"It's over now. We need to concentrate on finding Caden."
"What is that God-awful smell?" Hawk asks.
"Hell if I know," I reply, "but it smells like piss."
"I need to get out of this room. I'll have the boys go through shit in here when they get here," Hawk says and rushes from the room, Emma and I close behind him.
Hawk approaches the last door and opens it. From what I can see, it opens to a stairway that leads to the basement. "What the fuck!" Hawk yells.
I don't know what's wrong until the odor coming from below hits me.Oh my God!It is so bad that it overpowers the lingering smell from the last room. Hawk closes the door and walks into the kitchen. He comes back a few seconds later with three towels. He hands them to us, then opens the door again and we proceed down the stairs.
When we get to the bottom, Hawk flips the light switch. We all stand there in horror. What we see before us is more blood and gore than I can imagine from the worst murder scene. It looks like something out of the movie Frankenstein. There is a table in the middle of the room with all types of surgical instruments scattered on it, every one of them covered in blood. A stream of blood flows to the edge of the table and drips down to a puddle below. Whatever happened here was recent. The blood is not completely dried.
In the back, a body hangs from a hook on the rafters. It's dark and shadowed so I can't make out who it is.Dear God, please don't let that be Ice,I silently plead. Hawk approaches the body, looks at it and then asks Emma to come closer. She slowly walks over to him and I know she is thinking the same thing I am. When she gets up close, Hawk asks, "Is this Mark Grayson?"
"Yes." Simultaneously, we both breathe a sigh of relief.
Hawk shakes his head in disbelief, glances back to us and says, "Ice is back."
"Hawk, no, please say that Ice didn't do this," Emma pleads.
I've heard the stories, I've heard that he can be ruthless, but can he be so twisted as to do this to another human being? I’ve known Ice for a few years now and now that I think about it, I could see him doing this—especially if he is protecting someone he loves. And he loves Emma.
"It's his signature work. Grayson has been tortured, and flames have been carved into his chest. Ice did this, I'm sure of it," Hawk confirms.
"Fuck!" I reply.
Frantic, Emma asks, "What's going on? He's alive! Why aren't you both happy about this? Mark is dead and Cade is alive!" She pauses, waiting for us to say something, and when we don't she continues, "What's going on, you two? What aren't you telling me?"
"Emma, let's go back upstairs away from this mess and wait for the boys. Then I'll try to explain," Hawk replies.
We go back upstairs and sit down at the kitchen table. Hawk starts, "Emma, there are things about Ice that you don't know. I don't believe he is the same person that you grew up with." He hesitates for a moment, then continues, "Things have happened in his past that I believe have changed him."
"Hawk, I don't mean to be rude, but I know he's changed. I know he is not the boy that I knew as a child. But really, what does all that have to do with the dead psychopath in the basement?"
"I don't think you are understanding me. I'm trying to be delicate, but I see that's not working. So, I'm just gonna lay it out for you." He pauses for a moment, looking over at me for support. I know what he's about to tell her and frankly, I'm not so sure she can handle it. "Caden—no, not Caden … Let me rephrase that. Ice is responsible for that bloodbath in the basement."
Emma shakes her head and yells, "No! No, Caden would never do that!"
"I know, you are right. Caden wouldn't have done that. But Ice would. He's done this before. I've seen this same type of handiwork before and Ice confirmed it himself that he did it."
"Are you trying to tell me that Caden—Ice, whoever—tortured Mark and murdered him?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I am telling you," Hawk replies.
"Why? Why would you think that?"
Before Hawk answers, we hear the roar of the Harley engines. The boys are here. When they come in, Hawk takes a minute to give them directions on what he wants to be done and then turns back toward Emma and says, "Where were we?"
"You were about to tell me why you think Caden is a cold-blooded killer," she states angrily. I do believe she is mad that he would make such an accusation. Well, I think our little sweet Emma is in for a rude awakening.
Hawk sighs and takes a deep breath and begins to tell Emma about the night Ace was killed.
When Hawk is done, Emma asks quietly, "That's why you call him Ice, isn't it?"
I knew the gist of what he had done, but I never knew all the details. So now I also know why they call him Ice.
Hawk nods. "Yes. It seems when those that he loves are hurt, something takes over in him and he turns cold. He becomes a predator that you don't want to mess with. You were threatened, and we all know how much he loves you. It only makes sense that he would react like that again."
