Page 3 of Iced Out

“We’re coming,” Clint said, his words grinding against one another. He thrust the phone back to Axel and rushed to dress.

“Wait there,” Axel told Luke. “We’ll be there in just a few minutes.” He reluctantly ended the call and grabbed his shirt. Neither he nor Clint spoke as they left the bedroom.

The back door banged open as they reached the kitchen. Cochise stepped inside, and the air in the room seemed to compress around him. “Tae—”

“We just got the call from Luke,” Clint said, breath quick. “Let’s go.”

The three of them moved as one body out the door and into Cochise’s SUV. The park was barely a breath away in their quiet neighborhood, the tires barely having time to hum against asphalt before they were screeching to a halt at the curb.

“Dad!” Luke ran to Clint, throwing himself into the cowboy’s arms, crying. “They took him… we tried to stop them… but they wouldn’t let him go!”

Cochise went to Ash and hugged him, checking his scuffed face. “Did they head back toward the city?”

Ash nodded, tears streaming. “I-I got them on video.”

“Their faces?”

“Yes… Kind of. They were wearing masks. And… And the car they were driving.” He showed his phone to Cochise.

“How long ago did they leave?” Cochise asked.

“Ten or fifteen minutes,” Ash said. “Right before I called.”

Cochise showed the video to Clint, who dug out his phone and made a call. “Cruz? I need your help now.” He quickly explained the situation. “Head out this way. Bring two or three cars. I’m sending you a video. If you see the car in the video—a black Dodge Durango—stop it. Do not let it get past you. Be advised, Cochise’s son is inside, so don’t ram it.” When he hung up, Clint nodded at Axel. “Take the boys home.”

“What’s gonna happen to Tae?” Luke sobbed.

“Nothing,” Cochise replied, his words chilled. “We’ll get him back.” He looked at Ash, then hugged him again. “That’s a promise.”

“Go,” Clint told Axel as he and Cochise headed back to the SUV. “Get them home and stay there.”

The SUV’s door slammed shut, sealing them in. Cochise threw the vehicle into drive before Clint had even fully pulled his door closed. The tires bit into the pavement, and they surged forward, leaving the park and the boys behind in a wake of grim silence.

Axel motioned to the two boys. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home.”

“We were so scared,” Ash whispered. “We didn’t know what to do.”

“Recording them was the best thing to do. Maybe their faces were covered, but we know what kind of car they’re driving. Clint and Cochise will find them and bring Tae home.”

“Were they cops?” Luke asked with a note of fear.

“Something like that,” Axel mumbled, his blood boiling. Or rather, the Gestapo.

You fuckers just made the worst and last mistake of your lives.

Axel felt not a shred of pity for what would become of the men who abducted Tae.

They fucked around one too many times—now they were about to find out.

CHAPTER 2

The two men yanked off their cloth face masks as soon as they hit the highway headed for the city. The one in the passenger seat—husky build, a crew cut, and a wannabe beard—looked into the backseat, where Tae sat trembling, tears running down his face, hands cuffed tightly behind his back, the hard steel cutting into his wrists. Blood dripped from his bruised nose onto his T-shirt, from the driver elbowing him in the face when he tried to get out of the car before they closed the door.

The man grinned, flashing a full mouth of teeth. It wasn’t friendly. “Caught us a gook this time.” He glanced at the driver. “We got lucky. Usually it’s just filthy spics or ragheads. This little fucker puts us ahead. Bet none of the others snagged themselves a gook.”

We got lucky. When it was all said and done, Tae didn’t think they would be feeling too lucky. His dad would hunt them down. And Clint, too.

But how long would it take them to find him?