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“Shit,” Ice muttered and slowly dressed. He’d lost his rifle in the water when the blast knocked him off the boat. Good thing the serial number was filed off and nothing could trace it back to him. He picked up the little dagger that Echo had thrown at him onboard the yacht and tucked it away.
He’d keep it as a memento.
Two months later…October 2023
The next time Ice located Echo, he didn’t approach the assassin.
He had been sent to find Echo for a reason and he didn’t want the man running like he had that night on the beach. When he recalled that night, he could still feel Echo’s hips in his hands and remembered the wild look of pleasure on his face. His chest grew tight, and he wondered how much longer Echo would evade him.
Shaking off his infatuation that bordered on fixation, he turned his thoughts to Solomon’s request.
From where Ice sat hidden between a retaining wall and an industrial trash can, he had a clear view of the wharf below. The shoreline just off the Washington State coast was deserted and dark. Two men walked down the wooden boards and approached a bobbing skiff.
Ice followed them with his eye to the scope of his rifle.
Somehow, he needed to get close enough to Echo to call off the hit. Maybe if he put a bullet close to the assassin, he’d get the idea that he wasn’t alone. Ice squeezed the trigger and sent the bullet cleaving into the wood right next to where he knew the assassin was standing.
Like water, Echo melted away.
The man disappeared so completely, Ice couldn’t see him.
Grit whined and Ice rubbed at the top of the dog’s head. “Don’t worry, boy, he’ll find me.” Ice knew that as sure as he knew his own name Echo would be there very soon. Ice quickly broke down his rifle and tucked it away, then he put his back to the wall and waited.
The conversation he’d had with Solomon weighed heavy on his mind.
The hit had been all kinds of wrong and he’d gone to Wrath when shit didn’t add up.
“This is fucked up,” Wrath muttered, looking at the encrypted website that kept their info plus a list of open and closed jobs. “You need to take this to Solomon.”
Ice had been close to the office, so he’d gone straight there.
Solomon had given an annoyed look.
“Just check it,” Ice said.
With a scowl, Solomon turned to his laptop, and Ice waited patiently. He moved to make a pot of coffee on the table that sat against one wall just inside Solomon’s large office.
Several minutes later, Solomon made a sound of disgust. “You’re right. This doesn’t look legit.”
“Whose hit is it?” Ice had asked, pouring a cup of coffee before the pot could finish brewing. He sipped at the hot brew and eyed his boss.
“Echo’s.”
“What did he say?” Ice leaned forward.
“He’s gone dark. Not responding to my emails or texts to the burner. I don’t suppose you want to go to the hit site and tell him to wait until I double-check things?”
“Yeah. I’ll handle it.”
Solomon squinted at him. “Just tell him to call me.”
Ice placed his half-empty cup on the table and walked out.
Tipping his head to listen, Ice waited for Echo to show up. There wasn’t any sound of footsteps approaching, nor even a shifting of the air. There was nothing save the waves from the ocean and a few boats knocking against the dock. Yet, Ice instantly knew he was no longer alone when Grit suddenly stood from sitting. Dog’s hearing was great that way. Even at nine months old, Grit was poised and still, laser focused on something in the dark. It showed that the guard and tactical training Ice had been doing with Grit over the past few months had paid off.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Echo snarled, stepping out from the shadows.
“Solomon sent me. The hit has been canceled.” Like hell he’d tell Echo to call Solomon. Their boss rubbed him the wrong way for some reason.
