No Peace for the Damned

bitch
. I closed my eyes.
    “So that’s it, then?” I asked, trying to contain my anger. “My punishment for not following your orders: you’re going to make me fight. Put me on the front lines—see if my power can match my family’s in a real one-on-one battle? Well you can go to hell, because I’ve already done my time, and I’m sure as hell not going back!”
    “I will do everything in my power to keep you from coming face-to-face with your family,” he said quickly. “You must knowthat by now. But you asked to join today. You fought me to be here then came alone after I refused.” He took a deep breath. “I know I’ve already asked more of you than we ever agreed to. Today, when you saved Cordele, you proved that you’re willing to do what’s necessary to support and protect this team. If you want to just keep training, remain an invaluable resource away from the threat of action, I have no problem with that. But that’s not what you wanted when you snuck out to come here today.”
    Actually going up against my father or Uncle Max—could I even do that? Like, physically, was it even possible? The thought of seeing any one of my relatives made bile rise in my throat. I needed more whiskey.
    “I’ll train them on some of the other powers,” I said finally. “It’s time to move on to something beyond combat anyway.”
    He nodded and I looked away. This conversation wasn’t over. I knew that. But right now I didn’t want to think anymore.
    I threw back the rest of my drink. “When can I leave?”
    He looked at his watch. “The team is meeting back at your farmhouse in an hour.”
    I rubbed my hands over my face.
Great
.

A bagel in one hand and my whiskey in the other, I sat cross-legged on one of the ottomans in the great room. Theo sat across from me on one of the longer couches with Jon and Heather. Whatever it was that drew me to him, it was getting stronger.
    Thirteen was all business. He’d been on the phone with Banks, and while nothing was official yet, the coroner on site thought the body found at Batalkis’s house was Batalkis himself. We’d have to wait to find out how long his body had been there. Of course, if the corpse had been there too long, I would have smelled it rotting. No point sharing that, though. Didn’t want to interrupt Thirteen when he was all-business mode.
    Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the front window right into Thirteen’s eyes. He kept moving around to avoid the glare. Curtains. How could I have gone this long without getting some?
    “Chang is compiling a new list of all Kelch and Kelch Incorporated properties,” Thirteen continued. “We will work on rotations—each scouting out a given site for likelihood of holding hostages. We will reconvene here in the morning to determine next steps.”
    Thirteen paused and took a shaky breath. There hadn’t been any more bodies recovered, but at least three Network agents were still missing. Their absences affected him more than he wanted the others to know.
    “Magnolia,” he said. I sat straighter. “You said that your family’s power was used at Batalkis’s home. Something more than just their physical strength. Can you show us how to defend against what you felt?”
    I nodded and shoved the last of my bagel in my mouth. I brushed away the crumbs from my shirt and quickly tried to piece together a good exercise to start with.
    That’s when I lost them.
Crap
.
    All around the room, minds went numb. Hadn’t they gotten used to me yet? I mean, seriously, a brush of my hands over my chest shouldn’t send them all dumb and loopy anymore. I glanced at Heather and Cordele. Both women gave me arched looks. Then Marie. Her eyes were just as glassy and unfocused as the men’s.
    Well. That certainly added another level of hostility to the petty anger she continued to throw my way.
    “Hey!” I yelled. “Snap out of it!”
    Cordele swung back from her seat and whacked Shane on the side of the head. “Ow!”
    “Well, it worked on Chang.” She shrugged then flashed a smug grin. Everyone blinked themselves back to normal.
    “You all know how fast I can move, how easy it is for me to incapacitate you. So when the time comes, remember, distance is best. If you
are
forced to fight hand-to-hand with one of them,remember the basics: they’re all about speed and strength. Especially my brothers. Both have martial arts training but they didn’t take it seriously. There’s no thought in their