know she did.

  “Who’s bullshitting now, Paige?” I say as I brush my lips over hers. Her whole body shudders as I move away, taking a step back.

  She stands against the wall, looking more beautiful than I have ever seen. Face flushed, breathing deeply, and trying to extinguish the want in her eyes.

  She doesn’t say anything more as she pushes off of the wall and walks away. I don’t watch her, I don’t turn to get one last look before she disappears down the stairs.

  Telling her the truth tonight was a risky move, but it paid off.

  She still wants me.

  Reeling her in may not be as hard as I first thought.

  Keep her in my sights, keep her close, then pull the fucking trigger on whatever plan she has concocted.

  Only trouble is, I still want her.

  Always have done, probably always will.

  Paige fucking Roderick. The person that could be my downfall, and the one that holds the key to my fucking heart.

  Chapter Ten

  Paige

  “Where the fuck have you been?” I say as I look up from my desk and see Miles stood in the doorway.

  I haven’t heard from him since my visit to Montell. I know damn well where he has been, but I want to see if he’s going to lie to my face. It wouldn’t be a smart move.

  “Just taking care of business, boss,” Miles replies as he shuts the door and moves to the seat in front of my desk.

  “Did I tell you that you could come in and sit down?” I ask.

  “Oh, come on, Paige, don’t be like that,” Miles replies, a cocky-ass smirk on his face.

  “Don’t fuck with me, Miles,” I retort.

  “Whoa, whoa, what’s bit you in the ass?” he says, seeming to forget who the fuck he is talking to. I narrow my eyes on him. I have a lot of pent up frustration, most of it coming from Joey, that I need to let out, and Miles is my number one fucking target right now.

  I put the pen down that I was writing with and lean back in my chair, resting my elbows on the arms.

  “Firstly, don’t forget who pays you your fucking money and keeps your ass from getting into trouble. Secondly, don’t ever think that you can walk in here and sit the fuck down without being invited to do so. Thirdly, you haven’t answered my question. Where the fuck have you been?” My voice is dangerous and laced with anger.

  Miles sits there, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights. I let Miles get away with more than most because he brings in a good amount of money, but if he thinks I’m going to let him talk to me like I’m his bitch, he’s sadly fucking mistaken.

  His almost-black eyes go wide, his jaw going slack, his shoulders tense. Miles is by no means a small guy, but he knows that trying to act the fucking goat right now could very well get him a beating, and I know that he won’t want his pretty face all busted up.

  Miles is a looker. Blond hair that falls to his shoulders, full lips that I imagine most women wouldn’t mind getting down and dirty with, biceps that are shown off with the tight tank tops that he favours, and an ass that is as peachy as they come. But he does fuck all for me. Never has, and he knows it, so pouting those plump lips at me will never work.

  “Sorry, boss,” he starts, less sure of himself than when he walked in here.

  “So you fucking should be. Now answer the goddamn question, Miles.”

  “I had to go underground for a few. Had the Morgan boys looking for me,” Miles says, confirming what I already know.

  “And you didn’t think to get a message to me? To come and fucking see me?”

  “There was no time, boss.”

  “Bollocks. There’s always time,” I reply.

  “Honestly, Paige, I had to get gone and quick.”

  “Why? What did you do to land yourself in hot water with the Morgan brothers?”

  The Morgan brothers are one of the more well-known gangs that run in the same circles that we do. Aside from Joey, they are my other competition. I haven’t focussed on taking anything from them just yet because they don’t tread in my waters, but if they’re after Miles, they are essentially after me, and that is a problem that I need to take care of.

  “I fucked their sister and they found out,” he says, looking anything but remorseful for bringing this shit to my doorstep.

  “So, let me get this right, you fuck around with their slut of a sister, and I end up taking the fall?”

  “I… It’s…” he struggles to get his words out.

  “Don’t stutter at me, Miles. It pisses me off.”

  “Sorry, boss. You w
on’t end up taking the fall, I’ll sort it,” he says, but I know there is no way in hell that he will be able to sort this. He fucked their sister, and there isn’t any coming back from that.

  “You need to tell me exactly what happened after you stuck your dick in her, Miles. What you said to her and whether you left it as unfinished business or not, before I walk my ass in on my meeting with the Morgans tomorrow afternoon,” I tell him.

