Technically, Ice shouldn't be torturing anyone without Mannix's permission, but Ice often let that little detail slip from his mind. He was careful not to piss Mannix off though.
On the contrary, he usually had someone in his workroom before Mannix asked him to. He called it being proactive. We could all respect that. Who didn't like a person with initiative?
"Don't ask too many questions," Ice advised. "It's a surprise."
"You have a lot of those today,” I pointed out. "Should we insist he tell us?"
I placed my hand on my hip and gave him a look that usually made him melt.
Not today.
Today he just smiled and said, "You'll see soon enough."
"If you're doing some shit that'll get us in trouble with Reuben—" Mannix started.
Ice put a hand on his chest, over his heart like he was offended at the suggestion.
"I care about us too much to do anything to draw Reuben’s attention," he said. "Or even Caleb’s. Although, it's almost worth seeing the vein in Caleb's jaw twitch when he gets angry."
Ice put his fingers to his own jaw, making them jump against his skin.
"Someone needs to keep an eye on him during this party," Mannix said, "I don't know what he's up to, but I don't trust him. More than I don't trust anyone else."
"That's saying a lot,” Ice said. "You don't trust most people. Except us of course."
Mannix snorted. "Everyone else is out to screw us over one way or another. They want to take our place. Or our power. Or… It's always something. They always have an angle."
"The angles I'm more interested in," Ice said slowly, "are the angles people’s joints can be moved into. You'd be surprised how close to someone's forehead their knee can get when they have to. And by have to, I mean when I'm making them bend like that. It's easier if they have a few bones broken."
He rubbed the side of his face as if thinking hard about more ways to contort the human body. Knowing him, that was exactly what he was thinking.
He'd always had a fascination with how people were put together and how they could be torn apart. He liked it so much he'd made a job out of it. Some people called him unhinged.
To us, it was just him being him.
"We should all keep an eye on Caleb," I said. "And anyone else who comes through here. Maybe I should ask one of the girls to help organise this party. Maybe Chelsea."
"Chelsea would be great help," Ice said enthusiastically.
He adored his sister more than anyone I'd ever seen adore their sibling. Unless you counted my relationship with Mannix, who was my ex-stepbrother. Ex because he killed his own father for touching me. That ended his marriage to my mother somewhat. Death does that to a relationship.
"She just finished the refurbishment of Flirts. So she's looking for something else to sink her teeth into," Ice said.
After Chelsea’s brief stint as a doctor for the Dusk Bay Smashers rugby team, she bought the strip club and gave it a facelift, and an expansion. I hadn't been there myself, but I'd been meaning to. This might give me the excuse to head down there.
"No," Ares said, glowering at me.
"No what?" I looked at him sweetly, as if not understanding what he was trying to say.
"You're not going down there by yourself," he said firmly. "You don't know what kind of deviants frequent a place like that."
"I've been there," Ice said helpfully.
Ares turned a look on him. "Exactly."
Ice pretended to huff. "I think he's trying to cast aspersions on my good nature."
"I’m nottryingto," Ares said. "Would you want someone like you staring at Kennedy?"
