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My scowl is immediate. I feel Jola squeeze my hand. I don’t respond.
“She stumbled and hit her face hard on the cabinet. Before I could grab her, she slipped and fell, straining her wrist,” Ice answers in a calm voice, keeping his gaze on me.
“Why are you training her to fight? I didn’t order that,” I retort.
“I saw Amrit in my sleep. He said Lexi, ‘you need to train, the fight isn’t over,’” Lexi answers. My eyes fly to her remorseful face. “I begged Ice to train me. I don’t want to be a damsel in distress or a sitting duck if something happens. Amrit taught me to always fight back. I wanted to keep learning.”
I relax at her words.
The anger in me dissipates. I gently touch her face. She’s right. I pull her to me and kiss her forehead.
“Okay, Sprinkles. We’ll work out a better way to do it safely.”
She nods.
I turn a stoic face to Ice. “Why didn’t you answer your phone? I called you several times,” I ask.
He looks shocked and digs into his pants to retrieve his phone, seeing the missed calls. His gaze, wide and unblinking, settles on Jola. She shrinks under his intense look and tries to hide behind me.
“Sorry, you were not listening to me when I asked you to check on Bruce. Then Tricia called and you were too happy and ignored my request. So, I turned it off when you weren’t looking. If I can’t talk to him, then you can’t talk to her.” She keeps her eyes low. Even she knows her action was childish. Ice’s gaze is intense, his expression a mix of shock and bewilderment.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.
Ice is upset; I can tell. “I can’t contact him, I could endanger him,” he says through clenched teeth. She squeezes my hand.
“She won’t do it again,” I say to Ice and signal for him to chill.
He huffs and walks into his living room. I notice the room is now redecorated. I turn to Ice.
“I had to keep her busy, she was driving me crazy. Either I let her redecorate or I lose my mind.” He lets out a frustrated groan.
“What happened to the puzzles?”
“Turns out puzzling can’t keep her mind occupied when she’s worried about you,” he says, gritting his teeth.
I smile inward.
“I’m sorry, Bash,” she says, sounding contrite.
She takes his hand and he looks at her.
“I’m sorry, Bashy.” A smile tugs at the side of his lips.
“Get out of here and don’t do it again.”
She immediately hugs him.
“Thank you! Thank you!” She leaves him and returns to my side.
“Thank God you are back,” he says to me. “Please, take her away, and I get to sleep in my bed tonight.” He sounds exhausted.
Jola giggles. Ice and I have some talking to do. How close did they get when I wasn’t around? We leave his unit and head up the stairs.
She’s holding me tight and not letting go as we return to my unit.
“When did Ice tell you his real name?” I ask on our way.
I happen to know. His real name isn’t something he shares. So, how did she get it out of him?
