Page 41 of Fire Bound

“Hellhound is still a better explanation,” Remi says under her breath. “Of Satan’s lapdog,” she adds with a sarcastic smirk.

Whisper usesthe large flat screen TV mounted on the wall to mirror his computer screen so we can all see what he’s looking at. In all fairness, he moves so quickly, I’m not completely sure what I’m looking at. We moved to the living room after we gave him the quickest rundown of what’s been happening. A couple of times I thought he was going to lose it, but he kept it together as he learned about all the insanity of our world.

The SUV that ran Remi off the road was found at a chop shop a hundred miles away from here. The black car—or what was left of it—still had scrapes and skids of Remi’s blue car’s paint on it. A dead giveaway. The men that were driving that night are long gone, but Whisper tracked them all the way back to the car rental place they acquired the car.

“I’ve got the name they placed the car rental under,” Whisper mumbles to us, but I’m not completely sold he doesn’t talk to himself. Hey, who am I to judge? We’ve all got quirks.

The name on the screen is small but it stands out to me like a glowing neon sign. Reading it is like a punch to the gut with a pair of brass knuckles. I haven’t seen it written down in a long time, but I hear it in my head often.

Before he can start digging any further, I stop him. “That’s not going to lead you anywhere,” I warn him.

“How do you know?” Whisper questions from across the room on the low black velvet sectional.

“Because she’s dead.”

“Are you sure?” Ransom asks, not sounding convinced. “If we’ve learned anything this past year, it’s that the dead don’t always stay dead.”

In the corner of my eye, I see Remi narrow her eyes at the screen before her head turns in my direction at a neckbreaking speed in shock. “Simone Whitlock.” Her voice is just a whisper.

My chest tightens hearing it said aloud. “I’m sure.” I answer Ransom’s questions, my tone devoid of any emotion. “That’s my mom and Sterling killed her a long time ago.” Like Sterling said, she was useless to him. There would be no reason he’d have Kaius resurrect her. “He’s using her name to send a message. He knows I’ve been trying to track him and Kaius.”

For the first time in over a year, Remington’s eyes soften with sympathy when she looks at me. For the time being the contempt and anger is put on hold.

“What do you mean, trying?” Whisper elects to blow past the whole ‘dead mommy’ portion of the conversation which is more than okay with me. I’m not exactly keen on an impromptu therapy session. Stabbing myself in the forehead with a forkrepeatedlysounds more enjoyable than talking about myfeelings.

“I figured out that Kaius and Sterling have been burning down buildings. Kaius is starting to leave undead guards at the sites to make sure I don’t come poking my nose in things. Met with a particularly strong one just last week.” I rub the spot on my head as if I can still feel the pain in my skull. “I took care of him, but now Kaius knows I’ve been there.”

“That’swhat happened to you?” Remi gapes at me. “Some dead dude split your head open like a cantaloupe? Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“I didn’t realize we still shared secrets with each other,” I challenge her with a pointed look. “Show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”

Her eyes narrow, like she’s considering accepting the challenge, but finally she scoffs with an annoyed eye roll. “No, you won’t. You cling to your secrets like you’re a child holding their baby blanket.”

Our eyes lock, silently daring the other to look away first. Like two battling storms, thunder and lightning crackle in the air around us. Neither one of us is going to break, whether it’s to prove a point or to spar for dominance, our stares are unwavering. This silent battle has been going on for a year. I started it but I think she’s going to be the one to finish it.

Whisper clears his throat awkwardly, interrupting the heated moment. “So, are we going to sit here and choke on their sexual tension a little longer, or shall we move on? I just feel if we stare any longer at them, it’ll get awkward for all of usreal quick.”

Remi finally looks away to glare at the hacker. “There’s no sexual tension.”

“Right,” he drawls. “And if I were wearing panties, they wouldn’t be a pile of ash right now.”

Ransom chokes on the water he’d just taken a sip of. “Gross,” he heaves out between a fit of coughs. “You’re talking about my sister.”

“Well, she’s notmysister.” Whisper shrugs. “But don’t worry. She’s pretty, but if I had to pick, I’d much rather be chasing the hellhound’s tail.He’smore my type.”

“Jax is everyone’s type until he opens his mouth and ruins it for all parties involved,” Remington warns Whisper with a laugh. A laugh that’s at my expense, but damn, it’s still good to hear again.

I cock my head in mock confusion. “I don’t remember you ever complaining about my mouth before.”

The pale blush that forms on Remington’s face might be the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. “Jax!” she scolds, eyes darting between her two brothers. “He’s kidding. He’s just trying to get a reaction,” she quickly pacifies them with lies.

Ranger and Ransom’s matching faces turn into scowls as their eyes narrow at me. Before things can escalate too far for myslightlyout-of-pocket remark, Winslow steps in, drawing all of our attention back to the task at hand. “Is there any way we can track which buildings are going to be burned down before they’re destroyed. Does Kaius have a system?”

I shift forward in my seat, resting my elbows on my thighs. “The only way I can think to track Kaius is by following cases of grave robberies. I don’t have that kind of access to information, so I haven’t been able to do it myself.”

“Enter Whisper, stage left.” The hacker rubs his hands together over his keyboard with excitement. Beating the shit out of someone is how I get my rocks off, but to each their own.

“People rob graves more often than you think,” Winslow interjects. “People get so desperate they don’t think twice about defiling a final resting place. I heard about it when I was living on the streets in New York.”

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