No Love for the Wicked (15 page)

Tony stepped forward, subtly putting himself between us. “Let’s just take it down a notch. Magnolia, you have something to drink around here, right?”

I held my scowl a moment longer, then lifted a hand and floated the bottle of Jim Beam down from its post at the top of the fridge to land softly on the table. Colin’s eyes went wide; Tony lifted his eyebrows. I walked over to the cupboard and took out three glass tumblers, filled them with ice. We all took seats around the table while Tony poured.

“OK,” Colin said after a quick swallow. “Obviously there’s more going on with this target than we thought. We were after a known smuggler with pyrotechnic abilities and a history of arson. None of our communications hinted at Everett’s current client being a Kelch.” I didn’t miss the shudder in his voice when he said the name.

“Everett didn’t know that Uncle Max was his client. He never realized that Michael Kane was an alias, so you were a step ahead of him there. Everett also didn’t know that Sharon was going to pick him up. He wasn’t too thrilled when he found out, either.”

“How do you know he wasn’t thrilled about it?” Tony asked.

I lifted my injured hand. “Our pyro isn’t the most emotionally adjusted supernatural art smuggler. When he gets nervous, he gets hot.”

“OK. So about this driver—”

The alarm in the bedroom beeped. Tires squealed as a car slipped and slid all over the slushy path of my driveway. When it spun to a stop beside the house, my breath caught in my chest. A car door slammed just as the alarm beeped again. A second vehicle turned into the driveway, slightly more controlled.

Tony and Colin jumped to their feet as the front door flung open. “Mag!” Theo called out. He pounded his way into the kitchen, then abruptly stopped when he saw Colin and Tony. I rose slowly. He looked totally fierce, eyes burning behind dark wet hair that had fallen over his face. He hadn’t shaved that morning, even though he’d obviously gone home to change clothes.

God, had it just been a few hours ago that I’d woken up beside him? His thoughts were blocked, but the way his chest heaved and his nostrils flared, I could tell he was reeling.

He spared Colin and Tony brief glances before raking me with his gaze. He spotted my bandaged hand, and I swore I heard him growl. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Who the hell are you?” Tony asked, earning a glare. Theo moved around the table past Colin. When their eyes met, Colin set his jaw. “Mahle.”

“St. Pierre.” Theo sneered.

Although he’d been stalking his way around the room, when he finally got to me, he lifted my hand with surprising gentleness. My stomach fluttered as he studied the pink of my fingers. His own fingertips were like butterfly wings as he brushed over my bandages. “I felt your pain,” he whispered. “I didn’t know what happened, but I knew you were hurt and I had to get to you.” He lifted my palm to his lips for the barest of kisses. “The healing is painful,” he murmured softly, making my heart ache. He knew what the healing felt like; I’d healed his many wounds last summer after my brother’s men tortured him for information.

I met his eyes, and my pulse stuttered. Everyone else in the room faded away. Seconds stretched as our hearts began beating in time to one another. Beat. Beat. Beat. My hand grew warm where he touched the bandages. I couldn’t look away, and in the reflection of his dark eyes I saw the subtle glow coming off me.

The front door opened and I jumped back, pulling my hand to my chest automatically. After I’d broken the contact, an instant chill fell over me. Jon and Heather rushed into the kitchen. Jon pulled up short as he sized up Tony and Colin. Heather just pushed right past them.

“Oh, Magnolia,” she said. “We were at the Turtle going over surveillance footage when Theo stopped his recap midsentence and just ran out of the room. It’s because of you, isn’t it? You’re hurt, aren’t you?” She wanted to pull me into her arms, but she knew that would make me uncomfortable. I sighed and opened my arms in invitation. She took full advantage. She threw herself into me, knocking me back a step. Theo steadied me from behind. I glanced over at Colin and Tony. Both guys were eyeing Theo and me carefully. Had they seen us glowing?

