Guild Boss (Ghost Hunters #14)(42)

“My place,” she said, resigned.

“Good choice. I don’t have any furniture yet. I’ve been sleeping on the floor.”

“In that case, definitely my place.”





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN





Gabriel drove out of the Shadow Zone, which ran the length of one of the eight Walls, and turned the corner into the brightly illuminated Amber Zone.

He was immediately aware of the very different vibe of the neighborhood. The gloom and fog vanished, as did the aura of faded sleaze that characterized the Shadow Zone. Within the Amber Zone it was all bright lights and glittering gambling palaces. Crowds strolled the sidewalks enjoying the clear, balmy night and the buzz of excitement. At the end of the Strip, the recently opened Alien Storm Roller Coaster towered into the night sky.

Lucy lowered the window on her side of the vehicle and smiled. “I love this town.”

“Never a dull moment, that’s for sure.” Gabriel glanced at her, amused by her obviously genuine affection for the town.

“You were born and raised here until you were thirteen,” he said. “It’s your home. No wonder it’s in your blood.”

“Mom and I lived in the Dark Zone until she died. She was a dealer at one of the big casinos on the Strip.” Lucy stopped abruptly and then turned her head to look at him. “You know about my past?”

He wanted to give himself a head slap. “I did a little research before I went looking for you.”

“In other words, you’ve got a file on me?” she asked.

She sounded suspicious.

“Part of the job,” he admitted. “When people suddenly go missing there are usually a few clues in their past that help narrow the search process.”

“Right. Assembling a file on me was research for the mission.”

There was no need to add that he knew that following her mother’s death she had been bundled off to a boarding school. After graduation she had immediately returned to Illusion Town. These days she only saw her father, stepmother, and half brothers at the customary mandatory family gatherings.

“Lucy—” he said.

“Never mind. There’s no need for an explanation. You took a perfectly logical approach to my case, and I’m sure you’ll apply that same logic when you reopen it. Which I truly do appreciate, by the way.”

He tried to come up with a way to change the conversation.

“What made you decide to pursue your weather channeling here in Illusion Town?” he said.

She laughed. “The weather, of course.”

He smiled. “Illusion Town does have a lot of dramatic climates.”

“Two zones are virtually uninhabitable,” she said. “The Fire Zone and the Storm Zone. People can go into both zones under certain conditions, but no sane person would try to live in either zone. I’m sure your new Guild will be fielding a lot of calls from the local police asking you to chase down bad guys, thrill seekers, and the occasional kidnapping victims who disappear into those zones.”

“You like interesting weather,” he said deliberately. “I like interesting work.”

There was a long silence from the passenger seat. So much for his conversational skills.

“Think you’ll ever marry?” Lucy asked. “I mean a real Covenant Marriage?”

The question stunned him. He had to take a moment.

“Eventually,” he said, feeling his way. “When the time is right. Everyone gets married eventually. Usually. Everyone in the Jones family ends up in a Covenant Marriage. My turn will come. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. You’ve made it clear that your job has top priority in your life.”

He was a Guild boss. He could sense impending disaster when he saw it. The conversation had taken a harrowing turn.

“I’m serious about my work,” he said. He was pleased with his response. It sounded both professional and sincere.

“Yeah, I did get that impression. Guild men usually marry into other Guild families, don’t they?”

“It’s traditional,” he said. “But there’s no rule about it. There have been plenty of exceptions over the years.” Okay, he was flailing. He needed to level the playing field, and fast. “What about you? Think you’ll try another Marriage of Convenience one of these days?”

“I doubt it. Given recent experience, I’m not keen on the idea.”

“What about a Covenant Marriage?”

“Like most people, I’d like to find someone to love, get married for real, and have a family.”

“I understand.”

Thanks to the rigid laws and customs instituted by the First Generation, family was everything on Harmony. Preserving and strengthening the family unit had been a primary goal of the Colonial governments. It had been viewed as the basic building block of society. Strong families meant strong communities. The First Generation had concluded that forging social bonds was essential if the colonists were to have a chance of surviving.

Some traditions had eased over the past two hundred years, but there was no escaping the fact that, sooner or later, everyone was supposed to enter a permanent Covenant Marriage. Sexual orientation was not a factor. You were free to marry anyone you wanted to marry, but you were expected to marry.