Jayne Castle - Dark Light

It was those in the second group—the people who actually believed her—whom she had to watch out for. They frequently concluded that she could be useful. What business executive, stockbroker, or gambler couldn't use an assistant or, better yet, a wife endowed with extremely accurate intuitive talents? She had learned her lesson with Jonathan Pemberley. She had no intention of repeating it.

She had never actually told Runtley that her intuitive powers were off the charts or that she didn't need amber to access them, but he had guessed the truth during her interview. She strongly suspected that his own intuition was well above normal.

"I didn't get any bad vibes from Fontana," she said. "I wouldn't have even considered this MC if I had."

"But he's a Guild boss. What's more, judging by what you just told me, he took out Jenner."

"I didn't say Fontana wouldn't be dangerous under some circumstances; I just said I think I'll be safe with him. At least for the moment." She moved one hand in a small gesture. "He needs me."

The door of the newsroom slammed open. Kay Alcantara stood in the opening. Phil Trager and Matt Delaney were directly behind her.

Kay planted a hand over her heart and gave Sierra an anguished glare.

"Say it isn't so," Kay pleaded. "Say you aren't actually planning to marry the new head of the Crystal Guild and that you forgot to tell your very best friend in the entire world that you had been dating him in secret for lord knows how long."

Kay was Sierra's age, a tall, vivacious woman with a long mane of discreetly enhanced red hair and an Amazonian body.

Sierra felt herself turning pink. "Well, it isn't quite like that."

Kay grinned. "Of course it isn't. As if you would actually marry anyone connected to the Guild. The rumor will make a great scoop for the Curtain tomorrow, though."

"Hot damn," Matt said. He rubbed his hands together and looked hopefully at Runtley. "Can I write the story, boss? Please. I'll do you proud, I promise."

"Hey, I've got the perfect headline," Phil announced. "'Guild Boss Weds Mystery Woman in Secret Ceremony.»

Sierra glowered. "There's nothing secret about it. We're due at the registrar's office at five this afternoon, and by the way, this is my story."

"You can't write it," Runtley said, unequivocal. "You're the subject."

"Not fair." Sierra shot to her feet "I'm the one who is sacrificing her, uh, whatever, for this story. I deserve to write it."

"Kay writes up the wedding," Runtley said. "And that's final."

"Thanks, boss," Kay said, face alight with anticipation. "Can't wait to get back to my computer."

"You can't write the story yet," Sierra said. She glanced at her watch. "I'm not going to get married for another two hours."

Kay laughed. "Since when has a little detail like a timeline ever stopped an intrepid reporter for the Curtain ? After all, I'm going to get the background directly from you, right? Of course, I'll want a detailed account of the wedding night, too, but that can wait until tomorrow, I guess."

It could wait forever, Sierra thought, because there wasn't going to be a wedding night.

"Holy dust bunny," Phil said, patting Elvis. "This is going to be the biggest story since we broke the news that you somehow made it through the Curtain, King."

Elvis chortled happily and ate another bite of his sandwich.

Kay sat down on a corner of Sierra's desk and crossed her long legs. "Tell me everything. How long have you been secretly dating Fontana?"

"Not very long," Sierra said quickly.

"How the hell did you two meet?" Matt demanded.

"In the course of my investigation," Sierra said with what she thought was commendable cool. "He was a powerful member of the Council, as you know, and I wanted some answers from him."

"Well?" Phil wiggled his brows. "Get any?"

Everyone glowered at him.

"Answers, I mean," Phil said hastily.

Sierra folded her hands on the desk. "Let's just say that I am convinced that Fontana is no Brock Jenner. He will run a very different Guild."

There was a short, startled silence. Phil, Matt, and Kay looked at each other. Then they turned to Runtley, who merely shrugged his heavy shoulders.

Kay stared at Sierra with an expression of dawning wonder.

"Damn, you're serious, aren't you?" she said. "This isn't some kind of joke. You're actually going to marry Fontana?"

"Yes," Sierra said.

Matt whistled softly. "Somebody catch me. I think I'm going to swoon."

Kay frowned. "No offense, but why would Fontana marry you, Sierra? You've been a thorn in the side of the Guild for the past six months."

"Maybe he thinks he can keep her quiet," Phil offered, sounding more than a little concerned. "After all, once she's a Guild wife, she'll be expected to keep Guild secrets."

Matt nodded uneasily. "Yeah, I can see why he might want her locked into an MC while he gets control of things. Besides, Guild bosses are almost always married. Something to do with one of their traditions."

Sierra felt her temper flare. "Let's get one thing clear. Fontana is not marrying me because he thinks he can silence me that way."

"Okay, okay." Matt held up both hands, palms out. "Just a working theory."

"Try another hypothesis."

Phil gave her a quick, head-to-toe inspection. "Well, one thing's for sure."

"What?" Sierra snapped.

"Evidently you're going to be on the cover of tomorrow's edition of the Curtain . That means you need to go home and change."

She glanced down at her businesslike skirted suit and pumps. "What's wrong with these clothes?"

"They're too boring for a secret mistress who is about to become the wife of the new chief of the Guild," Kay explained.

"She's right," Runtley decreed. "Go back to your apartment and put on something sexy. We can sell a lot of copies if we get a good shot."

"Make sure whatever you wear is real short and low-cut," Phil said. "We need cleavage."

"I'll go home and change," Sierra said. "But forget the cleavage thing. I love the Curtain , but I refuse to humiliate myself on the front cover."

"Spoilsport," Kay said.

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SIERRA MCINTYRE?" COOPER Boone asked on the other end of the phone.

Fontana walked to the window, phone to his ear, and looked out over the ruins while he thought about the question.

Cooper, the head of the Aurora Springs Guild, was one of his few close friends. The bond between them had been established years earlier when, because of their unusual talents, they had found themselves doing some highly unorthodox jobs for the Bureau.

They were both technically hunters, meaning they could manipulate dissonance energy, but neither of them worked traditional green ghost light. The teams that went underground tended to be traditionalists. Hunters who worked light from other places on the spectrum were not welcome on the exploration ventures. Exotic hunters tended to follow one of two career paths. They either became criminals or they got hired by the Bureau. Once in a while, however, like Cooper and himself, they wound up at the top of one of the organizations.

"What do I know about Sierra?" Fontana repeated. "Well, I think it's safe to say that I'm marrying up."

"What does that mean?"

"She's the daughter of Jason McIntyre."

There was a short pause on the other end of the line.

"Any connection to McIntyre Industries in Resonance?" Cooper finally asked.

"She's Jason McIntyre's youngest daughter."

"You're joking."

"I'm getting married in two hours. Trust me, I'm not in a joking mood."

"What the hell is a McIntyre doing working for a low-rent tabloid like the Curtain ? Women like her sit on the boards of charitable foundations and eat lunch at their clubs."