No Peace for the Damned

refuses to allow us to help him deal with his ability. He prefers to live on the street where people walk past him and look the other way. They just let him be, and he prefers that life to anything we’ve offered.”
    So that was Miller’s role in the Network—directory babysitting. Thirteen took another drink.
Good idea
. I finished off my whiskey.
    “When Theo told us this morning that the only question asked of him was about
l’annuaire
, I had to move quickly to contain William. He was immediately moved to a secure location where he will remain until I assign him keepers and move him to a guarded safe house.”
    “Do you need this house back?” I offered.
Oh God, please don’t make me give up my house already
.
    “No. William will be moved out of state.” Thirteen shook his head to himself. “We always knew that if the one of our enemies discovered
l’annuaire
it would be devastating to our organization. It’s why so few in the Network know of his existence—we couldn’t risk someone being broken and leaking his identity.”
    Shane sat forward. “Plausible deniability.”
    Thirteen gave one slow nod. I sat forward.
    “Then why the hell are you telling us now?” Shane controlled his volume, but just barely. Inside he cursed Thirteen left and right. “Kelches are still abducting Network members—still torturingus for this information. So why even tell us about this guy? Now, if one of us is captured, we’ll have exactly what they want.”
    Thirteen’s eyes were cold, his voice controlled. “I tell you because it is now
your
job to protect our most valuable secret. It is now
your
duty to make absolutely certain that our enemies do not acquire
l’annuaire
. The Kelches already know that he exists. We’re not going to waste precious time and resources on concealing a secret that has already been revealed.”
    Marie sat forward, her glare so venomous Jon and Charles adjusted in their seats. “How did the Kelches even find out about
l’annuaire
?” she asked. “None of us knew that he existed. And it’s not like anyone here could just pick a word like that out of someone’s head. Oh, wait! Yes they could.”
    What a bitch!
    The glass in Marie’s hand shattered. “Did you see that?” she gasped. “See what she did?”
    “Oh, please,” I said and sat back in my seat. “I didn’t even draw blood.”
    “Magnolia!” Thirteen put his arm out as if he were going to hold me back.
I have enough on my plate without having to worry about your temper!
    He was right. Great, now I felt bad.
Sorry
.
    He turned back to Marie. “We don’t know how the word was introduced to the Kelches. And while other Network members are currently investigating that very subject,
this
team’s focus should be on our assignments going forward.
    “The Kelches have always had limited interest in the Network. They view us as nothing more than an annoyance or a cleanup crew that sometimes hinders their well-laid plans. They have never seen our organization as a true threat.”
    I looked at Thirteen. Had I told him that, or was he just that perceptive?
    “So why the interest now?” Jon said, finishing Thirteen’s thought. “Why make the effort to track down a Network directory if they don’t see us as an important adversary?”
    “Precisely. Why now? Logic would dictate that either we have done something to cause the brothers more irritation than they have led us to believe, or…”
    “Or they really are getting ready to do something big…something that can’t afford to be hindered.” Shane concluded. He turned to me and glared. God, it was like every day the guy hated me more.
    Thirteen looked grave. “Exactly.”

The double beep of the alarm sounded. Everyone looked around the room.
    Who wasn’t here?
    “There was an unidentified substance in the remains of the bodies of the Network agents,” Thirteen continued, unaffected. “Something that our Network staff recognized only after the initial reports were released. It was so minute in mass that the coroner dismissed the substance as drug residue from the weapons that were used to torture the victims. I had a Network agent analyze a sample of the substance to determine its origin.”
    The monitor beeped again. The front door opened wide. Everyone in the room, myself included, turned in unison. My jaw dropped. A man, twice the size of the largest guard at the estate—maybe even bigger than Thirteen—appeared in the doorway. He was dark, hooded.