Page 133 of Her Wolf

Firestarting

“Iknow where she is.” Bailey sat forward in a rush, grabbing the side of Finn’s headrest so he could draw himself closer. “I know where she is.”

Two sets of dispassionate eyes glanced in his direction; Finn snorted, and Lars gave him a quizzical look as if he was wondering if Bailey had lost his mind.

“I’m serious, you guys. I—”

“Put your seatbelt back on,” Finn said, his eyes already back on the road.

They were on their way back to the farmhouse, traveling with the despondent air of soldiers returning home from a brutal war where the victors were very clearly the other side.

“When we were at Duncan’s house, I saw a pamphlet for a bi-plane.”

“How in the fuck is that related?” Lars snapped, twisting to face him.

“Because a helicopter is really handy to get you somewhere fast. And a bi-plane…” Bailey thumped his palm into the back of Lars’s seat. “Is a fucking good way to get somewhere far.”

“Great,” Lars muttered. “So not only don’t we know where she is, we know she’s a fuck-far way off. Real helpful, Bailey.”

“No, don’t you see?” Bailey wedged his shoulder between the two seats, trying to get Finn’s attention. “Zachary’s got a lot of properties, right? But how many of them are only accessibleby plane?”

There was a long, thoughtful silence in the cab. Bailey’s heart sang. He’d found one or two documents on that computer at Duncan’s house that looked as if they listed at least some of the properties Zachary owned. But if they could get—

“We need Duncan’s phone,” Kane said. “If they had to arrange for a flight, then he might have done those arrangements for Zachary.”

“Or this could just be another dead end,” Finn said. He gave Bailey a short, hard stare. “You think about that?”

“But what if it’s not?” Bailey searched the man’s face, willing him to try and find just a sliver of hope to hold on to. “What if it’s not too late? What if we can still find her?”

Finn’s knuckles went white. Lars glanced at the man, and then glared at Bailey.

“Let sleeping dog lie,” Lars muttered. “She’s gone.”

“She left us her ring,” Bailey said, holding it up. Finn had left it behind, placed exactly on the dead dog’s flank just as he’d found it. Bailey stuck out his hand, twisting the ring where both Lars and Finn could see it.

Finn braked hard, sending air rushing out of Bailey as his momentum pushed him into the back of the front seats.

“Get out and go check on Neo,” Finn said, not looking at Bailey.

“She left it there for us. To tell us not to give up—” Bailey began.

“She left it there to say goodbye,” Finn roared. His fist crashed down on the SUV’s console. “Now get the fuck out and go check on—”

“Oh my fuck, he’s right.” Lars grabbed Finn’s wrist and then wrapped both his hands around Finn’s fist. “Zachary had no idea we’d find his farm or the tunnel. He had no reason to cover his tracks. From what he knows, the deal’s done and dusted.”

Lars spun to face Bailey. “That’s why he burned everyone. He knew he wasn’t coming back. He’s left for good.”

“That doesn’t change anything,” Finn said, throwing open his door.

“He’s become careless,” Kane said quietly. “He could have left a clue without realizing. Like the ring. If we hadn’t found that—”

“Then we wouldn’t have known Cora was even there,” Lars finished.

“What about the dog? We’d have found the dog.” Finn peered back inside the SUV, expression grim.

“So what? It’s a dog.” Lars shrugged. “But that ring was Cora’s. Undeniable proof that she was there.”

“So we have to find every single property Zachary owns and search them,” Kane said decisively, opening his door. “Starting with those only reachable by plane.”

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