CHAPTER TWELVE
Ice
“WHAT THE FUCK is your problem?” Jules asked as we headed out of town. “Nothing,” I said shortly. “Woman troubles,” Chris said with a grin. Ever since he got Alison back, the fucker was smiling all the time. I wanted the grumpy Chris back. The one that was just as pessimistic about relationships as I was. Now he always had a solution for everything. “No, actually my woman problems are being solved.” “Oh yeah? Lindsey’s leaving?” “I don’t know. She said the insurance money should be coming through, but she’s thinking about buying a house in town.” “So, your fuck buddy is sticking around,” Chris surmised. “That’s good for you.” “No, that’s bad for him. It was fine to fuck her when they had an expiration date. Now, she’s sticking around and it’s going to be harder to get rid of her.” “Maybe he doesn’t want to get rid of her,” Chris shot back. “Of course he does. Right?” Jules asked me. I hesitated. I wasn’t sure. This was only supposed to be fucking, but every time I was around her, I just wanted more. And not just sex. Sometimes, I just wanted to hear her voice. There were times that she would talk to me after sex. We’d just be lying in bed and she would start telling me funny stories. It was soothing and strangely satisfying. I didn’t think I’d ever want that with a woman. “Shit,” Jules looked at me in surprise. “I didn’t realize you had it that bad for her.” “I don’t. It’s just…she’s fucking with my head.” “Like what? Is she trying to manipulate you into giving more?” Jules asked. “No.” “Withholding sex?” Chris asked. “Not a chance.” “Oh,” Jules exclaimed. “Is she one of those psycho bitches that goes crazy on you one minute and then all the sudden, it’s like everything is totally cool?” “What? No, nothing like that. She’s just…she talks to me…after sex. It’s…disconcerting.” “She talks to you,” Chris said slowly. “Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem.” Chris shot a look to Jules, telling him I was off my fucking rocker. “No, I get it,” Jules said. “She’s totally fucking with him. Trying to get him to imagine what it would be like if they were a couple. This is what women do. They try to appeal to your intellectual side. She wants to make this more than just sex. A little conversation after a blow job and suddenly, you’re snuggling together at night, and don’t forget what I told you about those fucking Lifetime movies.” “Jesus, are we back on that again? Seriously, what is it with you and those movies?” Jules shook his head in disgust. “I’m telling you, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you. Just say no, man. Just say no.” Jules was usually one of the sanest men I knew. Right now? He was a little fucked in the head. Obviously someone had done a number on him, and obviously, it had to do with Lifetime movies.
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“Alright, Jules, let’s get Davenport back to his house and hit the road.” “Sounds good,” Jules said over his mic. We were on a protective detail for some hot shot in Manhattan. He’d had a few threats on his life and he needed security to accompany him to an event because his own security was short staffed. Once we dropped him at his house, our job was over. And thank fuck because I was tired of this prick. He fucking complained about everything. He didn’t like that we weren’t wearing suits because it looked bad in pictures. He didn’t like that we carried guns because he didn’t approve of them. He even hated Chris’s cowboy hat because it wasn’t ‘New York’ enough. We drove back to his house, pulling up to the security gate. Nobody was in the guard house like they were supposed to be. Signaling for Chris and Jules to cover our client, I got out and checked out the perimeter. The guard was in the guardhouse, but he was asleep in his fucking chair. I hit the button to open the gate and then closed it back up when the vehicles drove through. Hopping the fence, I joined my team in escorting Davenport into the house. I knew as soon as we entered that we needed to leave. Chris and Jules sensed it too. There was just something that was different. Something that was wrong.
“Jules, back to the SUV,” I said as I pulled my gun and watched for any sign of movement. It was too silent in the house. There should have been guards around somewhere. They would have been alerted when we entered and they should have met us at the door. I heard Jules shoving Davenport out the front door and started backing out the door. Chris was a few feet to my left. As soon as we stepped outside, all hell broke loose. Jules and Davenport were headed to the first SUV with Chris, while I headed for the second. My hand barely touched the handle of the SUV when I heard the click. I only had a few seconds to turn and run before the SUV blew sky high, bursting into a ball of flames. I was thrown back, sliding across the pavement as the wind was knocked from my lungs. The roar of the explosion was so loud that I was temporarily deaf. I shook my head, trying to clear the smoke and fire from my vision. I saw a little boy in rags, running from a building, chasing after his mom. What the hell? There was sand all around us, blowing and biting into my skin. They ran into a building and I yelled for them to stop, but they didn’t hear me. The building blew up just as I was standing up to run after them. “Ice! Hey, Ice!” Chris was standing over me, slapping at my cheek. I peeled my eyes open and groaned at the pain in my head. I must have smacked it on the ground. “We gotta move!” I nodded and started to stand with Chris’s help. When I was sure I wouldn’t fall over, I ran with him for the second vehicle, which Jules and Davenport were already waiting in. I sensed it behind me, that feeling that someone was watching. I spun, drawing my gun and aiming back toward the house just as the first shot was fired. There was a single man standing in the doorway, aiming right at Chris, who was a few feet from me. It all happened so fast. Chris hadn’t realized that the man was even there. I didn’t hesitate, jumping in front of Chris as I fired my weapon, killing the man by the house. I barely felt the sting in my chest as I fell backwards. I hit the door of the SUV hard, slamming my head back into the mirror. Chris was hauling me up and over his shoulder in seconds, throwing me into the back of the SUV. “You fucking dumbass. What the hell were you thinking?” Chris’s voice was distorted as I tried to draw in a breath, but it felt like there was an elephant on my chest. Chris tore the vest from my body and I finally felt a little relief, taking in my first breath. “You’re lucky it just hit your vest. What the fuck were you thinking, jumping in front of me like that?” “Just say thank you, asshole,” I rasped out. “That’d be just what I need, to have to go back and tell Lindsey that you were dead because you were a dumbass.” “Better than me having to tell your wife and kid that you were dead because you didn’t turn the fuck around,” I bit out around the pain in my chest. Vest or not, it fucking hurt to take a bullet to the chest. “Stop fucking arguing about who should have taken the bullet,” Jules yelled from the front. “Or I’ll put a bullet in both of you and tell your girls that you were too fucking stupid to move.” Chris rolled his eyes at me. “He’s so fucking dramatic.” “Total pussy,” I groused. Chris shifted his weight, pressing against my leg and I gritted my teeth, trying my best not to scream out in pain. I just barely held it in. “Fuck, looks like you got hit in the leg.” “Just put a bandaid on it, so we can get the fuck out of here.” “We’re heading back to Reed Security,” Jules said. “Already called it in to Cap.” “Fuck, we could have handled it,” I said as Chris pressed something down on my leg. “Looks like a through and through. We should be able to just wrap it until we get back to Kate. You want something for the pain?” I could feel the sweat building as I fought off the pain. I didn’t want to take anything and pass out. I was still the team leader. “No, fuck that. I’m fine.” “Yeah, we got a long drive home. We’ll see how long you last.” Turns out, I didn’t last very fucking long.