Free No Love for the Wicked by Megan Powell

Thirteen.” She averted her eyes. “Yeah, probably not such a great idea to set a tail on a Network chief like that, huh? Does Colin know you’re here?”
    “He’s the one who sent us,” Tony answered from behind me. He’d taken a post at my back. Not that it would help him if they tried to jump me, but I had to respect the thought. “The Network has never employed supernaturals before. Er, at least not that we know of. And you can get in our heads. We needed to be sure you were really with the Network.”
    “Jesse’s word wasn’t enough?” I asked over my shoulder.
    “Who’s Jesse?” Luce frowned.
    “I mean FedEx. He knew who I was.”
    They exchanged a look. They didn’t trust Jesse either. Interesting. “So now that you’ve followed me around and listened in on Thirteen’s and my conversations—two things that I can assure you won’t be happening again—what’s the plan?”
    Luce wandered the kitchen. Her internal debate was fascinating. Colin’s order was for the two of them to find out if I was a legitimate member of the Network. If I was, then they were to see if I could be authorized to assist in apprehending their target. Luce knew I was legit, but she wasn’t convinced I could be trusted. Follow orders or follow instinct. What was a good little soldier to do?
    “What were you going to do if you discovered I’d been lying?”
    Tony’s thoughts went through an elaborate scene where they overpowered me and turned me over to the Network, the two of them receiving all kinds of accolades. I spewed out my whiskey across the table, accidently drenching the bandages on Luce’s face. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly, trying to contain my laughter. “Here, let me get that.” I grabbed some paper towels off the counter and passed them to her. The gauze was ruined. She went to the sink and started peeling off the bandages. “There’s some first aid stuff in the bathroom.”
    “I know where it is,” she snapped and stomped off down the little hall. The door slammed behind her. I wiped up the table and looked to Tony. “Well?”
    “We want your assistance,” he said after a moment of deliberation. “New information has come to light on our current target, and we need additional team members to guarantee the takedown. Colin doesn’t want to risk going over budget by increasing the team’s head count by three or four like we need.”
    “But if it’s just one supernatural team member with the eyes and ears of three or four normal agents, that wouldn’t stretch the budget at all.” I finished off my whiskey and pretended to weigh my options. Truthfully, though, I couldn’t wait to help with their target. They’d need me there, in on the takedown. Not staring at a computer screen, flipping through page after page of research crap.
    “Do you think your team chief would approve the cross-team assistance?” Luce called out from the bathroom.
    Thirteen liked to keep a close eye on me. He trusted me, sure, but if I went on an assignment that he wasn’t directly involved in, it might be pushing the risk level past his comfort zone.
    “I’m sure he won’t have a problem,” I said. “My team’s current mission is weeks away from moving forward, so I’m basically in standstill mode anyway.”
    “Good.” Luce slipped back into the kitchen sans bandages. Her nose looked purple. “We’re reconvening at the west-side safe house tonight at eighteen hundred hours to finalize plans and go over the new information. I’ll tell Colin to expect you.” She gave me one last hard look, then headed for the door.
    Tony paused long enough to give me an appreciative once-over. “Gotta admit, I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do.” He strode toward the front door, then stopped again. “Not that you’ll tell me or anything, but I’m curious. Just how many supernaturals you got on your Network team?”
    “You’re right,” I said. “I’m not telling you.”
    His eyes were sharp. “I