  “You’re meeting with them?”

  “Did you ever doubt that I would?” I say, my voice hardening.

  “No, but, this is my problem, Paige. I don’t need you fighting my battles,” he says, and I laugh in his face.

  “Really, Miles? You felt the need to go into fucking hiding. You didn’t think that it warranted giving me a call. You need me to clean this mess up for you, whether you want to admit that or not.”

  “I can handle it,” he says, but we both know that the Morgan brothers would kill him before asking any questions. They are known for the torture that they inflict on the ones that piss them off, but they haven’t had to deal with me yet. I shit all over their tactics, and if things don’t go my way tomorrow, they will be the ones to find out the hard way.

  “I’m going to meet with them, Miles. End of discussion.”

  Miles doesn’t argue back. He wouldn’t dare right now.

  “Now, fill me in on what I need to know and then I’ll tell you a little story of my own,” I say, and I can see that his interest has been piqued.

  “What you been up to, boss?” he asks, a hungry look in his eyes.

  “All in good time, Miles. Now, get to talking.”

  He can sit there with his smug-ass grin for now. I get my answers and then he gets a lesson in why letting a debt rack up to four fucking grand is unacceptable.

  Chapter Eleven

  Paige

  Three sets of eyes stare at me from across the table. Three sets of eyes that look every inch as pissed off as the vibes that they are omitting all around the room. Three sets of eyes that belong to the Morgan brothers. Larry, Bobby and Clive. All notorious for their scare tactics. All of them ready to dish out a punishment without asking questions first. All of them with their beady eyes boring into me.

  They have been staring at me for the last few minutes. No words exchanged.

  I’m sat here, legs crossed, head held high. I won’t be the one to back down here. I’ve done nothing wrong, and I sure as shit won’t suffer for Miles’s faux fucking pas.

  “So,” Larry begins. Larry is the oldest brother, fifty-three years old, and the leader. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” he asks in the most sarcastic voice that I have ever heard. His creepy-ass smile does nothing to stop me cringing on the inside. He has a couple of teeth missing, skin that has been tanned a little too much during his lifetime, dull grey eyes and shoulder-length black hair that looks so greasy you could probably fry a fucking egg on it.

  “No need for the sarcasm, Larry, you know why I’m here,” I respond, not in the mood for the bullshit that always accompanies these brothers.

  Larry’s face drops, his smile turning into more of a snarl.

  “You come into my place,” he says, gesturing around the shitty, rundown room that we’re sitting in, “And you think that you can take that attitude with me?”

  I refrain from rolling my eyes. He’s heard of me, he knows my rep, and that’s why they have stayed the fuck away from my territory, but I guess he thinks that he can call the shots seeing as I requested this meeting. He’s about to realise that no one calls the shots but me.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Larry. Remember who you’re talking to before you try and intimidate me,” I reply deadpan.

  Larry, very wisely, closes his mouth, his lips forming a tight line.

  “Paige Roderick,” Bobby pipes up and my head turns slightly to look at him. He’s sat to the left of Larry, looking every inch as creepy as his brother. Same colour eyes, same long, lank, limp hair, and the one known to be the big-mouthed dipshit that hides behind Larry.

  “You need to understand one thing, and one thing only. This is our turf. You came to us. You requested this meeting, so, be a good girl and play nice until we decide whether or not to blow your fucking brains out,” Bobby finishes, and I can’t help the smirk that spread across my face.

  “Oh, Bobby, Bobby, Bobby, didn’t your mother ever teach you any manners?” I reply.

  “Fucking––”

  “Ah ah ah,” I cut him off with a waggle of my finger. “Be careful before you speak your next words, Bobby. You know as well as I do that you don’t run shit around here. You may think that you’re a tough guy, sat behind the table with your brothers sat beside you, but let me remind you about the deal we made when it was obvious that you couldn’t run with the big boys.” My voice is hard, unwavering.

  People seem to forget about how the faceless woman made deals with them before she showed her true colours. The faceless woman being me, and now I’m about to stamp my authority over them once and for all.

