The smoke stopped and Ice released the gasping guard, letting him fall limply to the floor.
Ice stared into the camera without expression. “Try that again, and next time, it’s the woman.”
Chapter 7
“Come here.”
Grace rose unsteadily to her feet. She had been sitting so long she was stiff. She had been trying to get comfortable for the last hour, and she must have dozed off while sitting up because she hadn’t heard Ice approach. She hadn’t looked at him since he had threatened to kill her. He took her arm and led her to the back of the room.
She didn’t know what she was staring at. Several chairs had been placed in a row with others turned over, sitting on top. A long, blue mat had been laid on the floor.
“Lay down,” Ice ordered, breaking into her confusion. That woke her up quickly.
She jerked away from his restraining hold, but he jerked her back toward him until her breasts were pressed flat against his chest.
“I have to get a couple of hours’ sleep. My men are going to keep watch. Now, lie down.”
His hard voice brought frightened tears to her eyes, but she lay down on the thin mat next to the wall. Lying down next to her, Ice placed his arm over his eyes. “Go to sleep.”
She didn’t know how he expected her to go to sleep with him lying next to her. She lay there rigidly, listening to his breathing slow down, staring at the ceiling as she thought about her parents and brother.
“Go to sleep.”
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“I can’t.” Her voice trembled, despite trying to clear her throat several times.
“Fuck.” Ice rolled over, taking her in his arms and pillowing her head on his shoulder. “I’m not going to touch you; I prefer women begging me to fuck them not cringing in fear.” His low voice comforted her, even though his words were crude and he was the one responsible for her being trapped inside the prison.
Grace, unable to control her fears any longer, let her tears escape. Her body shook as she cried. Ice pulled her closer, soothing her by running a hand up and down her back until the storm had passed and she lay quietly exhausted next to him.
“Better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
She felt his chest shake against her.
She raised her head, looking questioningly at him. “What’s so funny?”
“You are. You’ve kept it cool all day.”
“I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone.”
“But it’s okay to cry in front of me?” Grace felt the sudden tension between them at his question.
She pulled away slightly, relaxing her head back on his shoulder. “I trust you,” she admitted softly.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because of Church, and because you gave me that note telling me to stay away. You tried to warn me, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“I should have listened.” Regret filled her voice.
“Yes, you should have, but it’s too late now.”
“I know. My family will be worried sick.”
“They’ll get through this, and you will, too. If you let me get some sleep.” Ice took his arm away, rolling over to give her his back.
“I’m going to hold you to that promise.” She stared at the tattoo on his back, Predators was inked in bold letters with a large Grim Reaper underneath. Grace wasn’t reassured by his promise.
“You do that.”
Grace closed her eyes. This time, she managed to fall asleep.
Sometime later, she woke when a tiny flicker of sunlight shown on her face. Sitting up on the matt, she heard the men talking and moving around the room. She got to her feet, coming from behind the barrier to see Max and Jackal were both standing nearby.
“I need to use the restroom.” Jackal turned his head.
Ice, who was talking to Fade, broke away and came to her.
“She needs to go to the restroom,” Jackal told him.
“Okay.” While Ice walked across the room with her, she felt the prisoners’ eyes on her with greater intensity this morning.
She paused before going into the restroom. “Did something happen while I was sleeping?”
“No. Why?” Ice’s voice was curt.
“The men are all staring at me.”
Ice surveyed her critically. “Your hair came loose while you slept, and you took off your jacket. You look like you’ve just been fucked. The men haven’t had a woman in a long time, so they’re going to stare. As long as they don’t touch, you shouldn’t have a problem with it.”
Grace went inside the restroom, shutting the door. She had a problem with it. She learned a long time ago men eventually grew tired of just looking. Women could look at something they wanted and dream about it, work for it, and save for countless days to have it. Men wanted things immediately. If they couldn’t buy it, they would borrow, bribe, or bargain for what they wanted. Eventually, they would grow tired and try to take it. That was what Grace feared the most.