Page 21 of Agony

He wouldn’t make the same mistake of not taking his nine-millimeter with its silencer twisted on.

Leaving his apartment, he hit the streets and caught an Uber several blocks away.

He normally went out every night searching, but tonight he had something else to do.

He glanced at the text from Mouse he’d received just after his shower at Justice’s place.

He felt guilty that he hadn’t said something before he left, but he couldn’t because he knew Justice would insist on coming with him.

Right then, he had to do this alone.

Mouse was in trouble and needed his help.

And when it came to Mouse and Beck, Fisher would do everything in his power to help. He wondered where the pair of teenagers had holed up and what kind of life they had. Had they stayed one step ahead of Blue?

He dialed the number Mouse had sent the text from.

“Fisher?” the teenager answered on the first ring.

“How’d you get my number?”

“From Kit,” Mouse responded.

Fisher snorted at the name, but smiled. Everybody in their circle knew Kit. Something sounded off in the boy’s voice, but he chalked that up to nerves.

“Where are you?”

“I’m hanging at the Back Door bar.”

“You’re underage.”

“They don’t care.”

“Stay put, I’ll be right there.”

The Back Door bar sat in a crime-riddled area of downtown Glendale and not far from Wrath’s apartment. Fisher briefly thought about dropping in and paying the assassin a visit after he met with Mouse, but he wasn’t sure if he’d have time.

What he needed to do was get Mouse and Beck away from running and hiding on the streets and into a safe place.

His only problem had been that he couldn’t locate them.

Until now.

Shoving open the outer door of the bar, he entered the small inner room and shoved open the door that would take him inside of the dark interior. He fucking hated that it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust, so he stood still until that happened.

Spotting Mouse waving from a table near the back of the semi-crowded place, Fisher took in every single face as he made his way to the table. He slid into the chair against the wall so he sat next to Mouse instead of across from him.

When Mouse launched closer and hugged him, Fisher gripped the boy tight.

“Why don’t you sit there,” Mouse gestured at the vacant chair opposite.

“It’s a habit,” Fisher said, drawing back and ordering a beer from the bartender when she came around the bar and walked over to their table.

“What about you, honey?” the woman asked Mouse.

“Just another Seven Up.”

When she walked away, Fisher turned again to face Mouse and got his first look at the beautiful boy he’d met a year ago.

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