Page 29 of Twisted Ruck

"At this point in time, no," he said. "If it becomes a problem, then we'll address it. What players and staff do on their own time, is their own business, unless it has an impact on the team. Then it becomes my business. Understood?"

"Crystal clear," I said. "We're all very much aware of the importance of me not distracting them from their job. And vice versa. In public, we're professional."

In private, we were anything but.

"Good. Make sure it stays that way. I believe you'll be an asset to the team, but that's up to you. If you're willing to give us everything you have, then you'll do well. If not?—"

I had the feeling he wanted to say, “If you're willing to givemeeverything you have, you'll do well.”

"The team is everything to me," I said. "I intend to keep giving it everything."

Chapter Eleven

Chelsea

I reachedthe bottom of the stairs leading into Ice's workroom. The air inside was cold. Cold enough to make me shiver. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried not to look at the person that hung from the chains today.

"Who's Dominic King?" I asked.

Ice turned to me and smiled warmly. "Chels, I wasn't expecting to see you today." Hands covered in blood, he stepped over to kiss my cheek.

"In answer to your question, he's a problem." He stepped over to the sink and start to wash his hands, seemingly oblivious to the groans of his victim. "Mannix thinks he sees himself as a rival to the Brantley family."

I sighed. "Of course he does. Working for him is going to be a problem, isn't it?"

Wasn't that just life? As soon as I get my dream job, I might be forced to walk away from it after all.

"Not necessarily," Ice said. He grabbed a towel and started carefully drying his fingers, one by one. "You might be able to get information from him using more subtle methods than me."

I rubbed my temples with my thumb and the tips of my fingers. "Did any of you encourage Atlas to kill Bruce Fergus?Because all of this is too convenient. You know I want to stay out of all of the mobster shit."

"I know, but all that mobster shit still wants you." He grinned. "You'd be surprised how liberating it is when you embrace it, instead of trying to push it away. Take our friend here." He gestured towards the bloodied victim. "We're having a lot of fun together."

"It doesn't look like they're having fun," I remarked.

Ice clicked his tongue. "Of course he is. He's learning all about the limits of what he can tolerate."

"What use is learning something like that when he'll be dead soon?" I asked.

Ice tossed the towel aside and adjusted his bun. "He'll die understanding himself better. How could he not be grateful for that?"

"I have no idea," I said dryly. "So, about Dominic King. And Bruce Fergus."

"I didn't say anything to Atlas about killing anyone," Ice said. "But I can't rule out someone else telling him to. Mannix might have. He doesn't tell me everything. Almost everything, but notliterallyeverything. If he didn't, why would Atlas do that?"

I quickly explained his reasoning.

Ice nodded slowly. "Remind me later to tell him he did a good job. If I knew Bruce was going to hire someone else, I would have dealt with him myself. Just think, he could have been chained up beside our friend here." He cocked his head and smiled, pleased at the idea.

"He didn't deserve to die just because he wasn't going to hire me," I said.

"Of course not," Ice said reasonably. "But if he refused to listen to reason, and it sounded like that was the case, then of course we'd do that for you. That's what we do when we love someone."

"Other people give boxes of chocolates," I said dryly.

"Some of us do both." He gestured toward himself. "Or we bring you pyjamas and socks. Do you need more?"

"No." I held up a hand. "I'm good on socks and pyjamas. Thank you. What is Dominic King doing to make you think he's going to cause trouble?"

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