No Peace for the Damned (24 page)

“No!” Theo’s eyes locked on my face. “You are not the enemy.”

Had he just…? No, that was impossible. Theo wasn’t telepathic.

Jon coughed loudly, shuffling his feet. “We, er, have some news that can’t wait,” he said.

“Of, of course,” I stammered. My cheeks burned as Jon tried unsuccessfully to avert his gaze. “Just…just give me a minute.”

I slid to the side, peeling myself from Theo’s lap. His hands grabbed tightly onto my upper thighs, holding me in place. His eyes bored into mine—angry, determined, and something else I didn’t recognize. My eyes burned as I held back the tears. I pulled away from his grip and clutched the blanket to my chest.

My body felt odd, more solid as I moved. The connection between us was stronger now. Like a palpable weight inside me. I might be a Kelch, but that didn’t change the fact that we were more linked than ever before. The reality left me feeling very…breakable.

I gripped the blanket tighter, quickly gathered my discarded shirt and bra—
When had my bra come off?
—and raced to my room.

He waited to waylay me in the kitchen when I came back but I didn’t give him the chance. I was refocused on my job and responsibility—I had to put him aside for now.

I swung around the long table and plopped down on the faded ottoman in front of Jon. Theo stood at my back, his presence more discernible than ever. I could hear his soft breathing, feel his pulse, feel the heat inside him as his frustration grew.

Yeah, no distractions there
.

“So what’s up?” I asked Jon, totally businesslike.

After a quick glance over my head, Jon went into a long explanation about a text message he’d received from Thirteen. I tried to pay attention. I
wanted
to pay attention. But my insides ached as if ripped apart.

“Did you hear what I said?” Jon said loudly, probably for the second time.
Ugh! Stupid, distracting…

I quickly read his thoughts and gasped. “
Ohmygod!
” I jumped to my feet.

“Right,” Jon said. “So any suggestions on what to do now?”

“I have to go get him.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jon was on his feet in front of me. Shane and Theo jumped up as well. “We don’t even know where he is.”

“Of course we do. Theo was held at the estate. Thirteen must be there too.”

I moved to sidestep Jon. He cut me off. The room’s atmosphere suddenly shifted. Aggression seeped into the air all around us. My instincts took over. I adjusted my position. My power itched beneath my skin. Jon held his position in front of me, blocking me from the door. His hand moved to the butt of his gun.

“You said that your father and uncle weren’t the ones orchestrating these attacks. What makes you so sure they’re being held at the estate?” Jon’s voice was deep, deliberate.

All my senses were on alert. I chose my words carefully. “Like I said, Theo was held at the estate. I don’t know who is behind the attacks, but it makes sense that the others are being held where Theo was.”

“And yet you didn’t see the need to return to the estate until now. Until Thirteen.” His voice was so low it came out in a hiss. “Was this your plan, Magnolia? Set up Thirteen’s capture then return to your family?”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake!” My stance relaxed. I rolled my eyes. I should have known this was where his thoughts were going.
Stupid distractions! I was missing everything!
I pierced Jon with a look. He took a step back.

“Listen to me very closely, Jon,” I said, my voice like ice. “Thirteen is the one and only person in my entire existence to truly care for me.” Theo shifted behind me. “I will do whatever it takes to get him away from my family. Whatever it takes.”

I let the threat hang in the air as Jon processed my meaning. His hand fell away from his gun. “Whether he’s being held there or not, it’s not like we can just walk onto the Kelch estate and start looking around. It’s something the Network has tried in the past with exceptionally bad results.”

“But
I
can go,” I insisted. “I can search the grounds undetected.” My stomach dropped at the idea, but I held my ground. Jon looked at Theo.

“What about getting in his head and bringing him back the way you did me,” Theo said tightly. “You can get him out of there and not have to risk yourself.”

“I already tried that. It doesn’t work on him.” I glanced at Theo over my shoulder. When I turned back to Jon, 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 behind me.

