Kenley and Kori each served six and a half.
Before Jake Tower died, Kenley was the most important cog in the Tower syndicate machinethe gear that kept the engine running. Towerd had administrators, accountants, clerical staff and laborers to do the day-to-day work. Hed had musclelike Korito enforce the rules. Hed even had a pool of highly specialized lawyers on-staff to write iron-clad employment contracts.
And hed had Kenley to seal those contracts, locking people into his service in bindings so strong that only she could break them.
Of course, the terms of her own contract had prevented her from freeing anyone shed bound into service, but now that she was no longer a Tower employee, she was trying to do the right thing. To free all the people shed enslaved by breaking the bindings shed sealed for Jake Tower, which had transferred to his sister, Julia, upon his death.
We were all trying to help her, but the process was slow. And difficult. And dangerous, because Julia Tower didnt want those bindings broken. Each one Kenley psychically severed robbed Julia of another employee, eroding the source of her inherited wealth and power.
I know this sucks, Kenni, and I hate being stuck here as much as anyone. Kori glanced around at the house where wed spent almost every waking moment of the past three months, hiding from Julia Tower and her henchmen. I could practically see cabin fever raging behind her eyes. But it could be worse, right? At least theres no resistance pain.
The binding enslaving Kenley to the Tower syndicate had been broken when Id killed the Binder whod sealed it. Okay, there may have been some doubt about whose bullet actually hit him first, but the point is that since the Binder was dead, breaking the bindings shed sealed was no longer in violation of Kennis oath. Which is good, because when you resist a sealed oath, your body starts to shut down one organ at a time until you give in and keep your word.
Or you die.
But even without the resistance pain, breaking each binding one at a time was still long, mentally exhausting work for Kenley, even with the rest of us pitching in to identify and contact those who wanted out of their oaths to Tower and to coordinate the secure, clandestine meetings.
The project had taken over our lives, and it was as much a survival effort on our part as an effort to liberate those who wanted freedom. As long as Julia Tower had employees bound into her service, shed have the resources and power to eventually hunt us down and eliminate the threat we represented.
So, whos next? Ian Holt sank onto the couch next to Kori, and she leaned into him, a display of trust and affection Id rarely seen from her. I dont know how he got through her mile-thick outer shell, but I do know that Ive never seen her happier. And I know that Ian helped free Kori, Kenni and Vanessa from that bastard Jake Tower, and that hed stuck around to help us free everyone else Kenley had been forced to bind. As far as we were all concerned, Ian was part of the family, even if Kori never got around to putting a ring on his finger.
Um I checked my list again. Rick Wallace. I glanced at Kori. What do we know about him?
She shrugged. Hes a Silencer. Average strength. Mid-thirties. Hes also a world-class asshole whos literally never heard no from a woman, because he sucks the sound right out of the word every time one tries to say it. Im not surprised he wants out from under Julia Tower, but Im kind of surprised hed contact us, considering how many times Ive threatened to cut his tongue out and serve it to his latest date on a toasted hot-dog bun.
Ian made a face. Thats disgusting,
Kori nodded solemnly. So is Rick Wallace.
Agreed. But no one deserves to be tied to Julia Tower, Kenley insisted, and Kori kept her mouth shut, though she obviously wanted to argue. When and where is the meeting?
Meghans parents house, Ian said. His sister-in-law had offered to let us use the house when she and his twin brother left town.
Olivias already securing the site, Kori added. Were supposed to meet her there in half an hour. If youre sure you feel like it.
Im fine. Kenley squared her shoulders and sat straighter. Lets just get it over with.
Eat something first, Vanessa insisted, and before Kenley could object, Van was halfway to the kitchen in search of food.
I followed her, headed for the coffeepot, and my grandmother looked up from the stove when she saw me. Kristopher, the knobs are missing.
Really? I frowned down at the stove. Thats weird. Wed had to take the knobs off the day before, when she lit the fire under one gas burner, but forgot to put a pot over the flame and nearly caught the whole damn house on fire.
What happened to them?
I dunno, Gran. Maybe Liv or Cam will track them for us. Olivia and her boyfriend were both Trackers, but he worked mainly with names, while she worked with blood.
