I cocked a brow at the guy. “You know, Darrel, I have some lozenges in my car. I could run out and grab them for you. Could really help with that throat thing you have going on.” I uncrossed my legs as if getting ready to stand.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he snarled. I smiled. He was a lean guy, about six feet, with the creamy complexion of a mixed race. His hair was knotted in tight dreads, and his jaw was set. He was a tough one, controlled. But I’d got him to break their little code of silence. It was a petty victory, I know, but a victory nonetheless. And Darrel cursed himself for falling for it. I leaned back again, took another drink.
“How’s the wrist doing, Tony?” I asked over my shoulder to the third guy sitting on the counter. He was younger than the others—just under twenty-four. And while his mind was sharp, he had the blond curls and golden tan of a West Coast surfer. I’d run into a lot of guys like him over the past months whenever I’d ventured out to a mall or passed through a college campus. I couldn’t take him seriously if I wanted to. “Sorry to shatter the bones like that. It’s just this thing I do whenever someone aims a gun at my head. I hope it doesn’t hinder your role in your current assignment.”
He didn’t respond, of course, but his mind wasn’t quite as disciplined as his teammates’—I saw some of the details of their current Network assignment. Like the name of their supernatural target. Weird, it wasn’t anyone from my family.
Colin walked carefully back into the kitchen, tapping his cell phone against his forehead. Luce sat straighter in her seat. Tony continued to nurse his broken wrist but hopped off the counter at Colin’s nod. His now bullet-free Glock clanged against the counter when he moved. Colin blew out a breath and studied my face. He reminded me so much of Jon. Clean-cut, thirtysomething, oozing natural leadership. Hell, even his hair was gelled in a similar catalog-model style.
Thinking of Jon immediately reminded me of Theo. I looked away and focused on my drink.
Colin dropped his cell phone on the table. When I glanced up, he’d put on his serious interrogator face.
“Magnolia. Like the flower. That’s what you said your name was, right? What, is that supposed to be some cool single name like Beyoncé or Ke$ha? Tell me again, cool flower girl, why are you here?”
I ignored his lame attempt at intimidation and looked around the kitchen. The faded gold-and-brown wallpaper still peeled in the corners. Ugly wood paneling still covered the wall behind Darrel. There were still breaks in the wood from a little disagreement Jon and I had had last summer. I ran my hands over the oversize table. This was where Thirteen had asked me to teach his team how to kill someone with my powers. My chest ached remembering the hurt that request had caused me. The furnace kicked on and blew burned air through the vents in the ceiling. Over the sink, the yellow curtains I’d once bought to pretty up the place wavered.
“This is my home,” I said softly. Damn it, even I could hear the longing in my voice.
“No,” Colin replied. “This house is owned by a private organization, one you seem to know quite a bit about.”
“The house is owned by me. And of course I know about the Network. I work for them.”
“So says you—an obvious supernatural threat. Why would someone with your abilities work with an agency whose sole purpose is to police and contain individuals considered a supernatural risk? It would be like fighting against your own kind.”
He had no idea.
“Who are you really working for?”
I rolled my eyes.
“OK, then,” he said, changing tactics. “If you really work for the Network, then who is your team leader?”
I gave him a look. “Network members are anonymous except to those they immediately work with. I could list out my entire team and you wouldn’t know a single name to confirm or deny.” A near-silent beep sounded from the small bedroom at the back of the house. I shrugged. “But maybe the guy pulling in the driveway will have a higher clearance level than you. Who knows?”
Colin nodded to Darrel, sending him to check out the front window. “It’s FedEx,” Darrel announced, returning to the kitchen and shooting me a tight, satisfied grin. “He’s pulling around the back.”
