Page 189 of Bound By Fire
“In love? You? With who, exactly?” Magma’s eyebrows lift.
“I’mnotin love. Don’t listen to Flint. He’s full of shit.”
“He’s showing all the signs,” Flint says.
“Come to think of it, you have that look.” Magma keeps scrutinizing me.
“Stop with the bullshit already. Both of you!” I glare at them. “It isn’t that. I hurt someone kind and sweet. It has nothing to do with love. I feel like an asshole, that’s all. Dr. Robyn Keller is innocent. She doesn’t deserve to be in a cell right now, and she’s in one because of me. That’s not love. That’s me being a piece of shit and feeling guilty about it. She’s angry with me, and she’s right to be.”
“I’m assuming this has to do with your assignment at the hospital.” Magma puts his beer down. “What’s happened exactly?”
Flint gives him the short version.
“I don’t see the problem,” Magma says. “You did everything by the book.”
Flint grits his teeth. “Not exactly. Ridge fucked her.”
“Don’t!” I warn.
“What? You went there, and multiple times.”
Magma’s mouth has dropped open. “You slept with her? You slept with the female you were investigating? You’re always so by-the-book. What the hell happened?”
I shrug. “I didn’t mean to.”
Magma laughs.
“You didn’t mean to.” He shakes his head. “Ridge. I can understand if you didn’t mean to finish the pizza. I can understand if you didn’t mean to stay up too late binge-watching some series. But sex. You can’t say you didn’t mean to have sex with someone. That doesn’t fly.”
“It just happened. I?—”
“He couldn’t help himself because he likes her so much,” Flint cuts in, grinning around the neck of his beer.
I want to put my fist through Flint’s face.
“Idolike her.” I look at Magma. “She’s a good person. She’s a doctor, for fuck’s sake. She fixes people for a living. She doesn’t deserve to be where she is, and I have to get her out. I’m a total asshole.”
I put my beer down.
“Actually, I need to go and do that right now.”
“Where are you going?” Flint asks.
“To rewatch all the footage from the night Robyn’s apartment got broken into.”
“We watched all the footage more than once already,” Flint says.
“I know, but I’m going to watch it again. We might have missed something. Then tomorrow I’m going to sit down with the twelve staff members on the access list for that storage room and interview every single one of them. I’m going to find who is responsible.”
Magma looks at Flint. “I think you might be right. He looks like he’s in love.” Magma laughs, and Flint joins in.
“This has nothing to do with love,” I snap. “I have to do the right thing. That’s all it is.”
“Mmhmm.” Magma takes another sip of his beer to hide his smile. He fails.
“I’ll finish my beer, and I’ll join you,” Flint says, holding up the bottle. “Give me ten minutes.”
“I’ll help if I can.” Magma looks at me. His eyes have gone hazy for a beat. “I know what it’s like to be locked inside those four walls. I know what it’s like to have everyone looking at you like you’re guilty.”
