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Fisher was gasping for air, like he’d just run a marathon. And using his free hand, he clawed at the arm Justice had cinched around his waist.
“Go,” Justice told Ice.
Stepping away from Fisher, he stood indecisive until Justice snapped. “Just go, Ice.”
Fuck!
Ice didn’t have any more time to waste.
“Grit! Heel.” He sprinted up the concrete ramp to the third level. He tore out of his parking space and when he passed the spot where Justice and Fisher had been, it was empty.
Once off the freeway, he turned onto Main Street in downtown San Bernardino. It had taken an hour and twenty minutes. He’d broken a few traffic laws.
He punched in the address of the Econo lodge. Not that Echo had any money to get a room, but he said the place was busy for this time of the morning and in numbers there was safety.
Solomon had to be looking for them by now, was all Ice could think. He didn’t want a run in with Solomon until they found all the locations, or before he had a chance to tell Echo what had transpired at Dave’s house.
From the passenger seat, Grit whined.
“You’ll like him, boy,” Ice said. Parking at the lodge, he got out of the SUV and Grit jumped out of the driver’s door. Ice lifted Echo’s shirt from the backseat and held it out to Grit.
The dog nuzzled into the fabric again and then looked up at him.
Ice grinned. Grit was patient, always waiting on his command. “Seek.”
The dog took off like a rocket and Ice let out a shrill whistle to make him slow down. Grit ran in a half circle and back to him as if to say, “What’s the hold up?”
“I’m old, I can’t move as fast as you,” Ice told the dog and snapped on his leash. The few people who smiled at them had to be dog owners. Only pet owners talked to animals.
Echo had said kids. Were these little kids or big kids? He didn’t know what he was looking for, so he just kept running his gaze over every dark haired head he could find as he followed Grit and hoped the dog could locate Echo in this busy place.
At only a little over a year old, Grit was still a bit green, but he pulled on the leash and Ice went with it.
“Ice.”
Hearing Echo call his name, Ice glanced around and found the man standing next to three teenagers. Grit pulled him through the cars and across the parking lot of a big box store. Walking right up into Echo’s space, Ice didn’t hesitate to pull him into his arms.
“Is he your boyfriend?” a young voice asked and Ice pulled back enough to grin down at Echo.
“Am I?”
“Your position is going to be revoked if you have to ask that.” Echo gave him a narrowed look and Ice laughed.
“Yes, he’s my boyfriend. You can call him Ice.” Echo turned to the three others, pointing to each one. “This is Cash, Apollo, and Azrael.”
“Ice, that’s a cool name,” Azrael said.
“Minors?” Ice flicked his eyes over the three and then back to Echo.
“I’m not,” Cash said, then pointed to the twins. “They’re seventeen.”
“All right, let’s get back to my SUV and we can find a place to eat.”
“Cool. I’m starving,” Apollo said.
“Me too.” Azrael gazed at Ice with wide eyes.
The thought of Solomon making assassins out of these young boys boiled his fucking blood and Ice vowed he’d have a hand in killing the son of a bitch when he got the chance.
