No Peace for the Damned

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.”
    “How often?” This from Shane. His blank face wavered when I turned to him.
    “Every day.”
    Marie’s tight manicure clicked on the table. She snorted. “I don’t believe you.” Images of me flashed in her mind. Pictures she’d studied from my family’s Network file. A Senate campaign event, a Kelch Inc. holiday function—prestigious occasions held on the estate where I’d been dressed up and put on display. If only they had a photo of what had taken place after the guests said their good-byes.
    She continued with her jaw set. “Obviously you can get inside our heads, but you probably just made up that whole scene so we