  “Need me to refresh your memory?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. None of them answer me, so I forge ahead. “Remember how you begged for my help when the Mendez guys were gonna take you down? Remember how you came crawling to my people to make sure that your whole existence wasn’t blown to shit?”

  It was the day that I realised that I was a someone. The Morgans were the next best thing after Joey. They had the monopoly on the drug running, and they made a big fucking mistake when they tried to take on the Mendez clan. A drug deal gone wrong, the big timers breathing down their God damn necks.

  “If it weren’t for me and my boys, you guys would be fifty feet under. The Mendez guys would have crushed you. I got rid of them. I saved all of your fucking assess, so don’t you dare sit there and speak to me with no fucking respect.”

  All of them lean back in their seats, staying quiet like the good little puppets that they are. The minute that they came to Donovan and requested my help was the day that they became pawns in my game. They have stayed away from my territory because they couldn’t come close. They don’t have the balls to take me on, and they know it.

  “You wanted my help without even knowing who I was back then, begging my boys for a meeting with me, down on your knees practically sucking their cocks.” I helped them because I knew this day would come. I knew that at some point they would try to mess with me, and no fucker gets away with that. “And then you took that help without even knowing who I was, and now I’m here, in the flesh, and you don’t like that you have to bow down to a woman.”

  I can see that my words are igniting something in them, their eyes give them away. Annoyance, anger and the fact that they are so far beneath me and they will never come out on top.

  “So, I’ll give you one last chance to start this conversation again, or I may just be forced to crush you myself.”

  My words are no threat, they’re the real fucking deal.

  Clive leans forward, bracing his arms on the table. He is the one that seems to create a calm around the fieriness that is his brothers. The calculating one. He watches, he waits, and then he makes his move. The most dangerous of the three, but still not a patch on me. His hair is shaved close to his head and he packs more pounds on his frame than his brothers do. He’s the intimidator, but today it won’t work.

  “What did you come here for, Paige?” Clive asks me, his voice low and gravelly.

  “Miles.” It’s the only answer I need to give, and I see the anger flare up in all three of them. Nostrils widening, cheeks reddening, and I’m sure their minds are picturing tearing Miles apart, limb from limb.

  “I see,” Clive says. “I hope you’re not here to ask us to turn a blind eye to the disrespect that he has shown us.”

  “Absolutely not,” I reply. I know they want revenge. No man in this world would let some guy hurt their family. But I also know that I need to show them that I have taken care of Miles myself.

  “Th
en why are you here?” Bobby asks.

  I turn my head slightly to look at him. “I came here to remind you of our agreement, which I have done, and I came here to inform you that Miles will no longer be sniffing around your sister.”

  “Damn fucking right he won’t be,” Larry pipes up.

  “Yes, yes, Larry, I am aware that Miles has ruffled your feathers so to speak,” I say with a wave of my hand. This type of shit bores me. I get no enjoyment out of dealing with this kind of thing. It makes me no money and just brings aggro to my door. If their sister hadn’t been so quick to open her legs then this wouldn’t be happening.

  “Ruffled our feathers?” Bobby spits out. “Ruffled our fucking feathers? He’s lucky to still be fucking walking.”

  “Pipe down, Bobby, I’m not the one that fucked her,” I say, my jaw clenched at how he’s directing his anger at me.

  “Why you––”

  “That’s enough, Bobby,” Clive says, raising his voice and stopping Bobby from finishing his sentence. Bobby wisely closes his mouth and glares at me.

  “I can assure you that Miles has suffered, and he is very sorry for his actions.” At this point, I pull out a photograph and lay it on the table, pushing it towards the Morgan brothers. They all eye it inquisitively, and Clive is the one to reach out and pick it up.

  They take a few moments to look at the photo, all of them struggling not to smirk. The photo shows them what they want. It shows that Miles has been punished, beaten, bloodied and bruised. What the dumb pricks don’t realise though, is that, yes there was some rough-housing, yes, I kicked his ass around the room a little, but his bruises are enhanced by my make-up skills. I wasn’t going to completely fuck up my main drug runner, but I had to bring something to the table here to show the Morgan’s that I don’t take lightly to my boys fucking around.

  “Satisfied?” I ask. I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.

  “Okay. What do you want, Paige?” Clive asks, cutting to the chase, showing me that he probably is the brainier one of the three.