Page 38 of The Devil's Ice

“And Bale gets rid of him,” King said heavily. “Makes it look like The Hellions are involved by killing him using a motorcycle.”

“Maybe theyareinvolved,” Scars pointed out. “They could have been tipped off by Bale, and then Viper and his boys did the actual dirty work, provided Bale with an alibi. Hell, if he plays his cards right, he might even be put in charge of the investigation into Denton’s death, and wouldn’tthatbe convenient?”

“Unless –”

King and Scars both looked at Ice standing against the wall with his massive arms crossed, but he seemed hesitant to finish his sentence.

“Unless what?” Scars asked him.

“UnlessDentonwas in on it too, right from the jump,” Ice said slowly, hating to be the one to say any ofthis, but comeon… it had to be aired, at least. “He and Bale were working with The Hellions, though fuck knows why. Maybe Viper and his boys have something on the cops, or maybe it’s as simple as Denton and Bale needing money, so they got on the MC payroll and tipped them off about police activity. Then for whatever reason, Denton became a liability. Maybe he wanted to tell us the truth, or maybe he wanted out. Maybe kidnapping and killing kids was a bridge too far for him, and Bale knew it, so Denton had to go.” He paused, looked at King’s grim expression. “I’m sorry, man. I mean –”

“No, I know.” King ran his hand through his dark hair. “You’re not the only one who thought about that. I admit that I considered it on my way over here.”

“And?” Scars prompted.

“And Denton had nothing to do with it, and I’d lay my life on that. He rumbled Bale somehow, and he was killed for it.”

Scars shrugged. “OK. Then we go with that.”

Ice didn’t look as sure-fire convinced, but he nodded at his President’s decision. After all, he had never met Denton in person, never spoken to Bale at all, and once again, he cursed himself for not being part of the planning process to safeguard Wolf. Maybe he’d have picked up on something that the other guys missed, or maybe not, but at least he’d know for sure either way.

Andthatbrought up a whole new problem, and from the look on King and Scars’ hard faces, they’d twigged to it as well. The three men stared at each other, a whole new horror looming over them, all around them.

“So if Bale is working with Viper,” Scars said hollowly. “And we can’t trust Bale, then that means that we can’t believe anything that he’s told us about –”

“Wolf,” Ice finished. “We can’t believe a single fucking thing that Bale says the CI has toldhimabout Wolf. Not about him being safe, and him witnessing Wolf working with Viper. Nothing.”

The men looked down at the cut draped across the chair that their President had left in their care, then fell silent yet again, all thinking the exact same thing:

Wolf might be dead, he might have been dead the minute he crossed into Utah.

This time, though, none of them spoke their fears aloud. They didn’t dare. It felt too much like pushing whatever luck they might have left, or tempting a fate that hadn’t been realized quite yet.

Maybe they still had time.

Maybe.

Chapter Fifteen

Two days later

Ice unlocked the door of Vixen’s apartment, surprised at how eager he was to see where the woman actually lived. After all, they’d never gone home together, not in the whole eighteen months that they’d been having sex. All of theirveryactive activities had taken place in Satan’s back rooms only, and weirdly, this glimpse into Vix’s personal life wasfarmore intimate than anything they might have done with their clothes off.

“Welcome home, Vix,” he said, turning back to help her. “Easy now, I got you.”

It was still incredible to Ice that she was walking on her own, albeit gingerly and all stiff-limbed, so he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, escorting her through the door. He had a quick flash of how this would look to a stranger – like an old married couple hobbling around, praying that they didn’t fall and break a hip – and he grinned. This image was also hilariously reinforced by the fact that Vix was wearing slippers. The emergency room doctors had cut off her sexy-as-fuck boots, as well as her clothes, because they’d needed to get to her quick and easy, to check on any internal damage.

Zoe had grabbed some changes of clothes when she’d been here cleaning and stocking the fridge and cupboards, but Vix’s swollen ankle made footwear a distinct challenge: the woman didn’t own a single pair of flats, so Zoe had been a bit limited in her choice of shoes. Ice had heard this, and in a rare moment of teasing and light-heartedness, he’d gone down to the hospital gift shop and sought out the slippers section. The choice had been limited and damn ugly – and he’d made a point of choosing the most atrocious old-man slippers on the shelves. When he’d presented them with a flourish to Vix, she’d stared at them, utterly aghast.

“Really?” she’d said, gesturing at her neck brace, her oversized button-down denim shirt and track pants, her unwashed hair yanked back in a messy ponytail, her face with the gauze across her cheek. “Am I not disgusting enough as it is?”

The doctor had come in then to do some final checks before discharging her from the hospital an hour earlier, so Ice didn’t get the chance to tell Vix what heactuallythought, which was that she was the most gorgeous woman that he’d ever laid eyes on. She had been before what happened in the parking lot, after what happened – and sure as hellduring. Ice didn’t think that any woman could or wouldeverbe more stunning than Vix had been in those horrifying, terrifying few seconds.

So here she was, back home now. Ice gently deposited her on her sofa, then stood there in front of her, unsure how to bring up the next thing to discuss. None of The Road Devils wanted Vix left alone, and not just because of her serious injuries. Until things settled down and Scars and the boys knew just what the actual fuck was going on,allthe women were going to be closely watched and fiercely taken care of.

And Ice wanted it to behimwho stood guard over Vix. He wanted it more than he’d wanted anything for a long,longtime.

“Uh, Vix.” He cleared his throat. “Can I – do you want something? Maybe some green tea?”

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