Page 46 of Burn

Leaving that life had been the primary driver behind pursuing my career. Probably because life was a lot simpler then.

Simpler and boring.

“Thank you again,” I said, turning to Voodoo who held up my hoodie. He helped me thread my arms into the sleeves, one after the other.

“See you around, Doc. We’ll make sure the bill is covered.” Voodoo shook his hand and then he opened the door to lead me out of the room. Bones waited for us near the nurse’s desks. He straightened, phone in hand, before he gave me a once over.

“All good?”

“For now,” Voodoo said. “We ready?”

“Green.” Honestly, the short hand they spoke in was becoming almost normal. Some of it made sense. Then again, speaking in code meant the words might not mean what I thought at all.

Fifteen minutes later, I was in the backseat of Voodoo’s Jeep with Bones in the passenger seat. They didn’t say much.Probably wanted to wait until I wasn’t paying attention in order to brief each other.

The spot where the doctor removed the tracker was numb. Awareness of the area was ever present in the back of my mind. It was probably going to hurt when the numbing agent wore off. The lidocaine had stung like a bitch going in. Fortunately, once he started the procedure it had gone swiftly.

The sun had gone down while we’d been inside. The headlights of other cars highlighted the profiles of the two silent men in the front. We continued west for an hour before Voodoo followed the instructions to leave the highway.

As tired as I was—and I was dead exhausted, no pretending otherwise—I didn’t think we were anywhere near our destination. With that in mind, I didn’t assume we were heading to where the others were or whatever their home base was.

Maybe I didn’t want to go to their home base. Going there could mean I wouldn’t be allowed to leave again. Voodoo didn’t deny that I’d exchanged one set of captors for another. Not that this set had tried to beat me or rape me, so it could be worse.

I couldn’t escape the fact that just because they hadn’tyetdidn’t mean theywouldn’tever. No matter how nice they seemed. That seemed to be the big problem at the heart of the matter. I didn’tknowthem, but what I had learned about them made mewantto trust them.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I leaned my head against the seat and stared out into the darkness. The lights were coming fewer and farther in between. Wherever we were headed, it was away from the city.

“Hey, Firecracker,” Voodoo said, raising his voice and it penetrated the haze around me.

“Are you talking to me?” Had I missed a question? Bones half-twisted in his seat to glance back at me. Of the four men, Bones seemed the least warm. The least personable. I wasn’tsure if it was just the chill in the air around him or the long, studying looks.

He didn’t say much, even in direct conversation. Yet, I couldn’t escape the idea that he weighed each word before he said it aloud. Yet, he said very little of what he truly thought.

“Yes,” Voodoo said, tugging my attention from Bones to him. He didn’t glance over his shoulder, but somehow, I didn’t think he missed much.

“Do you mind repeating it?” It was a confession that I hadn’t been paying attention, but I couldn’t really hide it.

“Are you hu—” He cut off abruptly, and his hands flexed on the steering wheel.

Apprehension sliced through me.

“Brace,” Bones ordered. I reached up for the “oh shit” handle even as he did the same. Headlights suddenly flooded the interior of the car. The crunch of metal being slapped by metal ripped through the vehicle even as we jerked forward.

I half-expected another hit, but Voodoo was already accelerating. The lights weren’t going away though. If anything, they seemed to be fighting to catch up with us. The light made it impossible to see and I winced for Voodoo who kept his eyes narrowed on the road.

“Get ready,” Voodoo said. “They’re going to hit us again.”

Even expecting it, the slam of car against car rattled through me. My teeth clacked together, pain shivered up my spine toward the numb area the doctor had carved into me. The snapping of my head forward and back just made everything hurt.

“This is going to need a steadier hand,” Voodoo warned. I wasn’t entirely surewhatpart of this required that, but I could guess it was either dealing with them hitting us.

The scream of metal shrieking against metal ripped through the car. My teeth scraped against my lower lip and there was the dull flavor of copper in my mouth.

“Agreed,” Bones said, then glanced at me. “Stay down, Miss Black. As soon as we come to a full stop, down to the floor and stay there.”

Right. Hit the floor. Stay there.Afterwe stopped.

“Do I want to know how we’re going to stop?” That came out a hell of a lot more pitiful than I intended. Still I licked my lips and tightened my grip as the car hit us again. We fish-tailed and I grimaced at the spin. Another slam and we were whipping around backwards.

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