“Little late for deliveries, isn’t it?” I asked. All four of them watched me closely, waiting for the sweat of anticipation to bead on my face. It was such a cute, stereotypical cop-movie moment. I almost felt bad for letting them down. The car outside shut off. Snow crunched under heavy footsteps as the driver made his way around to the front porch. His thoughts were clipped. No wasted emotion, just straight here and now. It was strange to sense so much method and so little feeling. Yet vaguely familiar. When the front door opened, I actually found myself feeling a little of that anticipation they were hoping for.
Colin met the man before he entered the kitchen. “Thanks for coming,” he murmured. “She’s in here.” They walked back in together. The guy was enormous. Solid muscle. Six seven, six eight—he had to walk a little sideways to fit his wide shoulders through the narrow hall. His straight black hair hung to his shoulders, casting shadows on his already-dark, stubbled jaw. He looked down on me, his face equal parts masculine lines and blank expression. I heard Luce’s breath catch in appreciation. I totally agreed. But his thoughts had my guard up instantly: Magnolia Kelch. Youngest offspring of Magnus Kelch, CEO Kelch Incorporated. Previous informant under Network chief Thirteen. Known preternatural powers include telekinesis, telepathy, supernatural speed, supernatural strength, and regeneration.
“Are you sure that’s all?” I asked drily and let my eyes glow a moment with a touch of power. His expression didn’t change, but a mental wall slammed shut in his mind. I had met him only one time before, when he’d delivered a package to Thirteen during a team meeting last summer. His mental walls were as solid now as they had been then. I could still get through if I wanted to, but now wasn’t the time. “Hello again, Jesse,” I said tightly. “Or is it FedEx now?”
He didn’t speak. He just pulled a cell phone from his back pocket, punched in a number, and held it to his ear. When the call was answered, he didn’t wait for a hello. “She’s back,” he said in a gravelly voice.
There was a long pause. “Where?” a deep voice asked softly on the other end. I froze with my drink halfway to my mouth. Thirteen.
“South-side farmhouse. St. Pierre’s team is using the place.” His wide lips twitched. “They’re holding her here.”
“No one’s hurt, are they?” Thirteen asked quickly. I swallowed my drink in a gulp and slammed the glass on the table.
“Oh! Like I can’t go anywhere without hurting someone? Thanks a lot, Thirteen!” I shouted loud enough to be sure he heard.
“One broken nose, a shattered wrist, multiple contusions, and one possible internal bleeding,” Jesse replied stoically.
I poured myself another shot. “Thanks a lot,” I muttered under my breath.
Darrel drew close to Colin and whispered in his ear. “Thirteen? As in senior chief of red-level threats?”
“Shut up,” Colin murmured, measuring me with new interest.
Jesse slapped his phone shut and pushed it back into his pocket. He turned to Colin.
“You had no clearance to use this residence.”
“We needed a secure location,” Colin argued. “This HQ hasn’t been reported as in use for months. As team leader I’m authorized to set up base in any available Network location deemed reasonable.”
“Not this location. Your team is relocating to a west-side safe house. The address will be forwarded to your phone in a moment.” Colin’s phone vibrated. Jesse turned back to me. “FedEx is my Network contact name. It was good to see you again, Magnolia.” Then he turned and walked out the front door.
Mr. Personality, that one. Good thing he was hot.
For a long moment no one spoke. “What the hell?” Tony erupted. “We’re just supposed to pack up and relocate? That’s bullshit!”
“Be quiet,” Colin ordered. Oh, I
had definitely piqued his interest—not only because I was a supernatural, but because I knew a Network bigwig he’d only ever seen in training. Did I have some kind of leverage against Thirteen? Was I his lover? How did I know FedEx, when he’d only just been given access to the task force liaison with this most recent assignment?
I waited for him to ask any one of the questions swimming in his head, but instead he just barked orders to his team. “Gather your files. I’ll forward the new HQ location, and we will reconvene at oh-six-hundred. Until then, get some rest. It’s been a long night.”
With that he ran a tired hand through his hair and returned to the great room. One by one the others gathered what papers and folders they had lying around, eyeing me curiously as they prepared to leave. I finished off my drink and went automatically to the broken cabinet over the refrigerator to get another bottle of Beam. I had to dust off the glass, but the contents were just fine. When I sat back down, Luce was staring at me.
