KYOLINE DIEGO could feel the heat of each of ISAAC'S fingers penetrating through her thin sleeve. "Where are we going?" Tension singed the edges of her voice. This was not the way back to his car.
"To the park."
"For why?"
"For you to play a game of chess."
"Wait, what?"
"I'd like to observe you play. See if you're competent at something other than working for drug dealers and gun runners."
KY sucked in a deep breath. This man could actually get a girl's hackles up. "Maybe I don't want to play."
"Aw, come on, naturally you do. One game."
"No, thank you."
His voice grew cold. "Either let me watch you play one game and then I'll let you go, or let's discuss the matter but this time without ice cream and niceties.".
KY gulped the anger spreading up her throat. "Play, and you'll release me?" She didn't want any part of the cop station if she could avoid it.
He tipped his head in agreement. KY had no idea if he was even lying to her or what he was going to do, but she'd take a game of chess over further interrogation from him anytime.
Are you available to play?" she asked of a man with a gray beard and a wool hat pulled low over his ears. It could be cold sitting there when the sun was back behind the clouds.
"Oh, sure, missy," he said with a twinkly smile revealing his crooked teeth.
KY created a plan to lose the game at lightning speed. In that way, she could flee from here and as far away from this police officer as possible.
When she started moving the pieces, though, the allure of the game was too great, and she started playing for real.
Her mother always said she was too beautiful to play such a dull game as chess. But the truth was that KY was totally hooked on the game. It was like a drug she couldn't stop. It was a temporary rush that she was always chasing and never wanted to stop. It was a battle where she could compete on equal terms, where her background or reputation did not affect her chance of winning.
She started with the Queen's Gambit, one of her favorite openings because of the competition for the center and how it put pressure on Black simultaneously.
White pawn to c4.
Black pawn to e6.
White knight to f3.
Black pawn to d5.
White pawn to d4.
Black knight to f6.
The entire while, ISAAC watched her like a predator stalking prey. He had to be bored, for sure. It was probably another scheme to manipulate him, like the ice cream, to have him come off as a good guy willing to be friends with her.
But KY was so immersed in the game that she did not even notice that forty minutes had gone by. She'd even stopped noticing ISAAC'S glare upon her. For all she could concern herself with was the black and white carved pieces in front of her. Each piece had a history and each piece had a destiny, but all of these were controlled by the rules that regulated its movements.
Then the old man fell over his king, conceding defeat with a chuckle. "You're good, missy. Best game I've had all week."
KY stood up, gave him a smile, and expressed her gratitude for the game. "Thanks for the game. I really appreciate it."
She turned away, then spoke to ISAAC. "I'm free to go now?" she asked icily.
"Yes. But I'll bring you to where you were headed. MANCHESTER LED, huh?"
"I'm fine," she spat.
But not another word, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to his car and pushed her into the front passenger seat again. He drove and brought her to the casino without uttering another word.
Rolling into the casino parking lot at their destination, he leaned over her corpse, invading her space with his smoky perfume as he opened the door.
"A gentleman would come around and open my door for me," she reminded him.
"Yeah, well, I'm no gentleman. And don't you ever forget that." This dude was totally perplexing. KY went to open her mouth and say something, but he just kept going before she could get a word out. "Get out, princess."
"What?"
"Get out."
"Aren't you supposed to have some manners or something?"
"Get out before I push you out. Better?"
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
KY narrowed her eyes to slits and unbuckled her belt. She got out of his car and fled as fast as she could, not once glancing back.
* * *
No sooner did KY speed off through the staff entrance than she bumped straight into TENZ JER'SEY. "Oh God, I was pulled over by a cop. But I didn't say anything to him, I swear?"
"Relax, KY, hey." TENZ JER'SEY wrapped his arms around her and kissed her long and hard on the mouth, and he didn't look the least bit upset at what she'd just said. He pulled away for a moment, smiling at her. "We already know what went on."
Her eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown. "You do?"
"Yeah. Don't worry about it."
"Um, well, I don't know if I was arrested or not, but he did not charge me with anything, and I did not say anything to him about?"
"It's all right, KY," TENZ JER'SEY reassured. "Take it easy. Everything's been taken care of."
KY glared at him. "Has it?" She was sure she'd be in trouble for just being stopped and that she'd have to beg TENZ JER'SEY and the KASH MANCHESTER to hear her out when she explained that she'd remained silent. "But who said that?"
"Our guy."
For a moment, KY was utterly bewildered. "Do you mean…that the cop is your guy?"
"A fucking cop reached you? VINCENT DANZA came up behind her. He was the KASH MANCHESTER's Capo after he assumed that position from his father. VINCENT DANZA'S narrowed his eyes as he laser-beamed her. Though KY had always been friendly with him, she still feared that he would assume that she gave out confidential information.". Though she might have seemed brusquely confident, the real individual was a human well of self-doubt and anxiety. "I didn't say anything to him.
It was just a cop I bumped into?
"
"It was just ISAAC. He beat me to it," TENZ JER'SEY stated simply. "ISAAC?" KY broke in. "You're on first name terms with the cop?" "Oh, I see." VINCENT DANZA relaxed a bit. "No, he's not a cop.". He's a relative of ours. Third or fourth cousin, or whatever. He waved his hand vaguely. "I lost count. We had him bring you here so you wouldn't get apprehended by any Feds.
We reasoned that the Feds would get a warrant and be prepared to raid the casino.".
But our point of contact texted thirty minutes ago telling us the judge refused to issue the warrant due to insufficient evidence, so I texted ISAAC that it was fine for him to bring you here.
Wait, what? ISAAC was their freaking cousin?. "But he didn't tell me he was one of you. I thought he was a cop. I thought he was to arrest me. He was grilling me, grilling me for all kinds of things…"undefined"Ah, that sounds like ISAAC." VINCENT DANZA chuckled. "Bastard. He was just toying with you. He's our assassin. He usually works out of SUDAN, though he's been working for us in Italy recently."