Page 71 of Ice Cold Christmas
Blood was everywhere. And the kid wasn’t speaking. Was barely breathing.
Or…
Not breathing at all. Time trickled past.
Other hands appeared. Some tried to push Victor away. Some grabbed for the kid. The kid who hadn’t spoken. The kid who’d tried to kill Melody right in front of him. That hadn’t been a robbery. The knife had flown straight for her, and if she hadn’t slipped on the icy ground…
Dammit, dammit! He’d sworn to keep her safe, and she’d almost been killed right in front of him.
“EMT! Coming through, coming through!”
Victor and Melody were hauled back even as others crowded around the injured perp. Victor didn’t know how long he’d been trying to stop that terrible blood flow. He rose to his feet. Stared at his hands.
So much blood.
“The perp never made it to the hospital.”
They were back in the station. Same damn interrogation room. Victor would have preferred never to see that room again. He also would have preferred for the kid to have survived. He wouldn’t get answers from a dead body.
Angus heaved out a breath. Lines of weariness bracketed his mouth. “Perp probably thought it would be an easy mugging. Saw the BMW. Planned his attack.”
“No.” Just that. Victor didn’t say more.
He stood beside Melody as she sat in the chair at the little table. She hadn’t spoken much. Hell, she’d just watched a man die in front of her. She’d nearly died. And, of course, all of those fun events had happened after the detective revealed that Victor had nearly killed a man at the tender age of sixteen.
Yeah, I’m guilty. Did the crime. Would do it all over again if I had to do it. Because the sonofabitch had deserved it.
Was he a vengeful bastard?
Only…always.
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Angus sighed. “Look, I knew that guy, okay? He was one of our frequent flyers at the station.” A rough exhale. “Benny Turner. A twenty-year-old kid. His rap sheet stretched for days. Hell, Benny had been in trouble since he was thirteen. His mom died. His dad ran off. His grandparents kicked him out because they couldn’t control him. He bounced around more foster homes than I can count.”
Victor stiffened.
“Kid got involved with gangs. Then got hooked on drugs. The guy was always looking for a quick score. Pretty sure he was in holding earlier this week.” His voice thickened. “Like I said, he was a frequent flyer here. Kid was in and out of this place all the time. Revolving damn door with him. Such a fucking wasted life.” Angus rolled back his shoulders.
“Why didn’t he just stop?” Melody’s soft voice.
Victor slanted a glance her way. She’d been far too quiet. He had the feeling she was holding onto her control by a thread. Seeing that accident—shit. Same thing happened to you, didn’t it, baby? No wonder she was so pale. So tense.
The van had plowed into Benny Turner. He’d gone flying, only to land, broken, near the vehicle.
Tear tracks had dried on Melody’s cheeks.
“He should have stopped,” Angus muttered, drawing Victor’s attention back. “The ME will perform a full exam. My money says the kid was sky high.”
“No.” Again, that was all Victor said.
Angus glared at him. “That really all you’ve got to say? Don’t you want to elaborate?”
He’d made arrangements for the limo to pick him up—him and Melody. He’d already changed clothes. His driver-slash-guard had brought in fresh clothing for him. The blood-stained items had been taken in as evidence.
He’d planned to keep guards on Melody. But they’d only been back in town for such a short time. He’d thought she was safe with him, that they wouldn’t need the guards until the next morning and yet…
I was fucking wrong. “Benny had a target.” Bounced around more foster homes than I can count. Like that shit wasn’t too familiar. The cop might as well have been talking about Victor’s life. “He slashed our tires so we couldn’t escape. He waited for us to come out of the station.” Which begged the question…how had Benny known they were there? “And he didn’t attack me first, even though I was the bigger threat. My back was turned while I was looking at the car. He had the perfect opportunity to stab me in the back.”
Melody sucked in a sharp breath.