“It’s mine,” I said, answering her unspoken question. “I put it there months ago for safekeeping. Want a drink?”
“I’m about to drive,” she pointed out.
“So that’s a no, then?”
She shook her head in mild disgust and followed Tony and Colin out the front door. Darrel shot me a lingering glare, then followed.
“It was a pleasure meeting you!” I called out. “Maybe we will all work together sometime!” A car door slammed in response. I frowned into my drink. As much control as I’d gained over my powers, my emotions were still too close to the surface. Strangers in my house? Instant rage. Thirteen assuming I’d injured Colin’s team? Immediate hurt. I’d been back for less than an hour, and already the emotions running through me were more intense than anything I’d felt in the six months I’d been away.
It made me wonder, how much more would I feel now that I’d come home?
CHAPTER 4
The good thing about Colin’s team invading my house was the food they left in the fridge. I’d planned on running to the minimarket a couple of miles down the county road, but now I could spend my morning unpacking. And cleaning. The pile of dishes in the sink told me they must have met here for planning sessions and recon meetings pretty regularly. But they couldn’t have spent any more time here than necessary, because the place was absolutely filthy.
The scent of mothballs and burned air coated everything from the sofas to the walls. I started in the small single bedroom, sweeping cobwebs from the ceiling. Nothing had been moved since I’d left. My department store quilts still covered the lumpy queen-size mattress; plastic crates I’d stacked to make a mock dresser still lined the wall under the metal-framed window; the completely out of place high-tech security system still remained hidden under loose files and cardboard boxes. The heater kicked on just as I dusted off the vent on the ceiling. Stale, dirty air blew right in my face, sending me into a bitch of a coughing fit.
I managed to get through all the dusting and was back on the ceiling, regluing the wallpaper border in the kitchen, when the quiet beep of the alarm announced a visitor. Instantly I reached out to the driver. No way I’d be caught off guard again.
I couldn’t help the small twist of disappointment when I confirmed the driver wasn’t Theo. Before I’d left, the connection between us had been stronger than any other power I’d ever experienced. But that connection was emotional. As excited as I was to see him again, I knew that my emotions weren’t as under control as my powers were. How that would affect our connection, I had no idea.
The car’s door shut quietly in the back parking area. An odd nervousness settled in my stomach. It wasn’t Theo, but it certainly wasn’t a stranger. I wiped my hands off on my sweatpants. From the cabinet over the stove, I grabbed a couple of juice glasses and poured out a finger of whiskey in each. Heavy footsteps hurried to the porch.
“It’s open,” I called out before Thirteen could knock. Quietly, he opened the front door. I didn’t listen to his thoughts—his mental walls were too strong for me to subtly browse anyway. He angled his way into the kitchen and stood in the doorway. Everything I’d missed about him was there. His strong hands that dwarfed my face whenever he cupped my chin. His crinkly smile and long gray hair that always needed cutting. His enormous stature that towered over everyone around him. The innate authority he wore like a thick overcoat. If he didn’t say something soon, I’d have to read his thoughts just to keep from biting my nails.
“You’ve grown,” he said softly.
“What? No, I haven’t.” I glanced down at myself. I looked exactly the same. My thick brown hair might have been a few inches longer, falling nearly to my waist now, but that was the only difference I could see. My legs were still too long for my five-foot-six height and still met with lean hips and tight tummy. My chest was just as generous as ever, turning more heads than I ever wanted. I adjusted my posture and scowled at him. “Why would you think that?”
A small smile tugged at his lips, softening his serious features. Against my will, tears burned the corners of my eyes.
“I wasn’t referring to your appearance.” He sighed. “Oh, Magnolia, how I have missed you.”
