Page 123 of Hot As Ice

“Made good time, bro,” I say, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Anything for you, Cap.” He nods toward the bedroom. “What’re we dealing with here?”

I lead him inside Stevie’s bedroom and shut the door. “We’re dealing with trash that needs throwing away.”

Joe struggles to get up to a sitting position, and promptly falls back down. I rip off the duct tape again. “Fuck you!” he shouts. “You’re not gonna do shit to me. My brother’s a cop. He’ll know where I am. He’ll know how to find me. Let me go and I won’t press charges.”

Ryder and I share a look. “Press charges?” I echo. “Against me? My father can buy and sell your entire family. If you want to keep your family safe, I recommend disappearing into the fucking void, willingly.”

Ryder grins, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Listen to the captain, bro, he’s giving you the easiest way out. If it was up to me, I’d find everyone you care about and torture them while you watch.”

“Fuck! You!” Joe thrashes around so hard I think he might dislocate a shoulder.

I turn to Ryder. “You got the stuff?”

His eyes twinkle. “Of course, I do.” He takes out a bottle of chloroform and a strip of gauze, dousing the latter with the former. He stalks toward Joe and pulls his head back, slamming the medicated strip of gauze onto his nose and mouth. Joe struggles for a while, then goes limp.

Ryder discards the gauze in a small plastic bag. He has the most diabolical grin on his face when he looks at me. “Man, I did not know I’d be starting off the new year with such a bang.” He enfolds me in a tight hug. “I love you.”

I clap him on the back. “I’m not trying to fan the flames of your bloodthirstiness, but this asshole’s gotta go.”

“Of course, he fucking does. What’s the plan?”

“First, we shove this piece of shit into the trunk of my car.”

Ryder nods, adding, “Then we drive him out to the woods.”

“I want to leave him tied up and bury him alive.”

Ryder’s eyebrows climb halfway up his forehead. “Holy shit. A man after my own heart.”

“That’s what I want to do, but not what might be possible. It’s been getting colder and colder. It’ll be hard to dig into the frozen ground. Maybe even impossible.”

“Nah,” Ryder says, eyes sparkling with malice. “I have some holes dug up in random places.”

When I quirk a brow, he shrugs. “What? You gotta be prepared.”

“How many people did you have planned for an early grave?”

He puts a hand over his heart, and solemnly says. “I haven’t killed a single person this year.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, no shit. It’s the first day of the new year.”

“You gotta begin as you mean to go on.”

I give him a look. “Where the hell did you hear that?”

“I don’t know. Oprah?”

I shake my head, holding back a laugh. “Soon as Jamie gets here, we’ll set the plan into motion.”

As soon as I say those words, there’s a knock on the front door. I let Jamie in, giving him a one-armed hug. I hope he’s ready for what he’s about to see. Jamie doesn’t get his hands dirty if he can help it. He’s the most stable and even keeled of the three of us.

He walks into Stevie’s bedroom and lets out a low whistle. “Well, what do we have here?”

“Ryder and I will take care of this douchebag. I need you to stay with Stevie. She’s asleep in the living room. When she wakes up, can you assure her everything is fine and then take her to my place?”

“Of course, Cap. Whatever you need, I’m here.”