Smoked by Mari Mancusi Read Free Book Online

silently neither of them had heard her do it.
    Scarlet nodded, feeling her face flush. “Yes, of course. When,” she corrected hastily. “I meant when.” But Trinity only glared at her harder, as if she blamed Scarlet for everything. And maybe she did.
    Scarlet sighed. The two girls admittedly hadn’t gotten off to the best start—which Scarlet knew was mostly her fault, even though she’d had the best of intentions. She’d thought she was doing a good thing, breaking in and freeing Emmy from the dark, lonely barn back in her hometown. Instead, she’d inadvertently set all of this in motion. Because of her, their hideaway had been compromised, Trinity’s grandfather had been killed, and they’d been forced back on the run. Not exactly the best way to inspire a beautiful friendship.
    That said, hadn’t Scarlet more than made up for it since then? After all, she’d rescued Caleb from the Dracken, not to mention willingly walked into a six-month prison sentence to save Emmy. Shouldn’t all that pain and suffering count for something?
    Not judging by the way Trinity was staring at her now. And suddenly Scarlet wondered if the girl would have even bothered rescuing her if she hadn’t needed her to find Emmy.
    â€œEasy, tiger,” Connor interjected, stepping between them. He reached out to Trin, his face filled with sympathy as he tried to put a comforting arm around her waist. But she only jerked away, turning on her heel and retreating back to the truck, slamming the door behind her. Connor watched her go with a troubled expression. Then he turned back to Scarlet.
    â€œSorry,” he said. “This whole thing has been so hard on her. I mean…” He gave an apologetic shrug. “Not as hard as it’s been on you, I know. But God, she loves that dragon so much. And to get this close only to have Emmy take off on her…” He shook his head slowly. “Flecking hell,” he muttered. “I don’t know what that stupid creature was thinking!”
    â€œI told you,” she said slowly. “Emmy’s changed. The things they did to her…” She trailed off, shuddering. She could feel Connor’s blue eyes boring into her, and she turned away. “Hell, if I were her, I’d never trust another human being again. Any human being.”
    Connor opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue that point, but at that moment, the doors of the terminal burst open, and a rowdy group of teens poured out, rushing them as they all tried to speak at once. The Potentials, Scarlet recognized with a little uneasiness, led by Rashida—the same group of kids with the weird psychic powers who had once tricked her into helping them, only to turn her and Caleb over to the enemy. What were they doing here? Were they now fighting for the home team? She remembered how, just before being taken away, she’d done a little psychic push of her own, sending Rashida a vision of the Dracken’s true mission. Had that worked to change their minds—and loyalties? Helped them realize who the bad guys really were?
    Connor put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. The group fell silent. “I’m sorry. There’s been a slight…complication,” he told them. “But I assure you, we’re not giving up.” He began to give a rundown of the day’s events.
    Scarlet took the opportunity to slip away from the crowd, unnoticed. After all, she’d already lived the story firsthand, and now she had other priorities. Heading over to the terminal, she pushed open the front doors and stepped inside.
    The place was sparse and had certainly seen better days, but it was clean and well kept, and she could tell some effort had been made to bring it to a livable level. There were several tables and chairs spread out across the main room, covered with puzzles and board games and computer tablets, and a foosball table was set