That was all it took. I leaped across the room and barreled into his chest. His arms wrapped around me in a tight bear hug that would have bruised anyone else. Thirteen’s scent of Old Spice and herbal tea filled my senses. This was the father I should have had. And my true welcome home.
He chuckled deep in his chest and set me back. His face was a mixture of surprise and amusement. “See?” he said. “When would you have ever voluntarily embraced another person before?”
I turned my back to him as heat flooded my face. Damn it, he was right. I would have never hugged someone before. Not even him. It was just seeing him after all this time—seeing that the unconditional affection he felt for me was still there—it was too much to hold back.
I shrugged and added ice to the whiskey glasses. “I guess I was just happy to see a familiar face. Especially after my not-so-welcome-home party last night. What are Colin and his team doing in Indiana anyway? I didn’t get everything from their thoughts, but that pyrotech art smuggler they’re tracking is from South Africa. If my father or uncles wanted to buy some priceless piece of crap, they’d use one of their mindless minions to go get it, not bring some dealer home to the estate.”
“There are supernatural threats other than the Kelch family, Magnolia. The Network tracks every one of them.”
“Maybe so, but no way anyone else with powers would dare come into our home state for any length of time. Not without invitation.”
He adjusted the cuff of his shirt. “Are you sure about that?”
I snorted. “Don’t pretend the Network isn’t aware of my family’s reputation.”
“We are. I just wasn’t certain that you knew your family’s notoriety in the supernatural community. Having been confined to the estate the majority of your life, I assumed you hadn’t encountered others with preternatural gifts.”
His words warmed my heart. He’d always thought of me as gifted, even when, at times, my powers seemed more a curse than anything else.
“Father and Uncle Max didn’t just bring business competitors and political adversaries to the estate. Lots of people with supernatural abilities were brought home over the years. Some actually worked with Father on different side projects for Kelch Inc.—usually the deeply buried ones. But most of the time, when someone came in, it was because they’d made the mistake of thinking they were stronger or more powerful than us. I don’t have to tell you how Father reacts when he thinks someone’s powers might be a match for his own.” I took a long swallow of my whiskey as my bones ached in remembered tortures.
Thirteen frowned. I continued explaining. “The year before I escaped, Father brought a telepath to the estate. It had been years since I’d been around a supernatural I wasn’t related to, but I felt his power immediately.”
“I thought you only felt your family’s power.”
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“Anyone with supernatural abilities can feel it when we’re around someone else with powers. It’s just easier for me to recognize my family’s energy because I’m so familiar with it.”
“So if I took you to a Network holding cell right now, you’d be able to tell me the powers of each person under investigation?”
The idea of the Network holding supernatural people prisoner made my mouth go dry.
“Er, no. Not really. It’s more like when we were investigating the break-in at Banks’s house last year—I knew power had been used, but I couldn’t tell who exactly had used it or what they had done. Anyway, this man at the estate had heard all kinds of horror stories about what happened to people with power who crossed paths with our family. For whatever reason, the guy was feeling brave. He stopped for some lunch at one of the delis near Kelch Inc.’s headquarters. Father might never have felt him if he’d eaten somewhere else. As it was, when Father’s driver took him past the deli—the street only a few feet away from the deli’s entrance—Father sensed the man’s power. He went inside, found the man among the crowd, and picked him up. The man’s bravado didn’t last past the estate’s main-house foyer. But his screams echoed even into the north barn, where I was being held.”
Thirteen sucked in his breath. He hated it when I talked about my life on the estate. I moved on quickly.
“So like I said, no way another person with power would come near here without it involving my family. Is Uncle Max doing a political thing, establishing a relationship with an African ambassador or something?”
Thirteen took my offered glass of whiskey. “Well, now that depends. Colin and his team are Network agents. Their activities are privy only to those within the Network.” He eyed me carefully. “Are you a part of the Network, Magnolia?”
I studied my glass. “You said I was. If I wanted to be.”
“Yes, but typically we do not allow our agents to leave their base of operation for unspecified months at a time with no communication to their division chief.”
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