Dont get smart with me, Kristopher Daniels, Gran snapped. Ill ground you till youre twenty-five years old, and you can forget the senior prom.
Shed lit the candles on my thirtieth birthday cake six months earlier, and I couldnt even remember most of my senior prom. Which is how I know I probably enjoyed the hell out of it. Or maybe that was the after-party
Im not getting smart, Gran.
Well, thats the truth Kori mumbled beneath her breath as she walked past on her way to the fridge, and I ignored her.
Ill look into the missing knobs, I swear.
Do it now. I want to make some Grans scowl morphed into an instant smile when she noticed Vanessa taking the lid off a plastic container of cookies. You two make such a cute couple.
Gran I started, but she slapped my arm, which was only a minor improvement over the way she used to slap the back of my head when I was twelve and the occasionalokay, frequentprofanity slipped out.
Shed given up smacking Kori for cussing when my sister was ten.
Dont give up on him just because he pretends to be emotionally unavailable, Vanessa, Gran said, and I realized for the first time that shed never forgotten Vans name. Not even once. Hes a slob and he leaves his towel on the bathroom floor, but hes a pretty good boy.
No, Im not. I shook my head at Van. Im very, very bad.
Vanessa laughed as she wrapped two cookies in a paper towel, then took them into the living room for Kenley, leaving me to explain things to my grandmother on my own. Again.
Vanessas not my girlfriend, Gran. Shes with Kenley, remember?
Oh, please. Gran huffed in exasperation. Anyone can see how much she likes you.
No one else could see any such thing. But trying to explain to Gran that Kenni and Vanessa were more than friends was like trying to explain well, like trying to explain anything to Gran. Futile. Wed had a few temporary victories in the battle against Alzheimers but the backslides all but killed any real hope.
While Gran searched the kitchen drawers and cabinets for the missing stove knobs, Vanessa joined me again at the coffeepot with an empty mug of her own. Ive been meaning to ask you she said as she filled her mug. Does your grandmother have a Skill? Ive never seen her use it.
No, thank goodness. I pulled the sugar bowl closer and stirred a spoonful into my coffee. Alzheimers and Skills dont mix well. You cant just take the knobs off a Skill to make sure it isnt accidentally left running when the user forgets what year it is.
Im ready, Kenni called from the living room, and I looked up to find her brushing cookie crumbs from her shirt while Kori slid a 9 mm into the holster beneath her left arm. Ian handed her a light jacket to hide the gun, just in case. His jacket was already in place, and if I didnt already know where his own weapons were hidden, Id never have known he had any.
Ill go. I set my coffee on the counter, untouched. You and Ian can stay.
Kori frowned, always unhappy to be taken out of the action. Why?
Because Im sick of watching the two of you actively hate the rest of the world for interrupting your privacy. And because I dont trust you not to kill Rick Wallace before Kenni has a chance to break his bindings.
I wasnt gonna do any permanent damage, Kori mumbled.
Its my turn anyway. I grabbed my own jacket from the back of a chair at the kitchen table.
When she started to protest, Ian pulled her close. Shut up before he changes his mind. Then he turned to me. Go on. Well hold down the fort.
And Ill pretend I dont know what youre about to do with my sister. Ready, Kenni? But when I turned, I found her kissing Vanessa goodbye. Damn it, people, I groaned. This is a hideout, not a couples retreat!
Jealous? Van teased, sinking into the chair Kenley had just vacated.
Was I jealous?
I might have been jealous of all the sex they were having, in their respective pairs, if each of those pairs didnt involve one of my sisters. But because my sisters were involved, envy of their physical relationships wasnt really relevant. In fact, the very thought was vaguely nauseating.
As for the rest of itthe casual touches, intense looks and the feeling that the world would stop spinning if intimate eye contact was brokenId gone down that route once. The curves in the road were unpredictable, the speed bumps were more like small mountains, and the sudden roadblock thrown into my path had resulted in a collision Id barely limped away from.
Since then, I stuck to the highway, with the other casual drivers. Regular shifts in the scenery, no stop-and-go traffic and the freedom to change lanes whenever I got bored.
