Page 27 of Inextricably Tied

“He has a point.”

Agony’s voice startles both of them. As soon as they look his way, his smile turns infuriatingly lazy. “I wouldn’t trust you alone with me, either.”

Before Flint can tighten his grip, Agony rushes on. “And if any witnesses mention a massive gargoyle, they’ll have no trouble finding us in the burn unit.”

It’s the first intelligent thing Agony’s said, but Flint still huffs. “Us? You were making a break for it not thirty seconds ago.”

“I adapt.”

The sirens grow louder. Harbinger checks over Flint’s injuries before exhaling a scream through her teeth. “Then I’m driving.”

Flint doesn’t argue, hauling Agony into the backseat before he hoists himself into the passenger side. Harbinger adjusts the driver’s seat almost completely forward before cranking the ignition. Then she curses, hands slamming the top of the wheel.

“My helmet.”

A plastic sound echoes from the backseat. “Got it.”

And there it is, perched next to Agony. Harbinger gives him a guarded look before she puts the car into gear, kicking up rocks as they peel away from the blaze.

NINE

Harbinger

“It’s fine,” Flint assures her. “You’re not hurting me.”

Harbinger puts the needle and thread through his tattered wing again. His face doesn’t flinch against the mattress, but pain spikes through their connection. She holds the needle between her lips, reaching for scissors from where she straddles his ass. “There’s no use lying when I can feel it.”

A hint of a smile crosses his lips. “It’s not as bad as getting the injuries, I promise.”

Remorse swirls in her stomach. She ducks back to the task at hand, minding their connection to know when she pulls the stitches too tight. After a few hours, she’s bandaged Flint as best she can. The apothecary was hesitant to give Harbinger all the medicine she asked for, but after a nice tip from their OID funds, the pharmacist bagged the vials and jars without a word.

Healing is another beast, especially if Flint is intent on doing the heavy lifting of their partnership. Thankfully, he doesn’t put up a fight when she picks up dinner, but he does insist on being the one to feed Agony.

As she clears their dishes, the cell phone on the counter vibrates. OID calling. Again. She silences it as breaking news blares from the television.

“Is that about us?”

“The fire.” Flint’s big body sprawls across one of the queen beds, next to Agony bound to a rickety chair.

Video flashes across the screen. Black smoke rises from the charred remains of Reid’s house as firefighters gather around the sopping mess. Then Reid’s face fills the screen.

Agony’s head tilts, searching for something until he realizes Harbinger and Flint are staring at him. “Aw, don’t look at me like that.”

Then the TV jumps to a crude sketch of a massive creature with muddled green skin and fangs.

“Police are looking for this man, a person-of-interest in the arson.”

“Pretty sure that’s supposed to be you.” Harbinger jerks her chin toward the screen. Flint scans the image with distaste.

“Lucky I wasn’t with you when we checked into the motel.”

Luck has nothing to do with it. They’ve been in this business long enough to know when to plan ahead. Finding a cheap motel was the first order of business. No paper trail. No curious front desk clerks. No questions.

“We’ll have to lay low for a few days. Which is good, since you need to heal.” Harbinger cuts off the TV before the broadcast wraps, sinking down on the edge of the bed as Flint makes room for her. “Shame they want to talk to you when we have no idea how it started.”

“Could be someone pissed at Reid.” Flint winces as he props his back up against the headboard. “Wouldn’t be the first defacement to his house, not that I blame them. Where we parked, it’s possible no one knew we were in there.”

“Still seems dangerous to light a house on fire, even if it is for revenge”