No Peace for the Damned

concern softened his glare. He was truly torn.
    “Jon,” I said, keeping my words and tone as civil as possible. “I will not lose Thirteen. And
you
are not capable of retrieving him.”
    I could see his next argument coming.
    “I do not report to you, Jon, and I sure as hell don’t take orders from you. I will find Thirteen and I will bring him back.” I stalked into the entryway and laced up my shoes.
    “You can’t do this by yourself,” Theo called out. His long strides brought him quickly through the kitchen and into the hall. I fumbled with my sneakers. The laces caught in my fingers. Why couldn’t I tie my freaking shoes?
    Theo and Jon exchanged a look and once again their thoughts mirrored one another. I glared up at both of them, ready for an argument. A loud scrambling from the great room stopped us all.
Great. Now what?
    Chang moaned from the great room floor. I rolled my eyes again. Shane went to check on him.
    “Too much, dude,” Chang moaned. “That chick is just too much.”
    “Don’t worry,” Shane said, and shot me a glare of pure venom. “Apparently she’s suicidal. We won’t have to deal with her much longer anyway.”
    “What the hell is your problem?!” The room shimmered. My vision darkened as red tint shaded everything around me. I stifled a gasp.
Shit!
It was so close to the surface now. A little agitation at Shane and—bam!—my blood dream came to life. I forced some deep breaths. Once my vision was normal again, I turned back to Shane. “What in the world did I
ever
do to you?”
    “You exist!” he snarled.
    That was it. Thirteen’s abduction, Theo’s hurtful thoughts, my powers acting up—I’d had enough. And Shane’s perpetual attitude was just the outlet I needed. I narrowed my focus and drilled into his mind in the most violent way possible.
Mindsweep
.
    His hands flew from Chang’s arms, dropping the man back to the floor with a thud. His fingers pressed hard to his temples. He crashed to his knees with an ear-piercing cry. Guilt tightened my chest but I didn’t stop. At least not until I saw the buried reason behind his anger.
    Shane cared for me. Really,
really
cared for me. So much so, he didn’t know how to handle it. The images in his mind were like a slideshow of every moment I’d ever been near him. When I’d first entered the conference room of the Thirsty Turtle. Sitting beside him on the way to Banks’s house. The first time I’d smiled in his direction. And every magical illusion I’d created in training. He had found inexplicable joy in everything I had done.
    And he hated himself for that.
    My family had killed his parents. He’d hated me before he even met me. But when I walked into the conference room that first time, everything changed. He saw the bond forming between me and his teammate—a teammate with a long history of getting whatever female he wanted. Nothing would ever happen between Shane and me. He hoped that knowledge would be enough. It wasn’t. He didn’t want to care for me. He simply couldn’t help it.
    “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
    He met my eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Because I had been so cruel, he knew what I had seen in his thoughts. I couldn’t speak for what I’d done.
    “Shane? You all right, man?” Jon had pulled his gun and was pointing it at the floor in front of me. Shane lowered his head and wiped a hand over his face.
    “I’m good,” he said finally. He pulled himself to standing and brushed off his clothes.
    “Is everything cool here?” Jon asked, his eyes darting between me and Shane.
    “Yeah, it’s cool,” Shane said. He ran his hand from the back of his neck over his hair and down his face. Then he shook his head like a wet dog. “So what’s the plan?”
    I just stared at him. What could I possibly say?
    “Take the blueprints,” Chang called from the floor. “They’re still in my car.”
    Shane once again bent down to help. Theo moved behind me. He lifted his hand, reaching for the side of my arm. I moved swiftly out of his reach. Shane’s pain was too close to my own. And now wasn’t the time to deal.
    “I’m going after Thirteen,” I said to Jon, needing to get back to business. “But his retrieval will be my only concern. If Banks or anyone else is there, I can’t guarantee their safe return.”
    Jon measured me for a moment. He gripped his gun tighter but left it at his side.
    “So any other captives are the Network’s responsibility,” Theo said from