No Peace for the Damned

with a semicolon for the eyes so it looked like it was winking. I chuckled before I could stop myself.
    Crap. I wasn’t going anywhere.
    Two guys pushed through the bar’s front doors.
OK, here we go
. Just like I had with the other members of Thirteen’s special team, I did a quick mental peek at each of them. The first thing I noticed: Jon Heldamo’s mind was far too easy to access for a Network leader. Oh, he wasn’t a chief like Thirteen or anything, but he wanted to be. Someday. He was smart, skilled, and he already walked with that arrogant gait that Thirteen had mastered. On Thirteen it was endearing. On Jon it was just annoying.
    Jon wasn’t the one who worried me, though. I shifted in my seat as an uneasiness settled low in my stomach.
Theo Mahle
. Yeah, something was definitely up with this second guy.
    According to Jon, Theo didn’t give a shit about being a Network chief. He, too, was smart and well-trained—maybe even more than Jon—and Theo’s mental shields were solid. I could still get through them, but it would take a strong push. He walked two steps behind Jon, guarding his partner’s back just like Banks always did for Thirteen.
    I struggled against the urge to sit up and get a good look when Jon’s scent suddenly hit me. Polo cologne. Shit. My fists clenched as Malcolm’s face flashed in my mind. His cover-model features and soulless eyes—just like Father’s. The sharp tang of the cologne filling my nose, his hot, eager breath on my face. The pain. I’d try not to hate Jon for it, but God, it would be hard. The thought of spending the upcoming weeks smelling that crap again and again…
    Jon’s cologne faded just as Theo’s smell hit me like a punch. My stomach tightened. My chest grew warm.
Whoa
. Musk, metal, male—I’d never smelled anything so—so intoxicating.
    What the hell?
I caught myself. I was
never
affected by anyone like this.
    I gripped my whiskey and stayed low on my bench. The door to the kitchen swung shut. Jon’s and Theo’s footsteps echoed on the back stairs, heading down to the meeting room where my introduction would take place. I listened carefully as they entered the large basement conference room. The hum of the room’s security system paused as they opened the door. Thirteen had told me the room was impenetrable to psychic eavesdropping. I don’t know what contractor sold him that load of bull, because I could hear all ten team members just fine. And not just the murmured speculations about the meeting’s purpose, or the click-clacking of some guy named Chang on his laptop. Their thoughts were as crystal clear as the stressed businessmen’s in the booth next to me.
    I clinked my ring on the side of my glass to get a refill. Miller stomped up to my booth and slammed the bottle of whiskey on the table. He loomed over me even as he kept his eyes off my face.
    “Just keep the damn bottle, why don’t ya,” he growled. I just sighed and jiggled the ice in my glass. Miller huffed and grumbled, then pulled out a clean glass he just happened to have behind his back. It already held ice and sour mix. I smiled. He could deny it all he wanted, but Miller liked me.
    He poured my drink then hurried back to the bar, the whiskey bottle gripped tight in his hand. His thoughts stumbled as he made his way across the room. Images raced through his mind: my thick, dark hair, my long legs bent on the booth bench. Thirteen had made me wear these ridiculous capri pants in an effort to appear more conservative. I thought I looked like an idiot, but Miller had no problem at all with the way my annoying pants hugged the curves of my legs.
    Miller wouldn’t be in the meeting today. Aside from running the Turtle, I wasn’t sure what role he actually played. I’d have to ask Thirteen later on.
    “If everyone will have a seat, we’ll get started.”
    Thirteen’s quiet command brought the underground meeting to attention. I’d gotten so attuned to him over the last couple of months I didn’t even have to concentrate to hear him from below.
    “We have a new source. As this task force was created to focus specifically on the activities of the Kelch brothers, you can be certain that the knowledge provided by this individual will be directly related to the family. You each know just how important accurate information is whenever dealing with a supernatural threat. It’s even more important when it comes to the Kelch family. With that in mind, this source’s