Heather held me at arm’s length. “Is everything, you know, healing the way it should?”

“I’m fine,” I assured her, giving her back an awkward pat. She stepped back. “My hand got burned by a pyrotechnic art smuggler. No big deal.”

“Mission targets are confidential, Magnolia,” Colin snapped at me.

“And mission leaders are supposed to establish contingencies that ensure the safety of their team,” Theo growled back at him.

“Colin didn’t do anything wrong,” Tony argued, adjusting his stance to cover both Theo and Jon. “The target is in custody. Outside factors altered the execution, but the mission was successful.”

“And plan details are for mission team members only,” Colin said. “So if you don’t mind, I’ll see you to the door so I can finish debriefing my team member.”

Theo fisted his hands. But before he could move, Jon said coolly, “Magnolia happens to be my team member as well. And as I was the one to sign off on her cross-team involvement, I think we’ll stay until I’m satisfied with her physical well-being.”

Really? Jon signed off my cross-team work? Thirteen must really be moving him through the Network ranks. Colin ground his teeth but bit his tongue. Jon was totally better at the blank expression than he was.

“Fine,” Colin said finally. “Magnolia, I expect a full assessment of events as they took place by sixteen hundred hours.” I looked at the clock. That gave me, like, two hours. “I’ll notify you of the debriefing location after I receive your report.”

He moved past Jon, Tony following right behind.

“Wait a minute,” I called out. “Colin, just hold up. Jon’s team is in charge of everything having to do with my family. Right, Jon?”

For a second I worried he was going to be as much a stickler about team mission confidentiality as Colin. Slowly he nodded. “That’s right.”

“Well, it turns out Colin’s target was here to meet Uncle Max.”

Jon instantly tensed. “Your target is directly linked to Senator Kelch? Why the hell weren’t we informed?”

“Hey,” Tony said, stepping up again. Jon had gone from practiced blank to full rage in a matter of seconds. “Our chief was given full access to all our team’s information. We didn’t know who the target’s client was past his alias. Not that it would have changed anything in our action plan if we had, but don’t go jumping down our throats when we reported at full disclosure everything we had.”

Colin cursed under his breath. The room went deathly silent. “You didn’t know?” Jon said, his voice frighteningly soft. “Your pyrotechnic art smuggler was arriving for a meeting with one of the most powerful supernatural terrorists in the entire world, and you didn’t know?”

As I watched, Jon’s face turned three shades of red, then settled on a deep purple. I took a step back. The guy looked like he might actually pop, and having witnessed exploding heads in the past, I didn’t want to be in shrapnel range if he did.

Heather moved smoothly to stand between Jon and Colin. “Obviously we have some overlap in our current assignments.
How about if we just call Thirteen, get clearance to officially share information, then have a little chat on how we might be able to help each other out?”

When no one moved, Heather turned to me. “Magnolia? Why don’t you get down some more glasses? I think we’re all going to need a drink for this one.”

He had known that I was hurt. Theo had known, and even though he knew I could heal anything, he had come running. The warm, fuzzy feeling spreading inside me couldn’t be pushed aside even if I’d wanted it to.

I took a spot at the head of the table, Tony and Colin on one side, Theo and Heather on the other. Jon sat facing me at the table’s far end. Colin had stepped into the restroom while Heather called Thirteen. When he came back out, his hair was properly slicked back and his baggy long-sleeved T-shirt was tucked in. He still didn’t look as put together as Jon, but it was the best he could do with what he had on.

“Thirteen has approved information sharing—” Heather began as she put away her phone.

“Great,” Colin interrupted. “So tell us. What exactly are you doing to eliminate the Kelch threat? Because as far as I can tell,
those bastards are getting more powerful and more evil with each passing moment. Current company notwithstanding, of course.”

I coughed on my swallow. “Oh, no need to exclude me. I’m totally getting more powerful by the minute.”

