Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2016 05:37:11 -0500
From: Kody Boye <boyekody@gmail.com>
Subject: His Touch of Ice - Part 56

DISCLAIMER:

This is a work of fiction, and contains scenes of graphic violence and
explicit male/male sex. If you are not of the legal age to read this, or
are uncomfortable with this sort of content, please turn back now.

HIS TOUCH OF ICE (The Ice Men, Book 1) is copyright © Kody Boye. All
Rights are reserved.

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The night passed fitfully. Filled with sorrow, anger, regret, anxiety over
the days and weeks to come, I tossed throughout and eventually succumbed to
the sweet nothings of the alcohol cabinet. I certainly drank my weight in
the stuff, and would've continued, had my body allowed. Instead, my
early-morning indulgence ended with my head in the toilet, which promptly
resulted in a much-needed and shameful return to bed.

I couldn't remember much when I dragged myself out of bed the next
morning. Though the hangover was a blight upon my awareness, I thought of
only one thing as I sauntered into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of
water.

Guy.

The task would be enormous. So shrouded in mystery were the Kaldr that
there appeared no outright indication of where their people might go. The
phrase `mountain men' had come up in last night's conversation, but even
then, that could hold no bearing on Texas geography. It'd been referenced
in regards to European lineage, not something that would relate to the
Americas, or even Texas. There were no mountains here.

Unless—

I shook my head.

No.

I couldn't bear to think that.

Guy wouldn't have left the state just to protect me—or would he?

I swallowed down my first glass of water and tried to see through the
hopelessness of the situation. The looking glass was marred—flecked with
illusions of promise that came in the form of excruciating sensitivity to
light. To think that I could even begin to gleam any amount of information
today was nearly impossible.

I closed my eyes at first to shield them from the light, then I realized to
fight the urge to cry.

"Come on," I whispered, the sound of my own voice enough to drive needles
in my eyes. "You can do this. You know you can."

Could I? The headache was enormous. If I did anything now, I might miss
something. But if I went and laid down...

No.

I couldn't afford to waste time.

Taking hold of the water and bottle of painkillers, I stalked through the
hall and into Guy's study.

On a leaflet of paper from a tiered shelf behind his desk, I began to make
a list of everything necessary for my departure from the Kaldr ranch. They
ranged from clothes, to nonperishable foods, a casual form of disguise and,
of course, something to protect myself with. That didn't inlcude a car,
which I knew I wasn't going to get—unless I happened to steal one, in
which case I could instantly kiss my credibility with the Kaldr goodbye.

Then again, wouldn't leaving automatically exonerate me of their trust?

Sighing, I shook my head and continued to tack down everything I could
possibly think of. When my brain had run dry, I leaned back in Guy's office
chair and took a deep breath, eyes instantaneously drawn to the
triangle-like symbol cast in fine silver over his desk.

In all the time I'd spent with Guy, he'd mentioned little about his
personal life. Nothing about friends, not a word about past boyfriends or
lovers—not even the name of the place he worked. While some information
would have been easily accessible with an internet connection, I was lost
in that aspect. As such, there was very little I could actually go upon.

A brief glance through file cabinets and personal documents showed nothing
more than forged implications of Guy's life.

It was sad.

He'd never got a chance to be a real person.

"Until he met me," I mumbled.

Defeated, I settled down in the middle of the office and stared at all of
Guy's things.

It wasn't hard to realize that, in some people's eyes, I had become one of
them.

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If you enjoyed this installment of HIS TOUCH OF ICE, consider emailing the
author with your thoughts or donating to him via Paypal at
boyekody@gmail.com. You can also download the novel for free on Smashwords,
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www.kodyboye.com.