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bitch.
    I peeked into her thoughts. Ah yes, textbook alpha female. I was prettier than she was. Stronger, more powerful, and I had Thirteen’s ear—all justifiable reasons for her to hate me before she even met me. How petty.
    I moved my glass in circles on the table. “I’m well aware of why Thirteen brought this team together,” I said evenly. “Apparently, you think you actually know something about who my family is and what we can do. In case yesterday’s demonstration didn’t clue you in—you know, the one where I used a power you didn’t even know existed to push a memory into your minds—I’m here to show you just how much to have to learn. And, by the way, Thirteen already provided me with all your Network’s evidence against my family.”
    “Does Thirteen know that he provided you all this evidence?” Theo asked. He leaned against the wall that separated the great room from the kitchen. I’d avoided looking in his direction but, damn, he just smelled so good. I braced myself and met his gaze. His expression was a familiar blank. But something inside me recognized him, and not just from yesterday’s meeting. This was something more. Had I felt this yesterday? I didn’t think so.
    “Er, no. Not all of it.”
    The corners of his mouth wavered, struggling not to smile.
    Heather leaned forward in her seat. “It was real, wasn’t it?” she asked urgently. She’d given up trying to keep her expression blank. “What we felt and saw at the Turtle, in that tank with…” she shuddered. “That was a real memory of yours? That really happened to you?”
    I took a long drink. My own face fell into a practiced mask.
    “Yes,” I said. “That happened to me.”
    Heather swallowed. “And other things? It was more than just that one time?”
    “Yes. It was more than that one time.”
    “How often?” This from Shane. His blank face wavered when I turned to him.
    “Every day.”
    Marie’s tight manicure clicked on the table. She snorted. “I don’t believe you.” Images of me flashed in her mind. Pictures she’d studied from my family’s Network file. A Senate campaign event, a Kelch Inc. holiday function—prestigious occasions held on the estate where I’d been dressed up and put on display. If only they had a photo of what had taken place after the guests said their good-byes.
    She continued with her jaw set. “Obviously you can get inside our heads, but you probably just made up that whole scene so we would feel sorry for you or accept you without question. It doesn’t work that way, little girl.”
    Little girl. That was cute.
    My power rose like an electric current under my skin. I put my drink down so I wouldn’t spill it by accident. Then my mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile. “What
you
believe really doesn’t matter, though. Does it, Marie?” Then I took another drink and peered at her over the rim of my glass. Her face darkened in rage. To be so easily dismissed, she actually started to tremble. I smiled wider.
    You’re not the only bitch in the room, sweetheart
.
    Jon gently waved to Marie in a “settle down” gesture. “Let’s assume for a moment that what we experienced yesterday was a real memory,” he said. She ground her teeth but sat back in a pout. “What exactly did we witness? The water changed, but what happened to it? And how did you survive?” He raked me with his gaze while he spoke. He wouldn’t find anything. I healed too completely to leave scars.
    “You know,” Charles said, leaning around Marie, “if what she showed us
was
real, that could explain Kazan.”
    “Oh my God,” Cordele gasped, “he’s right. All those men, with those burns all over their bodies. We couldn’t find a cause.”
    Charles continued, “What was it, two days later that the Kazan State Technical University announced its exclusive agreement to collaborate with Kelch Incorporated on their aircraft technology?”
    “Was there a sprinkler system,” Shane asked, “in the