Colin did a quick double take, not sure he’d heard me correctly. I shot him a wide, shit-eating grin. Theo chuckled beside me and took a long swallow of whiskey from my glass. I snagged the glass back from him. His own cocky grin had me biting my lip.

“Er, if you’d let me finish,” Heather continued. “Thirteen has approved information sharing with concern to
your
team’s current mission. We still aren’t approved to reveal details on our current active assignments.”

Colin’s nostrils flared. Tony slammed a fist on the table. “This is bullshit. You expect us to just hand over all our intel? This was our target and our mission—a successful mission, considering our target is now in custody.”

“We have no interest in usurping authority over your target,” Jon said coolly. “But you are required to give us all information you have pertaining to your target’s involvement with the Kelch family.”

Tony sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. Colin ground his teeth. Neither one made a move to start the ball rolling. After several long moments, I threw up my hands. “Oh, for crying out loud!” I leaned forward and got serious. “Colin’s plan was good. Executable, thorough. It had nothing to do with Everett’s client. Dr. Holmes Everett was the target, by the way.” Colin moaned under his breath. I just ignored him and continued with the recap.

When I was done, Heather asked, “How involved is Senator Kelch’s driver with the family’s affairs? Is he one of the—”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Colin piped in.

Jon leaned far over the table, his expression suddenly murderous. With a stiff finger pointed in Colin’s face, he snarled, “You interrupt her one more time, and team leader or not, I will kick your ass into next week. Do you understand?”

Colin remained silent, his glare speaking for itself. After another tense moment, I cleared my throat.

“Er, no, Heather, he was never one of the drug-controlled guards. He may have had his mind scrambled once or twice, but for the most part, it wasn’t necessary. He was sadistic himself—and therefore Uncle Max’s most loyal employee.” My stomach cramped in memory. I ignored it and kept my eyes on the stare-down between Jon and Colin.

“So he would have known details about the senator’s itineraries,” Jon said, his disgust obvious. This was a big opportunity missed for Jon’s team. The Network played inside the limits of the law as much as possible—especially when it came to interviewing or questioning normal humans like Sharon. But had they known Sharon was meeting a known supernatural smuggler, they would have had just cause to bring him in. They could have gotten all kinds of details about Father’s and Uncle Max’s overseas trips.

Pulling his gaze back toward me, Jon said, “Sharon David Illyses. He’s been Senator Kelch’s driver for more than a decade. How did you handle him?”

His expression softened a little when he asked. Jon had been there last year when I’d snuck into Uncle Max’s congressional offices, as well as when I’d returned to the estate to bring down my brother Markus. He’d seen firsthand the toll it took on me when I came in contact with my family. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he still had some scars from the emotional whiplash that seeing my family had caused me.

I stared at my glass, seeing Sharon’s wide eyes as he dropped his cell phone and realized what was happening. In a quick move,
I threw back the rest of my drink and met Jon’s gaze. “Sharon’s dead. Heart attack. There was nothing we could do.”

Jon nodded in understanding. “Probably for the best.”

I went to refill my glass and, damn it, my hand shook. Whiskey sloshed on the table until Theo covered my hand with his. He steadied me, then gently took the bottle from me and poured the whiskey himself.

“You OK?” Tony asked softly, leaning over to me. I gave him a weak smile.

“She’s fine,” Theo answered. “And you weren’t so concerned about her well-being when she held on to your pyro target for you, were you? Maybe if your team leader had been more concerned about getting accurate information than about upping his takedown numbers, she wouldn’t be nursing a melted hand right now.”

Colin and Tony jumped to their feet. Theo and Jon quickly matched the move.

“We had more than enough information to move on our target!” Colin shouted.

“This is just like that telepathic drug dealer in Argentina,” Theo spat. “You had just enough intel to take down your target, and you didn’t care who got hurt when things went south.”

“Don’t even go there,” Colin shouted back. “We’re talking about this mission, this target.”