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“You’ll die without knowing who I am. I like that. Burned alive. Seems fitting, don’t you think? Poetic justice.”

Whatever. “Justice is like true selflessness, it doesn’t exist,” I state as they aim the gun at my other leg. A shot resounds, but not from their gun. It came from behind me and it forces Phoenix against the opposite wall. Then another and another. I pull out my switchblade and throw it at Phoenix’s head. It pierces the oxygen mask right at the center of their skull.

I turn to see Ezra lowering Pamela. He has an axe in his other hand and his bandana over his mouth.

He slides Pamela into his jeans and jogs my way. He crouches down and hands me a damp towel, then wraps his arm under my shoulder to pull me up. I let out a groan into the towel when a sharp, shooting pain hits my leg. Motherfucking shit!

“The thing you said about justice…not entirely true,” Ezra tells me, as he turns us toward the exit. “You good?”

“Do I look good?” I snap, glaring at him. My leg is fucking killing me. “Wait, we need to check Phoenix is dead.” Even though after three bullets and a knife to the head it would be…

“Where the fuck did they go?” I cough out, when I see the place where Phoenix was lying is empty. The blood stain on the wall reassures me that we did hit them. Not enough though. Fuck! The switchblade Sari gave me is on the floor.

“Get that,” I tell Ezra.

“Fuck it, we need to go.” He’s coughing too.

I push against his chest to get to the blade, but Ezra suddenly lets me go to do it himself.

“If we die because of a damn knife, I’ll be really pissed,” he states as we make our way to the stairs.

Gray smoke is filling the area in front of the lab, which tells me that the flames are not far away. It’s like we are going into the belly of the beast. The further we go, the harder it is to orient ourselves. I squint through the clouds of smoke. The sounds of burning and of my own breathing the only things I can hear. I spot the bottom of the stairs that will lead us up into the garage. Ezra adjusts his arm around me, and then I start my excruciating way up. It fucking hurts. Beads of sweat are running down myface and back. I can barely breathe, the towel over my mouth hardly helps.

Somehow we reach the garage. The large roll-up door is open, letting cold, fresh air in, but flames are bright and blazing near the door on the right, which opens to the main house entrance. That same door suddenly explodes, and a burst of flames billows out from inside, throwing us back into Gabe’s car, knocking the wind out of me as I hit the windshield.

“Fuck!” I hear Ezra shout my exact sentiment as he grabs my arm to steady both of us.

My heart is pounding, blood rushing in my head, and all I can think of is the feeling of Sari’s lean body against mine. Safe.

We slowly continue on until we are outside. I can’t feel the winter cold. Like I conjured him out of thin air, Sari is suddenly in front of me, holding me tight. His sweet honey and apple scent surrounds me, almost erasing the smoky smell inside my nostrils.

“You idiot!” I feel his body trembling as he lets out a sob. “God, why do I have to put up with you?”

“Because you love me,” I simply remind him, as I move us further away from the burning house. I stop only when we reach the others. I try to ignore the searing pain in my leg and back, but it’s getting harder.

I limp to the small wall on the side of the driveway and sit there.

“Oh shit, your leg!” Sari kneels down at my feet. “Bullet holes?”

I nod as he starts to tear my jeans to get a look at the wounds.

“One went through, but the other needs to be removed,” he tells me as his trembling hands tie his scarf around my leg. “An ambulance is coming.”

A groan leaves my lips as he tightens the knot. “What the hell happened? Was it Ezra?” He sits next to me, and I tuck him into my side.

“No.” The sound of the fire trucks speeding down the driveway halts my explanation. The firemen jump down and start doing their thing. One goes to talk to Raph and Gabe, both covered in soot. Michael’s pants are wet as he clings to his husband’s side. Lori is taking care of a small burn on Ollie’s arm just as Rague’s Jeep stops a few feet from us, and he flies out of it with Rami behind him. Ezra didn’t leave. He’s looking at the house with a serious expression on his face.

I turn my eyes to the fire now blazing out of control. The tall orange and red flames illuminate the forest surrounding the three-story building, the top level aglow. The firemen aim two water streams, one at the second and the other at the first floor, when suddenly an explosion bursts out from the roof, followed by another. Massive fireballs light up the night sky, sending sparks flying through the air like confetti. I spot large plumes of smoke billowing out so thick they hide part of the house.

“Jesus,” Rague mutters, for once not excited as he peers at the horrible sight with Ollie in his arms.

“Bloody hell,” Lori echoes his feeling, wrapping himself around Gabe.

I don’t share the sad expressions on most of my brothers—Michael is even shedding tears. Meg hated this house even though it was her family’s. Linda always commented how coldand tacky it was. I don’t feel upset at the loss, but I am fucking furious. Because Phoenix took yet another thing from me. From us. And I let them. I had them in front of me, and I didn’t kill them.

An ear-cracking boom ricochets through the night sky. I shield Sari’s face as four windows on the second floor explode, sending debris and embers to the ground far from us.

“You were shot by Phoenix?” I hear Lori’s baffled voice just before more chaos explodes around me.