Reign of Fire by Casi McLean

Author:Casi McLean [McLean, Casi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casi McLean, Inc
Published: 2019-01-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

When Ash heard her scream, he dropped everything and bolted out the rear door that led to the river. Harper followed close behind. “Emily.” His shriek echoed against the rocky canyon beyond as he darted toward the Potomac. Seeing Wyatt peering downward into the gulch, he let out a guttural moan. “Oh God, noooo.”

Wyatt spun and glowered at the source of the yelp. “Stop barking. You could cause her to lose her balance.”

Confused, Ash glanced at Harper then back to Wyatt before edging closer to the ledge. “For God’s sake, Emily. What the hell are you doing down there?” He raked his fingers through his hair. Still shaken, his stomach twisted. If anything hurt her––the image of Alyssa floating face down in the river jolted his thoughts. He drew the target on Emily’s back, but only now, hearing her scream, did the reality of using her for bait sink in, and the vision scared the shit out of him.

“Help me up.” She stepped on a jutting rock then hoisted her body, her hand reaching to grab Ash’s extended hand.

He gripped her wrist with a vise-hold and yanked her upward into his arms. Without considering the circumstances, he squeezed her into a thankful embrace. “Damn it. What were you thinking?” Finally releasing his arms, he drew her back and stared.

A satisfied grin stretched across her face as she reached into her back pocket and drew out a cell phone.

Ash rolled his eyes. “You climbed down the edge of a cliff because you dropped your damn phone? Are you crazy? You could have fallen and––”

“Ash, I’m fine. If you stop blathering, I’ll explain.”

He pinched his brows, glancing first at Harper then to Wyatt, who now wore a grin similar to Emily’s. “What the hell is going on?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson.” Fiddling with the device, she tried to access the screen with no success. “Ugh. Figures. No matter.” Her gaze shifted to Harper and Ash. “I screamed because I saw this.” Again, she displayed the cell, wiggling the phone back and forth in her hand.

Relief flushed Ash’s cheeks with a warm burst as he realized Emily purposely scaled down to the ledge. “Okay, I get you wanted to retrieve the phone, but you could have called me to help. Climbing down there like that…you could have slipped and fallen into the river. A fall like that could kill” ––he halted his rant as her explanation broke through his lingering distress––“I’ll be damned.”

Emily’s eyes sparkled. “Bingo…this iPhone belongs to Alyssa…or did. I bought her this silver bling case last Christmas, and if the phone will take a charge, we might get some answers. Alyssa’s phone could validate––or dispel––Steel’s story. Perhaps he startled her, and she dropped the phone. Or maybe she was already down there trying to retrieve the device…what if he was helping her instead of pushing her…and she slipped then fell against the rocks into the river?”

Ash rubbed his chin. “I told Quint I didn’t believe the Aqueduct was the murder scene.

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