I kept my eyes on Jon. He cocked a brow. “Is this your way of asking for backup, Magnolia?”

“This is my way of telling you where my loyalties lie.” My voice was cold again. “If you come onto the estate with me, I can get you in undetected, but my only concern will be Thirteen. I won’t have your back in a fight with my family, and you cannot defeat them on your own.”

“You aren’t the only one who cares about Thirteen.”

“But I
am
the only one who can get him back.”

The room hung in the pregnant pause. Shane finally spoke up. “We’re coming with you, and we’ll bring
everyone
back—including each other. So let’s get organized.”

Jon nodded in agreement. So did Theo.

“Fine,” I snapped. “But get organized in the car. We’ve got to move.”

We marched out the door to Jon’s Cherokee. The metal screen bounced against the frame behind us.

“I’ll just be here on point,” I heard Chang call out as we hit the driveway.

Good. At least someone would live to tell the others what happened
.

According to the clock, it was early afternoon, but the sky was thick and black. Thunder growled on the horizon. The temperature had dropped about ten degrees in the last forty-five minutes. I wanted to blame my growing nausea on nerves from the pending storm. But it was the perfectly landscaped lawns that really made me cringe. Everything was so
perfect
on the north side. No overgrown cornfields, no little run-down farmhouses, just golf courses or stringently maintained community parks. No one on the north side ordered carryout from King’s Rib like we did during training.

After maneuvering several trail-lined side streets, I directed Jon to pull over at the wooded edge of the property’s far east side. Jon turned the Jeep onto a dirt inlay behind a thick grouping of trees and parked out of sight.

Chang had provided property lines and structural blueprints of the estate. Jon, Shane, and Theo huddled in the car, outlining
their rescue plans for any other hostages found. The dry wind twisted my hair, and scents of the southern gardens wafted through the air. I was really here…returning to the place where nightmares came true. Thirteen
had
to be my focus. It was the only way I could continue breathing.

“We can hike it from here,” I told them.

Each man adjusted his weapons as we exited the car. To survive here, I had to rely on instinct alone. No feelings, no thoughts…just survival. With a deep breath, my mind relaxed into a state of suspended animation. Power hummed beneath my skin. I was all senses and strength now, pure instinct. I shuddered at the familiarity of the feeling, at the necessity.

“Mag.”

Warm breath whispered at my neck. Theo’s heart-wrenching thoughts tripped through my mind, but the force of our connection still calmed me. My breathing steadied. I kept my back to Theo as he placed his warm hand at the base of my neck. My powers surged. Golden light tinted my vision. Just a touch from Theo now and my powers jumped to this new level. Hell, this was even more intense than the red.

His hands lingered, fueling the power along with the urge to get closer to him. Another moment and I stepped away, shrugging him off. It was all just too raw. I turned away from him but I held tight to the swell of our bond inside me. At least something good came from this mess with him—my control was reinforced steel now. My thoughts, my instincts, my powers—everything that made me
me
—kicked into gear with evolved focus.

Voices began to come through. Four captives, over a mile away—never before would I have been able to hear their thoughts so clearly. Now I could pinpoint their exact location, hear their individual minds.

My lips stretched into a wide grin. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

We stood in a close circle behind the Jeep. The best way to enter the estate would be over the southern wall. I used Chang’s blueprints to outline where the cameras were and the distance from the camera view to a “safe” area inside the grounds. We would go over the wall as a group so I could camouflage our appearance as we moved. Once in a safe area, I’d pull back the camouflage so they could each see where the others were.

“Thirteen and three other Network members are being held in an old two-story horse barn on the southeast acreage. Two of the members are awake, but injured. The third is unconscious.” I kept my tone distant, focused. “Thirteen is in the gated room on the second-floor loft,” I continued. “The others are downstairs in the former storage rooms. There are seven men guarding them who—”