Iced
Page 43
Dude, who uses words like entrails? Or hoists?
Tell me what happened.
I fist my hands at my waist. Its none of your business and thats the beginning and end of it. Some things you can horn into. Some things you cant. Stay the fuck out of it.
He looks at me weird. You said fuck. Not feck.
Thats all you got from what I just said?
You want privacy on this. Ill give it to you. See how easy that was. If you want something, ask me for it. Youll find I can be a generous man. When you treat me right. If you ever figure out what that is.
He moves past me and heads for his office.
I cant help myself, I look back at Mac. I grin and kick myself inside for doing it but there was a time when I loved waking up every day in Dublin, different than I do now, because I knew she was there at Barrons Books & Baubles and we were going to go do something cool that day and then she baked me a birthday cake and picked me out presents and we watched movies and we fought back-to-back and I aint never had anything like that before and sometimes I feel like a homeless dog out in the rain and thunder and Im muddy and cold and Im staring in the window at the pretty collie sleeping on a doggie bed close to the fire, and theres a name on the bowl thats next to her, and I wonder what it would be like to
Gah! Get over yourself, wussy-girl. I got big-dog teeth and a big-dog bite and I know the rules: you stay inside, you get collared and spayed. I pick myself up and start to freeze-frame after Ryodan when a commotion in Macs general direction makes me stop, stay in slow-mo and glance back.
Theres a new type of Unseelie in Chesters tonight and theyre something out of a horror flick. They look like anorexic wraiths that might drift around graveyards, breaking open coffins and feeding on rotting corpses. Theyre draped in black cloaks with hoods so you cant see their faces, and they dont walk, they hover and glide just above the floor. I glimpse a flash of bone at the sleeves. In their hoods I catch a quick hint of pale, bloodless skin and something black. There are twenty or so of them in the subclub Mac and Barrons are just entering. They make me think of carrion crow that sense the coming of a storm and perch in treetops everywhere, waiting for the destruction to begin so they can swoop down on the dying and tear flesh from bone with sharp beaks. Im suddenly certain they dont have normal mouths. And equally certain Id rather never see what they do have.
They turn toward Mac like theyre a single unit or something, which is totally creepy, and begin making a chittering noise that sets every nerve in my body on edge. There are no snakes in Ireland. Not because St. Patrick banished them like folks like to tell, but because of the island and climate issues. When I was a kid I was fascinated bysnakes because Id never seen one. I took a holiday after Mom died and Ro freed me, before she started controlling me, too, and went to a bunch of museums and zoos. I saw a rattlesnake. When it moved its tail, it had the same effect on me as these hooded Unseelie when they chitter. The dry, dusty rattle elicited some kind of atavistic response in me and got me thinking maybe genetic memory really does exist and certain sounds just make you want to run like hell.
What are they? How come Ive never seen them before? Whats their unique prey? How do they feed? How can they be killed? Better yet, why are they all peeling away from Mac like she has the Unseelie version of the bubonic plague?
There are too many people on the dance floors between us. I cant get a good view. I slide sideways into fast-mo, blow past Lor and Fade guarding the stairs at the bottom, making sure I catch Lor a good one with an elbow and snicker when he grunts, then stop at the top of the stairs and look down. Much better view.
The wraiths are chittering even louder, gliding back from Mac and Barrons, but its Mac all those dark hoods are turned toward.
Interesting, Ryodan says close to my ear. You have to wonder why they cant get out of her way fast enough. Ive never seen them do that before. Ryodan doesnt like Mac. He never has. She got between him and his best boy-bud.
I give him a look. Ill tell you a secret, Ryodan. You mess with her, Barronsll kill you. I drag a finger across my neck. Just like that. You arent all that. Barronsll stomp your ass, hands down.
He smiles faintly. Ill be damned. You have a crush on Barrons.
I do not have a crush
You do, too. Its all over your face. Anybody could see it.
Sometimes, boss, youre just wrong.
Im never wrong. You might as well take out a billboard. Dani OMalley thinks Jericho Barrons is hot. My offer to teach you is still open. Save you from future embarrassment. If I can see it on your face, he can, too.
He never figured it out before, I grumble, then realize I just admitted it. Ryodan has a tricky way of wording things that makes you say things you didnt mean to say. Maybe Ill ask Barrons to teach me, I mutter, and turn away from the stairs, heading for his office. I run smack into his chest. Dude, move. Trying to get somewhere here.
No one but me is ever going to teach you, Dani.
He touches me before I see it coming, has his hand under my chin, turning my face up. My shiver is instant and uncontrollable.
Thats non-negotiable. You signed a contract with me that grants exclusivity. You wont like it if you try to break it.