Let me get my stuff. I jogged up the stairs and into the center bedroom, where Id been sleeping for most of the three months wed spent finding and contacting Towers remaining disgruntled employees and arranging clandestine meetings. Three months hiding from Julia in her own city while we slowly chipped away at the bedrock of indentured servants forming the foundation of the empire shed inherited.
Eventually, that foundation would crumble, and its queen would plummet to the ground. And as with the fall of any corrupt dynasty, the peasants would rejoice.
I sat on the edge of my unmade bed and pulled open the nightstand drawer, and while my hand went straight for my gun, my gaze found something else instead.
What the hell?
My notebook. The indecipherable roadmap from my one disastrous trip down lovers lane.
What the hell was it doing in the hideout house? In my bedroom? In my bedside drawer?
I lifted the notebook and flipped back the red cardboard cover. I hadnt seen it in more than a year, but I still knew the curve of every G and the slanted cross of every T. I used to keep a yellow No. 2 pencil in the spiral, for when I needed to jot something down in the middle of the night.
But that was years ago
The notebook was all I had left of Noelle. Twenty-three pages of dates and phrasesa visible reminder of the hardest lesson Id ever learned, like an alcoholics sobriety chip or a junkies faded track marks. In the beginning, Id read it so many times that now the cardboard cover had started falling apart and the entries in pencil had started to fade. Most of them, in retrospect, made no more sense than they had when Id written them in the first place.
But how the hell had the notebook gotten into my nightstand? It should have been in storage with everything else Gran and I hadnt brought with us to the hideout house.
Kenley and Olivia were ready to go, so the notebook mystery would have to wait. I shook my head, trying to dislodge Noelle from my brain, then shoved the notebook back into the drawer and grabbed my .45. I popped the clip free and counted the rounds, then slid it back into place with a satisfying click. On my way down the stairs, I shrugged into my holster and jacket, then dropped the gun into place beneath my left arm.
Ready, Kenni? I said from the landing.
Liv should be there waiting for you. Kori sipped from my coffee mug. Without asking permission. Call me if you need anything. I can be there in an instant.
I know. Kori and I were Travelersshadow-walkersable to step into one shadow and out of another, anywhere within our range. When she was twenty-two, Kori got roped into using her Skill on behalf of the Tower syndicate to protect Kenley, who was already trapped in the same organization.
Tower signed Kori more for her skills with a knife and gunand so he could use her to manipulate Kennithan for her strength and range as a Traveler, which is mediocre at best.
My strength and range as a Traveler are better than most people know. Definitely better than Tower knew. And Id like to keep it that way.
Were sure this guys for real? I stepped into the hall closet with Kenley as she turned off the light.
Hes an asshole, but hes legit, Kori said from the hall. Anne listened in on the original call.
As a Readera human lie detectorKoris friend Annika was less helpful on the front lines than Olivia was, with her gun and her Tracker abilities. Liv had helped us find those interested in breaking their bindings to Julia Tower, and shed been my backup on more than one occasion. But Anne was invaluable behind the scenes. She helped keep us from walking into traps.
Thanks for doing this, Kenley whispered in the dark as her small hand slid into my grip. I know your work is important, and you didnt have to uproot yourself and Gran, and
This is important, too, Kenni.
I knew much more about her workand our work to undo her workthan she knew about what Id been doing while she and Kori were slaves to Jake Towers every whim. While they were bound to the syndicate, there was so much I couldnt tell them. So much I couldnt show them. So much I couldnt do for them, without putting them in greater danger and risking the lives of everyone else counting on me.
Knowing that didnt ease my guilt over the years theyd spent bound to Tower, out of my reach. But finally, all that had changed. Now I could stand with them. Fight for them. Protect them.
Now I could help them take down the organization that had broken Kenleys spirit bit by bit, with every binding Tower had made her seal. The criminal underworld that had heaped unspeakable abuse on Kori, left her scarred physically and psychologically.
Julia Tower was the brain at the center of her late brothers operation, and with him gone, there was no one to apply the brakes to her ambition or restrain her psychotic enthusiasm for backstage world domination, or whatever evil scheme was currently sparking across her synapses.