Read Online No Peace for the Damned by Megan Powell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Megan Powell
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going!”
The window paused, nearly shut. The address popped into his head a split second before he blocked his thoughts. He met my eyes through the glass. The window slid back down. He pressed his lips together, then finally said, “I thought you didn’t want this. Didn’t want to give this much to the team. Hell, two weeks ago you were ready to kill me for asking you to train them. Now you want to join them on a mission?”
“Don’t you dare put this on me!” The cement porch steps crumbled around the edges. “You are the one who put me in the position! You used my affection for you to ask more than we ever agreed to. Now I’m asking for something and you refuse. It’s bullshit!”
For some reason I didn’t want him to know that it was for Theo that I had agreed to train them; not him. But I’d dwell on those feelings later.
Thoughtfulness tightened his face. “If you really want to help the team on missions, then you can. But not today. Just be patient a little longer,” he said, an order this time. “You are serving a purpose here, more valuable to the Network than you realize.” His eyes narrowed. “Be patient, Magnolia. Don’t…” His lips tightened into a hard line. “Stay here. I’ll call you later.”
With that he rolled up his window and drove off.
I listened as the sound of his engine faded in the distance. Then I counted to twenty just to be sure. He was gone. I ran back inside and grabbed my keys.
…
Sunlight blinded me in the rearview mirror. My hands rested on the dash as I idled in front of a gated entrance to some large private neighborhood. Thirteen and the others were in there somewhere, staked out in another Network agent’s house. I scanned the road for Thirteen’s SUV or Shane’s truck, but there was nothing.
I pulled forward another half mile then parked off the gravel shoulder where my car wouldn’t be seen. I pocketed my key and took a deep breath. My power stretched out until I was completely invisible.
OK, here we go
.
I ran across the road and into the trees that surrounded the neighborhood. There wasn’t an actual wall, just tight, tall trees that worked well as a border. Once inside, I followed the main road into the neighborhood’s depths. The homes were large and set back on wide yards of grass and woods. About a mile in, the road split into a three-way fork.
Thirteen had given up the address, but without my car’s GPS, I was lost. So I listened.
Nature rustled around me, animals and insects. Farther out, I heard the strum of golf carts, lawn mowers growling, the buzz of a couple of dozen air conditioners kicking on.
How big was this neighborhood, anyway?
I listened further until finally I heard the low static of a voice whispering through an earpiece.
Aha
. I moved in the direction of the crackly whispers, but after a few steps my feet grew heavy.
Was I really ready for this? The targeted home belonged to one of Uncle Max’s old bodyguards. Some guy named George Batalkis. The name didn’t ring any bells for me, but that only meant he’d been a public guard and not an estate guard. Still, was I really ready to face someone that close to my past?
A landscaped median, dotted with gardenias, split the pavement. My pace slowed to a crawl. I’d once worn an entire dress decorated with those damn flowers. The stylist had practically glowed when I stepped into the ballroom. I’d posed for the pictures, nodded when appropriate. I’d never smiled—that had been just impossible—but I’d attended enough Senate functions to know how to play the role well enough. Unfortunately, something had changed that night.
I
had changed. Puberty had struck, and with the gardenia gown fitted so perfectly to my new figure, no guest had been coherent enough to hear what Uncle Max had to say. The stylist’s face flashed in my mind. Shock and pain had brightened her eyes when Uncle Max had garroted her after the party. She had gotten off easy—a quick death for a
The window paused, nearly shut. The address popped into his head a split second before he blocked his thoughts. He met my eyes through the glass. The window slid back down. He pressed his lips together, then finally said, “I thought you didn’t want this. Didn’t want to give this much to the team. Hell, two weeks ago you were ready to kill me for asking you to train them. Now you want to join them on a mission?”
“Don’t you dare put this on me!” The cement porch steps crumbled around the edges. “You are the one who put me in the position! You used my affection for you to ask more than we ever agreed to. Now I’m asking for something and you refuse. It’s bullshit!”
For some reason I didn’t want him to know that it was for Theo that I had agreed to train them; not him. But I’d dwell on those feelings later.
Thoughtfulness tightened his face. “If you really want to help the team on missions, then you can. But not today. Just be patient a little longer,” he said, an order this time. “You are serving a purpose here, more valuable to the Network than you realize.” His eyes narrowed. “Be patient, Magnolia. Don’t…” His lips tightened into a hard line. “Stay here. I’ll call you later.”
With that he rolled up his window and drove off.
I listened as the sound of his engine faded in the distance. Then I counted to twenty just to be sure. He was gone. I ran back inside and grabbed my keys.
…
Sunlight blinded me in the rearview mirror. My hands rested on the dash as I idled in front of a gated entrance to some large private neighborhood. Thirteen and the others were in there somewhere, staked out in another Network agent’s house. I scanned the road for Thirteen’s SUV or Shane’s truck, but there was nothing.
I pulled forward another half mile then parked off the gravel shoulder where my car wouldn’t be seen. I pocketed my key and took a deep breath. My power stretched out until I was completely invisible.
OK, here we go
.
I ran across the road and into the trees that surrounded the neighborhood. There wasn’t an actual wall, just tight, tall trees that worked well as a border. Once inside, I followed the main road into the neighborhood’s depths. The homes were large and set back on wide yards of grass and woods. About a mile in, the road split into a three-way fork.
Thirteen had given up the address, but without my car’s GPS, I was lost. So I listened.
Nature rustled around me, animals and insects. Farther out, I heard the strum of golf carts, lawn mowers growling, the buzz of a couple of dozen air conditioners kicking on.
How big was this neighborhood, anyway?
I listened further until finally I heard the low static of a voice whispering through an earpiece.
Aha
. I moved in the direction of the crackly whispers, but after a few steps my feet grew heavy.
Was I really ready for this? The targeted home belonged to one of Uncle Max’s old bodyguards. Some guy named George Batalkis. The name didn’t ring any bells for me, but that only meant he’d been a public guard and not an estate guard. Still, was I really ready to face someone that close to my past?
A landscaped median, dotted with gardenias, split the pavement. My pace slowed to a crawl. I’d once worn an entire dress decorated with those damn flowers. The stylist had practically glowed when I stepped into the ballroom. I’d posed for the pictures, nodded when appropriate. I’d never smiled—that had been just impossible—but I’d attended enough Senate functions to know how to play the role well enough. Unfortunately, something had changed that night.
I
had changed. Puberty had struck, and with the gardenia gown fitted so perfectly to my new figure, no guest had been coherent enough to hear what Uncle Max had to say. The stylist’s face flashed in my mind. Shock and pain had brightened her eyes when Uncle Max had garroted her after the party. She had gotten off easy—a quick death for a
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