Page 81 of Bound By Fire
They’re all black with tinted windows and matching my speed.
My dragon goes still under my skin.
My phone lights up on the passenger seat with a message from Councilor Reed.
Pull over.
Here we go.
I pull off at the next side road. A quiet stretch lined with low warehouses, mostly closed for the day. I park half on the verge and kill the engine.
The lead SUV slides past me and stops about thirty feet ahead. The two behind close in and stop. I’m boxed in front and back.
The back door of the rear SUV opens.
A male in a dark suit gets out. He’s a big shifter. More than likely Council security. He walks up to my window, and I push the button to lower it.
“Evening, Commander. Come with me, please.”
I get out, lock my car, and follow him to the rear SUV. He opens the door, and I duck inside.
As expected, Reed is in the back seat.
She’s in a dark coat with the collar turned up, her silver-streaked hair pulled back. She doesn’t look happy at all. She looks tired, like she would rather be anywhere else.
“Councilor.”
“Ridge.” She turns toward me. “I don’t have long, and I’m sure you have somewhere you need to be.”
I nod.
“I wanted you to hear this directly from me. There has been some evidence found on three of the individuals on the list. One of them is being pulled in tonight, as we speak. The other two need further investigating, but it isn’t looking good for them, either.”
I take a slow breath in. “Right.”
“Which means there is a very good chance your mark is guilty. Everything we’re finding is pointing in that direction.”
Damn!
“I’m working on Dr. Keller.” My voice is even. “So far, I have found nothing to suggest she’s involved. I don’t have a smoking gun for her or against her. I’ve searched her home, her office, and all of her electronic devices and have found nothing, but I’ll keep digging.”
“Good. She might have a safety deposit box or somewhere in the hospital where she’s hiding a burner. There has to be something.”
I hope not.
“I will stick to it. I’m nothing if not thorough.”
“Indeed.” Reed looks at me for a long beat. Her expression shifts. It goes softer, and I don’t like it at all.
My gut tightens.
“Tell me,” I finally say. It isn’t like her to hold back like this.
“There is no easy way to say this; one of the three who are looking guilty,” she says, “is Magma.”
Crap!
NO!