Tell me what happened.
I fist my hands at my waist. Its none of your business and thats the beginning and end of it. Some things you can horn into. Some things you cant. Stay the fuck out of it.
He looks at me weird. You said fuck. Not feck.
Thats all you got from what I just said?
You want privacy on this. Ill give it to you. See how easy that was. If you want something, ask me for it. Youll find I can be a generous man. When you treat me right. If you ever figure out what that is.
He moves past me and heads for his office.
I cant help myself, I look back at Mac. I grin and kick myself inside for doing it but there was a time when I loved waking up every day in Dublin, different than I do now, because I knew she was there at Barrons Books & Baubles and we were going to go do something cool that day and then she baked me a birthday cake and picked me out presents and we watched movies and we fought back-to-back and I aint never had anything like that before and sometimes I feel like a homeless dog out in the rain and thunder and Im muddy and cold and Im staring in the window at the pretty collie sleeping on a doggie bed close to the fire, and theres a name on the bowl thats next to her, and I wonder what it would be like to
Gah! Get over yourself, wussy-girl. I got big-dog teeth and a big-dog bite and I know the rules: you stay inside, you get collared and spayed. I pick myself up and start to freeze-frame after Ryodan when a commotion in Macs general direction makes me stop, stay in slow-mo and glance back.
Theres a new type of Unseelie in Chesters tonight and theyre something out of a horror flick. They look like anorexic wraiths that might drift around graveyards, breaking open coffins and feeding on rotting corpses. Theyre draped in black cloaks with hoods so you cant see their faces, and they dont walk, they hover and glide just above the floor. I glimpse a flash of bone at the sleeves. In their hoods I catch a quick hint of pale, bloodless skin and something black. There are twenty or so of them in the subclub Mac and Barrons are just entering. They make me think of carrion crow that sense the coming of a storm and perch in treetops everywhere, waiting for the destruction to begin so they can swoop down on the dying and tear flesh from bone with sharp beaks. Im suddenly certain they dont have normal mouths. And equally certain Id rather never see what they do have.
They turn toward Mac like theyre a single unit or something, which is totally creepy, and begin making a chittering noise that sets every nerve in my body on edge. There are no snakes in Ireland. Not because St. Patrick banished them like folks like to tell, but because of the island and climate issues. When I was a kid I was fascinated bysnakes because Id never seen one. I took a holiday after Mom died and Ro freed me, before she started controlling me, too, and went to a bunch of museums and zoos. I saw a rattlesnake. When it moved its tail, it had the same effect on me as these hooded Unseelie when they chitter. The dry, dusty rattle elicited some kind of atavistic response in me and got me thinking maybe genetic memory really does exist and certain sounds just make you want to run like hell.
What are they? How come Ive never seen them before? Whats their unique prey? How do they feed? How can they be killed? Better yet, why are they all peeling away from Mac like she has the Unseelie version of the bubonic plague?
There are too many people on the dance floors between us. I cant get a good view. I slide sideways into fast-mo, blow past Lor and Fade guarding the stairs at the bottom, making sure I catch Lor a good one with an elbow and snicker when he grunts, then stop at the top of the stairs and look down. Much better view.
The wraiths are chittering even louder, gliding back from Mac and Barrons, but its Mac all those dark hoods are turned toward.
Interesting, Ryodan says close to my ear. You have to wonder why they cant get out of her way fast enough. Ive never seen them do that before. Ryodan doesnt like Mac. He never has. She got between him and his best boy-bud.
I give him a look. Ill tell you a secret, Ryodan. You mess with her, Barronsll kill you. I drag a finger across my neck. Just like that. You arent all that. Barronsll stomp your ass, hands down.
He smiles faintly. Ill be damned. You have a crush on Barrons.
I do not have a crush
You do, too. Its all over your face. Anybody could see it.
Sometimes, boss, youre just wrong.
Im never wrong. You might as well take out a billboard. Dani OMalley thinks Jericho Barrons is hot. My offer to teach you is still open. Save you from future embarrassment. If I can see it on your face, he can, too.
He never figured it out before, I grumble, then realize I just admitted it. Ryodan has a tricky way of wording things that makes you say things you didnt mean to say. Maybe Ill ask Barrons to teach me, I mutter, and turn away from the stairs, heading for his office. I run smack into his chest. Dude, move. Trying to get somewhere here.
No one but me is ever going to teach you, Dani.
He touches me before I see it coming, has his hand under my chin, turning my face up. My shiver is instant and uncontrollable.
Thats non-negotiable. You signed a contract with me that grants exclusivity. You wont like it if you try to break it.
