“Hey, take it easy. It’s just me.”
Ice Spider. Great. Just when I think I’m headed in the right direction… “What do you want?”
“Out for a morning stroll and just happened to run into you.”
“You’re never out for a morning stroll. More like you were behind that building waiting for me.” She gestured with her chin at the tenement a few feet away.
“I figured it’s the only way I can talk to you.”
“Well, you figured wrong, Ice.” Dawn turned away from him and started walking again, faster than her usual pace.
“Where you headed?” He sped up and matched her stride. Damn him. Even with all the booze and drugs he consumed, he still had the stamina to keep up with her.
“None of your business.” She wished he would go away. She didn’t want him knowing about her volunteer work at the community center. The center probably had to deal with gangs trying to infiltrate it on a regular basis, and Dawn didn’t want to be one of those conduits.
“C’mon, Dawnie,” he cajoled. “You’re hiding something from me. You wouldn’t be working with the cops, would you?”
“Are you crazy? Why the hell would I be working with the cops? I’ve got a mom doing time for dealing.” Shit! He knows something. The question is what.
“Little Bobo said he saw you talking to a boy in blue the other day. He was running an errand in the South End. Said you looked pretty cozy.”
“I’m not cozy with anyone. Now leave me alone.” She kept walking, facing forward, not even looking at him. Hoping he would slink away.
Instead, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close, hindering her ability to swing her keys at him. “You better not be fuckin’ anyone, especially a cop,” Ice said with a leer. “You and me were real hot together once, babe. We can be that way again. We can do great things together, both in and out of the sack.”
“The only reason you slept with me was because you wanted to win a bet. Oh yeah. You didn’t know I found out about that, did you?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter how it started, babe.”
She rolled her eyes, pretending a bravado she didn’t feel. His face sported a smirk, but his grip was steel. She suddenly wished she’d taken the subway instead of walking.
“Ice, we’re done. I’m not interested in you or anyone else for that matter.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true. An image of Luca’s handsome face flashed through her mind. “I don’t know who Little Bobo saw, but he must have been mistaken. As you know by my address, I don’t associate with people in the ritzy part of town.”
“Well, just in case, I wouldn’t want you or your grandma getting into any trouble down the road.”
She managed to yank her arm out of his grip. “Don’t threaten me,” she began. “And do not threaten my grandmother. I’m still good with Carla, and she wouldn’t like hearing about this little conversation. Do you think she doesn’t know about your deals in the back of her store?”
“Carla’s in Florida,” he shot back. “She might not return until spring.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she countered. “Ever hear of cell phones?”
Ice’s lips thinned as he stepped back. He held his hands up in a gesture of innocence. Yeah, like anything Ice Spider ever did was innocent. “I’m just trying to look out for you, babe.”
“Don’t bother, okay? And don’t threaten me or my grandma again. Carla would be royally pissed if she knew.” That was true. Carla owed Annette her life. Annette had hidden her when Carla’s husband had beaten the shit out of her. She’d managed to get away from him, and Annette had taken her in and called the cops.
Dawn’s mother had been only thirteen when it happened. Carla’s husband had been stinking, reeling drunk at the time and got into a fight with the officers who showed up at their house a few doors down. He had pulled a knife and lunged at one of the cops, and the other officer had shot him in the chest. Carla had lived with Annette and Elise for the next few months until she got back on her feet.
Carla’s job at Keene Street Convenience resulted in her marrying the owner a year later. He was twice her age, but he was good to her. She had inherited the store and the building after he died, but she had never forgotten what Annette had done. Even though the years had toughened Carla, she was still good to Annette and sent her a gift basket every Christmas with a one-hundred-dollar bill slipped into a candy tin. Annette had saved it up over the years, not telling Dawn’s mother about the money. It had helped Dawn pay for her clothes and shoes. Dawn’s mother would have squandered it on drugs.
“Easy, Dawn. We’re cool.” Ice smiled and added, “Let’s pretend we didn’t bump into each other.”
“I have a better idea,” Dawn shot back. “Let’s pretend we don’t know each other.”
She turned and walked briskly toward the subway entrance a block down the street. She didn’t want him to keep following her and find out where she was headed, so she decided to take the subway a stop past the community center and then walk back.
So much for a peaceful morning walk.
* * *
