No Peace for the Damned (5 page)

By the time I finished my drink, locked the front and back doors, and went back into the bedroom, it was almost dark. I pulled on a T-shirt and slipped into the bed. My bed. My room. My house. No one was going to hurt me here. No one was even going to try. I repeated the words over and over until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I went for a walk. The morning air was fresh with dew. As I wandered through the woods around the farmhouse I thought of Uncle Mallroy. He loved mornings like this. The stillness, the gray landscape. He’d always gotten so upset if someone dared interrupt his morning commune with nature. For once, I understood the feeling.

“You know, it’s not polite to follow people,” I called out.

Thirteen chuckled. He pushed the branches away and walked to the edge of the woods beside me.

“You’re right,” he said. “And I apologize. I was just anxious to see you. Did you sleep OK?”

I shrugged. “Well enough.”

“Are you ready for this evening’s meeting?”

“Yeah, about that—I’ve been thinking about something you told me a while ago. You said that Network membership is anonymous. But all those people yesterday already knew each other. I thought this special task force was a new thing.”

“The task force is new, but the agents I’ve chosen are experienced. They’ve worked on previous missions and have crossed paths with one another before. Also, yesterday’s meeting wasn’t the first the task force has had. It was just the first you’ve attended.”

“I don’t know why you don’t just list out an employee directory anyway. Seems to me it would be easier if everyone knew who everyone was.”

“Everyone knows who is on their assigned team,” he explained with a hint of annoyance. “That’s all they need to know. The people we track have supernatural abilities, Magnolia, and are extremely dangerous. If the Network or our members became public knowledge…”

“Covers blown, danger to agents’ families, blah, blah, blah—I remember the conversation.”

He shook his head at me and sighed. “You really surprised them yesterday. Your powers, your aura—they’ve never seen anything like you.” He hesitated. “I think every single one of them called me last night, bombarding me with questions about you.” He cleared his throat. “I filled them in as best I could, but some things you’ll have to answer yourself. If you’re comfortable doing so.”

I ground my teeth. “I thought we were past the evasiveness, Thirteen. If you want to know something, just ask.”

He stepped in front of me, his wide frame blocking out the rising sun. “Why you, Magnolia?” he asked quietly. “Everyone in your family has powers. Why were you the only one they tortured?”

Humiliation sat coldly in my chest, chilling me with the truth. “No one has powers like mine. I can’t die. No matter what they did, no matter how hard they tried, I always lived.”

He lifted his head in understanding. “You were their first failure.”

“I am their only failure.”

I stepped past him to look out over the open cornfield. Brown and full of weeds, completely unused, forgotten. Each dead bush, each overgrown vine—all further proof that this was not the estate. That I was still free.

“Thank you,” he said softly, “for helping us the way you are.”

“It’s just information. You guys already know a lot. I’m just filling in the holes.” At least that’s what I’d been telling myself.

“You’re helping. It won’t be easy talking about your family, but knowing what we are up against will be invaluable when the time comes to bring down one of your relatives.”

I stared into the field, watching as the fog slowly lifted. “I could still run away,” I murmured, not sure why I’d said the words out loud. Thirteen stiffened.

“Is that still an option you’re considering?”

I jerked another shrug.

“Then you’re not really free.”

I turned on him with a glare. “Of course I’m free. I escaped, didn’t I? I can make my own choices and go wherever I want.”

“Of course you can make your own choices. But escaping was just the first step. There is still so much fear inside of you. It’s not enough to be away from your father and uncles. As long as fear rules your decisions, you will never be truly free of your family.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “Working with this team will be another step in helping you rid yourself of that fear. You need this, Magnolia, just as much as we need you.”

I turned away from him.

A vision of Theo popped in my head. Held down in a field like this, his body drenched in sweat and blood. My father standing over him, killing him with unseen knives as Theo begged for mercy. Around them, the field was littered with the bodies of the rest of the team. My chest tightened in a painful ache. Pain pierced my side as if I were the one being stabbed. I stumbled forward.
No!

The image vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
What the hell?
Thirteen steadied me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing. I just—I was just thinking about what you said. What it might be like for your team if they tried to take down one of my relatives now. You know, without knowing what they were really up against.” I looked back at the field. Still barren, but sunlight peeked through the clouds now, brightening the gray. “It was nothing.”

Nothing except my option of leaving evaporating with the fog.

He watched me closely for a moment then said, “Come on,” and indicated the direction of the farmhouse. “I’ll walk you back.” I stepped up beside him and together we made our way back through the woods.

What I felt for Thirteen was strong, but he had earned my trust and concern by keeping my presence secret all these months. He’d helped me acclimate to my freedom, taught me the basics of daily life like grocery shopping and debit cards. Theo had done nothing but sit there. And yet, the need to know everything about him was almost overwhelming. I wanted to touch him, to get in his mind and know what aggravated him or made him laugh. What was important to him. What he hated. What he loved. Had Theo done something to me? He must have a power I’d never heard of before or something. The way I felt when I looked at him, the utter terror I’d experienced at the mere thought of him being tortured by my family…

We stepped into the clearing just before the farmhouse and I realized I was hugging myself. I dropped my arms to my sides.
Screw this
.
Whatever he’d done to make me care so much, I was stronger. I had control over my feelings just as much as I had control over my powers. And I’d be damned if I let what I felt for him distract me again.

