Page 28 of Inextricably Tied

A strange emotion twists through Flint. By the time Harbinger turns to ask him what it is, he looks past her. “Rationality probably doesn’t play a big part in it, especially if it was one of the girl’s families.” His voice is soft, lost in a thought Harbinger almost follows before his brows knit. “Phoenix fire, though: I can’t get past that.”

“It’s not that hard to come by.”

When Agony speaks, Harbinger and Flint look toward him. He lifts his brow. “What?”

“Why do you say that? That it’s not hard to come by?”

Agony’s face is blank. “Because it’s not?”

“Why do you think that?”

His eyes tilt toward the ceiling, like he’s wracking his brain. “I’m not sure.”

Flint sits up straighter. “Did Reid use phoenix fire?”

“I don’t know.” Agony’s gaze drifts as he considers it, reaching back through the depths of his mind. “It was in the dream near the end. Reoccurring. Why?” He looks between them. “Is it hard to come by?”

“Nearly impossible,” Flint answers, “if you’re doing everything above board.”

This adds a new dynamic to what happened, unearthing a thousand more questions. Flint and Harbinger dive back into conversation.

“You didn’t see anyone at the house?”

“Not when we pulled up. Not when we left. Obviously I was distracted at the end, but…” Harbinger tosses a roll of gauze between her hands.

“Does Reid have someone on the outside? Did he send someone to torch his house to hide evidence?”

“But why would he? I didn’t find anything. And why would he destroy it now and not before the OID took everything? Was there something left that he didn’t want them to find?”

“Or something only you could find.” Flint rubs a charred patch of his beard. “But how would he get in contact with someone?” He glances to Agony. “Do you know how Reid was getting phoenix fire? What context, how it was used, why it was familiar to him?”

“No.”

Flint makes a disgruntled sound.

“Look,” Agony snaps, “the details are distorted. It’s like you trying to remember dreams after you wake up. My job was to torment Reid when he was asleep. That’s it.” Agony clinks the cuffs around his wrists. “I could tell you more if you take these off.”

Flint barely lets him finish. “Absolutely not.”

“Then you’re gonna have a hell of a time finding out what happened to those girls.”

Agony knows it’s a sore spot, glancing toward Harbinger for support. Flint follows his gaze with a pang of betrayal. How could Agony think he stands a chance of Harbinger agreeing with him? Although, he has a point…

But she won’t go there. Not when things are too precarious; they nearly died. Flint’s still healing. She waves it off. “Forget about it.”

Relief sighs into her from Flint. Agony doesn’t hide his disappointment, but there’s no way to tell if he’s speaking the truth. It makes sense, but it could be a ploy. Agony learned all he knows from Reid: lying, manipulation, violence. Conniving his way out of his cuffs to kill them would hardly be out of the question.

Especially since last time, he didn’t need to be out of his chains to try.

“We need to figure out a new direction to take. We can get in contact with the ferry into the Break to see if Reid traveled that way. If he didn’t take the main route, though, there’s no telling where he went, if he was in the Break at all. Besides that, it spans hundreds of miles. We can’t search the entirety of it for clues.”

“Maybe the Timber pack knows something.” Flint tugs on the bandage around his wrist until Harbinger swats his hand away. “I can leave a message for them when we call the ferry outpost. Probably be a while before they get back to us, though, depending on the next time they make a visit to town.”

With a sigh, Harbinger drops back on the bed. “The OID’s stored evidence had nothing on it. Reid’s house is gone. Which leaves us with…”

Her traitorous gaze jumps to Agony. A smile flits across his face, but she can’t say it. Can’t suggest that she’s thinking of slipping back inside him. Flint will never go for it. He cuts in before Agony can make another sound.

“We’ll talk to the girls’ families. The OID botched the investigation already. Who’s to say they didn’t miss something with them?”