The Devil's Debt

Closer

I wake up in my bed and I pick up my phone to check the time. It's almost 6 a.m. I should get up now.

I get up and I put on some clothes, doing my hair and some light makeup before grabbing my phone and the keys. I walk downstairs quietly so I don't wake Milo and Carter up.

"Ice? You down here?" I whisper a little loudly.

"Yeah. Kitchen." he says back.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah. We can go."

He walks out behind me and I get in the drivers seat to start the car and start the drive to the base.

Ice looks over to me.

"How is he?" he asks.

"He's good. I'm trying to do my best and take his place for now, but I feel like I'm doing horribly at it." I say, sighing and shaking my head.

"No you're not. Ky would be proud."

"Yeah, well, these past three months have been hard. I'm just trying to take it day by day at this point. The doctors keep giving me false hope and it's pissing me off."

"Just hang in there. I know everything'll turn out right in due time." he says, giving me a smile.

I smile back and we continue the drive.

Me and Ice have been getting closer since Ky went into his coma. Me, Milo, and Carter have always been close, but it was always Ice who was distant with me. Now we're closer than ever. Like best friends.

We pull up to the base and Ice gets out as I turn off the car, then I open my door to step out. When the door closes, I lock the doors and we begin walking inside, side by side.

The first person that runs up to me is Kelsey. She used to be Ky's assistant, but for the time being, she's mine.

"Welcome, Boss." she says.

"Where's Tink." I ask.

"She's in your office. She's been waiting on you."

"Inform her that I'll be up in a minute."

"Yes ma'am."

"While you're at it, check security."

"On it."

She scurries away while talking on her walkie-talkie.

"Ms. Bancroft." someone else says, walking up next to me. "You have contracts and papers to sign for the alliance with the Carter's."

"Put them in my office, I'll go over them later."

"Ma'am, this alliance is important, the bond runs extremely deep with them, you must-"

"Who's in charge here?" I say, giving him a lethal glare. "I said I'll go over it later and I'll get them signed. Speak out of turn again and you'll regret it. Now could you get those papers on my desk or not?"

"Yes ma'am." he says, running over to the elevator.

"Wow. That was very... bossy of you." Ice says, chuckling.

"I am the boss now, right?" I say with a smile.

I walk into the training room and everyone's training. I can see Ryan looking at me from across the room. When he notices I'm looking back, he's turns around quickly and I roll my eyes.

He's been flirting with me for the past three weeks, reason, obviously, being because Kyzer isn't here to stop him. But he won't do it when Ice is around me because he knows that Kyzer and Ice are close.

I start to take of my jacket and pull up my hair and Ice looks over to me and raises an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"You know boxing's my thing." I say, smiling back at him. "Come on." I say, walking to the ring.

"What?"

"You're gonna box me. Put your big boy gloves on, Ice." I say, laughing.

"You're so on." he says, taking his shirt off and putting on his gloves.

We get inside the ring and I stretch as Ice does the same. When we're ready, I look over to Ice with a smirk.

"Ready?" I say.

"One..." he starts.

"Two..."

"Three..."

"Go." I say before circling the ring.

He does the same and after a moment, I charge and I go in for a punch, but he moves out of the way and dodges it. He comes at me and punches, but I put my arm next to my head and I stop him short.

He tries the other hand, but I do the same, then I raise my foot to kick him back.

He stumbles back and smirks at me before bouncing back and trying again, throwing punches left and right. I catch his head in a headlock and he struggles from my grip.

"There's no way you're pinning me." he says with a smile.

"For five seconds? Don't be so sure." I say back.

He flips me and I hit the ground of the ring as his knee rests against my stomach. I push his knee off me and he falls on top of me before I flip him over to pin him down with my hand on his chest and my knee on his stomach.

Before I know it, five seconds pass and the bell rings.

I realize that I still have him pinned so I scurry off of him, getting up and taking off my gloves, chuckling awkwardly.

"Nice." Ice says, giving me a fist bump.

"Thanks. Just don't hold back next time. You could've won if you hadn't."

"Just some friendly boxing, Is. We had fun."

"Yeah.... yeah we did."

We give each other a smile and we start to walk upstairs, drinking waters we got from a cooler. We go upstairs to my office where Tink is waiting, and Ice stands against the wall and I hop onto my desk as Tink begins to speak.

"Finally. What took so long?" she says

"Me and Ice had a boxing match, that's all." I say.

"Okay, well, it's nothing urgent. I mean, it kind of is, but whatever. So, you've got a bounty to hunt. He's a runaway." she says.

"How much?" I ask.

"Two M's."

"That's a shit ton of money." Ice says.

"Where do I find him?"

"Saint Jonas's. That's where he usually hangs out with some of his gang."

"Cool. Let's go Ice."

"Wait. Before you go, there's someone you should probably know about." she says.

"Who?" I say.

"Her name is Nyla. She's Ky's... ex wife." she says.

"His.. his what?" I say.

"Oh shit." Ice says, palming his face.

"He's got an ex wife. They split up six years ago. I don't have time to discuss everything and it's not my business to tell, but just look out. She's killer. And I mean... killer."

I look at Tink, then I shrug.

"Okay. Come on, Ice."