It was still early in the evening when the sliding, crunching sound of cars on gravel came from outside. One of the hidden security monitors in the bedroom beeped twice. I grabbed my whiskey and waited in the kitchen.

Wonder if they will bother knocking, or just come right in?

A single beep sounded when footsteps hit the front porch. Everything was quiet for a minute, then they knocked.

“It’s open.”

They entered the kitchen in a single-file line. It was everyone from the meeting, minus Chang. Each one of them stared me down as they silently flowed into the cramped kitchen. Those who sat down did so in exactly the same order they had in the Thirsty Turtle’s conference room.

Their faces were practiced blanks, every one of them completely devoid of expression.
Good
. They were tough, not dwelling on the trauma of my memory. They might actually be able to handle what I was going to tell them.

“Where is Thirteen?” Shane asked. He sat in one of the seats across from me, his thick arms crossed over his chest, his long blond hair hanging in his eyes. When I turned to him, his expression wavered, a flash of anger peeking through. He was seriously pissed off at me but his thoughts weren’t giving specifics as to why.

“He and Banks are picking up some food,” I answered. “They’ll be here any minute.”

And thank God for that
.

Not that the room’s awkwardness bothered me, but there was absolutely no food in the house. And I was starving. In fact, besides toilet paper, there were hardly any of the essentials. I’d brought my own whiskey, but with only two bottles left, even that was in short supply.

That reminded me. “Does, um, anyone want a drink?”

As soon as I spoke, I winced. What the hell could I offer them? Whiskey or water? And were there even enough glasses for everybody?
Shit
. My cheeks started to burn.
I must look ridiculous
.

“We’re fine,” Jon said. Then he forced a “Thank you.”

I shrugged and took another drink. It was a strange silence, what with all of them staring at me, trying to be intimidating. I glanced across the table to Charles. He’d spent most of the day at the ER getting pins put in his broken hand. The cast was so huge his fingers weren’t even exposed.

“We were hoping we weren’t too early,” said Cordele, fingering a lock of her hair. She needed to touch up her roots. Probably shouldn’t point that out, though. “We tend to run ahead of schedule. The Network is kind of unnaturally efficient that way.” Her eyes widened into perfect circles. She blushed deeply and looked at the table, hoping no one had actually heard her.

“No problem,” I said. “I tend to be
unnaturally
efficient myself.”

“We already knew.”

Everyone’s expression so perfectly mirrored one another’s that it took me a second to pinpoint Charles’s wife as the speaker.

“Excuse me?”

Marie’s dark eyes narrowed. “We already knew that your family had powers. And that they’ve used those
abilities
—” she spat the word in disgust “—to torture anyone they wanted. Hell, the number of unexplained deaths in the pharmaceutical division of Kelch Incorporated alone should have them on the FBI’s most wanted list. The whole corporation is just screaming ‘front operation.’ But they aren’t even a blip on the feds’ radar. Gun running, election fraud, illegal drug development, murder—no one can get away with that much illegal activity without leaving any evidence. Not without supernatural help. It’s why the Network was created. Why this team was brought together in the first place.”
So don’t think you showed us anything special
, the last words heavily implied.

Her short hair had been styled into tight curls, emphasizing the pinch of her face. She squeezed Charles’s good hand as she sat taller in her seat.

Well, wasn’t she just the important little bitch.

I peeked into her thoughts. Ah yes, textbook alpha female. I was prettier than she was. Stronger, more powerful, and I had Thirteen’s ear—all justifiable reasons for her to hate me before she even met me. How petty.

I moved my glass in circles on the table. “I’m well aware of why Thirteen brought this team together,” I said evenly. “Apparently, you think you actually know something about who my family is and what we can do. In case yesterday’s demonstration didn’t clue you in—you know, the one where I used a power you didn’t even know existed to push a memory into your minds—I’m here to show you just how much to have to learn. And, by the way, Thirteen already provided me with all your Network’s evidence against my family.”

“Does Thirteen know that he provided you all this evidence?” Theo asked. He leaned against the wall that separated the great room from the kitchen. I’d avoided looking in his direction but, damn, he just smelled so good. I braced myself and met his gaze. His expression was a familiar blank. But something inside me recognized him, and not just from yesterday’s meeting. This was something more. Had I felt this yesterday? I didn’t think so.

“Er, no. Not all of it.”

The corners of his mouth wavered, struggling not to smile.

Heather leaned forward in her seat. “It was real, wasn’t it?” she asked urgently. She’d given up trying to keep her expression blank. “What we felt and saw at the Turtle, in that tank with…” she shuddered. “That was a real memory of yours? That really happened to you?”

I took a long drink. My own face fell into a practiced mask.

“Yes,” I said. “That happened to me.”

Heather swallowed. “And other things? It was more than just that one time?”

“Yes. It was more than that one time.”