Free Burned by Natasha Deen

family,” she said and walked out the door.

SIXTEEN
    The smoke billowed; the flames rose. I’d figured Meena’s end game would look like this, and I’d taken precautions. A knife in my sock and another one in the waistband of my underwear. Only I hadn’t counted on how fast the fire would move. Or how much the smoke would cloud my vision. I tried to cut the ties, but my eyes stung and my lungs burned.
    I heard a noise behind me. Three figures came into view. I blinked, coughed.
    Raven knelt by me, cut the ties. “Newb.”
    Jace lifted me over his shoulder. “Idiot.”
    Bentley stood watching. “The world is full of infinite possibilities,” he said. “You dying isn’t one of them.”
    “Jerks.” My voice was hoarse, weak. “You tracked the laptop GPS . You were supposed to put the files on the Internet.”
    “While they burned you?” Jace gave me a shake. “You think we’d let you go on a suicide mission?”
    “You didn’t know it was.”
    “I knew it. You knew it.” His voice softened. “We’re a team, whether you like it or not.” He put me in the backseat of an SUV that still had the new-car smell.
    “How many cars do you have?” I asked.
    “Wait till you see the clubhouse,” said Raven.

    I lost track of time. When the SUV came to a stop, I opened my eyes and gaped at the view. Calling these guys filthy rich was a total understatement. We were in a garage big enough to need a postal code. Jace came around to the side door. I opened my mouth to tell him I could walk, but he put his arms around me and pulled me close. I kept quiet and enjoyed the ride.
    He took us to a living room that I was sure did second duty as a football field. The place looked like it was waiting for a photographer from a home magazine to do a glossy spread. It was kind of creepy, actually. Perfect. Unlived in. Unloved.
    I glanced at Jace as he walked away and tried not to think about him and love.
    A couple of minutes later, he came back. “We need to clean you up. Lie down.”
    I ignored the smirk on Raven’s face and the flood of warmth that heated my skin. The first-aid kit in his hands said he wasn’t going to go all soft and romantic on me. I lay face down on a leather sofa while he cleaned the cuts.
    I heard Raven and Bentley talking about the laptop and going through the files.
    “Payments,” said Raven. “Looks like she was helping the Vëllazëri deal drugs and was helping them avoid any raids.”
    “There’s more,” I said, thinking about what Eagle Man had said about Dollie. Thinking about Amanda. “It goes beyond drugs.” I raised myself on my elbows. “What now? Upload the files to the news outlets? Take it to a police station and hope some cop listens?”
    Jace shot me a look. “You’re kidding, right?” He took the laptop. “We send it directly to the police chief.”
    Raven shook her head. “Figures you’d know him.”
    “Wait.” I moved to him, leaned over his shoulder. I went into the Sent folder of Meena’s mail app and copied her address.
    “Seriously?”
    I ignored his question and pasted Meena’s address in the Cc section. Then, in the body of the email, I wrote, “On behalf of Emily and Danny and Emma and Amanda and Josie.”
    Jace gently squeezed my hand. It hurt, but it was a good hurt. A second later, I heard the whoosh of email being sent.
    “Delivered to the police chief’s private email,” Jace said with a sarcastic grin. “And I thought there was no benefit to being a member of one of Vancouver’s most powerful families.”
    Stretching, Raven said, “I helped you, noob. Remember that when I come calling in the favor.”

SEVENTEEN
    A week of living on Raven’s boat, and I was starting to feel human again. Even living with Raven wasn’t too bad. I knew her, even the parts she didn’t think I did. So when she hadn’t come home the previous night, I hadn’t been worried. She was smart enough to take care of herself with Diesel and the theft ring. Plus, she was