The Burn Read Online Free

chuckled, leaning back against the polyester couch cushions. "Can I smoke in here?"
    "No," Seth said, filling his glass again.
    "For a non-drinker, you sure get it on quick. You must still be shook up."
    Seth threw back another shot and glowered into the moonlight past the windshield. He could feel Logan watching him from the shadows, his expression disapproving.
    "Look, we're not cops, we're FBI," Pete said finally. "We've been watching these guys for a couple of years now. We were hoping you could tell us what happened tonight."
    "FBI," Seth repeated, shaking his head. "I heard you frequent counter-culture events, chasing terrorists with paintbrushes and bad lyrics?"
    "It's not like that. We're out to protect the weirdos, believe it or not."
    "Weirdos."
    "Yeah, look, this Rathvam group has been associated with kidnappings, torture and murder. You want that stuff here? You can say whatever you want about what this event stands for. Maybe it's art. Maybe it's sex. Maybe it's drug use, or self exploration, or whatever the kids call it these days, but the fact is that this is a vulnerable population. They wander around out here and they do things that they wouldn't normally do. They trust people they wouldn't normally trust. That attracts both the good and the bad, understand? We're not after the artists here, we're after the predators."
    Seth poured himself another scotch.
    "You live in the greatest country in the world," Pete said. "It's a country that allows you to dance around naked in the desert if you want, and to sling seditious gossip around a folding picnic table whenever you feel like it. And ultimately, it's a country that believes you shouldn't get tortured to death by a bunch of bloodthirsty cult freaks while you're at it."
    Seth flinched, feeling as if he'd been kicked in the gut. "Jesus, is that what you think they are?"
    "That's what we know they are. All that, and a helluva lot worse."
    "What could be worse?"
    Pete shook his head. "Why don't you just tell us what you saw tonight? Let's just start with that."
    "Start with what?"
    "You walking through the entrance. What'd you see?"
    "It's all metal," Seth said, irritated. "Like a tower, or a ship, with small corridors, small rooms. Everything's covered in symbols, and some things move, like a Rubik's Cube."
    "Yeah," Pete remarked as if he knew. "The Divine Gate. It's a magic trick. All done to impress people, recruit people."
    "It impressed me."
    "Just some fancy metal work."
    "Don't think so," Seth countered. "That's what I do for a living. This was something else."
    Pete watched him for a moment. "Okay, so what happened in there?"
    "There was a room with a throne, a woman sitting there and—" Seth searched for words.
    Logan stepped out of the shadows from behind Pete, his dark eyes intense. "She was slender, with red hair? Green eyes?"
    "Yeah. How did you—"
    "She looked all right?"
    "She was on a throne, staring into space. I thought it was an act."
    Logan looked away from him, anger playing across his face. "What about physically? She looked okay?"
    "She looked incredible."
    "And what did you do?"
    Seth glanced from one FBI agent to the other. "What does it matter what I did? I pulled some guy off of her and she kissed me. End of story."
    Logan's eyes narrowed with rage. "She what?"
    "She kissed me and I kissed her back, so what?"
    "You son-of-a-bitch," Logan growled.
    "Logan!" Pete snapped at his partner. "It was just a kiss! Have a drink, or better yet, go outside and remember what the fuck you're doing here, okay?"
    Logan glared at them both, then swore, shoving the door open wide and striding out into the night.
    "Sorry.” Pete rose from his seat to close the door quietly.
    Seth shook his head. "What was that about?"
    "Uh—" Pete seemed at a loss. “Well, the woman you were making out with…she isn’t one of them. She's one of us. She works for the FBI, though she's been missing for a year. And Logan, well, he's her ex-husband."
    Seth stared at him