No Peace for the Damned

everything went dark
.
    It was like changing the channel on a TV show. I switched off the memory and was back in the Thirsty Turtle’s basement conference room. It only took me a moment to get my bearings. The others had a more difficult time.
    Heather and Cordele struggled to find their breath. Tears streamed down both their faces. Charles huddled in a tight embrace with Marie, trembling. Chang was curled up in the fetal position on the floor, his chair knocked backward. Banks and Shane both had their faces covered with their hands, shaking in restrained sobs.
    Jon was the first to move. He scrambled from the head of the table to Heather’s seat and pulled her into his lap as she curled in a ball. Her knees tight against her chest, he rocked her back and forth, gently rubbing her back. Then he buried his face in her hair just as she buried her face into his neck.
    Wait a minute.
What the hell was this?
This softness, this comfort…this didn’t correlate at all with my earlier assessment of Jon. I turned to Theo. He was already staring at me, his brow furrowed with pain and anger. I took a step toward him. His breath hitched and his chin lifted in response, stopping me midstride.
What was I doing?
    “I asked Magnolia to share this memory,” Thirteen said in a shaky voice, “to show just what this family is capable of. Experiments such as this one are confirmation that the Kelch brothers have been honing their powers for years. We have to assume they are planning something big.”
    I stared at the floor, my cheeks burning in humiliation. What Thirteen hadn’t said, but what was in the back of everyone’s mind, was that no one had ever imagined that the Kelch family would practice their horrible, torturous methods on one of their own.
    Always knew they’d kill anyone in their path
, Shane thought.
Callous bastards
.
    Fucking monsters
, Marie silently growled at me.
And she’s one of them…
    That guy in Buenos Aires was telepathic, but I’ve never heard of anyone who could take over our thoughts like that
. I glanced over to Jon.
She could completely manipulate our minds if she wanted to
.
    Cordele thought I was a mole, here to gain inside information about the Network. Shane and Charles thought I was the perfect distraction, sent by my father to plant false intel, steering the Network away from whatever huge terrorist plot they were concocting. They had visions of my Uncle Max forcing foreign nations into signing contracts, or my father destroying one of the primary competitors of Kelch Incorporated. Whatever was being plotted, it must be huge to send me into enemy hands.
    I tried not to roll my eyes.
    As if my family thought that much of the Network. Sure, they caused a setback every now and then, but truth be told, the organization was little more than an annoyance to my father. And Senator Max? He thought they were cute.
    “Another team needs to use the safe house where Magnolia has been staying,” Thirteen said. “So I will be taking her to the southwest HQ where she will be living for the rest of the summer. There is much to be discussed. Take the rest of today to do what you must then we’ll meet again at HQ tomorrow evening at six. Until then…” Thirteen wanted to say more, but what was there to say?
Your newest team member just totally mind-fucked you, but really, trust her—she’s on our side. And by the way, be nice and don’t attack her again. She really doesn’t want to have to kill you
.
    Yeah, there was nothing else to say.
    I turned to leave with Thirteen but glanced back at Theo once more. He hadn’t moved since I had pulled back the memory. He knew I was the biggest threat any of them had ever seen. He knew the Network was in over their heads with my family. Any other time, he would have made the practical decision and killed me before it was too late. But this time, with me, the thought of hurting me made him sick. And the thought of someone else hurting me? He reached for the blade hidden at his ankle before he even knew what he was doing.
    Our eyes met. His pulse sped until it beat in time with my own. He leaned forward in his seat and gripped the table to hold himself in place just as I gripped the frame of the door.
    Thirteen touched my arm and I jumped.
Shit
.
    Without looking back, I hurried past Thirteen and out of the room. I didn’t breathe again until the metal door was shut securely.
    The Network wasn’t the only one in over its head.

I loved downtown