Diamonds and Ice

Where is he!? He should have been here hours ago! In his private hotel room, I pace the floor. Like a caged lion, I’m stuck within the borders of the Persian rug, but even without the bars to hold me in I can’t escape this. Only Liam’s arrival can do that. But the sun has beaten him to it. A long red line at the bottom of the horizon begins to burn, marking a new day’s time.

Still, no Liam. And there is still so much to do, so much to prepare for his meeting with Liland’s mayor, but better late than never. At last, the door opens, slowly. At last, I’m free. With the winter wind’s bites still fresh on his cheeks, Liam leans against the doorway.

“Liam! Where have you been?!” my arms come flying, ready to collect his debt for an explanation.

“Victoria...,” he chokes on my name. Moving forward seems like an even greater challenge for him. His feet drag on as if the weight of the world is shackled around his ankles.

“What’s wrong?” my eyes shift for clues, but the answer becomes self-evident when I notice the red imprint he leaves behind. Whatever he tries to hide under that dark wool coat is soaking through.

“Liam!” a terrible realization hits me like a train. Somehow, our plans for Liland went completely off the rails. “What happened?” I leap to his aid.

“Close the door,” he grunts.

As soon as the door lock clicks, I run back to Liam.

“Let me see,” carefully, I peel the coat off him.

A soft cry trembles in his throat. Seeing the gunshot wound on his back, oozing blood makes me want to cry too, but Liam needs me. For his sake, I must keep it together and either think of a solution or be the solution.

“Liam, you need a doctor,” this is obviously the only way to face this.

“No. There’s no way I’m seeing a doctor. They’ll be looking for someone in my condition and I can’t risk of having my name put on their list of suspects.”

“Who’s did this? Who’s was looking for you out there?” not having the slightest idea what I should do, my hesitant hands hover over the hole in his back.

“Victoria, I’ll tell you all about my unfortunate night, but I must have you do something for me first.”

“What do you need?”

“Get the tweezers and towels out of the bathroom. I need you to get the bullet out.”

Now we are both pale in the face.

“What? No! I can’t do this, Liam.”

“I can’t reach it myself. I need you,” the struggle grows in his voice.

Knowing that there isn’t much time, I agree and before even realizing it, my hands are digging a tool into his back. Trying to cope with this responsibility that I’m clearly not qualified for, my mind drifts in and out of my body. At times it feels like I’m only watching someone who looks like me find the bullet and then stitch up the torn flesh with a sewing needle. I shake my head in disbelief as I watch my hands perform this surgery. Somehow, Liam finds the strengths to sit still and let me figure out how to dress the wound. Either way, it doesn’t seem like he has much of a choice but push through each time the needle pierces through the skin.

Using a pair of scissors, I trim the thread and tie the ends. “All done.”

“Thank you, but we’re not done yet. I’ll need help getting dressed.”

I glance back at his freshly cleaned and pressed suit for the meeting. “Liam, no way. You need to rest.”

“It will raise assumptions and we can’t afford to do anything sudden right now.”

“You won’t go to the doctor because you’re afraid of some rumor, fine. But, Liam this meeting can be easily rescheduled,” I try to talk some sense into him.

“I don’t think you understand. Your friend will be watching and waiting for anyone in this town who might call in sick from work, or go to the clinic, or throw a piece of bandage into the trash, or...”

“Okay, I get it and those hunters are not my friends,” I throw a dirty look at him.

“One of them are. A boy. Your family's neighbor. I recognize him.”

“Mika,” the name escapes under my breath.

Feeling betrayed, I lower my head. There’s no excuse I can think on his behalf. Despite how he feels about wolves, he had no problem of making promises and broke them just as easy. With me being out of town, I bet he thought he would get away with his lies.

“He’s no friend of mine,” with a heavy heart, I make the decision. Lord, give me the strength to stick with it. “I’m sorry he did this to you,” it’s pathetic, but an apology is all I have to offer. “Is the rest of the pack okay?”

“Oh yes, they are fine. I covered their trail and made sure that he would follow only me.”

“Okay. Are you sure you want to do this? If they see any blood on...”

“Well, let’s put an extra cloth on the wound. That all we can do. We must proceed as if nothing has happened."

It does seem like the best option if we are to go through this. In great haste, I assist Liam with getting dressed and with the help of a single glass of whiskey he finds it tolerable to put on a brave face. I too, secretly seek help from the spirit in the bottle. After pulling off dressing a gun wound on my boss’s back right before an important political meeting, how could I not and once I return from this trip, Mika will have hell to pay for the turmoil he put me through.

Until then, we both have a show to put on. Thanks to Liam’s acting skill Liland’s mayor and his staff don’t suspect a thing. I on the other hand, am sweating like a pig. Luckily, Liam is quick thinking and asks everyone to excuse my nervous behavior since this is my first time aiding a major committee. While he works his natural charm, I watch his back like a hawk the entire time, making sure to sign of blood becomes visible.