Page 187 of Bound By Fire
“And I have a confession to make, too,” Flint says it quieter. “While we’re here and doing this.”
Something passes across Magma’s face.
“Not you, too,” he mutters. “I need to sit for this.” He goes inside.
We follow him through the entryway and out the sliding glass doors onto the deck at the back. The place is a mess inside. Drawers half pulled out. Things on the counter that should be in cupboards. The CSI team did a number on his place. They tore the place apart, and then they left without putting any of it back.
Magma drops into a chair on the deck. He doesn’t offer us one. We sit, anyway.
He looks at me. There’s no warmth in it.
“Talk,” he growls.
I clear my throat. “I knew you were under investigation. I knew from the start. That’s why Reed removed me from Security Central.”
“She knew I would see right through you,” he says.
“She knew I would probably break down and tell you and end up in jail. I was sent on a similar assignment at the hospital. Reed put me on Dr. Robyn Keller. I was to upgrade security at the hospital and look for evidence of treason on Keller. She wanted me where I couldn’t compromise the case against you. She told me about you, and she warned me I’d be jailed if I breathed so much as a word. I was fully gagged.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just keeps his eyes on me, his jaw tight.
“I believed you were innocent the entire time – from the first moment she told me – and I made it clear where I stood. There was never a single second when I doubted you. Not once. Not even when I was told about the burner and the documents. I knew the evidence was planted. I knew it the way I know my own name. And I sat on it because I had to. If I had breathed so muchas a word, we’d both be locked up right now. Then there’d be no one left to dig us out. I am so fucking sorry, Magma. If I could go back and do it differently, I would.”
He looks at Flint.
“And you?”
Flint blows out a breath. “I’m the one who investigated you.”
Magma’s eyes narrow.
“I was assigned to your case the same day Ridge was assigned to Keller’s. I’m the one who gathered everything they used at the arrest. I’m the reason they came for you when they did.”
His eyes turn stormy. “You investigated me?” His voice is low. “You! Sitting at the next desk over from me for the last six years. We’re supposed to be a team.”
“I know.”
“You walked into my office every morning and asked me about my night, and the whole time you were building a case against me.”
“I was.”
“Jesus Christ.” Magma scrubs a hand over his face. The hand is shaking a little. “Both of you. Both of you knew.”
“It wasn’t like that.” Flint leans forward. “Not exactly. I only took the assignment because I knew you were innocent. Same as with Ridge, even when I found the evidence, I didn’t believe it. I knew you were being framed. Because I was in the know, I had inside information that helped us pull the rest of the case apart. I gathered the evidence they wanted, but I also gathered the evidence we needed to clear you. We had no other choice. That’s the truth. Ridge and I worked the case and got you cleared. We believed in you. We are your friends, and I hope, in time, you will be able to forgive us.”
“I should have told you, anyway,” I tell him. “I know that now. I’m sorry, Magma. I was a fucking awful friend. If I couldgo back and do it again, I would do it differently. I would tell you everything, gag or no gag.”
He’s quiet for a while. The cicadas have started up somewhere in the trees behind the house.
“What bullshit are you spouting?” he asks me.
“What do you mean? I’m telling you that I was wrong. I should have left that first meeting with Reed and told you everything right away.”
“You would be a fucking idiot if you had done that. You’d be in jail right now if you had said something.” His voice has lost some of its edge. “I thought I taught you better than that. You’re acting like a pussy all of a sudden. What the fuck has gotten into you?”
“Okay, wait a minute. You’re confusing me. I thought you were angry at me fornottelling you.”
“I’m seriously fucking mad, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t do the right thing,” Magma says.
