Guild Boss (Ghost Hunters #14)(3)

“It was an amicable divorce.”

“Didn’t know there was such a thing.”

“It was just an MC, okay? Not a real Covenant Marriage.”

An MC—Marriage of Convenience—was little more than an affair with a few legal provisions attached. Either party could end it simply by filing the paperwork. A Covenant Marriage, on the other hand, was extremely difficult to terminate. It was not unheard-of for some people to conclude it was easier and a whole lot cheaper to arrange for an unwanted spouse to suffer a lethal accident.

The last thing she wanted to talk about was the fact that she had been dumped. Time to move on.

“I assume you found me because you followed Otis?” Lucy said.

Gabriel took a healthy bite of pizza. “He certainly got my attention.”

“How?”

“He approached me in the Dead City ruins near the Storm Zone Wall about an hour ago. I was trying to locate the staircase you might have used to go into the Underworld.”

She thought about that for a beat. “You knew where to start the search? Sounds like my message to Veronica got through. Amazing. The kidnappers drugged me at the reception, you know.”

“Did they?” Gabriel said, his tone a little too polite.

She knew disbelief when she saw it. She sighed and reminded herself he had no reason to believe her version of events.

“By the time they put me in a cab I was hallucinating wildly,” she continued. “When I got out of the cab I was at the edge of the Storm Zone, so I ran for the nearest hole-in-the-wall. I managed to get on my phone long enough to leave a message for my friend Veronica. I knew she was working that night. I only had a few seconds. No time for a detailed message, so I texted my location.”

“Storm Zone Wall.”

“Right.”

“The cops told me that much. They said that when your friend saw the text she didn’t know what to make of it at first. She thought maybe you were at an after-party that was being held near the Storm Zone. When she got home in the morning, she realized you hadn’t returned. She filed a missing persons report, but the police wanted to wait the usual twenty-four hours before they got serious about opening a case. Evidently your friend insisted they send a search and rescue team into the ruins to start the search immediately.”

Lucy smiled. “People, especially men, tend to do what Veronica wants them to do.”

“I haven’t met the lady, so I’ll take your word for it. Your father was notified, and he put pressure on the locals, as well. The result was that after forty-eight hours of searching the ruins and the nearby neighborhoods, the authorities decided they needed outside help. The Cadence Guild was contacted.”

“And here you are. I must admit this is pretty damn impressive rescue work.”

“I lucked out when Otis showed up with the pizza. He was wearing this around his neck.” Gabriel reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and took out a dainty black crystal necklace.

A thrill of relief splashed through Lucy. “That’s mine. The bride gave identical necklaces to all of the bridesmaids. After Otis showed up with the first pizza delivery, it occurred to me that someone might notice the necklace and follow him down here. I gave it to him.”

Gabriel nodded appreciatively. “It was a good plan. It worked.”

“I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I was trapped in this room. The kidnappers took my handbag, my wrap, and every piece of nav amber that I had on me. They didn’t bother with the necklace, because it wasn’t amber. How long have I been gone? I’ve lost track of time.”

“The wedding reception was three nights ago.”

Lucy glanced at the stack of empty pizza boxes. There were five of them. “That’s what I was estimating. Otis arrived soon after I crashed in this chamber. I’ve been waiting for the effects of the drug to wear off before trying to follow him back to the surface. But every time I think I’m coming out of the fog, I get hit with another wave of hallucinations. The visions are absolutely unbearable when I get close to the entrance.”

Gabriel dropped the necklace back into the pocket of his jacket and studied the arched opening in the quartz wall. With the slice of pizza in hand, he walked to the doorway. He moved out into the hall and then returned.

“Nothing,” he said. He took a bite of the pizza.

Lucy contemplated the doorway. “Damn.”

“You said you were drugged?”

She massaged her temples with her fingertips. “They caught up with me when I ran into the ruins. Shot me full of some kind of hallucinogen. I was taken down into the tunnels. I managed to escape, but I barely made it to this chamber before I collapsed. Maybe I’m going through withdrawal?”

“Any idea why you were kidnapped? Your father and stepmother said there have been no ransom demands.”

She could tell from his neutral tone of voice that he was trying not to agitate her further. The kid-glove treatment was irritating. Also scary. How badly screwed up were her para-senses?

“No, I have no idea why I was grabbed,” she said. “My memories are blurry. I remember a bunch of creepy men in khaki and leather. At first I thought they were ghost hunters, but I decided at some point they were probably ex-Guild men who had gone rogue.”

“It happens,” Gabriel said. “The Guilds are changing. Hunters who are considered problems are being let go. There are a lot of them out on the street these days. Can you describe the ones you say grabbed you?”