Page 35 of Through the Fire
“Guess what Theo told me?” Jules asked the table at large, obviously changing the subject, and Alex’s ears perked up, even as she kept her head down. It was an unexpected bonus that Jules and Grace were dating two local cops. A little eavesdropping and a hidden app on their phones, and Alex knew pretty much everything that was going on. The only problem was the suspicious new cop—Kit—but Alex knew she could be handled. No one in town trusted Kit yet. Alex just had to play on that, to encourage the other cops’ distrust of their new partner, and no one would believe anything that Kit had to say. People were easy to manipulate. Everyone was always so willing to believe the worst.
“What’d he say?” Dee asked eagerly.
“Mr. Wernicutt wandered away from his nephew again.” Jules scooped some pasta onto Elena’s plate. “Guess where he went?”
“Where?” Ty asked. Even Tio was listening.
“He walked through town and into the woods and finally sat down on our front porch.”
“Our porch?” Dee echoed. “Did you find him?”
“No. It was the new officer, Kit. She has a tracking dog that followed Mr. Wernicutt’s scent and led them all the way here.”
“Oh.” Dee looked sad for a moment. “I wish I’d seen that.”
That had been close. Alex hadn’t expected Bendsie to show up so soon. She’d barely gotten the gun and darted back inside before the dog had rounded the corner of the house. It could’ve been a disaster. The new cop was much too suspicious and didn’t seem to be as easily influenced by a sad story and a pair of big, dark eyes as her partners were.
“Wh-wh-what k-kind of d-d-dog?” Sam asked, breaking his habitual silence.
“A hound of some kind.” Jules’s eyebrows pulled together as if she was trying to remember the name. After a few seconds, her expression cleared and she smiled. “A bloodhound. That’s what he is. He’s adorable. I gave them all a ride back to town yesterday, including the dog.”
“They were here twice, and I missed it both times?” Dee’s mouth pulled down in disappointment. “School wrecks everything.”
There was a chorus of laughing responses from everyone except Sam, who stared off into space silently. Alex surreptitiously studied him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. She didn’t like how much influence Sam had over his older sister, especially since it was so obvious that he didn’t like Alex. Jules might be sympathetic to Alex now, but that could change if Sam shared his suspicions—and Alex’s plan depended on keeping Jules’s trust. It was infuriating, really. She’d played her best game, used techniques that should’ve lured in the most suspicious minds, but Sam stayed aloof. Alex hadn’t given up yet, though. She wasn’t about to let a teenager, of all people, best her.
She’d convince him that she was innocent, fragile, and harmless. All her marks fell eventually. It was just a matter of time before Sam fell, too.
And if he didn’t, well, there were ways to take care of even the most stubborn stumbling blocks.
“That’s it!” Tio said suddenly, and everyone’s attention turned to him as he pulled what looked like a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and set it on the table.
“What’s it, T?” Ty asked, eyeing the knife with interest.
“I’m trying to convert this to use touch commands for each implement,” Tio explained, pushing the knife into the center of the table so that everyone could see. “I’ve been having trouble setting it off unintentionally, however, which causes issues when I’m carrying it in my pocket. I just thought of how to prevent it from accidentally opening.” He tapped the side of the knife and the blade extended, quickly enough to make Ty, Sam, and Jules jerk back in their chairs.
“Tio,” Jules said sternly. “Did you just make a switchblade?”
He cocked his head to the side, blinking at the tool for a few moments before saying, “Not…technically?”
“Retract it,” she ordered, and he tapped the side twice, making the blade disappear with a click. Jules picked it up tentatively, handling it like she would a bomb, and set it on top of the refrigerator. “No one touches this until Theo can dispose of it.” She gave Tio a flat, no-nonsense stare. “No more switchblades.”
“But what about my touch-command experiment?”
“Dull implements only for all future projects,” Jules said firmly, waiting until he nodded in reluctant agreement before retaking her seat.
A switchblade—how handy. As she gave Tio a sympathetic look, Alex made a mental note to retrieve it before Theo’s next visit. She’d need all the weapons she could get once her plan was set in motion. She never liked to kill, but sometimes it was the only way forward.
She smiled across the table at Dee, who immediately beamed back. Such a sweet, trusting family, Alex thought. It was so good of Mr. Espina to lead me right to them.
* * *
Wes couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t uncommon for him to have insomnia, but it usually happened when he was working on a project or was trying to sort out an especially tricky problem. This time, it felt different. Excitement was running through him, making him feel like he’d downed a half dozen espressos in the fifteen minutes before he’d gone to bed.
He couldn’t blame caffeine for his sleepless state, though. No, it was all the fault of a beautiful woman who’d almost gotten shot by Rufus. The memory made him frown, hating the idea that she’d been in danger. After seven years working in his tower and living year-round in the small adjacent cabin, Wes had earned the wary respect of his neighbors. He wouldn’t call them friends, but he’d be able to knock on their doors without getting his head shot off.
Probably.
Giving up on attempting sleep, Wes climbed out of bed and tossed his winter coat over his drawstring pants and T-shirt. Stuffing his feet into his boots, he clumped outside. He glanced at his watch. It was close to four, but the world was as dark as if it were the middle of the night. The stars were bright, though, giving the snow an eerie blue-white glow. One of his favorite things about his home was how quiet it was, especially at night in the winter. In the small city where he’d grown up, there’d always been noise, sounds overlapping other sounds until it was impossible for him to concentrate on anything. Here, it was just the slight thud and brush of his boots connecting with the snowy ground, then the quiet beep and click of the tower door unlocking and opening.
