particular experiences. My voice was rough when I said, “My brother Malcolm, sometimes one of the estate guards when Father’s experiments left me unconscious, they would… Well, I have experience in that area. Just so you know.” Maybe not full sex, but Malcolm had done his best to grope and touch and prod whenever the chance had come up. I figured Thirteen didn’t need to know all the gory details.
When he remained silent, I looked up. The horror on his face made me recoil. He shook himself quickly. “Whatever experiences you’ve been forced to endure, they are not what a true relationship is about.” He was red again. “The physical and emotional ramifications of your developing a crush on someone like Theo are something you simply are not ready for.”
I gaped at him.
A crush? A fucking crush?
I knew he’d felt the power that surged when Theo and I saw each other at Jon’s. Why was he denying the level of our connection now?
The back door swung open before I had a chance to respond. “We’re heading out,” Jon called across the lawn. I wanted to ask what had happened that had been so funny, but I was still struck dumb.
A crush.
In Thirteen’s thoughts, his daughter’s face flashed again. A child, twelve years old. If a part of him still saw me like that, maybe it was time to reconsider the benefits of our father-daughter dynamic.
Thirteen straightened his coat. “Support functions twenty-four hours a day. Get that exam to them before oh-two-hundred hours, and they will have it processed and back to me in time for you to receive official approval for Colin’s mission tomorrow morning.”
He tried to give me a small smile, but I ignored him. Obviously I didn’t have time to deal with his denial of who I really was. He walked past me to the front of the house, and I heaved the brick-size manual in through the back door. Might as well start another pot of coffee—I was going to be up for a while.
C HAPTER 14
I’d stopped adding whiskey to my coffee hours ago. It didn’t help. I dragged my gaze to the fork-and-spoon clock over the kitchen sink: 1:47. God, this was worse than research. There was more than just the test at the end of the manual—there were quizzes after every section. And only half of what the tests covered was actually worth knowing. I mean, seriously, did it really matter that there were different expense forms for overseas assignments and regular assignments?
Some of the history stuff was interesting, though. For example, the Network had been around a hell of a lot longer than I’d ever suspected. Almost a century. The name of the organization had changed close to a dozen times, but it always included the words
the Network
. It had started as a small assembly under the direction of a certain enthusiastic congressman. As the group had grown, and the organization’s needs expanded, private investors with personal interests had stepped forward to fund whatever wasneeded to do the job. I guess if I was a railroad tycoon in the thirties and had been kidnapped by a bunch of guys with telekinetic powers, I too would have been eager to give a bunch of money to the people who could ensure that it would never happen again. With that base money, they’d been able to invest privately until their budget was well into the nine-figure range. Not bad for an agency that technically didn’t exist.
I answered the last question on the last test and hit the Send button on e-mail. One fifty-seven. Thank God that was over. And no worries about whether I actually got the questions right or not—supernatural memory is great for rattling off inconsequential facts.
Colin’s team was meeting off the Sam Jones Expressway at eight a.m. If I fell asleep right now, I’d get a good four and half hours in before I had to get ready for the meeting. I poured a bedtime whiskey, drank it in one gulp, and crawled under the pile of quilts on my bed. I was out the minute my head hit the pillow.
I knew he
When he remained silent, I looked up. The horror on his face made me recoil. He shook himself quickly. “Whatever experiences you’ve been forced to endure, they are not what a true relationship is about.” He was red again. “The physical and emotional ramifications of your developing a crush on someone like Theo are something you simply are not ready for.”
I gaped at him.
A crush? A fucking crush?
I knew he’d felt the power that surged when Theo and I saw each other at Jon’s. Why was he denying the level of our connection now?
The back door swung open before I had a chance to respond. “We’re heading out,” Jon called across the lawn. I wanted to ask what had happened that had been so funny, but I was still struck dumb.
A crush.
In Thirteen’s thoughts, his daughter’s face flashed again. A child, twelve years old. If a part of him still saw me like that, maybe it was time to reconsider the benefits of our father-daughter dynamic.
Thirteen straightened his coat. “Support functions twenty-four hours a day. Get that exam to them before oh-two-hundred hours, and they will have it processed and back to me in time for you to receive official approval for Colin’s mission tomorrow morning.”
He tried to give me a small smile, but I ignored him. Obviously I didn’t have time to deal with his denial of who I really was. He walked past me to the front of the house, and I heaved the brick-size manual in through the back door. Might as well start another pot of coffee—I was going to be up for a while.
C HAPTER 14
I’d stopped adding whiskey to my coffee hours ago. It didn’t help. I dragged my gaze to the fork-and-spoon clock over the kitchen sink: 1:47. God, this was worse than research. There was more than just the test at the end of the manual—there were quizzes after every section. And only half of what the tests covered was actually worth knowing. I mean, seriously, did it really matter that there were different expense forms for overseas assignments and regular assignments?
Some of the history stuff was interesting, though. For example, the Network had been around a hell of a lot longer than I’d ever suspected. Almost a century. The name of the organization had changed close to a dozen times, but it always included the words
the Network
. It had started as a small assembly under the direction of a certain enthusiastic congressman. As the group had grown, and the organization’s needs expanded, private investors with personal interests had stepped forward to fund whatever wasneeded to do the job. I guess if I was a railroad tycoon in the thirties and had been kidnapped by a bunch of guys with telekinetic powers, I too would have been eager to give a bunch of money to the people who could ensure that it would never happen again. With that base money, they’d been able to invest privately until their budget was well into the nine-figure range. Not bad for an agency that technically didn’t exist.
I answered the last question on the last test and hit the Send button on e-mail. One fifty-seven. Thank God that was over. And no worries about whether I actually got the questions right or not—supernatural memory is great for rattling off inconsequential facts.
Colin’s team was meeting off the Sam Jones Expressway at eight a.m. If I fell asleep right now, I’d get a good four and half hours in before I had to get ready for the meeting. I poured a bedtime whiskey, drank it in one gulp, and crawled under the pile of quilts on my bed. I was out the minute my head hit the pillow.
I knew he
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