The Ice Prince

Chapter 37

It was 5.56 pm. Time for me to go downstairs for work. I changed into another t-shirt, and kept away the Glock which now felt like it belonged at the back of my jeans. But I got a feeling that I wouldn't need it when I was just going to be downstairs, working as a barman. Thankfully Jerry's didn't have any fixed uniforms for barmen for the sake of informality, so I could simply mix with the crowd if required. "Fireball, I'll go downstairs to work. Just call me if you need anything." I told her. She rolled her shoulders and nodded in reply.

I knew she wasn't exactly comfortable with using phones, but she had access to Arnold's landline, and she could give me a ring if she needed to. Her shoulder-rolling made me realise how weary she was. I knew the feeling. She just wanted the running and hiding to end. Pulling her in for a quick hug, I whispered a promise "We'll get you into Polson and go to school together, once this blows over."

She graced me with one of her smiles. I knew I had said the right thing. It was funny, people said high school could be the best or the worst four years of life. For me, neither was the case. High school was definitely a period of huge change, kind of like a roller-coaster ride. But I was enjoying it, the highs and the lows too.

I waved to Hayley and she waved back, with a small smile. It was evident she was irritated at all this hiding out. Making my way to the bar, I got to work. Arnold Wood didn't spare me a glance, other than to order me or to instruct me to do something. It was all for the best, I realised. I could appreciate just how much the guy had done for me, when he knew I could never even dream of repaying him for it. Here, we had to have a strictly professional relationship, because to even hint otherwise could mean trouble.

It was nine, and I was half-way through my shift, when two Hispanic-looking men entered, and stared straight at me. I pretended not to notice and busied myself in serving my customers at the bar. One of them had a bruise near the temple and tattoos snaked out of his clothes everywhere. The other, it seemed, was the more dangerous of the two. The tattooed one was paying deference to him, and he looked more menacing, despite the lack of tattoos or facial hair. They made their way to Arnold wood, but I knew it was me they were after, and I just hoped that he didn't try to save me now, because that could get him and Hayley into a truckload of trouble. I could only hope that he understood on time, that he could not be associated with me.

He knows, Ash. Don't you remember his expression in the freezer, when you'd made it clear that protecting Hayley was your priority?

So he did know, I remembered. I prayed that he didn't act noble at the last moment. I needed him to turn me in, and that way nobody would ever make the connection and figure that Hayley and I were, in fact, staying in his quarters.

I could sense the tension on his face as he spoke to the two men. One of them was drumming out an irregular beat on the counter, while talking to Arnold Wood. Sh*t! Slader... I'd recognise that obsessions with the discordant staccato anywhere. He knew that I was involved. There was no way they were going to let this go. The bruise was my own doing, then, and he sure looked like he was out for my blood. Before long, I knew, he would have his revenge.

Then another thought surfaced, much more terrible than the first. The other man must be Ramírez! Because Slader was supposed to be his right and man, and the only one he would pay deference to would have to be Ramírez. This was bad. If he'd come here himself, he wanted me badly. For some reason, I couldn't see why. In fact, now that he'd stabbed Declan Broadbeck, it wasn't like Hayley was going to blab about the drug to anyone else. Slim chance that they would believe her anyways. But if it wasn't so dangerous to him or his gang, why would he come here himself?

Realization struck me like cold water down my spine. There's much more to this than the drug. Hayley didn't tell you something, Ash. And that something is what has dragged the boss of the gang here in search of you. I felt betrayed. Nothing had prepared me for this. I'd believed her when she said she trusted me. I'd believed every single word she'd told me. But now I was sure there was something she'd hidden, and it was all I could do to keep muddling the mint before me, in a futile effort to serve my customers.