Page 48 of On Ice

I laugh gruffly. “It’s been one night.”

Giving a rueful smile, he says, “Yeah, but hospital time is like dog years. Fill me in on what’s going on.”

My returning smile is tense. “Well, one development is I don’t want Evan dead anymore.”

He wrinkles his brow. “Is that right? Why not?”

“I’ve had a change of heart.” I avoid his dark gaze, not wanting to see his disapproval. Ultimately, I’ll do what I want, but Marco might make me second-guess my decision, and right now, I don’t want to deal with that. I just want what I want. And what I want is Evan. “I think I’d like to keep him around a while longer.”

“How’s that work?” He sounds understandably confused. “Did you find another scapegoat to take the heat off of Evan?”

I look up. “No. Everyone is still pissed at Evan.” I clear my throat. “So much so that I’ve brought him to my house for safe keeping.”

Shock washes over Marco’s rugged features. “I’m sorry, maybe my hearing was damaged in the accident. I could have sworn you just said you took Evan to your house.”

My cheeks warm, but I do my best not to show I’m embarrassed. “You heard right.”

“He’s at your house right this minute.”

“Yep.”

He watches me in silence for a bit. Being a loyal second in command, Marco doesn’t make it a habit to question my actions. But if he really believes I’m fucking up, he will say something. “Honestly, I’m kind of glad to hear it, boss.”

Surprised at his statement, I cock my head. “Really? That’s… surprising. I thought you’d completely disapprove.”

“I assume you have a good reason.” He lifts one shoulder and immediately grimaces, rubbing his shoulder. “You usually do.”

“Of course I do, but last I remember you couldn’t wait to put a bullet in his head. You were very enthusiastic.”

He nods. “Yeah. I was looking forward to ending him.” He lets out a shaky breath. “But the little son of a bitch surprised me.”

“What do you mean?” I frown.

“He didn’t abandon me when he could have.” His eyes look dark and haunted. “After the accident. I… I was trapped in the car and he stayed with me. He helped get me out of the car, and he hung around until help came.”

I raise my brows. “Evan did that?” Evan hadn’t told me any details of the accident, and the paramedics didn’t know any ofthe details. They only knew what they found at the scene of the crash.

“He did.” Marco grits his teeth. “By rights, he should have given me the bird and disappeared into the night. But the little prick stayed.”

“I just assumed he couldn’t get up the mountain without help and that was why he was still there.”

“No. He stayed by choice.” Marco admits.

“Why wouldn’t he try to run?” I mutter. “He knew what you were going to do to him. Why stay?”

“I don’t know anything about the guy, but something tells me he might be the kind of person who couldn’t do that and then live with himself.” Marco scratches his stubbly chin. “I’d probably have left him. He had to know that, but he still stayed. Weird, huh?”

“Yeah, very surprising.” I respect Evan for saving my friend, but his softness toward Marco shows he’s not built to survive in my world without protection. He obviously has horrible survival instincts.

“I mean, we didn’t hold hands and make nice, but he didn’t bolt.” Marco’s expression is grim as he shifts slightly, wincing as the movement jostles his leg. A vein in his neck twitches as he grits his teeth against the pain. “I hate to say it, but now I owe the guy one.”

“I wonder if there was some angle we’re not seeing. Some reason he didn’t abandon you.”

“I can’t think of one. Believe me, I’ve tried. I don’t want to owe that guy anything. I even told him he should leave me, buthe didn’t. I can’t see what was in it for him to stay. He risked his life trying to get me out of that car too.” Marco shudders.

“Hmm.” I’m not sure what to think about Evan’s behavior.

Marco exhales tiredly. “Anyway, because of him I may have a broken leg, but at least I’m alive.”

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